NGADM13 unofficial ranking list round 3

I'm a musician. Check out my band Botsing. I also make music for games, animations, short films, vlogs, etc and I write scripts, record sound effects, animate and voice act.

Bart van Zon @SourJovis

Age 39, Male

Netherlands

Joined on 8/14/12

Level:: 60
Exp Points:: 45,912 / 100,000
Exp Rank:: 177
Vote Power:: 10.01 votes
Audio Scouts: 7

Rank:: Sup. Commander
Global Rank:: 48
Blams:: 4,656
Saves:: 91,197
B/P Bonus:: 60%

Whistle:: Deity

Trophies:: 7
Medals:: 2,313
Supporter:: 3y 1d

NGADM13 unofficial ranking list round 3

Posted by SourJovis - September 19th, 2013

So here it is; the NGADM13 unofficial ranking list round 3. And the thread for the third round of the competition.

1. steampianist---------9.54 W
2. JacobCadmus----------9.27 W
3. Kor-Rune-------------9.25 W
4. SoundChris-----------9.20 L
5. InYourDreams---------9.09 W
6. etherealwinds--------9.04 W
7. headphoamz-----------8.94 W
8. garlagan-------------8.66 L
9. johnfn---------------8.59 W
10. InvisibleObserver---8.39 W
11. midimachine---------8.33 L
12. ChronoNomad---------8.26 L
13. dj-Jo---------------8.00 L
14. Wolftacular---------7.51 L
15. SourJovis-----------6.90 L

Didn't make it this time. As a matter of fact I'm the lowest ranking loser. Not such a spectacular exit as highest ranking loser. Neither as nice as lowest ranking winner. I pass on that stick to InvisibleObserver.

This means I'll remain a B rank musician on NG for now. I got quite lucky to make it this far. Seeing contestants with higher scores than me got eliminated as early as the first round. This loss wasn't unexpected either. When I finished the song I already had the feeling it wasn't suited for the contest. Still I'm disappointed. It'd be better to just beat everyone.

Talking about the song I submitted. I actually get more and more content with it. It wasn't as "epic" as the other songs, but to be honest I got quite tired of these songs that were clearly intended to "outdo" the rest. It's no longer about making nice sounding music, but more about showing off. Nothing against all of the songs I've heard during this competition. They were all impressive and diverse. Still I wanted some resting points in the playlist. Something that wasn't demanding so much attention. I think my entry was exactly such a song. Not only was it what I wanted to hear, but also what I needed to compose. I've been listening to a lot of minimal music of artists who are well respected. I don't claim to be as good as they are, but I don't think their music would get them far in contests such as these. Still you can't say their music is bad, considering their fan bases. I actually think it's the same with my entry. It is what it is. I knew I wouldn't win, but I don't think there was much to improve on the song. The judges didn't have much to comment either. All the negative points they gave were just things that would make me "score higher" if I changed them, but not make the song "better". Sure it's short, but so are Wim Mertens' songs. Sure the accompaniment is minimal and stays the same, but so is that of Yann Tiersen's most respected songs. It could be "developed more"... I think I really shouldn't. That would take away its essence.

So I got a song out of this contest I'm content with even though it had a low score. The previous song that had a higher score I'm happy about too, and in that instance the critique actually helped. I've made a second version of the song where I implemented much of the comments, and I think it became better. The first entry I liked actually better than the second (although it had a lower score), though it has more imperfections than the third (even though it had a higher score) (so the song that scored lowest is the one I want to change least, and the one that scored highest is the one that I changed most). I would want to use more powerful live guitars and a different vocalist. Other than that, I think it's fine.

So I made a lot of excuses why it doesn't say that much I got low scores and why I'm out. I must admit though my music composing isn't perfect. I'm still improving. If I listen to songs I made a year ago I think I've improved a lot. Next year I'll have improved my skills and I'll be better prepared. Of course I can still be eliminated in the first round with a 9 against a 10 or whatever, but we'll see.

Good luck to everyone who's still in the competition.

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stunkel 2013-09-19 19:33:22

You did great man!

SourJovis 2013-09-19 19:33:22

Thanks! Glad you think so!

ChronoNomad 2013-09-19 21:15:17

We both fought hard and tanked in this round. I personally feel that your Round 3 entry deserves better than a 6.9, and it kind of felt like some of the judges were particularly harsh this go-around. Anyway, consider me a fan and keep right on doing what you're doing! What matters most is that you enjoy it and find a good home for the music.

SourJovis 2013-09-19 21:15:17

Indeed we did. Thanks. I liked your song. You had the misfortune to come up against an opponent who scored very high in each round. I didn't think your song was less good though, but putting a number on work like this isn't really my style. If people just make the song they want and manage to express their thoughts or feelings that's all that matters. Not whether one song is better than the other. Competitions like this motivate you to make new songs. It's a good way to get exposure, comments, and get to know other musicians. The average score was pretty high this round I think. But the judges were probably harsher yes. With this much talent they have to create clarity about who they think is better. Many go a lower mark than they would've in previous rounds, others higher. I'll just keep on making music I want. You do the same. Music stays better that way.

Satyre 2013-09-20 16:31:45

Well you are one of the best in the Top15 of the music artist on newgrounds. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? ;P You did a great job.

SourJovis 2013-09-20 16:31:45

Thanks. You know, since Newgrounds is "everything by everyone" I might as well say I'm in the top 15 of the world ;P

Wolftacular 2013-09-20 20:44:15

I feel you completely, man. The explanation I had for it was that the judging was clearly biased towards a cliche style of writing and maybe even a small community of people who know each other in the audio forum. I wouldn't go as far as claiming that, though. It'd be too wild a claim, especially because I had probably never ever gone into the audio forum before. But the cliche thing and what you said about people just trying to show off are most definitely true.

I was actually going to write a rant about it a while ago, but first I didn't want to because I didn't want some sort of judge grudge (lol) against me, and after I lost, I figured it'd look as me bitching about losing. In the worst case scenario, you're competing for what a certain group of people like the most, but if you think of the bright side, you'll realize that you got pretty far and thus really impressed these people considering they aren't fans of what you like to hear and write. Now imagine how much people who ARE in tune with your preferences would like what you write c:

SourJovis 2013-09-20 20:44:15

The judges try to be very objective, so it wouldn't be nice to accuse them of being biased. Music is so subjective though, there must be biases of sorts. I was accused of making thin mixes. Maybe it's true. Personally I think my music sounds better, than many of the loud ones. You just have to turn up the volume. But when you have to judge up to 64 songs you don't turn the volume up and down all the time so the loud compressed songs sound better than the quiet neutral ones. I think it's that kind of bias you'll always keep.
Ranting will most likely turn against you. Even if you have good points. I didn't mean this to come off as a rant. The people who are still in are pretty good and they deserved their victories. I'm happy to have gotten this far. I've taken part in many competitions over the past year, and they made me think. Creating a song for a competition is quite a different experience, than creating something you feel like. It's less about expressing yourself. More about impressing the judges, and showing off what you can do. That should be said.
The upside of competitions is they're nice opportunities to get to know some new musicians and to let others hear my music. During competitions I always get the most new fans. Hopefully some who are in tune with what I make.

Step 2013-09-21 09:32:04

You make good points, and I felt obliged to respond to what you're saying because I try my best to make sure competitors get a good experience from the competition so I get bummed when I see people who are disappointed it.

I see what you mean about the competition forcing people to make a standout track with huge amounts of effort and demanding a lot of attention. I'm not going to try and deny it, because it's true, but I am going to try and defend that reasoning. We as judges cannot do otherwise. We can't judge how well you expressed yourself in a track, or give you bonus points for making a minimal track that's a nice break from all the behemoth tracks in the contest.

We judge how good certain factors in a track are - the composition, instrumentation, structure, transitions, production, and any other things that might impress. Then, we give a score based on how good those things are. It's what any other contest would do.

Don't forget that we're comparing tracks here, so giving a quality track with 1 minute and a half of content a higher score than a track of similar quality that's a full four minutes and has dynamics and mood changes and all that... it wouldn't really make sense or be fair. The latter would simply provide a more fulfilling listening experience. So yeah, I agree with you that making music for contests is going to be different than just making anything you feel like making.

However, I try to make sure that there's as little bias as possible. We have SEVEN judges from all sorts of backgrounds. On top of that, I make sure that the judges give reviews explaining their score. I think it's a lot fairer than just leaving people who lost in the dark about why they lost and what they could've done to improve their chances.

So yeah, I really don't think I can do much more than that to remove bias and improve the judging system. Just as another testament that we don't have bias towards certain genres or groups of people, take a look at the four winners of previous NGADMs: Blackhole12, Buoy, ProudAardvark and Kor-Rune. All different genres; Techno, Ambient/Jazz, Orchestral, and Metal. Some (Kor-Rune and ProudAardvark) weren't even that well-known in the forums or among the judges, and ended up winning.

Anyway, if you have any points the contest can improve on, I'd love to hear them. Also, thanks once again for the ranking list!

SourJovis 2013-09-21 09:32:04

Thanks for your input. I agree with the points you make.

The problems I have regarding to competitions are personal. Not everybody has them. They have been building up gradually because 90% of the songs I made the last 8 months are for competitions. The only songs that do well are those with a "wow" factor, and I just can't get myself to make those kinds of songs all the time. I might need a break from competitions for a while. Or I'll have to handle things differently next persiod. I need to think about it.

Thanks for hosting the competition. I don't see how you could've done a better job. Don't worry about what you can't change. Good luck with the rest of the competition.

NGADM13 unofficial ranking list round 3

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