The Sound Architect speaks with incredible composer Jason Graves. Jason is an Academy Award-winning (BAFTA) composer who has brought his passion for music to franchises such as TOMB RAIDER (SQUARE ENIX) and DEAD SPACE (EA). He is particularly enthusiastic about illustrating a project’s story and character arcs through the power of music. His sophisticated composition style has made his music synonymous with unique musical textures and cinematic orchestral writing.
Jason also composes for film and television, including the upcoming feature films ADRENALINE and UNKNOWN CALLER. His music has been licensed for television shows such as AMERICAN IDOL and THE AMAZING RACE.
In addition to two BAFTA’s, Jason’s music has been honored with three Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Award (AIAS) nominations, winning “Outstanding Achievement in Audio” for DEAD SPACE. He has received twenty one G.A.N.G. nominations and four wins, including “Audio of the Year” for DEAD SPACE and DEAD SPACE 2, “Best Original Theme” nominations for DEAD SPACE 2, STAR TREK: LEGACY and BLAZING ANGELS 2 and “Music of the Year” nominations for DEAD SPACE and KING ARTHUR.
How did your journey into composition begin?
I was “composing” back in high school. My band director even featured pieces I wrote at our high school band concerts. I originally was going to get a Music Education degree and may be a professor at a college; go on to get my PHD in music composition. But I was starting to listen more to film music during my sophomore year and decided to try that instead.
Did you always want to work in games?
Back in the day I didn’t even consider it a viable career path! I knew I wanted to do something with film and television music, so I attended the Scoring for Film and Television program at the University of Southern California. I ended up scoring a lot of reality television and movie trailers, as soon as six months into the program. It was not until five years later that I stumbled on my first game, and it was such a creatively liberating experience.
What has been your most challenging project?
Pretty much whatever it is I’m working on today. Kind of hard to explain! It goes something like this – once a project is over it seems so much easier, like it makes sense that you did what you did, so why did it seem so difficult when you were working on it? But, this NEW project…geez what I am EVER going to do that will seem half as interesting as that last one I did, which was so easy by comparison?
Rinse. Wash. Repeat. And Repeat…for each new project. You would think that since I’ve figured out how much I’m torturing myself I would simply stop, but it doesn’t seem to work that way!
What has been your proudest project?
That’s a tie between Dead Space and Tomb Raider. And not because they are both big games and probably the two titles people associate me with. Both allowed such creative freedom, and I’ve found that is the key to keeping me happy – creativity and learning new things. Dead Space was (obviously) a more textural, sound design approach to music. Tomb Raider had elements of texture, but on a more personal level – mostly me playing solo instruments as opposed to a 70-piece string ensemble.
I think Tomb Raider may edge out Dead Space the tiniest bit only because it was my first project with all of my own production, 100%. I played and recorded all the non-orchestral instruments, recorded and mixed everything (including mastering and producing album release) and even used my own custom orchestral samples.
Is there a particular piece that you’ve written that will always stick with you?
I think the first few cues I recorded for Dead Space will always be easily recallable from the dusty crags of my mind, even many years in the future. It was all very experimental, meaning I literally made up a bunch of techniques and ideas not really knowing what a lot of them would sound like on the recording stage. So hearing those first few effects finally performed live, which were intentionally put first because they were some of my favorite ideas, was pretty amazing.
What would be your dream project to compose for?
I’ve always wanted to compose more fantasy music. I got to write a little bit for Heroes of Might and Magic in the last few years, but never a full, proper fantasy score. I just really love the harmonic overtones of that genre. It would be a lot of fun to experiment with!
What’s usually the first step in your process?
I normally try to get some sense of a main theme, as well as general instrumentation. Nothing too specific in the beginning. More like broad strokes. Will there be an orchestra? Big or small ensemble? What kind of soloists could I use to bring some sort of identity to the score?
Where do you go from there?
A lot depends on what the developer needs first and how far along they are in finishing the game. I prefer to be brought in early, but regardless of the development schedule I usually try and visit the game studio as soon as possible. It makes all the difference in the world to me when I can meet folks face-to-face and spend a few days with them playing the game, hearing their vision and basically immersing myself in the world they are creating.
Game makers are really amazing, cool folks to be around! It’s always a lot of fun getting to know each other, comparing war stories and sharing recording studio tidbits. We’re all in this together.
What hardware/software do you use?
Lots of outboard hardware, but I don’t like to focus on it too much – it’s definitely a “nice to have” bit of kit, not a “must have to produce music at a pro level” kind of thing. I use Apogee for converters and API/Manley for mixing/summing 24 channels of audio in/out of the box. Plus a front-end of 30+ mic/pre-amps, which I put to extensive use for recording instruments around the studio on a daily basis. For software, I use Digital Performer for composition/sequencing and Pro Tools when mixing live recordings from other studios.
I would like to point out that my studio consisted of a single AKG 414 B-ULS and a Grace M-201 mic preamp for many years, so please don’t think you need 30+ microphones to make proper music!
Do you have any go-to add-ons or plugins?
I absolutely adore all the plug-ins from iZotope. Rx is literally on ALL of my custom samples. FabFilter is the de facto standard for all my EQ and dynamic needs. Everything they make is amazing. Same goes for SoundToys, which is my first set of go-to plug-ins for crazy-fun effects like EchoBoy and Crystallizer. I also have Waves Mercury and use their modeled vintage EQ’s and compressors quite a bit.
Any specific techniques that you’d recommend?
If we’re talking about orchestras I would say subtractive EQ is your friend! Sample libraries are so overproduced these days – you simply have to take out some serious scoops to get everything to sit correctly in the mix.
Even more so for hybrid scores with electronics or guitars. And don’t EQ in Solo Mode! Listen to the way something sits in the mix, solo it, and listen again in the context of the mix. Some of the best mixes have elements that would sound silly in solo mode but fit together like a glove with everything else playing at the same time.
What were the key contrasts in your approach to Dead Space compared to Tomb Raider?
The biggest was the overall approach. The Dead Space score has a single purpose – to undermine the player and simply scare them to death. I used 80+ musicians and alien, aleatoric techniques to musically build my own version of a Necromorph through music.
Tomb Raider was quite the opposite. The musical score was written to allow the player to relate to Lara as a human being. She was vulnerable and scared in the beginning but slowly built up her confidence and experience, and the score grew with her character arc. Even though there are some similar kinds of textures in both games, Tomb Raider was much smaller and personal, so any aleatoric textures were performed by solo instruments (my banging/bowing things in the studio), which hopefully gave it a different feeling from Dead Space.
Do you have any major Do’s or Don’ts for aspiring composers?
DO be a nice person. With manners. Be considerate. Look people in the eyes. LISTEN TO WHAT THEY WANT. May seem obvious, but people hire folks they like and feel comfortable with. They need to be able trust you.
DO compose music every day, whether you have a project for it or not. Composing is like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the bigger it gets.
DO listen to lots of classical music (if you’re interested in orchestral composition). These guys figured it out a long time before we ever did. Learn from their masterpieces.
DO buy, read, study and mark up as many Dover score books as you can handle. These are the recipe books to our craft! It’s slightly overwhelming how much information is out there, but I’m slowly chipping away at it myself.
DO learn other things besides composing – recording single instruments/vocals, mixing, You’ll not only be more useful to yourself, you’ll probably end up being useful to other people as well!
DON’T listen to film music every day and try and copy it. Any good orchestral film score has roots deep in the world of classical music. Why listen to the shorthand, edited version when you can go directly to the source so easily?
Top tips for breaking into the industry?
There is no “breaking in,” it’s more of an “ooze.” If you were looking to “ooze into the industry,” I would suggest to start local, if you can, and get to know your community of game devs. Attend as many conferences as you can, but be prepared for massive crowds and a more “long-term investment” mentality. You probably won’t leave the first year with a game contract, but you will have met a lot of like-minded people and gotten a morale boost until your next conference.
Can you discuss what is in the pipeline at the moment?
I just finished my first feature film, which was a thriller with an electronic score, mostly drum machines, synths and electric guitars. I’m beginning a second feature, which will be entirely rock-based (guitar, drums, etc.) next month. There are also four or five games in various stages of music development, but unfortunately I’m sworn to secrecy about any details!
Well, some info on just ONE couldn’t hurt, right? Ok, check this out – there’s this really cool game coming out in 2014 called…
<grabs throat, eyes roll back into head, falls off chair onto floor>
Hope you enjoyed this interview as much as we did!
The Sound Architect
Interview by Sam Hughes
Uploaded 05/02/14