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[bdusseau1988]

My name is Bryan. I have been a musician for 13 years. I have always wanted to compose for video games. Now that I have a good job, I can afford a home studio, and start my dream. I just started making my video game composer portfolio. The first piece i have is a rough draft of my video game music demo. I would like to hear your thoughts about my demo. If anyone wants me to check out their work, I'd be happy to. Thank you for your time.

Listen to Video Game Composition Demo Reel by Bryan Dusseau (Composer) #np on #SoundCloud
http://soundcloud.com/bryan-dusseau/video-game-composition-demo-reelHi, how are you?



   

[rj]

your link is broken and this is the wrong spot so my feedback is to fix that

smiley face makes you feel disingenuous

also it's hard for me to believe you've been composing for 13 years, given the overuse of presets and poor mixing on display; the mid-high range blocks out everything else and the rave synth is really grating; this feels like a sub-par southern rap beat.

you have terrible use of bad orchestral samples (if i'm not mistaken there's actual general midi) in a lot of places. your piano samples are bad. your sample use is bad in general, honestly; i'd recommend looking into recording actual instruments instead of using poor samples.

compositions are repetitive and generally don't leave any strong impression one way or the other; there's not much of a discernible melody in the forefront of any of these and your structure seems aimless and doesn't really feel like it ever goes anywhere

so uh fix all of that

[bdusseau1988]

Wow, you are a cup of joy. So where should I post this? I said I was a musician for 13 years, not a composer.  The plugins I used was massive (very common, but it's what I have), and orchestrl packs from Ableton suite. It would be nice to have kontakt, but i want to start with what I have. You don't go out and buy the best guitar out there without learning how to play. So I am going to use what plugins I have first. I am willing spend a little, but I will wait on better software and gear. Recording actual instruments is not going to happen for now. Unless it is guitar. It was made to be a little repetitive,  because it is intended for video games, not masturbating (guitarist talk). I know you have a lot of negative things to say, but I am looking how to make it better. Not read a rotten tomato review. I do want constructivr criticism, but you left the constructive out. So I will work on my synthesis on massive, but there is nothing I can do about the orchestra packs offered in the ableton live 9 suite. I'm not trying to say like this or die, but dude, that was uncalled for. I would even say thay to another musician. You must be a drummer.

[joseph ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

rj is a brat/baby and I understand your reaction to his tone but you should take critiques with appreciation instead of arguing with them. It's not RJ's responsibility to be 'constructive' -- you can do that on your own. Think about why he would say things like that, find the grains of truth (or the truths he misrepresented) and improve.

this is the correct subforum: http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?board=26.0

re: 'drummer' -- afaik he's a homestuck, which is probably wrose.

[bdusseau1988]

Haha its all good bro. I'm already taking the advice to use. Thanks for the subform. I'll post there. Thanks again guys.

[s0]

i moved the original thread, no need to make a new one

[bdusseau1988]

Thanks man.

[Jasmine]

Hey man! I checked out part of your demo reel - Going to wait until I'm home to write a more detailed review.

I wanted to comment on the "repetitive" line:

Please don't feel that, because something is written for a video game, it is meant to be repetitive.
Just like music written for a film doesn't have to control over the top accents or trombones flutter-tonguing, the basis for what video game music can be is ever-evolving.

If you put music in a box because of its intended use, you're really going to shorthand yourself.

Everything anything makes can be used for a game. The question is, which one?

(She's so deep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

But, really. Welcome to the forums!

[bdusseau1988]

Thanks! I'm excited to hear more when you get home!

[rj]

rj is a brat/baby

guilty as charged

re: 'drummer' -- afaik he's a homestuck, which is probably wrose.

i compose music for homestuck for money but dear god do not assume that means i think the comic is good or the fanbase/subculture surrounding it tolerable


anyway: dude, if i offended you, i apologize, but i sincerely hope you understand why i said what i said. you really should learn to work with synthesizers beyond a surface level and if you plan to use instrument samples i would suggest if you want to make professional music with them (which, given your first post and this thread, seems to be your intention) to either find higher-quality samples or record the instruments yourself. the result is way way worth the extra effort

at the other dude: look, repetition is not a bad thing. being repetitive is, though. i mean sure this is a matter of taste (and partially a matter of semantics) but if music ends up repetitive without sufficient change to it to make it interesting then it becomes grating; video game music necessarily repeats, yes, but it shouldn't feel like it.

some of my favorite music is incredily reliant on loops. but none of that looping is repetitive, despite being, necessarily, repetitious. again, this is partially taste.

i think as a rule if a loop is more complicated it's more grating if it obviously loops. a drum kick can loop for a minute without you noticing, but the same bar of a full orchestra, played ad infinitum, gets on your nerves because the repetition is more pronounced.

[bdusseau1988]

We're all good man. I so understand where you are coming from. What I was trying to do is create a build by adding melodies and harmonies and instruments. Thanks is what I enjoy dong. I feel like I do that well. Maybe I just provided a poor example of that. I have found good samples, but their durationdoes not last as long as I would like. My sampler does not stretch. I heard kontakt does though, and that us one reason why it is so great.i am a guitarist, and I can play lead guitar. Should I treat my whole song like a solo then? Always changing up the lead? All thr music pieces I hear are not overly complicated. At least most. I was listening to he new dragon age sound track, I like how it is dark, but has a hero feel.  I can tell a huge difference with the samples, but he is a pro. Lets just stick with one of the tracks for reference on my demo. Track 4, I really want to make this the best I can what y can I improve that?way

[bdusseau1988]

Epic fail on punctuation lol. I'm on my phone.

[ZackParrish]

If you put music in a box because of its intended use, you're really going to shorthand yourself.

But music boxes are awesome. :p

[bdusseau1988]

I think we are on the same page now. I need to have different variations of what I have verses just adding instruments to a single line each bar. Like switch octaves, play with the scale a little, switch it up so it sounds different but still fits.

[Daniel Pellicer]

I would say that if this is your first try on composing music it could be even counterproductive to hear a lot of feedback :p. I would try listening to a couple of soundtracks try to imitate them a little bit (without copying it totally) and the most important thing: try to like yourself!

If you like what you hear when you are doing the music then you are in the right track. If you dont like it then try something else. At the end you are your best judge.

After trying with a couple of things more you can post it again here and we can talk about the evolution :D

[bdusseau1988]

Thanks Daniel! I will be posting a more evolved version very soon. I work on music everyday, and I learn fast. I love what I do. Since I am knowledgeable about music, I will pick up fast. I have been writing a long time, but this is a new genre that I am starting. I am very excited about it.

[Pete301]

I wanted to comment on the "repetitive" line:

Please don't feel that, because something is written for a video game, it is meant to be repetitive.
Just like music written for a film doesn't have to control over the top accents or trombones flutter-tonguing, the basis for what video game music can be is ever-evolving.

Precisely what I would say. The aim of a track should never be to have exact repetition. This doesn't mean create a new melody every few bars, but perhaps to expand and develop the original melody, similar to creating an argument...

State the argument

Describe and detail why you think this

Use different viewpoints that support the argument

Etc.

This is how I often think when composing, though you should find a way that is comfortable for you. I am not a seasoned professional so don't take my words as gospel.

If you need to create a track to be looped the main goal would be to not have something in the track that is a one off that draws attention to itself but to have a great flow between different sections that can be looped seamlessly.

[bdusseau1988]

That makes sense.

[ArnoldSavary]

 

[bdusseau1988]

I like Daft Punk.