Question:

Are there any aspects to doing a computer game score that are easier than a traditional TV/movie score?

Answer:

In both cases, the composer has as his or her objective to create music that supports the story being told and to add a dimension of emotion not evoked by the picture alone. Music moves emotions, so I am in the moving business. Film is more demanding than games. In games you create basically a library of cues which will be arranged to be triggered by actions of the player as he interacts with the program. Game composers are in the wallpaper and decorating business. The music is like a filler or just there to fill the gaps. In some rare cases producers have shown a basic understanding of how to use music more intelligently, but I underline the word rarely. In film, of course you are working with a linear story line and that means you have to be right with the events that are occurring. This sort of scoring takes some musical muscles. You have to envelop the right mood and feeling but move with the scene. If a film composer does it right you don’t notice the music, you just say, “wow, what a great movie”. In games the whole audio mix is a bombastic bowl of over modulated sonic diarrhoea. Which strangely is what people (kids) seem to want. It’s like they are saying by choosing this audio noise field, “I want to tune out, I want to get away from listening”. Let’s ask a psychiatrist.

Question:

Are the difficulties in scoring a non-linear game more of a technical challenge, or a creative challenge?

Answer:

Look, if I had to build a car every time I needed to go some place, that would be difficult. But I don’t have to build a car, I simply get into one and drive it there. So, in a similar way, I don’t build the way music will be engineered into the software of a game, I simply write the cues. There are software programs that will easily handle my music after I create and produce the tracks. There are guys on the 5th floor in some industrial park named Ned that do the organizing of the music into the architecture of the game and it’s software, not the composer.

Question:

Are you allowed more creative freedom in game scores?

Answer:

Good question. I mentioned the word "industrial" in the answer to the last question. Games are much more industrial than TV or films. By their very intensive use of many layers of technology they have a hard time staying close to aesthetics like music. By the time music enters the radar screen of their attention, most game producers are exhausted, the budget is way over and there is no real time left to give music the care it requires. So, they just try to hire a composer that knows the routine, that will crank out some acceptable level of typical crap underscore. So, I guess there is more freedom in games because of the circumstances, rather than by design. Imagine what kind of score would come out of giving the music the same respect that the visuals get. The scores would be 100 times better.

Question:

Do you have any visuals to go by when composing a game score, such as beta versions of the game?

Answer:

Again, game companies don’t (usually) bring composers into the mix until there are many levels of work done. So, yes there are visuals. I need the visuals, because they are like data, or targeting coordinates from which I can hopefully create the right score. The more precise the visuals are, the more precise my score will be. Simple.

Question:

What type of equipment do you use when composing the electronic portions of a game score?

Answer:

Hey, electronics are very limited in terms of musical quality and expressiveness; not to mention tonally limited. There are more subtleties in a percussionist hitting a can with a stick than in the most advanced and expensive box. So electronics are by nature, and at this point in our technological evolution, a compromise of what humans call music. The electronics are there because they approximate music and are cheaper than live players. I use electronics to simulate what live players might sound like. This way, producers can hear what you have in mind and make changes. This is a cool way to collaborate with the game guys and producers of TV and film. It is a lot of work, but it really helps everyone to be on the same page creatively. Many times in my experience they call and say we have enough in the budget for 50 players, can you simulate the rest of a 90-piece orchestra? I say, “Yes, that is what I do all the time baby”. I also say, “Let’s get the 90 guys, it will be worth the extra expense”. They say, “Nope, let’s get this sucker done as cheap as possible, man”. This is the typical thinking style that permeates the biz.

Question:

How often is a game score a mix of real players and electronics, or entirely synthesised?

Answer:

I don’t have figures on that, let’s call Ned on the 5th floor. He loves statistics; they make him sound smart. When I do a fusion of both electronics and live cats, you will not hear the electronics. I work very hard to develop ways to cover the deficiencies of electronics by careful use of orchestration, musical samples and having each side do what they do best. Add really world-class studios like 20th Century-Fox’s Newman scoring stage and the best engineers and baby it sounds great!

Question:

Do you ever get input from performers (session players) of your scores?

Answer:

We have a mutual admiration club going on at every session. I love them and respect there abilities as musician’s and creative artists. They love me because I show that respect in my writing on the pages they perform and in my regard from the podium when I am up there conducting. The love works both ways. If I do my job in composing they sound good. If I were to compose non-readable parts or unmusical parts, they look stupid. Yelling at them after you caused the problem only alienates the cats and makes you a villain. Who wants to make music for a villain?

Question:

Is there any chance that your Starfleet Academy or Starfleet Command scores will ever be released commercially?

Answer:

They are out there. Check out a CD from Silva Screen called “Space 3 - Beyond The Final Frontier.” It has the Prague Philharmonic playing my Starfleet Academy Opening. There are others out there. Interplay released the soundtracks on a limited basis. I don’t have any control over their decisions to release a product. Paramount keeps slowly releasing stuff. Hey, Star Trek is a cash machine for Paramount, if there are bucks to be made, they will eventually release every scrap of music. I write the music like opera. The score played without the picture is like an opera score without the singers. Enjoy the score as it was intended, with picture (or game). What a concept? [Editor's Note: copies of the Starfleet Academy soundtrack do show up on eBay from time to time.]

Question:

How about music from the Duck Tales TV series. Any chance for a release of that music?

Answer:

The brilliant minds under the mouse ears have determined that if they were to release the Duck Tales music that the free world might explode. Again, a lesson in entertainment business thinking is helpful. They missed the opportunity when the series was first out to cash in on its number one ratings. So they just closed the books on it. Whenever you have a question like that, simply insert the word money and you will have 95% of the answer.

Question:

On the Best of Star Trek: 30th Anniversary CD the music from the "Heart of Glory" cue "Battle Signs" was different from the cue used in the episode. What is the reason for this difference?

Answer:

What happened is the guys at GNP Crescendo Records tried to make a suite out of the various cues I gave them from the show. The cues are the same, they were just edited into a big suite by the record label.

Question:

What do you consider to be your own best musical contribution to Star Trek.

Answer:

That is for the audience to decide. In my heart, I always tried to score each episode with integrity and great respect for the audience. I never would consider the series to be like a soap opera or wagon train in space. I viewed each episode as a film on it’s own. I developed new thematic materials, and used a different orchestra each time. That takes guts and hard, hard work. I put myself in the living room of the audience and imagined what would the people find exciting. What would be cool to them within the context of the story? I would often literally beg the music head of the studio for more strings or for extra percussion. You only risk upsetting the system if you are crazy about making it great or completely on a mission to create the best score possible. I guess I am both. Now, when I hear what I did with the help of great talented players, engineers and support from the producers, I am happy I took the high road.

Question:

Do you watch any modern Star Trek? If yes, what do you think of the direction of its musical scores?

Answer:

Do you ever call your old girlfriend after you break up? Do you want to ride a tricycle after you’ve leaned to ride a bike? After I was assassinated I noticed that the scores sounded less melodic and more pad-like. Ricky Berman always considered music an intrusion, a necessary evil. I now can relate to the poor composers that were brought up before Stalin for being too creative. They were made to apologize for thinking out of the Party line. In Hollywood they just call someone else that will kiss ass bigger and better if you don’t agree. Sounds harsh, but it is really rough out there. Add money to egos and mix it with absolute power and you get something ugly. So, back to your question. Yes, sometimes I take a peek at the new stuff that Paramount manufactures so we will watch the commercials, but I have been underwhelmed by the efforts demonstrated. My dog can do pads.

Question:

More specifically, what do you think of the use of lyrics in the Enterprise theme song?

Answer:

Someone needed a naptime, or perhaps they thought they were making a new Brady Bunch series by mistake. It sucks. It doesn’t envelop the essence of space exploration. It is better suited to the opening ceremony of WNBA basketball games.

Question:

What upcoming projects are you looking forward to or are working on currently. Are any of them Star Trek related?

Answer:

I look forward to the next 4 bars I am going to write. I am an independent artist. Nobody pays me a salary. I get my pay from past royalties and current projects So I don’t know what scores I will be asked to do. I have scored a large amount of music, more than most, but I feel like I have more to do and create. I maintain a large studio in Los Angeles for the purpose of providing my composing services to producers. Right now, I am currently in the middle of scoring a feature film in the horror genre. Lots of fun, very avant-garde. A couple of game companies are in talks with me about working on their projects. We have not signed contracts yet. I would like to get more music composed not for Hollywood but for serious music as time goes by. Also, I know that games will evolve past films in the near future. The technology is providing a cool platform for new things. Right now it is kind of stupid and obvious, but that will change. I hope to work more with the innovators in interactive audio design so we can have something very cool. This baby of an industry is going to be by far the biggest thing since indoor plumbing. I stay very current with technology, digital graphics, digital video, and much more. The Internet will be the most powerful communication tool ever. The lag is in the lack of imagination. Imagination is the driving force of mankind. I have no Star Trek projects on my schedule. I guess they found someone playing at the Holiday Inn with a synth/drum machine that could do it. Barry Manalow tunes and Klingon tunes are very similar, didn’t you know?

Question:

What do you think of the hot topic of digital rights management, internet piracy, etc.? Do you think artists are harmed or helped by having free copies of their music floating around the net?

Answer:

Hey, the artist is in an area where everyone can rip his work off. How would you feel if you couldn't lock your car up, and every day people who say they appreciate you steal the contents. Not FUN! The same technologies that make the digital age such jolly good fun has a dark side in that artists are easily robbed of their work. It seems like everyday or so some fan sends an e-mail asking for some cue that has not been released on CD legally. The studios paid good bucks to record the music so it could add to the enjoyment of the audience which in the case of Television soundtracks paid nothing. The public is completely spoiled. You can buy a feature film on DVD like Star Wars that cost 100 million to make for under $20 dollars. My God that's a freaking bargain Jimmy! But no, we all want more. We are totally sick as a society, especially in the ways we abuse our few creative people. Without the creative ones, mankind would go nowhere. Just take a look at history. So everyone hold hands and decide if you want to fuck humanity as well as the content creators? Seems like this would be an easy thing to figure out, but apparently some brain chips were eaten by the dog along with the homework assignment. How sad. I am thinking of putting my scores in cement so they are more difficult to steal. Somebody's gonna get a hernia. Honor creativity and you honor yourself. Don't get me started on SUV's.