1. So, I was kinda wondering... which comes first when designing a scene for a game? What I mean is, what does Telltale do first? The music for the scene, or the scene itself? Do they design the scene around the composition or... which is easier?
If I listened at my audio-commentaries correct the scene is done first, afterwards the music. With the exception of songs like the Mariachi or War Song of course.
If I listened at my audio-commentaries correct the scene is done first, afterwards the music. With the exception of songs like the Mariachi or War Song of course.
I do wonder what would happen the other way around, though...
I do wonder what would happen the other way around, though...
You get the Toy Factory in 103. The audio commentary for that episode said they tried to sync the background animation to the soundtrack. You'd be surprised how much character it adds to the environment if you, say, mute the music.
Jarred, I loved the previous games tracks, I have Season 1 on DVD PC from amazon and the season 1 soundtrack is with it! Is there any music you can reveal? If not then can you reveal some of the music's titles?
"Radical" from Sam & Max: Chariots of the Dogs is my favorite piece from you, because it really sounds totally 80's to the max! Did you play all the instruments, or did you have session musicians play the guitars and sax?
I love your music in-game. It's awesome. I was curious, how much of the music in this season was recorded with real instruments, compared to the past two seasons?
I don't know if anyone will read this now that the game is released, but I just wanted to congratulate Jared. The music in 301 is amazing. I particularly like the way the music warps into a twisted version of itself in Max's mind. Is it just me or does the music change depending on the way you move the camera in Max-mode? That's some great sound design right there.
Needless to say, this game needs a soundtrack release.
I love the ending credits song because it actually sounds like something at the end of a TV show. It's probably the first time in a long time I keep playing the credits over and over again just to hear the music.
@Zeek: Also I have to congratulate not only Jared but the whole TTG staff on stuff like that: The whole episode feels like a Tv show, especially now with the Narrator to drag us along, Twilight Zone-style.
I guess this question is for the future if you ever pop back in to answer questions.
So for season 3, the whole vibe is film noir. So do you find it easy to adapt the music to any sort of style or genre? Like let's say Season 4 had a very 80's New Wave-ish vibe. Do you think you'd be able to adapt to a whole new genre easily? Also, do you prefer the transition to a new style, or do you like sticking with the same kind of style that was in Season 1 and 2?
I really did enjoy the new tonal directions that the designers took with season 3--particularly the retro-synth 70s/80s sci-fi elements. It was fun to weave that new sound into the ever expanding tonal tapestry that is the Sam and Max score.
I actually think that this common thread makes the season 3 score more of a consistent, unified body of work than either of the two previous seasons. While I also had fun with the frenetic, ever-changing musical needs of the episodes in seasons one and two, it was fun to have a bit more of a focused through-line this time around.
That said, there was certainly plenty of genre variety across the different episodes in season 3, so I was also able to feed my love of doing-new-things-all-the-time.
To answer your second question: I really do love re-imagining the familiar themes and motifs through new genres, so I'd be happy to take future scores in further different directions. I also love the "classic" Sam and Max sound, so I'd be equally happy to do more in that style. The most important thing to me--and what made season three especially fun to work on--was that the new tonal directions in the music were always directly tied to the story that was being told, so it complimented the arcs of the episodes. That's always the most important thing to me.
When did you get to know about the iPad release of Season 3?
I am fairly certain I didn't know about it until about the same time that you all found out--I knew something was going in on that back room but I had no idea what it was (I did have my suspicions, though).
Have you guys thought about putting some of your crazy musical numbers on Rock Band Network? Jokey songs and nerd-injoke songs seem to do reasonable well there, with Jonathan Coulton and Flight of the Conchords near the top, and a lot of hype surrounding acts like Ron Wasserman (who did the Power Rangers theme song) and Midnight Riders (a fictional band from within the game Left 4 Dead 2). Can't think of a specific song to suggest, but I know people would also get excited about jazz. I feel like some Sam and Max stuff would fit right in.
That thought did occur to me awhile back, but I haven't had a free moment to look into it at all. I'd certainly be happy if any or all of those tunes showed up on the Rock Band Network at some point down the line.
Hey Jared, I thought of a couple more questions, if you'll be so kind.
1. So, I was kinda wondering... which comes first when designing a scene for a game? What I mean is, what does Telltale do first? The music for the scene, or the scene itself? Do they design the scene around the composition or... which is easier?
2. Wanna hear my completely unprofessional attempts at music?
3. Can he have a cookie?
> :guybrush:
1. The design process generally starts long before I am called in to start the music. By the time they bring me in to talk about the musical needs of an episode, the designers and directors usually have a fairly detailed sense of how they want the vibe of a given scene to feel.
The one big exception to this general rule has been the musical numbers and a small handful of the credits sequences, which tend to be timed out specifically to the music. I think the question of which is easier depends on who you ask . I certainly like having some kind of existing reference before I get going, so I know what I'm scoring. If you asked the chore artists, they might have a somewhat equal and opposite take on the matter.
Jarred, I loved the previous games tracks, I have Season 1 on DVD PC from amazon and the season 1 soundtrack is with it! Is there any music you can reveal? If not then can you reveal some of the music's titles?
Alas no, I am sworn to secrecy. It's nearly over, though, at this point, so all shall be reveled before too much longer!
It depends a lot on the specific cue in question. The most important starting place is what sort of emotional response we want to elicit from the listener in a given sequence. That usually has the biggest effect on where I start for any given piece.
To get a bit more technical: I tend to be a harmonic-structure-first type of guy, more than a melodic-material-first guy. Most of the composers I know tend to be one or the other (and there are also those whose brains allow them to develop both concurrently). My first step is usually working out what sort of harmonic foundation I want a piece to have, and I build the melodies and themes on top of that.
"Radical" from Sam & Max: Chariots of the Dogs is my favorite piece from you, because it really sounds totally 80's to the max! Did you play all the instruments, or did you have session musicians play the guitars and sax?
The guitars are rockingly played by the inimitable Bill Storkson, and the saxophones are all played by the one and only Jordan Wardlaw
Do you fiddle around until you find a nice-sounding melody and perfect it from there, or do you use another composittion method?
I kind of answered this a few questions up, but I tend to start with harmonic structure, and build up from there. That said, it's a lot of fun to craft a new harmonic underpinning, and to adapt and overlay a familiar theme on top, to give it a new flavor.
I love your music in-game. It's awesome. I was curious, how much of the music in this season was recorded with real instruments, compared to the past two seasons?
Thanks! It's roughly the same amount of live vs. sampled. The big change this year is that we added live trombones to the mix, so a lot of the material that would have otherwise gone to into the trumpets was able to be spread out (and down) into the trombones; so, I'd say the overall sound is richer this time around.
In terms of actual tracks recorded, though, it's more or less on par with the previous seasons.
I don't know if anyone will read this now that the game is released, but I just wanted to congratulate Jared. The music in 301 is amazing. I particularly like the way the music warps into a twisted version of itself in Max's mind. Is it just me or does the music change depending on the way you move the camera in Max-mode? That's some great sound design right there.
Needless to say, this game needs a soundtrack release.
You are totally correct, it does do awesome things as you move the camera.
Credit for that actually goes to the one and only Andrew Langley, one of the lead programmers for the season, and a formidable audio ally! He rules.
Oh, now I want to ask a question....About how many tracks did you record for the whole season more or less than 1&2?
Going by actual numbers of cues, it's quite a bit more in season three—I'd say around two times as many. Episodes in seasons one and two generally had 4-6 new live environment cues. Episodes in season three were more in the 8-12 range.
This was mostly because of the way the environments tended to tonally change over the course of the episodes in season three (whereas environments in the first two seasons tended to have a similar vibe across the entire episode's arc).
I have to say that you've outdone yourself with this season Jared! I usually don't pay much heed to game sound tracks, but your work is continually fantastic, fitting each scene perfectly, and really stands out among some of my favorite sound work.
I really loved the Charlie Hotep themes at the end of episode four. Who did you get to do the chanting? Can you tell me what they're chanting?
I have to say that you've outdone yourself with this season Jared! I usually don't pay much heed to game sound tracks, but your work is continually fantastic, fitting each scene perfectly, and really stands out among some of my favorite sound work.
I really loved the Charlie Hotep themes at the end of episode four. Who did you get to do the chanting? Can you tell me what they're chanting?
Thank you kindly!
The chanting is all David Nowlin, the actor who voices Sam (
and all of the Sam clones
). The texts for all of the chants were all written by Mike Stemmle, and I'm afraid you'll have to ask him about how he came up with them!
Jared: Rockin' even harder than usual for answering all of the questions asked after the initial talkback.
Hmm ... I think I've got one. One thing I enjoy doing with my favorite soundtracks is picking out and paying special attention to the leitmotifs, partly because I love how they're often associated with specific characters. The same goes with Sam & Max, both while I'm playing the games and listening to the soundtrack on its own. What would you say has been your favorite leitmotif these past three seasons?
(Adding, too, my admiration and appreciation for the thoroughness of your answers. I'm but a lowly, non-musical peasant who loves great music, so I found the information absolutely fascinating in an "I'm-on-the-outside-looking-in-but-I-can-still-see-when-totally-awesome-stuff-is-happening-in-there-and-I-want-to-know-how" way. Though I hope to someday figure out how to describe this without resorting to so many hyphens. )
The chanting is all David Nowlin, the actor who voices Sam (
and all of the Sam clones
). The texts for all of the chants were all written by Mike Stemmle, and I'm afraid you'll have to ask him about how he came up with them!
Thank you for answering.
David's really been showing off his range this season, hasn't he? Haha. It really sounds great in conjunction with the music, though. Creepy with the right amount of hilarity. Speaking of which, I'm definitely going to have to press Mike for those lyrics, even if most of it is in evil Samspeak. Thanks again!
Comments
I do wonder what would happen the other way around, though...
You get the Toy Factory in 103. The audio commentary for that episode said they tried to sync the background animation to the soundtrack. You'd be surprised how much character it adds to the environment if you, say, mute the music.
1. How do you think up the music for your songs?
"Radical" from Sam & Max: Chariots of the Dogs is my favorite piece from you, because it really sounds totally 80's to the max! Did you play all the instruments, or did you have session musicians play the guitars and sax?
Do you fiddle around until you find a nice-sounding melody and perfect it from there, or do you use another composittion method?
P.S. My favorite song of yours is "Wold of Max"
Little info for you: The PC-release contains only a fraction of the soundtrack... you can get the full thing HERE (and HERE's Season 2).
Needless to say, this game needs a soundtrack release.
im wondering if there will be something in depth on the evolution of sound of sam n max
and im SURE this will get a soundtrack release.. it has to .. right?
right??
doh
Where does this fit in with Jared?
I really did enjoy the new tonal directions that the designers took with season 3--particularly the retro-synth 70s/80s sci-fi elements. It was fun to weave that new sound into the ever expanding tonal tapestry that is the Sam and Max score.
I actually think that this common thread makes the season 3 score more of a consistent, unified body of work than either of the two previous seasons. While I also had fun with the frenetic, ever-changing musical needs of the episodes in seasons one and two, it was fun to have a bit more of a focused through-line this time around.
That said, there was certainly plenty of genre variety across the different episodes in season 3, so I was also able to feed my love of doing-new-things-all-the-time.
To answer your second question: I really do love re-imagining the familiar themes and motifs through new genres, so I'd be happy to take future scores in further different directions. I also love the "classic" Sam and Max sound, so I'd be equally happy to do more in that style. The most important thing to me--and what made season three especially fun to work on--was that the new tonal directions in the music were always directly tied to the story that was being told, so it complimented the arcs of the episodes. That's always the most important thing to me.
I am fairly certain I didn't know about it until about the same time that you all found out--I knew something was going in on that back room but I had no idea what it was (I did have my suspicions, though).
That thought did occur to me awhile back, but I haven't had a free moment to look into it at all. I'd certainly be happy if any or all of those tunes showed up on the Rock Band Network at some point down the line.
1. The design process generally starts long before I am called in to start the music. By the time they bring me in to talk about the musical needs of an episode, the designers and directors usually have a fairly detailed sense of how they want the vibe of a given scene to feel.
The one big exception to this general rule has been the musical numbers and a small handful of the credits sequences, which tend to be timed out specifically to the music. I think the question of which is easier depends on who you ask
2. Sure, post 'em!
3. No, no he may not.
Alas no, I am sworn to secrecy. It's nearly over, though, at this point, so all shall be reveled before too much longer!
It depends a lot on the specific cue in question. The most important starting place is what sort of emotional response we want to elicit from the listener in a given sequence. That usually has the biggest effect on where I start for any given piece.
To get a bit more technical: I tend to be a harmonic-structure-first type of guy, more than a melodic-material-first guy. Most of the composers I know tend to be one or the other (and there are also those whose brains allow them to develop both concurrently). My first step is usually working out what sort of harmonic foundation I want a piece to have, and I build the melodies and themes on top of that.
The guitars are rockingly played by the inimitable Bill Storkson, and the saxophones are all played by the one and only Jordan Wardlaw
I kind of answered this a few questions up, but I tend to start with harmonic structure, and build up from there. That said, it's a lot of fun to craft a new harmonic underpinning, and to adapt and overlay a familiar theme on top, to give it a new flavor.
Thanks! It's roughly the same amount of live vs. sampled. The big change this year is that we added live trombones to the mix, so a lot of the material that would have otherwise gone to into the trumpets was able to be spread out (and down) into the trombones; so, I'd say the overall sound is richer this time around.
In terms of actual tracks recorded, though, it's more or less on par with the previous seasons.
You are totally correct, it does do awesome things as you move the camera.
Credit for that actually goes to the one and only Andrew Langley, one of the lead programmers for the season, and a formidable audio ally! He rules.
Going by actual numbers of cues, it's quite a bit more in season three—I'd say around two times as many. Episodes in seasons one and two generally had 4-6 new live environment cues. Episodes in season three were more in the 8-12 range.
This was mostly because of the way the environments tended to tonally change over the course of the episodes in season three (whereas environments in the first two seasons tended to have a similar vibe across the entire episode's arc).
I really loved the Charlie Hotep themes at the end of episode four. Who did you get to do the chanting? Can you tell me what they're chanting?
Thank you kindly!
The chanting is all David Nowlin, the actor who voices Sam (
Favorite C.O.P.?
Jared: Rockin' even harder than usual for answering all of the questions asked after the initial talkback.
Hmm ... I think I've got one. One thing I enjoy doing with my favorite soundtracks is picking out and paying special attention to the leitmotifs, partly because I love how they're often associated with specific characters. The same goes with Sam & Max, both while I'm playing the games and listening to the soundtrack on its own. What would you say has been your favorite leitmotif these past three seasons?
(Adding, too, my admiration and appreciation for the thoroughness of your answers. I'm but a lowly, non-musical peasant who loves great music, so I found the information absolutely fascinating in an "I'm-on-the-outside-looking-in-but-I-can-still-see-when-totally-awesome-stuff-is-happening-in-there-and-I-want-to-know-how" way. Though I hope to someday figure out how to describe this without resorting to so many hyphens.
Thank you for answering.
David's really been showing off his range this season, hasn't he? Haha. It really sounds great in conjunction with the music, though. Creepy with the right amount of hilarity. Speaking of which, I'm definitely going to have to press Mike for those lyrics, even if most of it is in evil Samspeak. Thanks again!
About halfway down the page
http://www.culturalzest.com/2010/08/18/jared/2/
You must for some reason elminate one instrument from history forever, which one do you choose?
Personally I choose the harmonica, I can forfeit just about everything they've given us if it means never having to hear one bust out at a party again
I'd get rid of the vuvuzela, but you're not asking me, are you?
Ah, it's not like we have to deal with them that much. I was in Amsterdam when Holland played Uruguay, oh how we vuvuzed through the night *memories*