Nerdcore Now

3.    Specific Vocalist Guidelines

All lyrics must be original and written and performed by team vocalist(s) unless otherwise stated in a round challenge All subject matter and round challenge requirements must be met to be eligible for voting/scoring on that round No plagiarism of lyrics will be tolerated Though this is intended to be a full song-submission challenge, each submission must have at least 16 bars (one standard verse) long to be eligible for submission All lyrical content on the track must be created after the announcement of that round begins No already released content will be accepted No already completed productions prior to round start will be accepted

4.    General Track Submission Guidelines

To be eligible for participation all teams must sign up for the competition by 3/7/2015 11:59PM PST Final tracks must be submitted by 3/28/2015 11:59PM PST Tracks should be submitted at a minimum quality of 320 kbps in both .mp3 and .wav format The failure to submit both track formats will result in disqualification from the round and no judging of the track will take place

Submission for each round should include i. Team and/or Member Names ii. Title of Track iii. Lyrics

The failure to include the above will result in your track being disqualified from judging.

Tracks must meet a minimum verse length and can be no shorter than 120 seconds as a total production No track shall be released to the public outside of the VPC approved outlets during the entirety of the competition Sharing content linking back to the VPC postings of it on your own local social media is more than encouraged.

5. General VPC III Structure

This special edition round will have a four week production period. This special edition round will have a two week judging and voting period. This special edition round will be judged by two judges with crowd vote acting as a 3rd judge. All judge scores (including the aggregated fan-vote scores) will be weighted equally and average to achieve the final score for a team on each round. Scoring will be on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) Detailed feedback will be provided by the judges All judge scoring is final

Judges include: Bryce Case (YTCracker) Juan Irming (Amplitude Problem) Fan Vote

At the bear minimum the producer must appear on either 1 verse or the hook of the song.  We know some producers don’t rap, and some producers don’t sing.  Use your imagination – get creative.  You don’t have to make a 16 bar hook and you’re not limited to the effects you use.  Even the most nervous of producers can throw down a couple of bars for a hook and process the hell out of it to make it sound great.

Your vocalists can help you with lyrics.  They can ghost write for you if you want to go down that route.  We’re not limiting you, and trying to give you all the tools you need to succeed.

Producer (Vocalist Role in this challenge):  Guidelines

The vocalist must decide on the sample(s) or loop(s) to use for the beat and work closely with their producer to lay it out.  We understand that the vocalists do not have the same access to programs and equipment that the producer may.  They can choose a song that they would like you to work into a sample, work with you to create the loops for the beat, or help orchestrate a beat from scratch.  We suggest utilizing Skype, Google Hangouts and other screen sharing utilities.

The “normal” VPC producer still mixes and masters the final track.

As you see can also be considered a vocalist/producer collaboration track, and that's the key here: COLLABORATION. Work together teams.   Examples of where these aspects already exist in Nerdcore aren’t exactly available.  We’re doing the first ever VPC swap here, so you’re flying blind.  The great thing about being the first is that there are no other standards of which to judge you by.

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY [email protected] BY 11:59 PST ON DECEMBER 7TH, 2014 TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROUND.  

The subject of this track is pretty broad. The big key here is remembering that the challenge is “Teach me how to <action> and NOT Teach me about <noun>.   We’re looking to find out how to make a scrambled egg, how to rationalize a denominator, or even how to conjugate a verb in French.   It’s up to you.  Take something that you know really well, put it to music, and teach us how to do it like you do! Guidelines

Make sure that you’re focusing on teaching the judges how to do something.  We don’t want to hear a list of facts about World War II, as this is not a “teach me about…” track.  We want to hear you actively engage the judges in the teaching process.

Just because you’re teaching is something doesn't mean that the song needs to be one long verse.  Play around with choruses that work/evolve as the song progresses.

  Producer Challenge: 

While the vocalist may be attempting to educate us on things we don’t already know, the producer will show us something we don’t normally expect.  This is going to be a multi-level challenge for the producer that will force any producer out of their comfort zone.

Guidelines

The producer must create a beat outside of 4/4 time signature.  This can be in 3/4 or 6/8 or 5/8 or 7/8 or really anything other than a simple 4/4 time signature.

Changing the instrumentation as the song progresses is key.  Often times producers have the same beat on loop for every 4 to 8 bars with either a sample or instrumentation that follows the same loop.  Sometimes they might switch it up for the chorus, or add layers occasionally, however, none of this will be an option.  Whether it is an added instrument, a change in the drum beat, or a full change of instrumentation, at very least every verse should evolve at LEAST 4 times within the hook and NO chorus can be exactly the same.  Add different pieces, add effects, adjust the drums, etc, but everything must evolve as the song continues.

No Samples.  Synths are fine.  Live instruments are fine, but no sampling existing tracks.

  Example of where these aspects already exists in Nerdcore

http://moreorles.bandcamp.com/track/chili In this song More or Les teaches us how to make chili. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iunSAbA42OY Rhythm Rhyme Results – How do I (work with fractions) teaches us how to handle fractions in math. Again, please note the difference between teaching us how to DO something, and not teaching us ABOUT something.  ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY [email protected] BY 11:59 PST ON NOVEMBER 16, 2014 TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROUND.  

  Coming in at number four we have Shubzilla & Lex Lingo with their track Flow de Lis (3rd St Mix) focusing on Saint's Row as their fandom!

At number 3, Beefy & Tanner - Dear Valentine (Ender's Game)

The race was such a close one this round, ladies and gentleman.  Our runner-up track, behind by only ONE point is Team Krunktaku, consisting of KadeshFlow and Richie Branson, with their Hunter X Hunter track All Day Mix

And VPC's Round One number one track, as voted by the public and our four judges went to B.A.T. XoMilk, comprised of XoC and Milk Plus, and their track To the Finish, all about the Transformers. 

The subject of this track is pretty broad.  As long as it is truthful, rooted in who you are as a person, then it is fair game.  This can be broad, like a full telling of your youth growing up as a geek, or specific, like the day you met the love of your life.  The main goal here is to get across the details, emotions, and experience of yourself to the audience. Guidelines

Avoid spinning tall yarns.  This isn’t how you would like your life to be.  This is about how it is.  Come from the heart, come from your history or your present.  Feel free to dig deep into how you felt, what your situation was, and how you evolved, changed, or reacted as a person because of it.

Remember that this is a nerdcore competition.  This doesn’t have to be about a geeky experience but every person has them.  How Batman influenced them as a human being.  Their first convention experience.  If it isn’t about a geeky experience, don’t be shy to use comparisons, metaphors, and imagery to help better define and relay your experience that relate to geek/fan culture.

This song doesn’t HAVE to be about the struggle.  This can be a positive, up beat song.  Everyone has good days, bad days, good years, bad years, good events, bad events.  All of these add up to who you are.

Try to keep your song subject matter on point, however.  Don’t just give us a laundry list about your features as a human being.  We don’t need bullet points, we need a picture painted for us.

Producer Challenge: 

After working with your vocalist on the subject of the song, work with them to create a beat that lines up with that experience.  If you can find a shared experience or time in your lives (not necessarily shared physically) all the better.  Similar to Round 1, you’re looking to craft a beat that compliments and further relays the tale that the vocalist is telling.  This can include samples, vocal drops, sound effects, etc.

Guidelines

Both the mood and tone of the beat must match the vocalist’s subject matter.  We want there to be a reason for your melody choices, BPM, and song structure.  If the song is a journey, think about abandoning a chorus for a song comprised of movements instead.  If it is about 3 specific times of rejection from relationships, thing about returning to a hook that applies to all of them but tweaking each verse to fit the specific scenario.

The beat must be originally created for this competition.  The idea is that you’re working together to create an original piece of music that means something to the both of you and doing your best to convey that to an audience.  Sometimes the perfect beat can be found in your library to express those emotions and experiences, but more often or not it is found.

Focus on using tricks to further imagine the situation and draw the audience in further.  If it was about the first time a vocalist performed in front of an audience, think about adding background party/social noises.  If it is about a bad breakup look for vocal samples of breakup voicemails.  If it is about losing a close friend, family member, or significant other, think about societally associating noises like rain, church bells, etc. 

Discuss with your vocalist on what is working for you and what isn’t.  This is about your own ability to relate to the subject as well.  We all have histories that share similar experiences.  Use that.

Example of where these aspects already exists in Nerdcore

http://beefy.bandcamp.com/track/last-minute-gig

This song details the true experience Beefy has with last minute shows.  This is something a lot of live-booking artists can relate to. 

http://xocishungry.bandcamp.com/track/emergency-room

The heartbeat monitor worked into the beat, the early statement by the doctor, these all enter the track to help with the imagery.  We can’t speak for the authenticity of the track, but the production design integration is very solid. Again, the track doesn’t HAVE to be a sad track.  It doesn’t HAVE to be about your childhood.  It doesn’t HAVE to be about a geeky event.  These are all options; just as doing a track about working at a comic book store, if that is or was your job, or the best Christmas you ever had, are all in play. ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY [email protected] BY 11:59 PST ON OCTOBER 26th, 2014 TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROUND.