MASSIVE TALKING CHAPTER ONE - SOUND DESIGN
Massive Entertainment Reveals - Ola Strandh sound Designer interview
09, April, 2006
1. First out is your track Ground Control's Game Track 1 was it inspired by "The rock - Hummell gets the rockets"?
[Ola Strandh] Haha! Now that is really clever of you. No, I did not use Hummel gets the rockets as an inspiration for the track, but the similarities really are too great to be ignored. Of course I've heard the music from The Rock previous to scoring GC, so maybe it's just a fluke that the music popped up in my mind. Maybe I need to be more cautious when writing my music.
2. I would like to know, if you use any program when editing or making music, which are those?
[Ola Strandh] I use Steinberg Cubase as my main sequencer. I've been using Cubase since the days of Atari ST, so it makes no sense leaving it behind. I used Halion and my trusty Korg Triton as a sound source when scoring the first GC, but have since switched for Kontakt from Native Instruments.
When laying sound for movies I previously used Steinberg Nuendo, but Cubase has got most of its important functionality today (surround busses and pans, video playback, etc.) so there's no need for Nuendo anymore. For editing dialogue and sound effects I use SoundForge.
3. Have you made any other music aside GC?
[Ola Strandh] Phew! I wouldn't know where to begin... The first game score I wrote was for a racing game called Excessive Speed. There are several other titles I've composed one or maybe two songs for. I've also done lots of music for commercials, like Sony Walkman, Sony Style, Malmöguiden, Citytunneln, Nordic Panorama, etc. But where I get most work done is in production, not composing. I help out with recording vocals, mixing, mastering stuff like that. Mostly smaller things that don't interfere with my work at Massive. I recently finished sound design and full 5.1 mix for a Swedish film, Sista Dagen. It will most likely show sometime this summer on Swedish television. The score is composed by Sebastian Borg but I've managed to get a couple of musical pieces in there as well.
For all you electonica fans, this is what I do in my spare time: Home of Kalmbach
4. What goes around in your head when you do these tracks? How do you think? Do you think at all or does the tracks just come around?
[Ola Strandh] Sometimes you just get an idea. Sometimes you have to make something up. And if theres a lack of inspiration I usually listen to other composers in the particular genre I'm writing for. Composing on demand can be tricky sometimes.
5. Where are you when you dream up and work on the music?
[Ola Strandh] It depends... Most great ideas comes when walking to- or from work, or in the shower. In general you could say that I get my ideas in places where it's really hard getting to an instrument or recording device to help me remember the idea. A lot of times there is no great idea, just a general concept of what is needed. This is when I find it most fun composing, because I have to come up with something without inspiration. I know, it sounds weird, but it's fun pushing your skill like that.
6. How many minutes of music was there in GC2 and do you expect the same amount of music in WIC?
[Ola Strandh] In GC2 there is about 30 minutes of music that is considered to be The Soundtrack. If you take all the shorter passages of music and different edits, etc. I would guess there's around 90 min. of music in the game. I can make no promises, but I would guess the total amount of original music in project ICE comes down to around 60-90 min.
7. Are you going to use an orchestra this time as well?
[Ola Strandh] There will be occasional orchestral music. There will not be a full recorded orchestra, though we might dub/record some passages with a smaller string section. The majority of this new score will not be orchestral (let the speculations begin).
8. I notice in many (not all) games that some sound samples are the same, are there any sound-libraries out there for sale or licensing?
[Ola Strandh] Yes, there are many libraries available for licensing. BBC has a huge collection of sounds, Lucas Films and Warner Bros as well. You can also find many smaller dealers on the internet. I would guess that most of the sounds you are recognizing can be found in sci-fi movies from the early 90's, as well as in the first Doom games (hydraulic doors, anyone?). Many of their sounds comes from the Lucas Films library. There has also been a silent pact around some sounds/samples. Sound designers re-use some sounds just for the fun of it - they just want to see if anyone will notice.
9. Which part of the job do you enjoy the most.
[Ola Strandh] At this moment I'm very much into mixing. Anything that requires a good 5.1 mix is great fun.
10. The Ground_Control Game Track 3 (original name) which I call "Second night - Strike take and control-" is very similar to the T2 intro music I think. Did you have the T2 track in mind as you made this track?
[Ola Strandh] No. I don't recall the T2 music at the moment, but I don't think so. Sorry to disappoint you, but I never really enjoyed T2. I'm a much bigger fan of the first Terminator. Reese: "You still don't get it, do you? He'll find her. That's what he does. That's all he does! You can't stop him. He'll wade through you, reach down her throat, and pull her f**king heart out"
11. What are your influences - do you find them in contemporary music as well as classical - and if that is the case who are your favourite bands / composers?
[Ola Strandh] I'm what we in Sweden call an allätare (all-eater). Right now I'm listening to Madonna, Chris Clark, Meshuggah, Biosphere, Tacteel, Björk, Beck and many, many more. Sometimes I listen to classical music, but not very often. Movie soundtracks can be a lot of fun, but you grow tired of them pretty quick. ''' 12. What was your first instrument and what is your favourite instrument today / what instrument you use to write your music - is it piano / synth or something else?'''
[Ola Strandh] I was four and my mom handed me a violin. I kept playing it for about ten years. At home I played the piano, guitars, Amiga 500, Emax, etc. Never any lessons though. When I turned fifteen I started playing the drums. I took it pretty seriously, I wanted to be a session drummer. When composing I mainly use a keyboard. But recently I've been using the guitar a lot.
13. Did you ever try a, b or c class "stimulances" - and in case you did - do you think such an experience(s) influenced your creative work?
[Ola Strandh] Sorry. Wrong forum.
14. Do you beleive in angels and demons - and do you think Muses exist and are your driving force?
[Ola Strandh] My driving force is purely incidental. The universe is way too complex to start blaming fantasy creatures or gods.
15. Are you hoping to extend your creative work to moving pictures or you are dedicated excusively to video games?
[Ola Strandh] Actually I already have, though on a very small scale. I'm trying to get a foot in the film industry mainly out of curiosity (a fixed timeline is much more convenient). The future can be found in gaming, and whatever crossbreed comes out when the movie industry realizes it's already dead...
16. What type of sounds will the game have (I mean in-game)?
[Ola Strandh] They will have a very realistic approach.
17. Why does a lot of music sound so similar, is it common for musicians to “steal” from each other?
[Ola Strandh] First of all, in western music we have only twelve notes to play with. This in itself makes for a lot of incidental similarities. But the one thing that makes us composers writing music that is similar is that we draw inspiration from the same things. People growing up under similar circumstances, listening to the same radio shows, watching the same TV programs as a child - this is where we are formed as a human. When our frame of reference becomes similar, so will our interpretation of sound and images.
''Thank you all for your nice comments and intelligent questions. Continue to play Massive Games and I will try my hardest not to disappoint you. /The oL''
Source: forum.massive.se