Soundtracking in Cinematics

After posting my last video (Gears of War Trailer), I started to think about the implications of adding music to a game cinematic. What positives are taken away from adding music and do they outweigh the cons? As explained in my last post, my personal choice to add a soundtrack to the trailer, seemed to stem from my experience in viewing the original (see below), which could have subconsciously made me believe that this trailer needs music to evoke an emotion, that sound design alone simply can not.

Personally, I think that the original captured the emotion, story line and characterization of Markus Fenix perfectly. The use of the song 'Mad World' could be said to signify the chaotic landscape that the invasion of Locust created. The silencing of sound design is another technique that is used skillfully to possibly portray the isolation of the character in shot (Markus Fenix).

There is another interesting use of music in Gears of War, which would seem more obvious and heart wrenching for gamers who had the joy of battling through all three gears of war campaigns. The clip below is a cinematic from Gears of War 3 and shows the death of the character Dom.

Once you have cleared the tears from your eyes, it is clear that the music is a slightly varied orchestration to 'Mad World'. Firstly, the music brings back the memories of Markus running for his life, all alone in the first Gears of War trailer. Now his best friend is dead.. the loneliness is back.

In this cinematic the sound design is still prominent in the mix, however subtle low pass filtering during the explosions of Dom's death, allow the 'Mad World' music to piece through with the same effect produced by the first Gears of War trailer.

Anyway, just some thoughts!

Gears of War Trailer Sound Design

Over the last few days I have been juggling a variety of assignments and a part time job, and my mind has become fried! So, in an attempt to relax I thought I would have a go at producing some sound design for the first Gears of War trailer.

The original attempt consisted only of sound, but the more I played it back to myself the more I felt something was missing. Maybe its my personal connection to the original and the beautiful inclusion of the song 'Mad World', or possibly the fact the trailer seemed too empty without any music. I just had to add music!

The music was an obvious choice. Devil Sold His Soul have been ringing in my ears since 2008, and after writing several articles, academic papers and engaging in ridiculous interviews with the band, they were my first thought when I thought of adding a soundtrack to this clip. I felt this clip needed 'Hope' in attempt to deliver the same experience 'Mad World' did all those many years ago.

Audio Invaders

Recently bought a few games for the iphone, one of which was Audio Invaders. It provides players with an experience that is both unique and retro, with visuals and gameplay similar to Space Invaders. However, one of the more interesting and unique aspects of this game is that it requires the player to utilize the stereo field of their headphones to locate enemy spaceships! Try playing this game without headphones and you will not get very far.. believe me.

Zineth Release Trailer