ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Twenty Years]

I didn't hear click...
Felt weird having a harp do the melody with all that powerful brass behind it, but it's still nifty.
Happy Closer-To-Death Day.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Coincidentally, I just listened to and reviewed your newest upload.

Oh yes, I agree, the harp sounds very odd in combination with the rest of the instruments. I started with the harp, then added the rest, and was too lazy to do anything about all that was wrong. This was just a spoofy upload :p
I hear a click every time the loop loops, but how well it can be heard depends on what you're using to listen through (headphones, etc..)

Thanks a lot dude!

[Toy Kingdom]

Oh waltzing! That's lovely. Your instrument choice is perfect and the overall mixing is pretty balanced. I feel that the musicality of it could be worked on more. It is akin to a waltz mood, but it would fall more into the flow if there was a contrasting theme to make us want the return of the original theme brought by the flute. Modulating upwards does help to build up energy, but hearing that same main theme so many times becomes tiresome. In the time between the building up and right before the end where it slows down, I think the injection of contrasting material could work very well. I also think I heard the rhythms weren't completely in-sync with each other, so it felt like instruments were lagging behind each other. Aside from that, you did a pretty nice job. I'm biased towards music that waltzes, but I feel there's not too much of it that goes on, or at least cinematic types like this. Good work!

LawnReality responds:

Thank you for your commentary! :D
I do think that I got lazy with this track, unfortunately. I got tired and didn't really spend much time polishing.
As for the out of sync rhythms, I'll be honest, I hadn't even thought about it until your comment. I'll be careful of that in the future. Thanks again!

[Piece for Piano and Cello]

This is a really nice little mood-setter. The background rain was nice context for this piece, but removing that ambience would give the song a more neutral stance and versatile use. Your instrument library sounded fantastic, though those additional strings at the end were just a hint cheesy lol. I would have really enjoyed the trio of piano, cello, and trumpet. I mean, when the trumpet came in, it added a new flavor to the mood that was really enjoyable, but then it all fell together quickly. Plus, that sort of trio is a very interesting instrumentation to me. Overall, a great work for emotion, and I think I do hear what you mean about being lazy with mixing hahahaha. Nice job!

Basset-Hound responds:

Hey Thanks for the review :)
The rain serves for the mood as well as for cover up for lazy mixing, you can really hear the recording noise when I overdubbed 4 cello's and 2 trumpets at the same time with a sensitive microphone.

I also really like the combination of Piano/Cello, Piano/Trumpet. It sounds like a really stripped down version of an orchestra.

Its also funny how you say the strings at the end felt cheesy since those where the only strings that where "fake". Perhaps that was a lazy choice as well.

Thanks for the review! :)

[I Don't Want These Cells]

I want these cells. But if I ever see that genre written anywhere else I will scrape a chalkboard.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Ah-hahaha.

[Fun Teacher]

Nothing but girls? Awwww look at youuuu. But...I'm not sure I understand the tricky surprise? Anyways, nice loop with a nice mood. I do agree I wish it could have gone on just a little longer at least. To me, it wasn't quite a good spot to have created the loop, something to die off of that climax to then reawaken the beginning would have been better. Buuut yeah it's still all cool. Neat that you're a teacharrr

Bosa responds:

Indeed. Maybe I should have made it a bit longer, yeah?

[My First Showdown]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

Being a string of voices, it was sometimes confusing knowing what voice was which. The plot was a little questionable and its pacing was a bit slow. I’m sure that’s part of the farce, but I think it could have been executed better. Your vocal range was pretty good, but the fact that you were doing multiple voices for almost the same type of character made it kind of dry. It was also almost at the same emotional level the entire time. Random side note, I really love that singing at the end and how you say shut up during it ahahahahaha. Anyways, I think the main thing this entry needed was more emotional levels and an easier plot for the audience to grab onto more instantly. Otherwise, it’s a pretty good piece with a couple of very definitive voices. Nice work!

Jakoshi responds:

I'll take all the criticism I can get. It's hard juggling this and taking 15 hours of college courses with 3 studio classes, so it was a bit more rushed than it should have been. I'll even admit that this isn't the best demonstration of these voices, and I should only submit my best. But you clearly indicated areas that need work, which is duly noted and greatly appreciated. In the mean time I'll practice and take into account these tips. Thanks!

[First Time Rule Breaker]

VAC 11 Judge Review:

You sound like an alternative Tara Strong, I was reminded of that especially when you did that Seth voice. I laughed at how it immediately cut off at the end. Good plot, not too new but you still executed it with some twists and still made it funny. Your acting was also very good, the voices you did for the hall monitors made them sound like a dynamic duo of sorts, with Jade being a defining third voice. Perhaps the dynamic duo was also a negative point as the two sounded similar and had similar spunky personalities. To be critical, when Paige and Jade began all the business at the boy’s bathroom, I was just a little confused as to how Ms. Harvey was still there? Aside from that, the entirety of this entry was really quite well done. Simply the audio for a cartoon short. Excellent work!

ech0tan responds:

Heheh. You know, I've been hearing that a lot, about the script not being very original. I wrote about seven other scripts and decided on this one sepcifically for its simplicity and originality hoping it would intrigue the audience, so these reports of sounding and seeming like other scripts has probably been the biggest blow for me, darn. Perhaps if I had made it a junior high school on Io, gave all of them alien names, made the hall pass an organic microchip, and had them hide in a fat man's belly button instead of the utility closet? lol. My biggest fear however, was having Paige and Seth sound too close to each other, despite my strenuous efforts here it seems my lack of ability and experience really showed in this situation. I will be sure to keep an ear out for too similar of nuances in the future. Thank you for all of your feedback. It was very helpful. I'll be sure to apply it to my future projects!