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Mass Effect 2 Composers Challenge - The Results Are In! A JWFAN 1-2!


Kevin

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Hello everyone,

 

After the success of the last Composers Challenge with a clip from the award winning video game 'Dear Esther', I have started another Composers Challenge but taking it into the science fiction/action category.

 

Mass Effect 2 is an award winning video game and a part of the most loved game sagas in history. Its mix of science fiction, action, drama and sheer epic nature makes it the perfect candidate for a challenge:

 

The scene is from the action-filled opening. I picked this scene because it allows the composer is weave together this sequence musically and be able to flex his/her musical muscles:

 

For those of you unfamiliar with this scene, our protagonist Commander John Shepard and his crew aboard the SSV Normandy are on patrol for enemies in the Terminus Sector. They come across something they were not expecting to find.

 

Do not be scared away due to the length of the scene and feel like you need to score it wall to wall. Depending on where you choose the point of where the music should start and stop, there could actually be less music in the scene than in the previous challenge of Dear Esther. But I do promise that the next Composers Challenge will have a shorter scene.

 

The deadline for this challenge is August 1st. Either the composers can:
a) upload their own entries to YouTube (but unlisted) and send me the link so I can make a playlist.
b) send me the music file (through a file sharing website), tell me where the music goes, and I can do it myself. The music file should be MP3 or equivalent.

 

It is important that the entries be anonymous. The identity of the composer videos will be announced after the voting has finished.

 

In regards to the voting, the composers, or anyone else who wants, will submit their votes/rankings by rating each entry out of 10 and also ranking each entry against each other. The two voting methods will be averaged and the top three will be announced.

 

Everyone will receive reviews on their efforts (either from other composers, members of the community or myself included). The composers of the challenge are requested to give a short review of the other works. If anyone who finishes outside of the top three wants to know how they did, then contact me. If anyone not participating in the challenge wants to be a reviewer, you are more than welcome to.

 

The prize for winning the Composers Challenge would be either one of the following (depending on the winner's preference):
a) A CD paid for by me shipped to the winner's address
b) A cash equivalent (up to $25-30 Canadian (exchange rates pending).  
c) A copy of Mass Effect 2 purchased via Steam or Origin.

 

If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please contact me at composerschallenge at hotmail dot com.

 

Best of luck to everyone and have fun!

 

Kevin

 

PS: I forgot to mention that anyone who directly plagiarizes from the original Mass Effect scores will be disqualified. Use your own voice, not someone else's.

 

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The good news is that this contest has sparked a lot of interest in at least half a dozen composers.

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I saw this thread and decided to make my own version just for fun... so no need to enter my name in your contest or anything. For the most part I ended up using some stock music I had composed a while back, mixing it with some cues I wrote this week. After seeing the cutscene, I thought that some of said music might work pretty well scored to it, at least in my opinion.

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4TAY1QZsUSYLXpJMTYwdVVvbzQ

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Thank you for this.
 

Will you join next time? Was the clip too long for you?

 

We've had a lot of people interested in the contest.

 

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I don't check my account very often, which is the main reason. I mainly like to do rescores like this for fun, or as a personal challenge. I actually do this kind of thing all the time, usually using clips from games and movies such as Halo, Star Wars, etc. However I have been on more lately, so I guess if your contest is still open I'll enter this video. Thanks!

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On 6/6/2016 at 2:33 PM, Manikin Skywalker said:

I saw this thread and decided to make my own version just for fun... so no need to enter my name in your contest or anything. For the most part I ended up using some stock music I had composed a while back, mixing it with some cues I wrote this week. After seeing the cutscene, I thought that some of said music might work pretty well scored to it, at least in my opinion.

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4TAY1QZsUSYLXpJMTYwdVVvbzQ

nice, parts of it sounded appropriately atmospheric and quite like Marty O'Donnel's work on the Halo series. was that intentional or are there just similar tricks for scoring science fiction scenes?

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22 hours ago, DarthDementous said:

nice, parts of it sounded appropriately atmospheric and quite like Marty O'Donnel's work on the Halo series. was that intentional or are there just similar tricks for scoring science fiction scenes?

Both I suppose. Halo is the main game I grew up with, so a lot of my influence for sci-fi projects like this actually do come from all of the Halo games (including 4, 5, Reach, etc.). I guess if you play a lot of sci-fi games like I do you start to kind of pick up on some similar vibes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/17/2016 at 4:47 AM, RedBard said:

Why not? I've always wanted to compose music for a sci-fi space setting.

 

I'll give this contest a whirl. ^_^

 

Great to hear!

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  • 2 weeks later...

There's little more than a week left but there's still time to join the challenge!

 

We've already had several composers submit their works.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello everyone,

 

In the end, it turned out that we have 9 wonderful entries (almost the same as last time but this clip was longer).

 

Now that the contest is closed, the voting can begin. Let me be clear, everyone (not just composers) can vote and giving feedback on the entries is highly encouraged. The comments allow each of the composers to learn from this experience.

 

For voting, you rate each entry out of 10 (one being the worst and ten being the best). At the end, the votes will be added up and the top three will be announced.

 

Composers who entered this contest: You cannot vote for your own entry.

 

Here is the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZTxpL6wfPQoZWjl9-wAAUiqxsG-PgKIK

 

These clips have been labelled for the purposes of anonymity. If you entered the contest or if you know someone who entered the contest, please do not name the entry in question or name the composer in question.

 

The deadline for voting will be August 19th. That gives you two weeks to listen to the clips and vote.

 

If you have any questions, please contact me at composerschallenge at hotmail dot com.

 

Kevin

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Please note that Entry 10 and Entry 11 were added belatedly because they were sent in before the deadline. It was my error that they were not included the first time.

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I might get round to voting for all of them eventually, however I've listened to the first three, and one of those stands head and shoulders above the other two for me.

 

Is there any possibility for the music tracks to be available separately?

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1 hour ago, Manikin Skywalker said:

Yeah I was wondering about that too. Should we PM you with out ratings?

 

5 hours ago, Sharkus Malarkus said:

Is voting done publicly or in private?

 

In private but if you want to do it publicly, you may do so.

 

6 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

I might get round to voting for all of them eventually, however I've listened to the first three, and one of those stands head and shoulders above the other two for me.

 

Is there any possibility for the music tracks to be available separately?

 

After the competition is over.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello everyone,

 

First of all, I want to thank everyone would participated in this composers challenge. We actually had more entries than with Dear Esther (even though the Mass Effect 2 was six minutes long!). That is very gratifying to see.

 

Before I announce the top three, I want to explain the voting process. People voted each entry out of 10 and then I averaged out the votes per entry to determine the winner. I have also complied all of the reviews and comments that people shared out the each entry so each composer will receive those comments from me shortly after this posting. Note: when you read them, each new number is someone else commenting on it.

 

Anyway, onto the results!

 

The winner of the Mass Effect 2 Composers Challenge is:
Entry 8 - Loert from the JWFan Message Board

 

Loert scored an average of 7.91 out of 10.

 

Second place went to Entry 1 - Manikin Skywalker from the JWFan Message Board

 

Manikin scored an average of 7.36 out of 10.

 

Third place went to Entry 2 - Alex (SkyLynx of the Filmtracks ScoreBoard)

 

Alex scored an average of 7.18 out of 10.

 

Congratulations to Loert for winning and Manikin and Alex for finishing in the top three.

 

If you did not finish in the top three but want to know where you finished, please contact me personally at composerschallenge at hotmail dot com or my personal email (if you already know it).

 

I have a few ideas of clips that I want to do for the next composers challenge. The next clip WILL BE shorter I promise than the one used for this challenge.

 

Kevin

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