Walrus Walrus: The Movie

Ampharos

Ampharos

tag walls, punch fascists
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
In a world where blah blah blah this is cliche and I'm lazy let's just get to the music

WALRUS: THE MOVIE

look at this terrifying thing i found when i googled "walrus movie"​

The Categories
1. Exposition
To properly tell a story, a good film must first establish what everyday life is like for the protagonist before the plot begins. I want a song that tells me a story - more than that, however, I want a song that tells me SOMEBODY's story. I want to come away from this song and feel confident that I know a fair bit about the character of the subject.

Examples: Jethro Tull - Aqualung || Vulfpeck - Animal Spirits

2. Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is the point where the plot kicks in, where the narrative bursts into action, the event that provides the protagonist with their motivation and drives them throughout the rest of the film. I want a song that EXPLODES - start small, then burst out, big time. Anything with a sudden increase in speed, intensity, or instrumentation works just fine.

Examples: Slash - Anastasia (ft. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators) || Muse - New Born

3. Act I Break
At the Act I break, the hero has left their comfort zone and is journeying into the unknown. This is where the plot TRULY begins - as such, I'd like a song that screams "introduction", a song that heralds the beginning of some grand adventure. What kind of adventure, and thus how you approach this category, is up to you.

Examples: Rush - Fly By Night || RADWIMPS - Zenzenzense

4. Fun and Games
The early part of Act II is often referred to as the "Fun and Games" section of the film, as the stakes are often still low enough for the hero and their companions to engage in comical, often episodic antics. Give me song that's fun - anything upbeat will work. Perhaps something wild and energetic, perhaps something more tight and bouncy, perhaps something laid-back and grooving. All of these are valid interpretations.

Examples: Ripe - Caralee || WALK THE MOON - Shut Up And Dance

5. Midpoint
At the midpoint, the hero typically suffers some sort of defeat. The stakes are raised, the hero's main flaw becomes painfully evident, and the movie often hits an emotional low. Here, I'd like a song that screams "defeat" - something with plenty of raw, negative emotion. Anger, frustration, melancholy, whatever. This is your time to let it all out.

Examples: San Fermin - Emily || Edison Glass - This House

6. Act II Break
The Act II break is when the hero must steel their resolve. The final battle approaches, and they have to be prepared. Perhaps a plan of some sort is involved, or perhaps the hero simply needs to get their emotions and feelings in check - either way, it's a high stress time. I'd like a song that carries some sort of foreboding - Act III is coming, and that's a big deal. The stakes are higher than ever. This next battle will probably be the last. Make me feel what our protagonist is probably feeling.

Examples: The Mars Volta - Televators || Ruby Rose Fox - Rock Bottom

7. Climax
This is it - the final battle. No holds barred, anything goes. This big, climactic clash decides the fate of whatever the protagonist cares about. It may be a physical battle or a metaphorical one, but it's a big deal either way. The keyword here is "intensity". Something harsh, driving, powerful. The hero is laying it all on the line, and this song conveys just how serious and intense things have become.

Examples: Radio Birdman - Descent Into The Maelstrom || Mutemath - Electrify

8. Resolution
And just like that, we did it. The evil is defeated, the demons have been vanquished, the hero has grown and changed, and the plot finally reaches its resolution. The type of song I'm looking for here is one that provides closure. There's no need for anything to follow this - the conclusion of this song is the conclusion, period. It's kind of hard to describe what that sounds like, so here's a tip: album closers are typically GREAT at this.

Examples: tricot - Oyasumi || alt-J - Matilda

9. Overture
The centerpiece to any film's score, this is a big, bombastic piece that encapsulates the grand feeling of the film's narrative, and usually runs over the credits as well as recurring throughout the film. Give me something big, brash, and bold - the more blatantly in-your-face, the better. Sum up, in however many minutes, the core of the film, and do it as un-subtly as possible.

Examples: Earth, Wind, and Fire - September || Gustav Holst - The Planets - Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity


About the 'rein:
Genres I like:
-Classic rock - primarily stadium or prog-type stuff
-The extremely broad alt/indie/garage umbrella
-Hard rock
-Funk/Disco
-Metal - primarily [instrumental] prog w/ a dash of classic/power metal

I'm picky with rap - prefer clean and precise flow, chill beats intense, thoughtful lyrics help. Picky with pop too - should still be interesting on a lyrical, rhythmic, or instrumental level, darker tone helps. Country will do poorly. Bluegrass will do okay but not great. Classical is a crapshoot - fast and bombastic beats slow and melodic.

In general: energetic beats contemplative, technical complexity beats textural complexity, maximalistic beats minimalistic. "Subtle" is a terrible word to describe music I like. Instrumentation and musicality does a lot for me. I have a well-documented love for brass instruments, but I'm also a sucker for a sick bassline or a solo of any kind.

No-nos: Excessive "droning", consistently and overly harsh vocals. Well-executed dissonance is fine but be cautious. Any song that gives me a headache (it's happened) gets capped at (whatever the lowest non-0 score I have is).


Scoring:
TBD and entirely dependent on the number of submissions I receive. This will be hosted across Smogon, MU, and POG again, so I anticipate quite a few.

Submission deadline:
Submissions are due by 11:59 PM CST on Friday, December 1st. Special note for Smogon walrus hopefuls: ALL submissions must be in by this deadline. Due to time constraints, I'm going to be doing a significant chunk of judging as subs come rolling in, so I don't have time to worry about chasing down submissions week after week. Whatever I have December 2nd is what I'm judging.

Contenders (BOLD indicates completed submission)
bluedoom (Smogon)
Myzozoa (Smogon)
KnightsOfCydonia (Smogon)
Steven Snype (Smogon)
SketchUp (Smogon)
RODAN (Smogon)
Isa (Smogon)
Robert Alfons (Smogon)
Aladyyn (Smogon)
Lord Gaius (Serene's Forest)
Da Letter El (Smogon)
shubaka17 (Smogon)
Granny Pie (Smogon)
Martin (Smogon)
Asek (Smogon)
Slurmz (Smogon)
Lil Bean (Serene's Forest)
lute (Mafia Universe)
Champ (Mafia Universe)
Zack (Mafia Universe)
Fable (Mafia Universe)
Adam (Mafia Universe)
 
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Ampharos

Ampharos

tag walls, punch fascists
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
UPDATE

I figured out how I'm gonna do scoring.

Scores will be on a 0-100 scale, with up to one digit after the decimal point. A five-point bonus will be applied to scores of 80 or higher. A ten-point bonus will be applied to scores of 90 or higher. Additionally, there will be a five-point bonus for any song I've never heard before.

I've also received multiple requests for a list of banned artists. As such, here you go:
Rush (Moving Pictures and earlier)
Vulfpeck
Queen
Boston
San Fermin
Barenaked Ladies
The Beatles
Foo Fighters
Franz Ferdinand
The Heavy
Jethro Tull
Muse
Phoenix
The Police
tricot
Tenacious D
Weezer
The White Stripes
alt-J
Caught a Ghost
Caravan Palace
Sithu Aye
Strawberry Girls
Giraffes? Giraffes!
Daft Punk


If you submitted one of these artists, I'll give you a heads up so you can change your entry ASAP.
 
HeaLnDeaL

HeaLnDeaL

Let's Keep Fighting
is an Artistis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnus
I want to be in, but not to be in. That is to say I want to participate in your walrus at an artistic level. I want to challenge your walrus, to step on its cracks and stretch it thin. I want to transform it from the inside out. What if a walrus was more than a walrus? What if a Walrein was more than a walrus host? What if my submissions were more than my taste, more than the categories, and what if you taste was more than your taste? Could we create a new experience, could we create a dialogue that was art? Or is this all just a silly game, is a portrayal of taste just to be displayed in a unilinearity that conforms, or can it be a portrayal that expands?

Is the reveal more than a collection of ranked objects and does the gathering instigate the social forces that tie together a shared experience? What if a walrus was literally submitted to a walrus's category; do nested layers of a walrus within a walrus reveal or mask these social forces? Surely a walrus is about music but isn't it equally not about music? Can more than music ever be judged in a walrus? What of a music video; does the video have any impact on the scoring? How can the current bot technology ever faithfully play a video if one is deemed necessary to be played simultaneously with the sound art? Is the shared experience all about this sound art, or is the shared experience itself a valuable ingredient in the overall process? Are we to share a piece of our histories, a piece of our music for the host's own sake? Is the host then sharing back the collection of songs and rankings for the sake of the audience? Or is the reveal just another spectacle, a force that aims to superimpose the culture upon the society by reinforcing what is the good music within the society of Walrein?

But no, this cannot be the case, can it? Yes, the walrus extends in history beyond Circus Maximus, but is it still not indebted to the land of the game, the land of antagonism within relational aesthetics, between social beings? Our games are about relations and the struggles of forces that are made visible by these relationships. These struggles culminate in strategy and these strategies further legitimize the game as a worthwhile, active system of events. But within the walrus, the struggles are different (than in mafia, than in poker, than in what we think of as social/psychological games) if not altogether removed and replaced with a new force. A wall is broken, the host not only creates the structure for the interactions but the interactions locate around the focal point of the host before radiating out within the reveal. If we analyze the level of "play" within the walrus, the players privately play with themselves while searching for submissions, then submit (maybe or maybe not according to the hosts taste). The next level of antagonism is for the host alone; the host is forced to listen to the submissions. Sure, many will be cool, many will challenge the horizons of the host's musical taste and offer glimpses of beautiful new worlds, but many will be dissapointing. The host takes the nugget of the player's self, listens, judges, grapples. But then what of the reveal? We've had two relatively private acts, two private modes of play with the player's submission and the host's judging, but all of a sudden an explosion of social connections occur in real time. The player learns not only of his/her ranking, but also gains a piece of the hearts of his/her fellow players with their submissions. To some it might become an antagonistic me-vs-them, my song has to do better than so-or-so, but to others the experience is of opening the eyes (ears) and being able to see (hear) what the host saw (heard) but draw different conclusions in this shared zone of experience. Or perhaps its more likely to say that the antagonism and the opening up are mutually in play.

The walrus phenomenon poses many such question to me and provokes many such thoughts. I am unsure where these ideas will take me, but I believe my brain is still in it for another walrus, if I don't entirely flake out. I am very interested in pursuing this Walrus and I will submit at least one time (maybe not even for the first cat). Real life commitments will prevent me from exploring everything I want to explore, however.
 
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