Transcript mag2011_audio_panel

The Soul-Crushing World of
Game Audio
Andrew Aversa (Monkey Island 2: Special
Edition)
Jillian Aversa (God of War: Ghost of Sparta)
Jimmy Hinson (Mass Effect 2)
Wilbert Roget, II (LucasArts, The Old Republic)
Freelancer vs. Inhouse
• Indie vs. AAA
• Composer vs. Sound Designer vs.
Performer / Session Musician
• Horribly Overworked
•
Choose your own hours (sort of)
• Be your own boss (sort of )
• Work from wherever you want
• Potentially more free time for side projects
• Full control over which gigs you do and don’t get
• Greater potential for more $$$
• … if you ever get a gig
•
Social, work with other talented people
• Work ranges from sparse to I-want-to-kill-myself
• Job security (sort of)
• Benefits
• Access to great audio facilities + gear
• Direct access to the ‘client’
• Minimal control over projects taken
• Minimal control over work location, time
•
Main focus of this panel
• Big budgets, scopes
• Far more personnel involved
• More emphasis on deadlines, results, scheduling
• Harder to break into
• Very rewarding
•
A good attitude!
• The ability to be nice and generous (but tough
when necessary)
• Social skills
• Personal hygiene
• Motivation and determination
• Thick skin
• A day job
•
A solid grasp of music theory + arrangement
• At least one style you do very well (elec,
orch/classical, jazz, etc.)
• An ear for mixing/mastering
• Basic transcription, chord recognition
• No formal degree needed
• Practice is most important – transcribing, studying
scores, listening + writing
•
Recording: $100-150 condenser mic, $200-300
interface/preamp
• Isolation: $130 Sorber Baffle
• Monitoring: $100-200 headphones
• DAW: Cubase, Sonar, REAPER etc ($30-500)
• Samples/Synths: Komplete 7 ($400-500)
• Orchestral Sounds: QLSO Silver/Gold ($100-300)
• Mastering Tools: Ozone, T-Racks ($50-250)
• Budget ~$1000 for a pro-capable setup
• Production quality is KEY
•
Networking is key, but don’t force it
• Organic connections + friends
• Not JUST gamedev friends, but audio friends
• Be active in seeking gigs/work but…
• Don’t be afraid to branch out (music libraries,
sampled instruments, session work)
• Start with indie games, mods, student projects
(good for lasting relationships)
•Maintain + update demo reel(s) + website
•
#1 by far = Game Developers Conference (GDC)
• San Francisco, CA – Feb/March
• If nothing else, go to that
• Get involved w/ local game devs (IGDA)
• Go to meetups + gamejams
• Join GANG (our trade organization)
• Online communities of interest: IGDA/GANG
forums, GameAudioForum, TIGsource, GameDev
• Keep up on gear/trends: KVRAudio, VI-Control
•
Protect yourself, DON’T sell yourself short
• Every gig needs a contract – even a simple one
• DON’T give away rights w/o big $$$
• Low-budget, no-budget? Ask for royalties,
soundtrack rights, or:
• Barter for album art, web design, resume/cover
letter templates, press releases, biz cards, video
content…
• Prepare yourself for possibility of not getting
anything in return on indie/student
•
•
Mainstream projects pay per minute ($800-1500 for
console/PC) or project rate
• PSP/DS might go down to $250-300/min
• XBLIG, Flash, iPhone – Depending on dev, $50100/track to $500/min
• How much time will it take you? Do the math
• $300 per min, takes 2 hours = $150/hr
• $800 per min, takes 10 hours = $80/hr
• Session work: $100-400 per track, or hourly ($50100 per hour) – check w/ union too
Any project can become time-consuming
• Build a network of trusted musician/composer
friends
• Better to say “yes” and delegate, ghostwrite +
collab than to say “no”
• Again, reliability, results + scheduling is very
impotant
• Spend money if necessary to get the job done right
(but don’t lose money on the gig)
•
GDC: www.gdconf.com
• IGDA: www.igda.org
• GANG: www.audiogang.org
• KVR: www.kvraudio.com
• VI-Control: www.vi-control.net
• TIGsource: www.tigsource.com
• GameDev: www.gamedev.net
• GameAudioForum: www.gameaudioforum.com
• AudioMIDI (gear!): www.audiomidi.com
• BH PhotoVideo (more gear!):
www.bhphotovideo.com
•
Andrew – www.zirconmusic.com
Jill – www.jillianaversa.com
Jimmy – www.biggiantcircles.com
Will – www.rogetmusic.com
Will & Andrew – www.impactsoundworks.com