Interview: Jack Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops II)

Interview: Jack Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) Composer Jack Wall talks with Marius Masalar about his score for the fastest selling video game to date, Call of Duty: Black Ops II. They talk about his transition from audio producer to working in the video game world, his thoughts on the use of "melody" in game scores, working alongside and around Trent Reznor's main theme, and a bit about his upcoming score for Lost Planet 3 in 2013! Episode Highlights 0:00 Introduction 2:12 Early reviews of Black Ops II 3:42 Going from studio work to game audio, meeting Trent Reznor 9:00 The evolving game audio workflow, coming full circle 10:38 The attraction of Black Ops II, the value of story in the game 14:41 Dynamic range and the musical direction for the game 16:10 The story of the Niño Precioso cue 22:03 Influences from other series and previous Call of Duty scores 23:39 Melodic themes in games and emotional moments 28:07 Orchestras, the recording process, and the nuance of live performances 30:04 The mixing team and attention to detail in production 32:59 Electronics, field recordings, combining and using sounds 36:01 Learning synthesis and working on Mass Effect 37:12 Jack's favourite sound and the trouble with ringtones 39:14 Working alongside Trent Reznor, the main theme 40:30 The challenge of creating a fresh Call of Duty experience 43:34 Witnessing trends in the gaming industry, the power of indie 49:03 Wrapping up Lost Planet 3 and its…unusual musical direction 54:30 Game scores and composers that Jack admires 56:20 The growing appreciation of music in games 57:40 Conclusion Music Selections 00:00 "Savimbi's Pride" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall 15:15 "Hidden " (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall 16:30 "Niño Precioso" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall 20:20 "Raul Menendez Theme" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall 24:40 "Heros Theme " (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall 32:55 "Spider Bot" (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall and Jimmy Hinson 58:32 "Adrenaline (Call of Duty: Black Ops II) by Jack Wall Download the episode here Subscribe and more info here