Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

At 10/1/13 07:03 PM, camoshark wrote:
Considering half of the judges write non-vocal electro stuff, I hardly see how that could be perceived as negative bias.

Maybe that's why the judges know how easy it is to write it.

Happy burstday Chronomammuth!

What do you mean with "peaking"? Clipping?

If it's clipping you should find out where exactly that happens. Audio shouldn't clip at any point or you'll not be able to fix it, no matter how well you mix it. You can mask it perhaps, but better to prevent it. Just turn down the volume somewhere. I don't know you mixer, but I saw an image and it looks fancy. Most mixers tell if audio is clipping or not. If so turn down the volume there. You said the problem occurred since you had your laptop fixed? Then it's probably your laptop. Look at the record volume settings. This usually also tells you whether sound is clipping or not. Turn it down if it's clipping. Furthermore always make sure you don't export sound at louder than 0 dB. -0.2 dB is pretty safe. I don't think it can be your microphone.

Or do you just mean some sound is much louder than other? If so you can use some simple volume curves to fix it. Alternately you can also use a compressor, or a bit of both. The curves before the compressor I'd say. Make sure you don't push it too far, or it will sound unnatural. Louder vocals like screams should never become less loud than the rest, just not too much louder.

I hope this helps a little. If not let it be know. Someone here should be able to help out.

A deadline of say only 10 hours wouldn't work well I think. Neither would it be fairer than a longer giving more time. A fixed time frame never works for everyone at the same time. There are people all over the world who can partake in Newgrounds contests, and for all of them it's a different time of the day an in their lives. For some it's day, for others night. For some it's weekend, for others a busy Friday at work. Etc. If you give more time, people can be more flexible and make it work for them.

Most of my work takes more than 10 hours. I'm not good at making music in a short amount of time. I need time to waste so I can convince myself I can't do any better.

At 9/25/13 09:28 AM, DivoFST wrote: @SourJovis i couldnt break the rule even if i wanted, the contests give me motivation that i usually lack in an average day xD

True. They are good motivation. Also some contests have themes, which works well for inspiration.

At 9/25/13 05:29 AM, Theatr wrote:

At 9/24/13 11:39 PM, SourJovis wrote: That depends on the musician I think. Some had trouble with the 2 week time limit. If they would've spent say 4 weeks it could've been better.

Part of the two week time frame is thinking along the lines of real-world deadlines. At work, it's not you, the employee, that normally gets to set your own deadline; it's your boss or the client / contract holder.

In that case you should definitely create a stock of backup songs just in case. Your employers aren't going to complain about you "cheating". They just want you to deliver what they ask of you. Susumu Hirasawa once said in an interview it wasn't a bad thing if a song he made for a film got rejected, because he would add it to his collection unused songs that he could later adapt and use for something else. SpinVis too said he wouldn't always release a song, but he might revisit it and make an alternate version, or take parts of several unreleased songs and put them together to create a new song. So yeah, the professional composers already create a stock of unreleased songs they can take away from. If you want work for clients I advice you to do the same, because you wouldn't want to miss out on interesting/well paid projects.

That depends on the musician I think. Some had trouble with the 2 week time limit. If they would've spent say 4 weeks it could've been better. A 6 month old song may not be as good as a new one if you've developed a lot, but if you make 10 songs and select only the best, it will be better than the average song you've made and perhaps will make. If you use the 2 weeks to get the song up to standard it will be as good as when you wrote it yesterday. All in all I think it can have an advantage to some people.

The only problem I see are there are too many competitions. Often a couple at the same time. If you want to take part in all of them you're constantly creating new songs, and you never have the time to write ahead anyway.

At 9/24/13 11:51 AM, InYourDreams wrote: I don't really think, everyone thinks like that. Some people really do their songs from scratch, you know...

So did I. I never started a song before a round had started. But it kinda got me in trouble during the third round, so it got me thinking if I shouldn't have gone in more prepared. If I had a stock of un-uploaded songs I wouldn't have been without inspiration, in the wrong mood or whatever and no one would've known. Some people have been caught uploading songs they've uploaded previously, and they've been disqualified for that. That's only fair because it's against the rules, and if you so obviously go against them, the judges will have no choice but to disqualify you. However, it's so easy not to get caught, there must be people who've thought about that as well. In fact I spoke judges (not of the NGADM13) who plainly admitted it themselves, so even the judges are aware of this (why wouldn't they be?).

Here's an interesting thing; On 6/15/13 Step wrote the NGADM13 rules in his news section. He wrote the following rule:

1.) Every track you make in the knockout contest has to be made from scratch, by you, for the competition. No remixes, covers or arrangements. Having said that, you may ask someone to play an instrument for you or sing for you, as long as all the composition is done by you.

So this is basically the rule that tells you not to submit older songs. However he also wrote this:

4.) If you finish a round's track early, you may start another one which you can use for the following round, assuming you make it through.

Doesn't this rule encourage you to break the first rule? If you start on your round 2 song during round 1, you have more than the given 2 weeks. Sure you made it with the NGADM13 in mind, but you don't even know if you made it to round 2. By the same logic I could start right now creating a song for NGADM14 round 1 even though I don't know yet I'll pass the auditions. As long as I don't use that song for anything else (and don't show it to anyone) I can say I made it specifically for the competition.

Besides when is a song ever build from scratch? Doesn't every song result from past experience? Things you've learned over 10 years prior, or even earlier.

I think the main reason for rule no. 1 is so people won't win every time because they made one good song they use over and over. Or if they flood a competition (the ones you're allowed to submit multiple songs) by submitting every good song they made over the past years. That would spoil the fun.

Building up a stock of songs will probably be allowed because
a) It's impossible to check whether a song was made in the restricted time limit (unless uploaded elsewhere) so it's inevitable people will do this.
b) You can still use each song only once, so each time you do it's a new song for everyone else, which keeps the contests fresh and surprising.

At 9/24/13 11:22 AM, InYourDreams wrote:

At 9/24/13 11:09 AM, SourJovis wrote:

At 9/24/13 10:51 AM, etherealwinds wrote: With only 8 contenders left, round threads are so ~quiet~

It's the sound of people working hard on their songs.

I haven't started yet :D...

It is still suspiciously quiet here... :-|

I don't have to start anymore. Maybe I'll start some songs I can use for future competitions and don't upload them anywhere so I can pretend I made them specifically for that competition. Oops, I shouldn't say that out loud. Perhaps this is the sound of everyone thinking what I'm thinking and keeping it to themselves.

At 9/24/13 10:51 AM, etherealwinds wrote: With only 8 contenders left, round threads are so ~quiet~

It's the sound of people working hard on their songs.

The two above are really good at voice acting, so take their advice for granted. I suck at it so I'll tell you what not to do. Don't imitate other people, or you'll end up being a lesser version of someone else. On Newgrounds comedy usually does better than drama, so you can keep that in mind, but just do whatever you're good at. Don't leave in breathing pauses or "err"s. Keep it short, snappy and flashy. Other than that, just give it your utmost. Your best voices, acting skills and production. Like ZipZipper said voice acting contest 11 is coming up this winter, so keep an eye out for that.

If you want mixing tips, I can send you a PM , because it will get quite lengthy.

At 9/23/13 02:30 AM, MichaelMYaa wrote: The biggest reason is becuase when you download songs here.. it doesn't even say the aritst name...

People don't always see the artist's name in the file name no, but they see it when they download the track. Whether downloaders put in the artists name in the file name is their concern. Just like they can remove the artist's name when it actually is in the file name.

People use songs all the time without crediting. Even songs without CC licensing, that they weren't even allowed to use. Sometimes people even upload someone else's song and pretend it's their own. There isn't much you can do to prevent it. As soon as a song is out there people can abuse it.

Your main question has been answered already I think. Newgrounds does not own your songs, so uploading them here should not harm potential future contracts.

However. I once had a personal experience where it did somewhat harm. I was asked to make music for a video game, and they told me they only wanted to use new songs. They could never know if I made a song yesterday or a year ago, but if I'd uploaded a song somewhere before they would know it wasn't new. Communication was really bad, so I never knew how they defined new, and why it had to be new songs. Btw, I never saw anything of that game either. Not a single scratch of concept art. They were supposed to send me a demo halve a year ago but they never did.

I think you need to share some music to get recognition. Be prepared to do it for free at first and hope you'll get a contract someday. You'll probably be asked to make new songs for that. Perhaps it's okay to use old songs if you take them down (or not). Good luck.

I've used pro tools for film scoring. I'm not a huge fan of the program, but that's maybe because I wasn't used to it, but it worked well for that purpose, and I hear many/most film composers use it.

Congrats to InvissibleObserver and all other winners. To the people who are no longer in; you made some great tracks as well.
Here's the ranking list once again.

Judgement day.

At 9/15/13 12:09 PM, supersonicgp456 wrote: How can you guys make remixes?
Is there a costume program?
Or you replaying it?

I always use costume programs. Of course you can do it manually or with a girl.

At 9/14/13 12:48 PM, Step wrote: Reviewed four random submissions so far. I've given a score over 9 to each one.

You all suck, making me look like an overly nice judge. Make more mistakes, please.

Or just review my piece.

The only thing I could finish

• 
  Whiteout by SourJovis

  Retro game snow level. Entry for the 3rd round of NGADM13

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Loop

  Genre

  Video Game

  Popularity

  2 Views

• Loading...

So the deadline is today... Fortunately I already have the song fleshed out in my mind. The general mood at least.

I reviewed this song that got skipped some time ago:

• 
  Drops (Homies Mix) by Dovabeats

  Progressive House

  Score

  3.00 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  House

  Popularity

  107 Views

• Loading...

And this one also, because that was the new one with a review request:

• 
  Graveyard by Morteth9

  Something I did... My first submision

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Miscellaneous

  Popularity

  25 Views

• Loading...

Would like a review for this:

• 
  L Kano's Fighting Show S2 by SourJovis

  Alternate version of Ling Kano's Fighting Show

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Fusion

  Popularity

  1 Views

• Loading...

At 9/9/13 02:00 PM, Sequenced wrote:

At 9/9/13 11:56 AM, SourJovis wrote: Trance is a subgenre of dance.

no. Trance & Dance music are subgenres of Electronic music

Alright. Perhaps it depends on how you look at it. But what kind of trance isn't EDM? The way I see it every electronic kind of music that is made to dance to is dance. Most of the trance I've heard is made in a 4/4 meter with a kick every downbeat just like other dance subgenres, and is suitable to dance to. In my experience that's the most common way to look at it, that's why trance is placed under the category edm. But I've been too straight forward to claim it as a fact. I think the main problem is there's no universally accepted categorization. If there were we wouldn't have this discussion. Now there isn't you can talk about it as long as you want but everyone will see it differently anyway.

On an aside note. Should the genre electronic music be above dance? Or should there be a large genre dance that includes both EDM and non-electronic dance, like walzes, tango, can-can, bolero, 70s dance bands, ballet, etc? It's just different ways of looking at it.

also, this guy confused jungle / ragga jungle. those genres came from Drum & Bass, not ambient lol

Might be a mistake. With such a complicated chart there must be a couple. The drums in Jungle and ragga jungle sound more like break beat. But the pads and fx in Jungle sound a lot like ambient. ragga jungle has other influences like reggae or ska. Sometimes a subgenre draws influences from several different wider genres, so it's sometimes a subgenre can be put into several larger genres. Disagreements arise.

At 9/9/13 12:01 PM, Lachi wrote: Are you aware that Ishkur made that guide for fun, right?
The chart is ok but there are so many subgenres today that it became really ridicoulus classifying a song

Yeah, but still. It's something at least. It has most of the estalished genres. There are lots more new genres that will most likely be forgotten, and will only make the charts more cluttered if included.

At 9/8/13 03:42 PM, Sequenced wrote:

At 9/8/13 03:31 PM, Elitistinen wrote: I remember you once told me trance is actually dance genre.

what. I never said anything like that lol

Trance is a subgenre of dance. Trance also has a lot of subgenres. Here's a chart map and another one with sound samples.

This song got skipped

• 
  Yes, I believe in Fairies. by Bspendlove

  Not Kidding, I actually do.

  Score

  3.69 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Classical

  Popularity

  118 Views

• Loading...

At 9/3/13 01:30 AM, InvisibleObserver wrote:

At 9/2/13 06:50 PM, SourJovis wrote: What? The first song has been posted and I still have no idea what to do.

You and me both bro-cake. I have some idea's but I've not actually written a thing. Mostly just working out synth and sound design in my head at this stage.

Maybe we're done before we know we thought of a song. That sometimes happens. Anyway it's going to be exiting.

What? The first song has been posted and I still have no idea what to do.

At 8/30/13 08:06 PM, camoshark wrote:

At 8/30/13 07:48 PM, ZipZipper wrote:

At 8/30/13 07:02 PM, SourJovis wrote: Meet the lowest ranking winner! Wanna trade @ZippZipper ? Well I don't >:P

Also here's the unofficial ranking list you can look at to see how well you did....and stil lost.

Are you mocking me? I took this Deathmatch seriously. I was excited to discover that I would still have a second chance to be in this competition and worked so hard during my constrained time period that I created two songs and chose the one I thought would be best. It is very humiliating to have lost a second time, but I will move on and hope for the best next year...

Relax, man, he's simply saying that he's the lowest ranking winner, whilst you are the highest ranking loser. Not particularly clear in his statement, but you can see for yourself in his ranking list.

If anything, he's lauding you, not mocking you.

Yes, that's exactly how I see it. I suppose I could've known you ZippZipper might not being the mood to deal with this in a joking manner right now. Sorry if I were inconsiderate. It's never nice to lose when you put a lot of effort into something. Perhaps you could even call it unfair you lost while scoring so high. But that's just the set up of the competition. For what it's worth I'm glad you got another chance, if only so I could hear another song by you. Just think of all the other contests you won lately. A lot of these contests I entered as well and you placed much higher than me. Which made me rather jealous. And jealousy is the best form of flattery. (It's also a green eyed monster) Which is why I'm extra happy to be still in the contest even though I twice scored lower than you. Call it mocking, but that's how I felt when you beat me in the previous contests. You'll probably win the next contest again. Good luck then.

At 8/30/13 05:20 PM, Step wrote: Man, @ZipZipper, you ended up being the highest-scoring loser AGAIN, with the high average score of 8.57! If there's anyone who shouldn't feel bad about losing it's you haha.

Meet the lowest ranking winner! Wanna trade @ZippZipper ? Well I don't >:P

Also here's the unofficial ranking list you can look at to see how well you did.... and stil lost.

Condolances acmeDyne (I don't put an @ in front of your name, else I'd spoil the suspense). For what it's worth I liked your song, and I thought I would lose.

At 8/30/13 09:07 AM, bassfiddlejones wrote: I speak fluent google translate.

That's in my CV