SoundCast Interview: Jack Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops II)

Interview: Jack Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops II)

Composer Jack Wall talks with Marius Masalar about his score for the fastest selling video game to date, Call of Duty: Black Ops II.  They talk about his transition from audio producer to working in the video game world, his thoughts on the use of "melody" in game scores, working alongside and around Trent Reznor's main theme, and a bit about his upcoming score for Lost Planet 3 in 2013!

Episode Highlights


0:00 Introduction
2:12 Early reviews of Black Ops II
3:42 Going from studio work to game audio, meeting Trent Reznor
9:00 The evolving game audio workflow, coming full circle
10:38 The attraction of Black Ops II, the value of story in the game
14:41 Dynamic range and the musical direction for the game
16:10 The story of the Niño Precioso cue
22:03 Influences from other series and previous Call of Duty scores
23:39 Melodic themes in games and emotional moments
28:07 Orchestras, the recording process, and the nuance of live performances
30:04 The mixing team and attention to detail in production
32:59 Electronics, field recordings, combining and using sounds
36:01 Learning synthesis and working on Mass Effect
37:12 Jack's favourite sound and the trouble with ringtones
39:14 Working alongside Trent Reznor, the main theme
40:30 The challenge of creating a fresh Call of Duty experience
43:34 Witnessing trends in the gaming industry, the power of indie
49:03 Wrapping up Lost Planet 3 and its…unusual musical direction
54:30 Game scores and composers that Jack admires
56:20 The growing appreciation of music in games
57:40 Conclusion


Music Selections


00:00 "Savimbi's Pride" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall
15:15 "Hidden " (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall
16:30 "Niño Precioso" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall
20:20 "Raul Menendez Theme" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall
24:40 "Heros Theme " (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall
32:55 "Spider Bot" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall and Jimmy Hinson
58:32 "Adrenaline (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall

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SoundCast Interview: Brian Tyler (The Expendables 2)

Interview:  Brian Tyler (The Expendables 2)

Composer Brian Tyler talks about his return to THE EXPENDABLES franchise and reteaming with Sylvester Stallone and, this time, director Simon West.  He shares about the challenges and benefits of scoring a sequel and also about some of his other upcoming projects:  Standing Up and John Dies at the End.

Episode Highlights

00:23 Welcome and Intro: Brian Tyler
01:50 Transformers: Prime and Terra NOva Releases
03:20 2011 releases: Columbus Circle, Brake, Modern Warfare 3
11:54 The Expendables 2
30:58 Coming projects: Standing Up, John Dies at the End


Music Selections

00:00 "The Expendables Return" (The Expendables 2) by Brian Tyler
02:19 "Terra Nova Theme" (Terra Nova) by Brian Tyler
04:05 "Main Title" (Brake) by Brian Tyler
05:40 "Main Title" (COD: Modern Warfare 3) by Brian Tyler
11:32 "Party Crashers" (The Expendables 2) by Brian Tyler
19:44 "Vilain" (The Expendables 2) by Brian Tyler
31:08 "Preparations" (The Expendables 2) by Brian Tyler

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Behind the Score: Call of Duty: Black Ops with Sean Murray

Behind the Score: Call of Duty: Black Ops

The war effort didn't end with the conclusion of World War II.  In fact, a new war was almost simultaneously born - The Cold War.  Warfare had gone underground, but the call of duty to serve remained strong.

Join with us as we go with them all BEHIND THE SCORE OF Call of Duty: Black Ops. In this edition:

- Photos from the Black Ops recording session

- SoundCast  Interview with composer Sean Murray

- Call of Duty: Black Ops Game score review

- BONUS Coverage:  2009 Interview with Sean Murray

- BONUS Coverage:  Call of Duty World at War Game score review

Check out this new Behind the Score Feature 

Brotherhood of Duty: The Music of Brothers in Arms and Call of Duty: World at War

ATTEEEEENTION! At long last...the new feature is up! BROTHERHOOD OF DUTY.

Tracksounds is proud to bring you an exclusive look at the music from the BROTHERS IN ARMS franchise and CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR. Including full reviews of all three BROTHERS IN ARMS game soundtracks and the promo release of CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR. You will also find interviews with composers ED LIMA, DUNCAN WATT, STEPHEN HARWOOD JR. and SEAN MURRAY. Don't miss our streaming player offering you a chance to listen to the musical scores from all four games!

Proceed to the feature here!