Interview: Garry Schyman (Bioshock Infinite)

Composer Garry Schyman speaks with Marius Masalar (@mathazzar) about his unusual path to becoming the composer of the award winning music for the Bioshock franchise.  He tracks his process and challenges of writing each of the three game scores:  Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and most recently, Bioshock Infinite.


Music:

0:00 - 22. Doors
20:20 - 6. Step Into My Garden (from the original Bioshock score)
25:29 - 8. Elizabeth
31:48 - 4. Lighter Than Air
37:50 - 16. The Battle for Columbia III
49:56 - 25. AD

Interview:

0:35 - Intro & path to a composing career
3:25 - First video game scoring and the Philips CD-i
5:08 - THQ and Bernard Hermann
7:02 - Hired by Irrational to score Bioshock
8:11 - The early landscape of video games and why it was appealing
12:41 - What makes the Bioshock franchise so compelling to a wide audience?
15:16 - Bioshock's violence and how to sell a modern game
18:14 - Bioshock's evolving musical approaches
23:06 - Not in Kansas anymore…Bioshock Infinite's new musical language
24:14 - Elizabeth's theme and recording as you go
28:10 - Hints of the original Bioshock
30:09 - Small ensembles instead of an orchestral sound
32:46 - Ambiguity in the characters and their music
36:17 - Garry's unusual approach to the combat music
40:07 - What is it that makes a good game score?
40:40 - Interactive music vs. creative integrity
45:20 - Upcoming projects
46:41 - Advice for young composers
48:48 - Conclusion and contact information

You can support Tracksounds by picking up the popular video game, Bioshock Infinite at Amazon.com here: http://amzn.to/10JFMqJ

Find more Audio Interviews and Podcast Episodes on The SoundCast
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Interview conducted and produced by Marius Masalar. Video editing and effects by Marius Masalar.

Composing Bioshock with Garry Schyman and Emily Ridgway

With the imminent release of BIOSHOCK INFINITE, Gametrailers presents this 20 minute look at the music for BIOSHOCK.  They speak with composer Garry Schyman as well as audio director, Emily Ridgeway.  If you want a quick history of the unforgettable music of the Bioshock franchise, then take a few minutes and immerse yourself in part 1 which covers Bioshock and Bioshock 2.

Composer Garry Schyman Returns: Bioshock Infinite

At long last, the press release confirming what we've long suspected.  Composer Garry Schyman is returning to the remarkable world of BIOSHOCK, from the minds at Irrational Games.  Truly one of the stand-out franchises over the last half-dozen years, BIOSHOCK's mystique owes a lot to the music of Garry Schyman.  Schyman has carved out a distinct, musical place for the game franchise - one that couldn't easily be discarded or shifted.  So who else could really score the next entry?

Sadly, there is no mention of an original score release...yet.  But let us hope Irrational Games is as generous has they have been in the past!

You can listen to a sample and read the full presser below...

BIOSHOCK INFINITE FEATURES ORIGINAL SCORE COMPOSED BY GARRY SCHYMAN

Los Angeles, CA, Feb.25, 2013 - Award-winning composer Garry Schyman has created a unique musical score for the highly anticipated video game BioShock Infinite developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. Recorded with solo string instruments, intimate string ensembles, and experimental percussion, Schyman's raw and intensely emotional score reflects BioShock Inifinite's compelling narrative, following the development of the relationship between the lead characters, Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, and immersing players in the game's spectacular alternate early Twentieth Century setting. BioShock Infinite will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows on March 26th, 2013.

Film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman is one of the interactive medium's foremost composers, renowned for his multiple award-winning score for the original BioShock - winner of Best Original Score from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Spike TV's Video Game Award for Best Original Score, G4 TV's Soundtrack of the Year and four awards from the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G) including Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, Best Original Instrumental and Audio of the Year.

"It doesn't get any better for a composer than to be able to score a game as remarkable as Bioshock Infinite," says Schyman. "It provided a vast canvas filled with extraordinary and completely unique characters and situations that permitted me to be creative in ways that we composers usually only dream of. Much thanks goes to Ken Levine, James Bonney, and the entire team at Irrational for inventing such an astonishing world and then letting me write music for it!"

BioShock Infinite is planned to launch globally on March 26, 2013 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

PRE-ORDER BIOSHOCK INFINITE AT AMAZON.

8 Tracks from Bioshock 2 and Dante's Inferno by Garry Schyman!

Ever heard someone say "That's just scary-beautiful"?   Well, that phrase goes a long way in describing two of composer GARRY SCHYMAN's latest game scores:  DANTE'S INFERNO and BIOSHOCK 2.  Tracksounds is pleased to present 8 tracks from these two scores just for your listening pleasure.

As we eagerly await the release of both titles, this music will help you dive back down to mesmerizing, nightmarish world of Rapture, as well as pull you into the dark, devious, and demonic chasms of Purgatory and Perdition...should that be your musical destination instead.  In the midst of all the horror, there is Garry Schyman's beautiful music which, whether in the depths of the sea or the fires of Hades, conveys, with equal fortitude, the ideas of innocence lost, heroism, and battles on the grandest of stages...

Well, I'm getting to sound a bit "reviewy" here, so I better save some of that.  For now, head on over and check out the tracks!  (Just don't lust after this music...'cause well...just ask Dante about that.)

Listen in here!

Gametime 2009 - Interview with Garry Schyman (Bioshock 2) and Diego Stocco (The Conduit)

Behold our lastest update to High Score! Well, maybe it's "be-listen" more than "behold." In any event, we've posted our latest podcast interviews with another two composers: GARRY SCHYMAN, who shares about returning to Rapture in BIOSHOCK 2 and DIEGO STOCCO, whose innovative sound design and composing style undergirds the Wii FPS, THE CONDUIT.

Insert Coin Here!

Variety Spotlights Composers: Garry Schyman, Wataru Hokoyama, Inon Zur and Jason Graves

Once again Variety.com gives some love to the world of video game music. This time Jon Burlingame puts the spotlight on three names that have worked on recent, big name projects like: Bioshock, Afrika, Fallout 3 and Dead Space.

In the brief article, Steve Schnur (Worldwide exec of music/marketing for Electronic Arts) says, "I hear the term 'videogame composer' a lot. I reject that. Great composers are great composers and, musically speaking, the technology should not lead the way. We try to recognize true talent, whether young talent or established talent."

You can read the full article here

New York Times's Article on Video Game Music

This great article was published by the NEW YORK TIMES back in late December. The article mentions a handful of well-known composers and recent game projects ranging from MIKAEL KARLSSON'S BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY, to GARRY SCHYMANN'S BIOSHOCK, to INON ZUR's PRINCE OF PERSIA. The article focuses on how music for video games has become a very serious undertaking; demanding some of the most talented composers and performers the world has to offer. It goes on to talk about how gamers are taking note of a games' score has on them. It's a great read. Here are a few excerpts:

The increasingly nuanced scores reflect “the growing maturity of the games industry, which is getting better at storytelling” and weaving moral dilemmas into game plots, said Sean Decker, general manager at DICE, the division of Electronic Arts that created Battlefield. The main challenge for composers is switching from a linear to an interactive medium in which the music has to reflect several possible outcomes at each stage of the game. Different music is needed, for example, depending on whether a gamer perishes or emerges victorious from a tussle with a venomous monster.

Jesse Harlin, music supervisor at LucasArts (which uses scores by John Williams, among others, for its Star Wars games) is swamped with demos from composers. He encourages them to write music that reflects what is happening to the gamer in the story and to avoid loop-based scores that can result in listener fatigue.

Some systems, like the Xbox 360, allow gamers to create custom soundtracks using MP3s. But many players (even the youngest) appreciate the attention software companies dedicate to music. In the Virgin Megastore in Union Square in Manhattan, Atticus Wakefield, 10, said, “Music and the sound really give the game more depth and make it much better to play.”


You can read the full article here

Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon by Garry Schyman

Composer GARRY SCHYMAN returns to the DESTROY ALL HUMANS franchise and this time the little, big-headed, alien invaders are doing their thing in the 70's. As the two installments before it did, the in game music reflects the era in which the game is set. Schyman's first to scores reflecting the 50's and 60's won multiple awards, but says DESTROY ALL HUMANS: PATH TO THE FURON is his favorite of the three. That bodes well for fans of the franchise and for fans of the decade of the coolest music ever - The Seventies. Below is the full press release:

MEDIA RELEASE
DESTROY ALL HUMANS!® PATH OF THE FURON™
TO FEATURE FUNKED OUT ‘70’s SCORE BY GARRY SCHYMAN

AWARD WINNING COMPOSER PROVIDES ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR
LATEST INSTALLMENT OF SCI-FI ACTION VIDEO GAME FRANCHISE

Los Angeles – Nov. 20, 2008 – Film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman has created the original music score for the newest installment of the acclaimed Destroy All Humans! video game series. Developed by Sandblast Games (THQ Inc.), Destroy All Humans!® Path of the Furon™ is set in the 1970's and the game’s score is inspired by music styles from that era. Schyman’s musical influences for DAH Path of the Furon include classic 70’s film scores by Lalo Schifrin, Jerry Goldsmith and Roy Budd. The DAH Path of the Furon score was recorded with a live symphony orchestra as well as brass band, flute soloist, saxophone soloist and wah wah guitar performed by A-list musicians in Hollywood.

“The idea for DAH3 was to continue the approach set in DAH1 and DAH2 as though I was a film composer writing in that period,” said Composer Garry Schyman. “Of course wah wah guitar is slathered throughout because it was so ubiquitous and influential. Personally this is my favorite of the three DAH scores. I love this style of music!”

Kevin Kraff, vice president of global brand management at THQ commented, “Following his critically acclaimed original scores for DAH1 and DAH2, Garry was the perfect match to create the music for Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon. Not only do we trust Garry's creativity to capture our vision for the franchise, but his unique skillset and bold repertoire is a natural conduit that truly connects and immerses the player.”

Garry Schyman's music for video games has received the Interactive Achievement Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” Spike TV Award for “Best Original Score,” G4TV Award for “Soundtrack of the Year” and four Game Audio Network Guild Awards, including the prestigious “Music of the Year” Award. Garry Schyman is represented by the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency. For more information on the composer visit www.garryschyman.com.

Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon is scheduled to release for Xbox 360® in December 2008. For more information please visit www.destroyallhumansgame.com.

About THQ:
THQ Inc. is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com and www.thqwireless.com. THQ, THQ Wireless, Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. For more information please visit www.thq.com.

Garry Schyman composes "Praan" for Matt Harding's "Dancing 2008"

You may recognize the name of GARRY SCHYMAN as the composer for video game scores BIOSHOCK and DESTROY ALL HUMANS, but recently another work of his was released with the latest edition of Matthew Harding's online video "DANCING" for 2008.

GARRY SCHYMAN met the video's creator MATT HARDING at the E3 convention back in 2005. Harding was once a game developer and DESTROY ALL HUMANS was originally his idea. In 2006, when Harding needed music for "Dancing 2006," Garry Schyman was the only composer Matt knew. When asked to write the music, Schyman nearly turned it down, but changed his mind at the last minute...and the rest is web-video history.

In the 2008 version of the video, pay close attention as you will see GARRY SCHYMAN conducting the string section used in the piece with Matt, of course, doing his patented jig just in front. The music you hear is entitled "Praan," and was composed specifically for this video and his now available at AmazonMP3!

Before you watch, I'll briefly comment that the concept of this video is very simple, yet eventually came to affect me profoundly (as well as quite a few other people). The first time I watched it, I laughed. The second time, I found tears rolling across my smile. I wasn't quite sure why...but soon the thought that dawned on me (and is perhaps the point of this video) that despite all the things that divide us in this world of ours . . .

We all dance....even together, if we so choose.

You can read more about Matt Harding's videography at his official site, Where the Hell is Matt?

Read more about composer Garry Schyman here.

You can download composer Garry Schyman's music for this video, "Praan" here at AmazonMP3.

BIOSHOCK wins Video Game Award for Best Score

Last night the 2007 VIDEO GAME AWARDS were delt out in Las Vegas. As might have been expected, BIOSHOCK won a handful of awards including Game of the Year. Garry Schyman's memorable score for the game also won a VGA.

Congrats to Garry Schymann and the rest of the 2007 VGA winners!

Game of the Year - BioShock

Studio of the Year - Harmonix

Best Shooter - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Best RPG - Mass Effect

Best Military Game - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Best Individual Sports Game - Skate

Best Handheld Game - The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Best Graphics - Crysis

Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show - The Simpsons Game

Best Rhythm Game - Rock Band

Best Driving Game - DiRT

Best Action Game - Super Mario Galaxy

Best Team Sports Game - Madden NFL 08

Best Soundtrack - Rock Band

Breakthrough Technology - The Orange Box/ Portal

Best Xbox 360 Game - BioShock

Best Wii Game - Super Mario Galaxy

Best PS3 Game - Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Best PC Game - The Orange Box

Best Original Score - BioShock

Best Multiplayer Game - Halo 3

Most Addictive Video game Fueled by Dew - Halo 3

You can watch the award shore tonight (Sunday, Dec. 9) at 9:00 PM ET/PT

Interview with composer Garry Schyman (Bioshock)

As 2KGames continues to get rave reviews for their ground-breaking effort BIOSHOCK, Tracksounds speaks with composer GARRY SCHYMAN about his work on the project, his thoughts about a potential paradigm shift in the gaming industry, if he'll be involved with a "Bioshock 2," and his most recent project DESTROY ALL HUMANS: PATH OF THE FURON.

Check out the interview here!

Bioshock Soundtrack by Garry Schyman

Beauty and the Big Daddy
Review by Christopher Coleman

One of the most anticipated games of 2007 has been 2KGames' BIOSHOCK. The game has garnered super-high praise from the gaming community due to its immersive environments, engaging storyline, and chillingly creative score. BIOSHOCK along with upcoming games such as LAIR and HEAVENLY SWORD are good examples of what could be called "playable cinema." In order to make a big splash in the gaming-world it's no longer enough to have just a clever game concept (although in the end it remains the most important ingredient). What we are currently witnessing is the line between video-gaming and movie-going becoming thinner by the minute. And at least one good consequence of this media-blending is the increase of feature-film-quality game scores being produced.


Read the full review here (covers the soundtrack + promo release)

Download free tracks from the Bioshock Soundtrack

Free Download of Music from BIOSHOCK!

2K Games releases 12 tracks from Garry Schyman's original score to one of the most popular and well-reviewed video games of 2007, BIOSHOCK. You can download them FOR FREE at The Cult of Rapture site. Below is the official press release regarding Garry Schyman's score.

Download the music here!


BIOSHOCK FEATURES ORIGINAL SCORE BY GARRY SCHYMAN

AWARD WINNING HOLLYWOOD COMPOSER PROVIDES CLASSICAL MUSIC PALETTE FOR INNOVATIVE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER VIDEO GAME

Los Angeles, CA – Film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman (www.garryschyman.com) has created the original score for the highly anticipated and innovative first person shooter BioShock developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. Composed in various styles of early twentieth century writing, the music is at times chillingly ominous and at other times deeply beautiful and poignant. BioShock is developed for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC and will be released in North America on August 21, 2007 and internationally on August 24, 2007.
“Garry Schyman’s work for us was incredible from the start in every possible aspect,” said Emily Ridgway, Audio Director at Irrational Games. “From his ability to produce and compose amazingly unique orchestral recordings, all the meanwhile perfectly accommodating the peaks and troughs of game development, Garry really deserves all the praise he gets for the BioShock soundtrack and then some.”

Ken Levine, Creative Director at Irrational Games, attested, “It’s kind of hard to imagine BioShock without Garry’s music. It just wouldn’t be the same game.”

BioShock is the "genetically enhanced" first person shooter that lets you do things never before possible in the genre: turn everything into a weapon, biologically mod your body with plasmids, hack devices and systems, upgrade your weapons and craft new ammo variants, and experiment with different battle techniques.

You are a cast-away in Rapture, an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces, and hunted down by genetically modified “splicers” and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. No encounter ever plays out the same, and no two gamers will play the game the same way.

To immerse players in this captivating and haunting world Schyman crafted a complex combination of aleatoric elements, early 20th century writing, musique concrete, traditional tonal and late romantic styles. The score, recorded with a live orchestra at historic Capitol Studios in Hollywood, features solo violin, cello, and piano performances.
“BioShock is a composer’s dream project; I have never been offered such a unique palette to write for,” said Garry Schyman. “I really pushed myself to create a score that truly complements the extraordinary experience of BioShock and Irrational Games supported me all the way. I even had the opportunity to write a solo piano work in the style of late Rachmaninoff!”

For more information on the composer visit www.garryschyman.com.
For more information on BioShock visit www.bioshockgame.com.