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Sorry dude, have not got anything remotely finished, so am expecting to miss the deadline.  I'd request an extension, but I'm going to be away most of this week, I think I'm gonna have to miss this competition regardless.

Hopefully I'll have time to enter the next one.

Well there's 3 entries but I wouldn't mind having a bit more so I'll extend it by 5 days.
ProgZmax - something's wrong with the file. Seems it's corrupt after downloading it.

Hopefully we can get some more entries.

Possibly you should edit the main thread so the deadline extension shows up on the forum topic menu.  People might think the deadline has already passed and not enter.

PS, still trying to do a tune, but not got very far)

And ogg's don't play in Windows Media Player.

I do rate Carpenter, but Halloween never really grabbed me.  I much prefer Escape from New York and Escape from LA!!!! And Dark Star is a classic.

And I've not forgiven him for that rather terrible 'Ghosts of Mars.'

Hi dude!

I'll try and sort something out, if the deadline gets extended then I might have chance, but I'm fairly busy at the mo.

By the way, according to IMDB, apparently Halloween was actually '78, although thats probably just the US release date - it probably had a staggered release in other parts of the world. 

So, we're looking late 70's horror, well, I'll try and come up with a short and reasonably creepy tune, but as I said, I'm struggling for time. 

And everyone else, c'mon people, lets get see if we can get a few more entries going here. 

The film buff in me felt the need to scout the horror films that actually came out in 1979 on the internet movie database, have to say I don't really think it was a vintage year myself!

Notable films, or rather, films that I have seen, include Alien - although thats as much sci fi as it is horror, Phantasm - influencial in its day but has not dated well, The Amityville Horror, which was something of a victory of hype over quality, The Driller Killer - a cult classic, but in reality a pretty bad excuse for tons of fake blood and gore!

Other 'interesting' films from that year included;

Zombi 2 - aka 'Island of Flesh Eaters!' 
When a Stranger Calls
Nocturna - aka 'Grand-Daughter of Dracula!'
Cat and the Canary
Thirst
Killer Fish - aka 'Deadly Treasure of the Piranha!'

And winning the best title award;

Weasals Rip my Flesh!

Lowest rated film in the list was 'The Capture of Bigfoot' which averaged a vote of 1.4 out of a possible 10, as voted for by over 200 people, making it officially most of the worst films in living history, according to The Internet Movie Database!  This has sparked my curiousity - I get the feeling this film may be so awful it will be worth watching for a bit of a giggle.  Anyone seen it??? 

With regards to the tune contest, just saying 1979 horror film is a little vague.  Horror soundtracks have always shared a few key themes over the years, spooky orchestral pieces, for example, will never go out of fashion, so can't really be pinned down to an exact year or even a group of years. 

I'm guessing you picked '79 as the synthesizer was starting to work its way into horror films a lot more, although in my opinion, the early 80's slasher pics are the ones I most distictly associate with the cheezy synth sounds I think you're talking about.  Although I could be mistaken.

However, I'm afraid its a little academic for me, I doubt I'm going to get time to enter this one, which is a pity.  I've got some really awful 80's virtual synths for my sequencer! Nevermind, maybe next time.

sounds like a plan.

I guess thats up to Oracle!

Hi everyone!

Ok, 4 fine entries, was hoping for one or two more but its a busy time of year!

Right, feedback!

deFineLicht - Bad Mother*******

Well, this is musically probably my favourate peice, and at just over 2 mins, its the longest tune submitted.  Alas, while I really like the atmosphere and the melodies, I didn't feel it conveyed any element of Bad-guy-ness.  I could envisage it as the title music to a film or game, it was a very deep and fairly emotive tune, but definately not evil. 

oracle - Devils Dance

Haunting, more than a hint of evil, but fairly subtle.  Would make good atmosphere in a horror film, certainly.  At 1.36, its very short, and somewhat minimalist, but it did sound evil and it did have a defined melody.

boojiboy - Badguys

Dark, gritty, haunting electronic noises and industrial rhythms underpin this tune, but at 1.25, its over before it gets going.  Scores highly on mood and atmosphere, but at the point it ends - well, thats the point I was expecting a defining melody to come in and make this tune.  Alas, it wasn't there.

biothlebop - Professor Midwinter.

It begins in a flurry of oscillating synths and a drum loop, accentuated by off the wall percussion, and there is a main melodic theme, but its impact is somewhat lost as its buried fairly low in the mix.  At one minute and 4 seconds, theres barely time for it to register in the brain before it fades out.  No major variations or suprises or moments of drama, and not very descriptive to the ear, I felt this would make suitable background music to detailed visuals, but again, not really evil enough to bring an on-screen bad guy to life. 

And so, the result...

3rd.  deFineLicht

Ok, so it wasn't evil, but in my opinion it was a really good composition.  It certainly was a major step up in terms of professional quality from your entry last time, I really do like the emotion and feeling of it. I felt it deserved some honours, even if it didn't win.

2nd. boojiboy

A great beginning which promised a lot, you were miles in front of the competition after I'd listened to the first 30 seconds, but couldn't quite take it on to the evil depths I was hoping for.

1st. oracle

Well done dude.  While I wasn't keen on some of the instruments used, and again, I would have liked a bit more of it, and one or two extra elements, I felt that the choice of chords and melody were the best example of evil in any of the entries. You'd better get on and give us a kickass competition for Christmas!

Thanks to everyone who entered, really nice work, I look forward to competing with you all in the next one. 

Hooray! a fourth entry!

Ok, I'll admit it was probably not the brightest idea to demand evil just before Christmas : , but I'm pleased we have a few responses!

Right, cut off date will be tomorrow, when I eventually get home, which I think is going to be after 11pm Uk time.  Hopefully I'll be greeted by at least one more entry(c'mon!) I'll then listen once more to all the tracks, then dish out the prizes and feedback!

A big thanks to everyone who has already submitted a track!

Yay! Thats a relief, we have at least enough entries to hand all the prizes out! But c'mon, lets have a few more.

Please!  8)

C'mon guys, we can get a few more! I know its Christmas, but I'm sure I can feel a wave of creativity about to flourish! 

Hello Oracle,

many thanks for entering, hopefully we'll have a bit of a rush of entries soon.

Jaws, there are literally loads of Free VSTi's that do bass sounds - my advice is to have a butchers at this forum,

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum

Its for a UK based music mag, but the forum has lots of technical areas where you'll be able to get good advice.Ã,  Plus, there is actually a very helpfull thread on where to find lots of free goodies.Ã, 

Synth bass sounds are rarely sound as convincing as a real bass guitar, and a lot of the free VSTi's you'll find will be aimed more at dance music, but I'm sure you'll find a few good ones in there somewhere.

Hello Ed,

Well done mate, good to have an early response.Ã,  Hopefully lots of others will follow.Ã, 

I'll do a full write-up at the end on all of the tunes that get submited.

many thanks

Howdy Jaws,

As a fellow self-taught guitarist, I empathise. 

I'd say this contest is probably a little more difficult than it sounds, it can be approached from many angles. 

Myself, I reckon I would start by envisaging the baddie I was trying to represent, maybe even draw a sketch or something.  Alternatively, maybe trying random bits of music over an existing movie with the sound muted, trying to capture some essence of the characters on screen. 

With regards to the instruments, sometimes a tune needs a vast array of instrumentation, sometimes the whole thing can be perfectly summed up on one - big is good, but sometimes less is more. 

The one thing I'd be almost willing to bet on is that a dark, minor key might be essential. Possibly?

As I said, these are just my thoughts, its not really an issue as I'm not allowed to enter as its my competition!  None of the above are rules, just open suggestions.  A clever musician will make their own rules...

At the end of the competition, I'll be primarily judging it on the feelings the tunes inspire rather than how technical or vast or impressive they are.

Good luck everyone

Hey people!

Without further ado, here is the new tune contest!

I've elected to go with the title 'Baddie Theme.'

In films and a lot of computer games, whenever the baddie is introduced, or if he kills a major character, or does anything remotely evil, etc, his actions are underpinned by a recurring theme tune to heighten the effect.

Perhaps one of the most notable examples is the Imperial March in Starwars, which always pops up before the Vader does anything nasty!

A bad guy theme can also vary depending on the action - say, if your bad guy is merely lurking or stalking around, then it might be subdued, but if he's violently inflicting a horrible death on a group of victims, then the music will probably be loud, aggressive and dramatic.Ã,  You can do a subdued or dramatic theme, or even you could mutate one into the other.Ã, 

I'll not impose to many restrictive rules on this - I'd like there to be one definative and distinctive melody line/phrase that sums the character up, and probably pops up a few times during the composition, but you're not limited to just sticking to it, you can explore other areas then reprise it further on.Ã,  Above all, there must be a clear sinister undercurrent running at all times.Ã, 

There's big scope for the instrumentation on this, obviously, Starwars went for the full orchestra approach, villians in Bond movies often get creepy guitar accompanyment, but almost any instrument can be made to sound sinister if you experiment.Ã, 

Finally, when you post your tune, it might be fun if you tell us what sort of baddie you imagine you're describing with it.Ã, 

Here's the prizes...

1st. The Gold Baddie - Who will probably be the most evil creature in the known universe!

2nd. The Silver Baddie - Close, but not quite evil enough.

3rd. The Bronze Baddie - Still pretty damn evil, but not in the same league as the above.


Good luck dudes!

Yay! I wasn't expecting to win on my debut!  Thanks very much, and well done to everyone else for making it a close competition!

Right, I understand its tradition for me to come up with the concept for the next one.  Well, I'll get thinking about it today (while I'm supposed to be working!) and when I get home I'll post the new competition.

Thanks again everyone!

Jim

Allrighty then!

Here's my first ever entry in the tunes compo! Sci/Western eh? Insane!

right, here is the link to the tune;

http://www.clockworksniper2.co.uk/music/yeehaw.mp3

I chose a suitably western title!

Unfortunately I didn't get to work on this at my studio, I had to use my crummy PC and a sequencer at home, so this was produced under some severe limitations!

My original idea was based on some film I saw ages ago.  I can't for the life of me remember the title, but it was an extremely tacky Sci Fi / Western, it started off all Cowboys and The Wild West, then it went surreal and spacey somehow, I can vaguely remember a gunfight between Cowboys and green aliens!  I recall I was somewhat under the influence at the time, hence the hazy recollections, however the one thing I remember clearly, cos it was the only good bit about the film, was the way the soundtrack was constructed.

At the start of the film, it had a very traditional, typical western type theme, but as the film got more spaced out, they used the same chord progressions and melodies, but adapted them onto spacey synths and stuff, and played around with the tempo and rhythm.  So this is the sort thing I attempted.

It starts all spaghetti western, I came up with the melody line on an acoustic guitar, then worked out some chords to go underneath. The great thing about classic 1960's Westerns is that the melodies in them are quite similier to 1960's surf rock, and I love playing that sort of stuff.  I was originally planning to record real guitar parts, but as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't get to the studio, so I used the really bad banjo midi sound in my sequencer!  I used a vocal synth for the chord backing and programmed some galloping type percussion underneath, to try and get that typical western intro type feel.  I underpinned that with some repeating bassdrums.  The bassline was originally an umpah type thing, and while it sounded very funny, it didn't exactly have the feel I wanted, so I tried to make it follow the galloping rhythm, however it came out a bit more 'mambo' than I would have liked!

Then the Sci-fi bit kicks in and it all goes a bit strange!  As with that film I saw, I kept the original chord progressions, but sped it all up a little and introduced some trippy synths, then re-interpreted the main melody on a monosynth, with lots of chaotic pitch bending.  I would have loved to have used my theramin plugin on my studio PC, but alas again, I had to make do with what I had! 

The Sci-fi bit also brings in some rock drumming, and it starts to speed up as the tune reaches a finale, then it winds down right at the end before the fade.

The overall sound is a bit messy and quite cheesey, I had to use unhealthy amounts of reverb to make some of the midi synths sound a bit more convincing, and I had to limit the B'jesus out of it to make the mix a bit louder, but I'm well happy with the finished result.  It slips from Fist full of Dollars to Muse-type space rock inside 2 minutes!

Hope you dudes like it!

Ok! I'm seriously thinking of having a go at this.

Can someone confirm, are we allowed to create the tune using any means at our disposal, its not just limited to midi tunes? 

I ask this cos I think I'm on an unfair playing field here, I run a small DIY/Hobbie music studio! I was intending to create a tune using digital drum tracks, midi/virtual synths and real recorded guitar parts, is this allowed?

Its by no means certain that I'll produce the best tune, there are some talanted people on here! And anyway, its not as if I'm a competent enough AGS user to enter the game competitions yet, I don't have time to enter the writing comp, and I'm crap at art so won't enter the arty compos!

I'll be submitting my tune within the next week or so!

Ah nuts! Sorry guys, I didn't realise I needed another closing brace.  It makes sense now, theres an opening one on the function line, then I added another opening one for my command, however, theres a closing one already there at the end of the function, I took it for granted that was all I needed!

Many thanks for sorting that out for me!