The Makers: Crimson Skies Composer Stan LePard and Audio Lead David Henry
By Alex McLain
There’s a lot going on in Crimson Skies™: High Road to Revenge™. It’s a 1930s period piece; it’s a swashbuckling adventure; and it’s a fast-paced dogfighting game. It couldn’t have been easy to record a musical score that encompassed all of these moods and influences, but luckily the team had a lot of talent to draw on. Recently, we were able to talk with Composer Stan LePard and Audio Lead David Henry about the challenges the team faced in putting Crimson Skies to music.
Xbox.com: Hey guys. Thanks for talking with us. For starters, tell us what previous game-music projects you’ve been involved in.
LePard: I’ve composed music for the first Crimson Skies title, Links, NBA Inside Drive, Sneakers, Combat Flight Simulator, Project Gotham Racing, NFL Fever, Microsoft Golf, and King of Dragon Pass. The first game ever I worked on was called Hover, and it shipped with Microsoft Windows 95 Plus Pack. I’ve also done orchestrations and produced the orchestral sessions for Age of Mythologies, Mech Warrior 4, and Rise of Nations.
Henry: I’ve been in the games industry for about nine years now. I started as a composer at Sierra, most notably writing and arranging music for Gabriel Knight 3. I came to Microsoft in 1999 to work on the PC version of Crimson Skies (where I first met Stan) and have also done a number of other projects here.
Xbox.com: Were there particular films or games that inspired you in creating the music for Crimson Skies?
LePard: I combined influences from both film music and concert music of the 1930s. I was particularly influenced by the Errol Flynn swashbucklers scored by Erich Von Korngold and the concert music of Igor Stravinsky and Richard Strauss. I also studied the music of contemporary film composers whose work shared similar influences. These included, for example, the action music of John Williams and Don Davis and the suspense music of Bernard Herrmann.
Xbox.com: What sort of mood were you trying to evoke with the Crimson Skies music?
LePard: My goal was to write period music that was true to the 1930s without being too derivative of any one composer or style. I combined elements of Post Romanticism with harmonic and rhythmic elements of the more “modern” music of the 30s. I chose to use a complex, often atonal, harmonic language so that we could randomly connect the various pieces without having to worry too much about key relationships. This allowed us, for example, to avoid looping battle music over and over or linking battle pieces together in predictable order. Instead, we could randomly select a new order in which to play battle pieces one after another each time the game is played.
Xbox.com: The score for Crimson Skies sounds like a Hollywood-scale production. How was this accomplished? What tools did you use?
Henry: The initial idea was for the Crimson Skies music to be “all big band, all the time.” We did some early experiments in this vein, and it soon became apparent that we wouldn’t be able to get the mood we were after with exclusively big band music—in general the tone was too light. I started talking with Stan about the options for a more cinematic style, and together we began to explore some of the ramifications of moving toward a full orchestra.
LePard: We hired a full 40-piece orchestra to record the music. I created sketches using my sampling keyboards, and after these were approved, I orchestrated the music for the live orchestra. We recorded them at Studio X in Seattle and then mixed the recordings at Microsoft Games’ Sound Lab and at my home studio. For composing, I used Opcode’s Studio Vision sequencing software, as well as a pencil and manuscript paper. For orchestration, I use Sibelius notation software, and for recording and mixing we used Protools. The final mastering processing was done using Sonic Foundry’s Sound Forge, while the soundtrack CD was assembled using Sonic Foundry’s CD Architect.
Xbox.com: Explain the process for creating game music. Are you able to play the game for inspiration?
Henry: Most of the music needed to be composed before the game design was complete. I provided a list of cues for Stan and information about the general situation in which each cue could be used. The list includes descriptions like “doom and gloom” or “wacky-mechanical.” Combat music is very important, as is “tension music” to introduce a dangerous situation. There are a series of “victory” and “defeat” tags that play depending on the outcome of a specific battle, and also some music to establish the mood of a location, for which I coined the wonderful term “flying around music.”
LePard: David would periodically show me current builds of the game as it was in production. I preferred to watch him play it so that I could just think about the music. I didn’t play the game myself until after my work was done. Most of the music was scored with general scenarios in mind, combined with my recollection of the overall look and feel of the game. The videos were scored to actual animatics with final timings. All the characters’ movements and dialogue would be present, but all the textures would not necessarily be rendered nor were the final sound effects present.
Xbox.com: Is there any particular track from Crimson Skies that ranks as your favorite?
LePard: Perhaps my favorite of the battle pieces is the track titled “Vengeance from on High.” The beginning seems reminiscent of John Williams’ or Don Davis’ action music, but most of the piece reminds me more of Stravinsky’s music of the period, particularly in the rhythms and the use of melodic “cells.” The melodic material is mostly based on an octatonic scale, which is typical both of Stravinsky’s music as well as much of the action music in films. I’m especially fond of the harmonic language in this piece—the extended harmonies and polychords. I also like the complex polyrhythms and the way the overall orchestration turned out. Like much of the battle pieces in the game, the harmonic changes start to come fast and furious near the end to break down any expectation of the next piece starting in a particular key. And the whole thing seems totally true to the period without sounding particularly old fashioned.
Henry: This track is featured on the bonus DVD of the original soundtrack as a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix. One reason this works so well in the context of the game is the unusual meter. Because there is never a predicable rhythmic pattern, players will never subconsciously grab on to the repetition inherent with that, so the music feels as if it responding to player actions. It’s a neat and very effective trick.
I think Stan really stepped up and wrote some of the best music that has ever been in a game. For this game, I wanted to go beyond what would generally be done in the world of commercial music; I wanted to explore tonalities that would go beyond what people expect to hear in a console game. Stan came through in spades on this and turned out a brilliant score.
from: www.xbox.com/en-us/crimsonskies/themakers2.htm
The Music of Combat Flight Simulator 3
There's plenty of attitude and atmosphere in Combat Flight Simulator 3, with more graphical detail than you can take in, a sky full of beautifully rendered aircraft, and terrain bristling with anti-aircraft guns and vehicles. So there's plenty to delight the eyes, but CFS3's audio component provides plenty for the ears as well. Engine and gun sounds, weather, and battle damage sounds also add to the sense of challenge and danger in this warlike world. And then there's the music. Moody and menacing, the score by Seattle-area composer Stan LePard adds a subtle sense of danger to the edgy world of air combat in CFS3.
LePard is no stranger to the modern musical niche of writing for computer-based games and simulations. He has written music for over 100 Microsoft products since 1994, including Encarta, Crimson Skies, Project Gotham Racing, Age of Empires, Golf, Links 2002, NFL Fever, NBA Inside Drive, and all three versions of Combat Flight Simulator.
The process of getting the music into the game is interesting—and thoroughly modern. Stan writes his score using a MIDI keyboard and electronic samples of orchestral instruments, creating a "click track" the musicians can accompany. For the recording sessions his CFS3 score was performed by the 40 or so members of the Northwest Sinfonia, drawn from the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and other local performing organizations. As with many of Stan's earlier game-related music projects, the musicians sight-read the score in the studio, and they usually get it right by the second or third take. Stan modestly notes that "If there are any difficulties it's not their fault—it's mine."
Inspiration from a variety of sources
Once the recording sessions are done, Stan mixes the newly-recorded orchestral tracks with his own pre-laid tracks, creating an impressive musical background that helps to establish the particular atmosphere of the game.
Stan draws on a variety of musical models for inspiration in composing music for games. In addition to listening to film scores and sound effects, he also looks to traditional symphonic music for ideas. In CFS1 the warlike music depicting Mars, the god of war, in Gustav Holt's "The Planets" provided a starting point. In CFS2, with its Pacific setting, Stan's score is more exotic, drawing inspiration from a film score by James Newton Howard. His music for CFS3, while original and imaginative, drew on a variety of models, including Igor Stravinsky's depiction of the WWII-era "Symphony in Three Movements."
Stan's work for both Crimson Skies and Combat Flight Simulator allowed him to "go for it"—to create an atmospheric "reality" for the game. He notes, however, that there are some special difficulties in writing music for games. Time constraints are especially difficult. He might be told that "We need one minute of music here, give or take 10 seconds."
Sometimes he has to write modular music (as in Crimson Skies), where modules loop or connect as needed. Writing this non-linear kind of music is entirely different from writing a linear score for video or film.
For the composer, the difficulties and constraints are considerable, but the result can add significantly to the impact of the game. When you watch the CFS3 opening video and explore the interface, the music adds dramatically to the dangerous martial atmosphere of this simulated world. Stan notes that to the end user, the music in a game is almost subliminal. According to Stan, "Music is 70% of the emotional content." Next time you start up CFS3, turn up the volume and enjoy the atmospheric and emotional depth the score adds to your game play experience.
from: www.microsoft.com/games/combatfs3/article_music.asp
Interview with Stan LePard
Stan LePard is an accomplished composer, orchestrator and music producer whose impressive list of video game music credits include: producing original music for Shadowrun (opening cinema); composing the original score for Crimson Skies; orchestration for Bungie's Halo 3 promotional trailer; orchestration for Big Huge Games' Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends; orchestration for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes; orchestration, mixing and production for Halo 2; orchestration for Ensemble Studios' Age of Empires series and master engineering for BioWare's Jade Empire Original Soundtrack CD on Sumthing Else Music Works.
M4G: First of all please tell us about your musical background and how you got started working in the video game industry?
Stan LePard: I've been playing professionally since I finished high school, and I studied music composition and education in college. Around 1994, I started working as an independent contractor on Microsoft CD-ROM titles like Encarta, Dinosaurs, Ancient Lands, etc. As the interactive industry evolved, I became increasingly drawn into the gaming world, to the point that games are pretty much all I work on these days.
Stan LePard produced the orchestral recording and mixing Sessions for Halo 2
M4G: As well as composing the original scores for games like Crimson Skies you have also orchestrated music for many game soundtracks including Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Age of Empires III and Halo. How did you get into orchestration?
Stan LePard: I had studied orchestration and arranging in college, and had continued to write for soloists and small ensembles throughout my professional career. In early days of game music, we couldn't get the budgets for full orchestras, so we would supplement our MIDI tracks with small ensembles, like a string quartet and maybe four or five brass and wind players. My first game score with live players was the original PC version of Crimson Skies. Shortly after that, I did a similar thing for Duane Decker's score for Mech Warrior 4. I believe my first orchestration job with a full 70-piece orchestra was for Age of Mythologies.
M4G: What is the role of a music orchestrator? Why do composers use an orchestrator?
Stan LePard: My role as an orchestrator is to help the orchestra realize the composer's music in its most effective form. The composers I work with are all capable of creating very nice orchestral arrangements using their samplers, but they don't necessarily have the training and experience to translate those arrangements to the live orchestra in a way that will allow the orchestra to sound its best. They may not know the various ranges or the strengths and weakness of the individual instruments in the orchestra and how best to balance them against each other to get the desired performance and overall blend.
M4G: Do you get to add your own identity to their music?
Stan LePard: Well, there's always a big difference between the original composer's sketch and the final mix, and I'm very proud of what I contribute. But I don't see it as having added my identity to the music; I see it as having presented the composer's ideas in their best possible light. Unless the composer asks me to, I almost never add pitches to the music that aren't already there. I may double existing pitches in different octaves or different instruments, but I don't write new lines or fill out harmonies unless I'm specifically asked to or without getting an okay from the composer.
I'm not sure that I have a musical identity, even as a composer. I always try to find the best musical solution for the project at hand, and I've occasionally done some things that I think sound pretty original. But I'd be hard-pressed to find commonality between some of them. The styles and perspectives and even the functions can be so different. My identity seems to be that of a musical shape shifter. But I very much enjoy stretching out in different styles and finding new musical solutions.
M4G: Has new technology improved the orchestration process in any discerning ways?
Stan LePard: The notation software I use is Sibelius, which I'm very happy with. So gone are the days of pen and ink, which is good. But the process of translating the composer's sketch to a final score is one that requires a lot of training and experience; there's no software that can just orchestrate your music for you...yet.
M4G: When orchestrating music for other composers at what stage are you brought in?
Stan LePard: It varies depending on the project, but usually I'll do a budget fairly early in the cycle but the actual work may not begin for a few weeks or months later, often because we're waiting for videos to be finished. The composers I work with like me to produce all aspects of the sessions from orchestration, to music copying and prep, to booking the orchestra and the studio, to actually producing the recording sessions and often the mixes as well.
M4G: Do you work with another orchestrator when you're composing your own music?
Stan LePard: No, I prefer to do my own orchestrations. I enjoy it.
Stan LePard's music features in the opening cinema of FASA Studio's Shadowrun.
M4G: You were involved during the early development of the upcoming game Shadowrun. How much music did you end up scoring for the final product? What kind of music styles were outlined in the initial brief?
Stan LePard: I have some music in the opening cinema, but Shadowrun's music came from a number of different sources, including Robert Fripp, Amon Tobin, and Trey Gunn.
I first started working on Shadowrun before it was decided that it would be a cross-platform multiplayer game. Back then it was a single player prototype. At that time, we were looking at doing an orchestral score using sound mass and aleatoric techniques, and then combine those with high-tech instruments and processing. We were also exploring themes. So I would say it was a combination of thematic material and music designed for specific spaces. But when the decision came down that Shadowrun would be multiplayer and that very little in-game music would be needed, I was very disappointed as it seemed a dream-come-true gig. I really loved the whole concept, and Tobin Buttram, FASA's Audio Director, was great to work with.
M4G: What other recent/upcoming projects have you worked on that you can talk about?
Stan LePard: I'm just now finishing the mixes on Steve Henifin's score for Too Human. We recorded the orchestra and choir in Prague for that one. We just recently finished the first batch of recordings for Halo 3. I've started composing the score for the next Age of Empires 3 expansion pack. And I'm continuing to compose for a series of casual games produced by Microsoft's Carbonated Games studio. And then there are a couple of others I can't talk about yet. So I'm a little busier than I want to be right now, but I'm not complaining.
from: http://www.music4games.net