How free are you to experiment when you take on a mandate from a studio? Very free! That’s what’s so enjoyable about scoring games. I’m thankful that the dev teams I’ve worked with have all been super open to experimenting and I think at this point, they’ve come to expect that with me. It’s good to surprise people with something a little strange and then maybe have to reign it in a bit vs just doing what you know will work right away. Because of the longer timelines, I’ve been able to do all sorts of experimental recording sessions throughout the scoring process as the sound evolves. One of my most recent sessions for Modern Warfare was with a percussionist who was free-form jamming while I was tweaking distortion and filter settings that he was hearing and reacting to in real time. We had so much fun! Do you feel like game soundtracks get the same recognition as film scores? If you mean from film/TV centric award shows and critics, then no, but it’s a generational thing and will definitely change over time. For instance, look how far the TV industry has come! Some of the best stuff is coming from television (streaming) right now. The passion for game music from the fans is like none other. The games industry is still relatively new in comparison and rapidly evolving. It used to be a rare thing for a game composer to score a film or TV project and vice versa, but now those lines are blurred. Anyone can do anything. I’m seeing composers who’ve only worked in film or TV now choosing to do game projects. It’s a really exciting industry and you can’t ignore the fact that it’s by far the most profitable.
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Above: Schachner has worked on two Call of Duty titles: 2016’s Infinite Warfare and last year’s Modern Warfare reboot
What was the most inspiring game world you worked on and which aspect did you most want to bring into your score and how did you reflect that? It’s hard to pick just one as each has been so unique and enjoyable, but Assassin’s Creed Origins is definitely near the top as the historical era was already so inspiring. Getting to play within Ancient Egypt but get to mold it into my own sound was so cool. I wanted to blend authentic historical instruments with sci-fi textures and really bring out the mysticism of the era. After the fantasy alien world of Anthem, creating music for the hyper realistic and grounded Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a refreshing change, albeit a bit emotionally taxing due to the heavy subject matter. Do you have any tips on how can developers best help composers to make music for their game? Great ideas come from trust, curiosity, and excitement. Developers should find someone they trust and give the composer a period of time to explore and do some broad-stroke composing before getting too nitty-gritty about individual tracks and assets. If you’re building a ship, you don’t start with the thread of the sails, you lay down a solid foundation first and the rest falls into place. I call it “toothpick mode” whenever you’re crazy zoomed in on something small and technical, but maybe missing the bigger picture. Good communication is so important. The audio director and systems designers should have direct and open dialogue with the composer and not have too many cooks in the kitchen. It’s important to remember that you’re collaborating and bringing to life a vision that’s not just your own.
20/12/2019 18:02