| Interview with Jason Graves Composer of Video Games like Dead Space, Alpha Protocol, Silent Hunter 5, Section 8, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, Wheelman, Silent Hunter 4, Blazing Angels 2, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII |
September 28, 2009
Jason Graves is an American film, television and video game composer. One of his newest work was the soundtrack for the video game Section 8 or Dead Space. Today he is 36 years old (born 1973).
Graves is A two-time British Academy Award-winner and he had the opportunity to study under movie composers like Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Christopher Young and orchestrator Will Schaefer. He often did the scores for big cinematic video games.
He already did more than 150 commercials, television shows, movie trailers and feature films, conducting orchestras at Capitol Records, Paramount Pictures, Skywalker Sound, Seattle and Salt Lake City. He is known for great video games and brings the score for more than 50 games since 2003. For example Dead Space (Electronic Arts), Blacksite: Area 51(Midway), Transformers: Autobots (Activision), the BLAZING ANGELS franchise (Ubisoft) and the STAR TREK franchise (Paramount).
But he also did some videogame adaptations from movies like King Arthur (scored by Hans Zimmer), Wild Wild West (scored by Elmer Bernstein), Zathura (scored by John Debney) and Flushed Away (scored by Harry Gregson-Williams. He haven't directly contact to all composers.
Usually he's just inspired from the created work of the different composers.
Graves' music has been honored with two British Academy Awards (BAFTA) and received three Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Award (AIAS) nominations, winning "Outstanding Achievement in Audio" for Dead Space. He has received seventeen G.A.N.G. nominations and four wins, including "Audio of the Year" for DEAD SPACE, "Best Original Theme" nominations for STAR TREK: LEGACY and BLAZING ANGELS 2, "Music of the Year" nominations for DEAD SPACE and KING ARTHUR and "Soundtrack of the Year" for THE HOBBIT.
His most famous works till yet are Dead Space, Section 8, Wheelman, Blacksite: Area 51,Transformers: Autobots, Transformers: Decepticons, Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII, Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific, Area 51, Star Trek, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones or The Hobbit.
Soon his score to Silent Hunter 5 (Ubisoft), Dead Space: Extraction (Electronic Arts) or Alpha Protocol (Sega) will be published. After that he will compose the Score for City of Heroes Going Rogue™.
| Dear Mister Graves, may you tell us more about you? I grew up in a musical family. My dad played the drums and my mom played the clarinet and piano. I took piano lessons at an early age and started playing the drums in middle school. By high school I was learning guitar and percussion instruments like marimba and vibes. I started composing seriously in high school and had the benefit of having many of my compositions performed at student concerts. I decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in Music Composition and went on to get a degree in Music for Film and Television at the University of Southern California. Personally, I’m very driven to learn new things and continue to challenge myself when I’m composing. I love taking on different kinds projects I haven’t done before. You’re a young composer, how old are you? Ha, I get that a lot! I must have a young face. In fact, I’m 36. I’ve been composing professionally since before I graduated from USC in 1995, so I’ve got more than fifteen years of experience. How did you come to work in video game music? Does composing for music game differ from film, publicity or television? I was brought in as an orchestrator and conductor on my first game title, which also led to some composition on that first job. I had so much fun working on it and wanted to see what else I could do in the world of game music. Composing for games definitely allows me a lot more creativity and freedom. I also have the opportunity to compose in many different styles of music depending on the game. |
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What composers, be it classical or in the arena of film music, have inspired you the most? Krzysztof Penderecki, Pytor Tchaikovsky and Richard Wagner are all huge classical heroes of mine. I love the depth and impact that their music has on me when I listen to it. My love of film music begin and ends with John Williams. I can’t say enough about his creativity and the emotional impact he brings to everything he composes. I’m also continuously inspired by the music of Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith. What did projects and nominations for Dead Space bring to you, personally, for you working process, and your career? Dead Space was an extremely challenging and creatively satisfying score for me. I learned so much through the composition and implementation process. To have that work recognized is incredibly rewarding on a personal level. It’s also opened doors to other jobs, which to me is a great compliment. What’s brought your attention on SECTION 8? Section 8 was the first title I was offered after Dead Space was released. It was the chance for me to compose an interesting hybrid score, which I hadn’t had the chance to really do before that. |
Could you describe your process of writing and explain your approach for “SECTION 8” score?
The music to Section 8 is a hybrid orchestral score with rock and electronica elements mixed in to portray the technology and futuristic vibe of the game. My writing process varies from cue to cue, but in general I like to sit down at the piano and work out the major themes for a project before getting into the meat of the score. I like to use the themes as the backbone of the score and build everything else around them. Once I had my themes for Section 8 I dove into the rest of the score. I played and programmed all the “rock band” instruments myself, including the guitars, synthesizers and drums.
What is your typical day at work?
I thrive on a regular schedule and carefully map out my work each week. I’m usually working on at least two or three different projects at the same time, so I’m always careful to have everything compartmentalized and segregated from each other. I start work around 8am and go until 5 or 6pm. Unless I’m expecting a call I turn off my phone and keep my laptop closed (where I check my e-mail). I try to avoid working at night or on the weekends because for me it’s important to maintain a good perspective on what I’m doing. I’ve found having that kind of rest period really helps me focus when I am working. As a result, I’m considerably more productive during the day.
What’s your favorite tool to work (computer, paper…) now? Do you manage much more to tame the computer?
I have the chance to do a little of both, but for the most part I work on the computer. I’m fortunate to have grown up using a lot of the same software I do today and am intimately familiar with it. I see the computer as a tool to help me work faster, not a crutch to make my work easier - there’s a big difference in those two mentalities!
How was the recording and the orchestration of SECTION 8?
I performed and recorded all the instruments myself. I also did all the orchestration and final mixing of the soundtrack.
How much time did you spent working on this score?
I composed the score over an eight week period, about 45 minutes of music in all.
Did you create themes?
Section 8 has two main thematic ideas - one for the good guys and one for the bad guys. The good guys have a fanfare-like quality and the bad guys are more low and menacing. There are also two main locations in the campaign mode of Section 8: temperate and desert. I used a more traditional orchestra, as well as more traditional music composition, for the temperate location. The desert has the hybrid rock/synth edge to it, along with more dissonant harmonies and modern approach to the music.
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You composed music for film based games. May you tell us more about your relationship with Elmer Bernstein and your work for
Wild Wild West?
The game score to Wild Wild West was an adaptation of the score from the same film. I had the privilege of studying under Mr. Bernstein and he was gracious enough to share his conductor’s scores from Wild Wild West with me. He also invited me to attend the scoring session at Sony, where I sat next to director Barry Sonnenfeld for an entire day and hung out. I can’t say enough about Elmer and his enthusiasm for music.
And what about connection with Hans Zimmer, and King Arthur score?
I didn’t really have any connection with Hans when I was composing the King Arthur game score. I only knew that he was working on the film music and I tried to infuse my score with the kind of energy his music has become so famous for. I read many reviews of the game that credited the music as being the same score from the film, which to me is the highest compliment a film-based game score could receive.
Could you tell us more about your work with Harry Gregson-Williams about Flushed Away?
Harry was the consummate gentlemen and shared everything he could about his score to the film. He even invited me to his studio to hear what he had finished so far. We also had many phone conversations about the direction of the music for the film and game.
And for Zathura with John Debney?
Zathura was also more of an «after-the-fact» situation. I didn’t get to hear any of John Debney’s music before I finished my score to the game, but I did attend the Zathura film scoring session at FOX and had a chance to spend time with John Debney and director Jon Favreau.
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May you tell us some remembers about Jerry Goldsmith?
Mr. Goldsmith was an amazing person who constantly strived to improve himself through his music. I’ve never known someone who was more driven to try new things and constantly challenge himself. He is a personal inspiration to me, especially when I’m starting a new project.
Anything else, new and exciting coming up?
Dead Space: Extraction was just released for the Wii at the end of September, which has more than an hour of my music in it. My techno-thriller spy score to Alpha Protocol is coming out in October - that was about an hour’s worth of music as well. I’m currently composing the score for Ubisoft’s Silent Hunter 5, plus a few other big franchises that I’ve been sworn to secrecy about.
| Introduction by Fabrice Steurer | Interview by Christine Blanc |
| www.hans-zimmer.ch | www.inter-activities.com |
Special Thanks to Greg O'Connor
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