PaulyBFromDa303

If anyone wants, I'm currently streaming Time Trials on TSR. Mainly just learning the levels and finding who I work best with. www.mixer.com/paulybfromda303

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (51% complete)

Halfway mark! I made a LOT of progress today. The Legacy portion may be over but the fun is just beginning. I can already tell this is gonna one of (if not THE) best remixes I've ever done. It goes from really calm to really brutal, really quick. I'm having a lot of fun adding in my own solo, and of course I threw in my signature Sky Synth to go along with it. I'm gonna try to keep the beachy theme but really kick it up a notch. So far, so good. I sent a couple short samples to people via Discord, for opinions and such, and it's getting a good response. It's a good sign. I'll provide one on Twitter soon enough, and I can share it here on SSMB as well. I can't give any of the Legacy portion away, so I'll need a little more before I can do that, but it's REALLY coming together now. I'm so excited!

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (39% complete)

Legacy portion is complete! I always like to take an extra 24 hours or so after I reach this point to listen to it a lot and make sure everything is set before I send it through. I'm fairly certain that once it's done, they'll upload a sample of it somewhere for you all to hear. I gotta say, this Mickey-Mousing thing was a really fun and interesting experience. It's actually a lot easier than it sounds as long as you hear enough of it in your head, as you go. I'm sure it's a skill that's REALLY gonna come in handy in the future, and I'm glad I got a chance to learn and experience it firsthand. But this is only the beginning! I have plans to really get epic with it. This percentage is still based on the six minute target, but I don't think I will need that much. Once I actually get closer to the completion of the full version, I'll be able to more accurately identify what exactly I need to finish. But for now, I've reached a powerful checkpoint! I'm excited to see what my Legacy colleagues think of it. 

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (34% complete)

Ten loops in the books. I'm actually just about done with the portion for Sonic Legacy. One final loop and a closer. Then I can get to an epic breakdown once that part is over. Getting the Legacy portion done is definitely the priority, and I'm just days from having it complete. I've also been trying to adjust the stereo sound of everything. I'll probably be getting some external editing help with this from a few of my old Newgrounds friends, one of which, AvizuraNG, is a part of Sonic Legacy as well. But it's sounding better and better by the session. I very much look forward to what the final will sound like, but there are still many adjustments to be made.It's a process, but I'm learning a lot and getting a lot of practice in. Per uzhe. I'm excited

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (28% complete)

Almost done with the official Sonic Legacy portion of the song. I can see where it's gonna end and the second round of it is gonna begin. it's all a matter of getting it up. I've already hit all my keypoints, now it's all about filling the rest of it out. I'm taking it at a decent pace at this moment. A lot of bend play with basses and guitars, and settings used for sustaining notes for longer than it sounds, trying my best to make everything sound as authentic as possible. It really does work the brain a quite a bit, because due to time constraints you have to fit every piece, like a bit mathematic puzzle. I've been paying more attention to positioning too. Stereo effect. I could probably do more with that during final editing though. At least things are going really smoothly. It's been a while since I've had a project going this well in such a short amount of time

This is what they went to Japan for a few months ago. Remember that one?

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (20% complete)

Not bad so far. I'm still playing with acoustics, adjusting sounds to make them sound more natural. I've been spending more time adjusting volumes and fixing stuff I already have, fine tuning it so that the rest of the project will go up a lot smoother. I've also added some more background instruments and emphasized the bass by adding another synth to it. I'm learning more each session. I'm learning that layering midi's with more synths actually brings out a better sound, and if adjusted correctly can make a midi sound more realistic. One thing I'm having a hard time with so far is adjusting reverb, figuring out which instrument channels need more or less. I'm trying to hard to blend the sounds together just right and not have any overcrowding with the sounds.

At this point I have to now figure out where to put my next keypoint and which effects to use. There's so many things that need adjusting but I also have to be careful not the jump the gun on anything. I've been super focused on the timing, and paying attention and logging every step I'm taking with this. It could be useful for the future

Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights (10% complete)

I've got a nice beach sound going with a whole array of acoustic instruments. Two different guitars, I'm trying to turn one into a ukulele. Fretless bass. Soft bass drum and rim-shot. This Mickey-Mousing technique certainly is a different concept to me, and I'm having a lot of fun learning about it, and working with it. I've added a steel acoustic guitar with notes seperated at 1/128th-triplets (basically 1/384th notes) to add the effect of strumming. I've added a brass instrument to signify the hot dog vendor dropping the dogs on his stand and Sonic catching them. I've been utilizing the bend function a lot more than usual here, simply because of the instrument choices. I'm trying my best to at least make it sound realitic. I've got a good feeling about this one's turnout. I sure have learned a lot since my return in 2016, ever since I joined Sonic Legacy. And I'm really happy about that because I think it's starting to show

STARTING PROJECT: Sonic Forces - Sunset Heights

Legacy Portion (50%), Full Portion (45%), Editing (5%)

It's time, all the materials have been gathered, and it's time for the musicians of Sonic Legacy to shine as we prepare our tracks for the animation of Issue 1! I've decided to take on the task of remixing Sunset Heights from Sonic Forces, and the stipulations are to time the music to the voice dubs and to leave availability to edit parts accordingly. This is a term known as "Mickey Mousing". You can hear this in all of your favorite cartoons and mini-series, including Sonic Mania Adventure and TSR Overdrive. I'll be taking the introduction scene, the very beginning of the whole story, where you get a first look at South Island, Sonic, and Sonic's new friend Tempest the Dolphin, who challenges Sonic to a race across the island. I'm going all the way up until the race scene starts. I'm also to make it sound like a beach scene by using corresponding insruments for the feel.

However, my plan is to only make this HALF of the full track, to where after I provide the needed parts, it's gonna be a full on remix afterward. The Legacy portion will only take up 2:30 at most. I'll have plenty of room to add extra stuff once my provided parts are complete. And I have had PLENTY of time to come up with everything I want in my head. Now it's just about putting it all down. Time is a factor, even if not the top factor. I'll still have to work quickly and carefully. Let's do this!!!

[97] Journey Cross These Worlds

https://soundcloud.com/paulybfromda303/journey-cross-these-worlds

Track 097 // Length: 5:17 // Style: Drum ‘n Bass // Speed: 170 BPM // Measures: 225 // Loops: 28 // Clips: 15 // Time Taken: 10 weeks

https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/859716

Lyrics written and performed by Pauly B

This commissioned track was created for an upcoming web-series known as Journey Across Worlds. It’s a comic and animated series based off of so many video game references from Mario, Sonic, and Crash Bandicoot to Nights, Star Fox, Undertale, and I’m not gonna give too much away cause there would be too many spoilers if I continued this list. It’s an ultimate mashup as various video game stars interact and save the universe from the just as various evil entities that lurk throughout. I will say that from what I’ve seen so far, this is sure to be an entertaining project altogether.

This is the main theme of the series. The only stipulations were that it had to be upbeat and had to have very certain references to the games being featured. Drum ‘n Bass is usually my go-to, but I wanted to make this just a tad bit different. What I really wanted was for this to sound like an opening to an anime because most anime music I’ve heard is just as epic as a main theme should be. My jazz past has definitely come in handy here, using a variety of pianos and chorded synths as well as bells to balance out the mix

The hardest and most time-consuming part of this whole thing was the editing of the vocals. It’s still a learning experience, but quite the learning experience it is. I’m getting much better at identifying wave forms and separating them but I don’t think it’s perfect as of yet. There are still many choppy areas that I at least attempted to fix by inverting a lot of the clips and removing extra noise. But it’s also the fact that this track has the most lyrics I’ve ever put into a song. One clip would often take about three and a half hours at one time. It was very tedious work, but it’s the experience gained that really makes it all worthwhile.

I don’t have too high expectations for this track but I will say it was a fun and interesting experience. Good practice. Plus, at least it sounded very close to what I had in mind. As always, thank you all for the listen, and I’m open to suggestions and reviews!

LYRICS posted on given sites

Journey Cross These Worlds (99% complete)

Only three more voice clips to edit, a total of 130 segments. Should only take a few hours if I can find time soon. I'm really ashamed actually. For ALL THE TIME I put into this one, I still don't feel it's the best work I've ever done. A lot of this time allotted was also due to the job though, you know, gotta make that rent money. That and I asked for extra hours at work so I can afford my trip to Sonic Revolution coming up. It's getting to a point where I'm gonna have to post "Too Long" in the Time Taken slot. Just like in Sonic 3D Blast, know what I mean? XD. I was hoping to have this up by now. But it'll be up real shortly. Please stay tuned

Journey Cross These Worlds (95% complete)

Editing is proving to be a toughie. There's a lot of lyrics to edit. That's no problem because it's a learning experience and practice. I've recently learned how to compress vocals to bring them out a little more smoothly. I've also been getting a deeper look at changing waveforms. My voice tends to crack here and there with how I'm singing it, but a deeper, more zoomed in look helps me control it to sound like nothing even happened. These are actually coming out better and better each time. I've learned enough now to know exactly what I'm doing. I'm very confident that the final result will be almost perfect. I don't feel like this is my best song ever, but it's still quite a step up from previous pieces. I can only realize how much things have changed, even in the simple amount of time since my comeback in 2016. 

Journey Cross These Worlds (93% complete)

Recording is finished! All that's left is editing. Hopefully I need no more retakes, but I guess I'll have to decide that as I go. Time to work that MAGIC

Morning everybody!