From Planet CoD:
Planet Call of Duty got the unique oppurtunity to sit down and talk to Sean Murray, composer for the Black Ops Soundtrack.
Josh: Hi Sean, thank you for taking the time to "sit down" with us. How have you been since the release of Black Ops? Do you realize that about 20 million people have heard your music in Black Ops? Sean: Well, thanks for having me. I’ve been great. 20 million people! That’s pretty incredible to think about. I loved working on Black Ops, the fact that so many people are enjoying it is just the icing on the cake.
A bit of history, what got you interested in composing and music? How did you get started?Sean: I was always interested in music – I studied piano and guitar as a kid. My dad, Don Murray, is an actor and director. When I was a boy, he was working on a film called Damien’s Island. The score was written by first time composer Brad Fiedel (Terminator). When I heard that score I knew I wanted to be a composer too. I fell in love with the sound of his Moog synthesizer mock ups and I just had to learn all of his themes on the piano.
Your first Treyarch Call of Duty title that you composed the soundtrack for was World at War, how did you get introduced to Treyarch? Sean: Before COD I worked on Activision’s True Crime: Streets of LA, that’s how I met Brian Tuey, audio director at Treyarch. We had a similar appreciation for music. So when he started World at War he invited me to work with Treyarch. We both wanted to take the sound of the World War II shooter in a fresh direction and I was absolutely thrilled.
With Black Ops, Treyarch's Call of Dutys finally stepped out of World War II, how did you and the music make that transition from World War II to the Cold War? Sean: Whenever I start a new project, my first task is to research the time period to get a feel for the music and the spirit of the times. I love history so delving into the Cold War wasn’t a stretch at all. I listened to some of the composers of the time, like Kurtag and Ligeti. From there, we determined the overall mood and how we would modernize and stretch the reach of the music in a fresh direction for a new Call of Duty audience. Black Ops was a whole different game from World at War – they needed to be very distinct scores.
How big of an orchestra was used in the recording of the composition? Sean:We had about 80 musicians for the big setup for three days and a smaller group of 73 musicians with a different setup for two days. Both groups were tailored for specific cues. The orchestra was recorded on the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Studios.
Which piece was your favorite to compose? Sean: That’s hard because I love them all, however Eagle Claw marked a flashpoint for me. That’s when the score started to find its voice and the themes began to develop. It was great to bring in the talents of Michelle Beauschesne (cello) on The Wall and Jane Runnalls (vocals) on Foe and Beheaded etc. – their contributions really helped bring the music to a whole new level.
Did you play through Black Ops before doing the soundtrack? Yes, I played some initial levels early on in the process. Sean: As you know video games take a couple of years to produce. The score was written over the course of a year, while the game was being developed. So I was working on very early versions of the gameplay when the graphics were still limited. I took much inspiration from story boards and concept stills as well. It was exciting to see the game grow and mature each month as we got further into production.
What was your inspiration behind the score that accompanies the level based on the rooftops in Kowloon? To me the track keeps me moving, making sure that if I stay in one place too long I'll pay for it, it has me looking around a lot.Sean: That cue was entirely inspired by an early powerpoint presentation of the level. I did not have any gameplay video to work off of but I knew what would take place. So yes, that one is all about keeping the player moving and excited.
Apart from Black Ops, what is your favorite score that you've composed, movie or game, and your favorite all time score? Sean: My favorite score that I composed was an independent film called Ocean Tribe about a young man who is dying from cancer and his friends take him to Mexico for a final surf trip. It was a very emotional score but it was fun and whimsical too. There was a lot of audience reaction from that score – I knew I’d captured the right emotion.
Last but not least, are you looking forward to eventually possibly working with Treyarch again on what ever their next game may be? Sean: Working with Treyarch Audio is truly a joy. The talents they bring to implementing my scores have been integral to their success. Yes, any time.
Josh: I want to thank you again for your time, and answering some of my questions. Thank you again for this, and the amazing soundtrack in Call of Duty: Black Ops
Source
<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/Sean_Murray.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_Sean_Murray.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
Planet Call of Duty got the unique oppurtunity to sit down and talk to Sean Murray, composer for the Black Ops Soundtrack.
Josh: Hi Sean, thank you for taking the time to "sit down" with us. How have you been since the release of Black Ops? Do you realize that about 20 million people have heard your music in Black Ops? Sean: Well, thanks for having me. I’ve been great. 20 million people! That’s pretty incredible to think about. I loved working on Black Ops, the fact that so many people are enjoying it is just the icing on the cake.
A bit of history, what got you interested in composing and music? How did you get started?Sean: I was always interested in music – I studied piano and guitar as a kid. My dad, Don Murray, is an actor and director. When I was a boy, he was working on a film called Damien’s Island. The score was written by first time composer Brad Fiedel (Terminator). When I heard that score I knew I wanted to be a composer too. I fell in love with the sound of his Moog synthesizer mock ups and I just had to learn all of his themes on the piano.
Your first Treyarch Call of Duty title that you composed the soundtrack for was World at War, how did you get introduced to Treyarch? Sean: Before COD I worked on Activision’s True Crime: Streets of LA, that’s how I met Brian Tuey, audio director at Treyarch. We had a similar appreciation for music. So when he started World at War he invited me to work with Treyarch. We both wanted to take the sound of the World War II shooter in a fresh direction and I was absolutely thrilled.
With Black Ops, Treyarch's Call of Dutys finally stepped out of World War II, how did you and the music make that transition from World War II to the Cold War? Sean: Whenever I start a new project, my first task is to research the time period to get a feel for the music and the spirit of the times. I love history so delving into the Cold War wasn’t a stretch at all. I listened to some of the composers of the time, like Kurtag and Ligeti. From there, we determined the overall mood and how we would modernize and stretch the reach of the music in a fresh direction for a new Call of Duty audience. Black Ops was a whole different game from World at War – they needed to be very distinct scores.
How big of an orchestra was used in the recording of the composition? Sean:We had about 80 musicians for the big setup for three days and a smaller group of 73 musicians with a different setup for two days. Both groups were tailored for specific cues. The orchestra was recorded on the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. Studios.
Which piece was your favorite to compose? Sean: That’s hard because I love them all, however Eagle Claw marked a flashpoint for me. That’s when the score started to find its voice and the themes began to develop. It was great to bring in the talents of Michelle Beauschesne (cello) on The Wall and Jane Runnalls (vocals) on Foe and Beheaded etc. – their contributions really helped bring the music to a whole new level.
Did you play through Black Ops before doing the soundtrack? Yes, I played some initial levels early on in the process. Sean: As you know video games take a couple of years to produce. The score was written over the course of a year, while the game was being developed. So I was working on very early versions of the gameplay when the graphics were still limited. I took much inspiration from story boards and concept stills as well. It was exciting to see the game grow and mature each month as we got further into production.
What was your inspiration behind the score that accompanies the level based on the rooftops in Kowloon? To me the track keeps me moving, making sure that if I stay in one place too long I'll pay for it, it has me looking around a lot.Sean: That cue was entirely inspired by an early powerpoint presentation of the level. I did not have any gameplay video to work off of but I knew what would take place. So yes, that one is all about keeping the player moving and excited.
Apart from Black Ops, what is your favorite score that you've composed, movie or game, and your favorite all time score? Sean: My favorite score that I composed was an independent film called Ocean Tribe about a young man who is dying from cancer and his friends take him to Mexico for a final surf trip. It was a very emotional score but it was fun and whimsical too. There was a lot of audience reaction from that score – I knew I’d captured the right emotion.
Last but not least, are you looking forward to eventually possibly working with Treyarch again on what ever their next game may be? Sean: Working with Treyarch Audio is truly a joy. The talents they bring to implementing my scores have been integral to their success. Yes, any time.
Josh: I want to thank you again for your time, and answering some of my questions. Thank you again for this, and the amazing soundtrack in Call of Duty: Black Ops
Source