Judges Panel

For information on the evaluation criteria used by the judges panel, please see What qualifies as a 'ReMix'? and How are submissions judged?.

Current panelists

• Big Giant Circles (Jimmy Hinson)
• JigginJonT (Jon Titterington)
• Liontamer (Larry Oji)
• Malcos (Stephen Malcom-Howell)
• pixietricks (Jill Goldin)
• The Orichalcon (Lee Barber)
• Vigilante (Jesse Taub)
• zircon (Andrew Aversa)
• zyko (Waleed Hawatky)

Who are they and what do they do?

OverClocked ReMix began in late 1999 with djpretzel evaluating all submissions personally. As the site grew, the job of sorting through submissions became too large for one person. In early 2002, djpretzel established the judges panel to decide (with his oversight) which submissions best fulfill the vision for OCR. The judges were initially selected and invited by djpretzel, but since then have been added or removed based on panel consensus, with djpretzel's input.

Before a submission is sent to the judges panel for evaluation, it goes through an initial review by djpretzel or a designated member of the judges panel. As a result of this review, mixes are either rejected outright, forwarded to the panel for consideration, or approved without further evaluation. About 45% of all mixes are rejected outright, 50% evaluated by the panel, and 5% posted directly to the site. A mix that is posted directly vs. posted after panel review is neither better nor worse; often times mixes are sent to the panel out of unfamiliarity with the source material or because a precedent is being set in some way.

Decisions on submissions are reached by a majority of a panel quorum; a vote will be closed after three negative votes or four positive votes. Any decision can be further extended to a majority vote of five at the request of a judge. In addition to his power to veto any submission regardless of the panel's decision, djpretzel may also serve as a tiebreaker during particularly divisive decisions.

General requirements for consideration

Newcomers often ask how they can become a judge; the judges panel does not have an open selection process. When a vacancy within the panel is created, it is typically not announced until after there is a consensus among the group as to who would make the best replacement candidates. When the panel decides a new judge will be necessary to the submission review process, candidates must demonstrate the following qualifications prior to or during an evaluation:

• Musical knowledge (formal music theory knowledge and instrument/performance experience are not requirements);
• Extensive commitment to the community;
• A strong grasp of current OCR standards and guidelines as expressed in evaluation of ReMixes on the site, through submissions, and/or during the candidate evaluation process;
• Ability to clearly and constructively advise submitters as to how they can refine and improve their material;
• Strong communication skills;
• Openness to all musical styles/genres;
• Ability to work proactively with the variety of artists and personalities in the community; and
• Time, availability and enthusiasm for the workload involved.

Many people who want to be judges or are considered as judges fall short in at least one of those areas. Because the selection process is not open, candidates who feel they may be qualified to become a judge are discouraged from lobbying judges to get a position on the panel.

What percentage of submissions are accepted?

The acceptance rate of all music sent to OCR's Submissions Inbox ranges between 10-15%. The acceptance rate of music given to the judges panel ranges between 15-20%.

Why is the acceptance bar so high?

Since the panel's inception in early 2002, the bar for evaluating ReMixes has gradually but substantially risen. As the site's vision and standards became clearer and the number of submissions increased, this change was necessary to maintain a consistent posting schedule and to give each posted ReMix the time and attention it deserves.

Why are there so many rejections in a row?

Unlike rejections, the judges' decisions on an approved ReMix are not made public (i.e. moved into the Judges Decisions forum) until the ReMix is posted onto OCR's front page. As a result, there may be instances where the first 1-3 pages of decisions seem to all be rejections without a single acceptance.

How long does it take for a submission to be judged?

To view how far primary evaluations have reached into the Submissions Inbox, as well as which submissions are currently being judged, recently rejected, or approved and awaiting postage to OCR's main page, please see Currently in the Judging Process.

Due to the lengthy queue in the Submissions Inbox, submissions currently take 2 weeks, at most, to receive primary evaluation. Once primary evaluation is complete, if the submission is not either immediately rejected without reaching the judges panel or chosen to be posted directly to the site without requiring the evaluations of the judges panel, it is placed on the judges panel. Evaluation by the panel currently takes 2 months, at most. The speed of the judging process depends on a variety of factors including judge availability, familiarity with source material, and disputed votes requiring the attention of a greater number of judges.

Fall-throughs

A priority "fall-through" status may be requested for a submission when its creator suspects it is lost in the queue (hence, "fell-through the cracks") and contacts a judge after an unusual amount of time has passed (two months or more). The judge will decide whether or not to directly post the submission to the judging panel, typically for factors such as elapsed wait time and probability of passing.

Verifying each and every fall-through request as legitimate can be difficult, as it involves combing through the entire submission queue. For this reason, mixers who've requested fall-throughs for two submissions which were approved will not be able to request any more. Note, this does not include questions as to the general status of the mix or suggestions and feedback.

Are the judges biased?

The panel does its best to eliminate personal and collective bias when judging submissions. Individual judges will frequently be in positions where they either reject something they enjoy or approve something they do not personally care for. The fact that OCR employs a panel of anywhere between 7-12 judges also helps compensate for any dissenting votes that may hinge on personal bias, improperly applying the standards and guidelines, being too lenient, or being too harsh.

Why not allow ReMixes to be approved by popular vote?

OverClocked ReMix fosters a sense of community built upon the common goal of highlighting high-quality video game music arrangements made by amateurs and professionals alike and making them easily available to those who appreciate this genre of music. A popular vote system does not work in OC ReMix's case because most fans are not interested with whether a submission fits OCR's standards and guidelines.

OCR's selection process and judges panel are established to spotlight excellent content by any video game music fan or mainstream music listener's standards. While the lack of popular participation in the submissions process may frustrate some, as a whole, OCR fans understand the necessity of the judges panel and trust that the decisions it makes are ultimately in the best interests of the site.