Highway-Chile
Thanks all for kind words and your votes so far. I truly appreciate it, honestly.
No I don't do this for a living, although it has been my focus for a while and I set myself up for it with sample libraries etc. Well, when I say it's my main focus.........that seems to be in my head only of late. I am not doing anything about it and just getting older >☹ I'm in this horrible slump/writer's block right now where I don't feel creative and I am not motivated :'( ....HOWEVER....entering in these last two has been inspiring, especially listening to you guys and your different musical personalities.
But no, as far as a living..... I have never even submitted a track for review, let alone had one placed. I am not any better than any of you, it is just that in my case I am quite a bit older than most of you, so I have a tickle more more experience. That's all.
Okay........one thing that jumps out at me is everyone seemed to have a similar approach. A melancholy beginning that ramps up....perfect. It is going to be hard for me to vote my #1 as they all have great features. I could see any of these in a Tarantino flick.
Deefstes. I see your track opening to a black screen which is actually the camera very close to our hero's leather full length coat....camera zooms out and goes to an over the shoulder from behind our crouched hero looking at the body of the young girl, in silence. Then the camera shoots upwards....10' or so, hovers and then books at high speed to way above the city (the girl's spirit leaving-knowing she is in good hands and will be avenged) and the scene cuts to an overhead and to one side of our leather caped hero riding his custom Harley, automatic shotgun slung across his back......as your music changes to the second mood and we follow his journey as he heads to the waterfront.
Stu...my exuberant friend......I love you man and your passion for this is palpable......but drums and vocal EFX..... what were you thinking brother? ? ? LOL!!! Didn't you read the rules? No drums, no vocals etc....guitars only. Sorry friend, as much as I liked your track I cannot vote for it. I am truly sorry because it was a great entry. It would have fit the vibe of the imaginary movie I have in my head, perfectly. With the underlying really evil, twisted, snarling, zombie vibe.......I could see this in the actual shootout...but not the scene described in the comp. This music playing as he is tearing up the baddies, blood, guts and eyeballs flying as the bullets tear into them and blow them all to hell and the abrupt stop when they are all killed, would be awesome. But sorry......I cannot vote purely because of the guidelines not being adhered to. That is too bad man.
Tyron... sweet stuff. I see the hero looking at the body but then fading in over that image I see him in his crib, opening his hidden weapons cache and choosing the gats he is taking for the shootout, going through them, loading, shucking shotguns and even picking out some sort of a real magilla....maybe a Streetsweeper....then he leaves and the camera stays in the room as he walks out and closes the door behind him and locks it.........pause, we see the lock unlock again and then in comic relief we see just his hand come into view as he turns off the light that he forgot......door closes, locks.......payback time.
Tamla...very nice writing. Yours I see as staying a bit more melancholy......here we open to our hero standing slowly from his crouch and the street light casts a long shadow of him which the camera pans to and stays on.....he lingers for a second and then flips his fedora hat back on and we cut to him moving fairly briskly down some stairs to the underground...... the hobo's hanging out see his vicious intent in his eyes and cower as he passes, turning away from him, he jumps across the tracks and fades into the darkness, a train goes by seconds after we lose sight of him, featureless faces in the lighted windows........ reveal......he is in a secret underground room, gearing up for the fight...we do not see his face......fade to him getting into his car, a real battlewagon in that it has steel plates welded on it for protection from bullets, plates protecting the tires....even the windshield is welded steel and rivets with a cutout to see out of........he reaches for the ignition as the camera pans and reveals his face for the first time, close up of his eyes in the rear view mirror....in his eyes we see he is not relishing the idea of all the killing he is about to do, but it must be done. This much he knows.
Mundane, very cool.....I LOVED the wobble on the pedal tone.....the underlying loop dealio.....and I like the sparseness these two guitars entries. Believe it or not I see this music going on behind the goriest of obscene action and violence. I see the detective sitting at the body and fading in is the action/battle scene........you realize by seeing the image of his face, not grim but intense and with the touch of a wicked smile, that he is seeing the battle in his mind.....but the film is ambiguous......you don't really know if is has happened already, is happening, is going to happen that way......just his imagination or what? Then we cut to him standing across the street from the gangs hideout, he blasts the door with his shotgun and the carnage starts playing out as it did in the vision scene..........he is the unbelievably adept death dealer.....with this very passive track going on behind the brutality....love it.
Highway.... Dude! That sucked A-hole bro'.......oh wait a minute that's mine. Never mind!
Seventh......... Dude!!! Had you entered you likely would have had my vote because there was so much tension there....it went through 3 distinct sections and the end was so ominous...when the overtones started happening between the two guitars. I love that shit....sparse and really sets your nerves on end. If I was the director I'd be telling you to stretch that out and play on that theme.....I'd want to have that going on while the battle plays out with no sound efx, no foley, no dialogue screaming etc, no gunshots.....I would do it all with grinding guitar sounds and after the fight scene was over, I would see him throwing a satchel of explosive over his shoulder into the hideout with all the dead guys in there, 'cept the boss man and his two lieutenants were not there......so they are gonna get back and find this.........our guy hops on his hog, fires it up....drives off and as this super heavy death metal track starts, he flips up the safety cover on the detonator with his left hand, right hand on the throttle as he drives off in no hurry and ....presses the tit and the whole place blows behind him.
I am sorry you missed the comp. I would love to see you in but that is a moderator call. I reckon the answer will be no as it will just open the door to others doing it just 'cos they were not ready. I know you said early on you were done....you must be hating that you did not just send it in back then. I am truly sorry your internet was down...I would have really loved for you to be in this. Still, be proud of what you did man.
This is good shit, y'all. You should all be proud...regardless who wins...you guys did a superb job. It was great to be a part of it.
Okay, I have yet to decide on who gets my vote between Deeftes, Tam, Mundane and Tyron. I bought some wonderful South African made curry pies from the shop that sells SA and English food, sweets, drinks, chutney, custard, fish paste, Pro-Vita etc etc etc MARMITE!!!! Loves me my Marmite. I got curried mince and curried vegetable....... I got a curried veggie pie in the oven now. Damn the pastry is so good....too bad they are not 100% fresh made but we don't have that option here.....but they are still great, taste homemade and it is the best it is gonna get without me coming back to SA.
Later folks! All the best from LA.
