Austin composer seeking experience in video game music
by Conor Brace · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 01/02/2008 (7:41 pm) · 2 replies
I am a young but driven composer from Austin, Texas, looking to break into the world of film, game, and media scoring.
I have earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition from the University of Texas at Austin, and am currently working on a Master of Music in Jazz Composition. I am at home writing traditional orchestral music as well as jazz, rock, pop, and other styles. Much of my music combines elements from different traditions to create something new.
Please take a moment to check out my online portfolio:
conorbrace.com
Cheers,
Conor
I have earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition from the University of Texas at Austin, and am currently working on a Master of Music in Jazz Composition. I am at home writing traditional orchestral music as well as jazz, rock, pop, and other styles. Much of my music combines elements from different traditions to create something new.
Please take a moment to check out my online portfolio:
conorbrace.com
Cheers,
Conor
#2
I think that as an aspiring game composer I have a lot to offer:
- I can write great music.
- I'm comfortable working in a variety of styles.
- I'm a perfectionist.
- I'm developing strong sequencing and mixing skills, so even low-budget projects will sound good. (Of the six tracks currently on my "Film Music" demo playlist, four of them were created entirely in my home studio -- in other words, no need to hire an orchestra or book a recording session. Of course, live musicians should always be preferred when the budget allows.)
- Most importantly, I recognize that my music must serve the needs of the game as a whole, and I believe I have the right skills and instincts to make this happen.
Now, that said, I also recognize that I have little practical experience in this field (one short film credit, no game credits yet), and I expect I will have to prove myself further before I'll be able to make a living at it. With that in mind, I'm willing to take on unpaid projects under the right circumstances. These would mostly include 1) working with game developers in a similar position, perhaps students or startup companies, as opposed to established game studios looking to save a buck; and 2) retaining full rights to my music.
As far as the types of games, I'm open to all opportunities, but I'm most interested in projects that use music as a dramatic element rather than simply as background noise. "Cinematic" might be a good word to use. Some console-gaming examples that come to mind are Bioshock, Halo, Gears of War, the Zelda series, Final Fantasy, and so on.
But hey, if you want some loop tracks for a puzzle game, I'm up for that as well. :)
Hopefully that answers your question (and then some). Feel free to contact me -- email address is listed at the bottom of the website.
Cheers,
Conor
01/03/2008 (4:03 pm)
Thanks for the kind words and for the suggestion, Jason! (The URL thing was simply overlooked; I used to run a phpBB forum, and got used to its feature of automatically linking web addresses.)I think that as an aspiring game composer I have a lot to offer:
- I can write great music.
- I'm comfortable working in a variety of styles.
- I'm a perfectionist.
- I'm developing strong sequencing and mixing skills, so even low-budget projects will sound good. (Of the six tracks currently on my "Film Music" demo playlist, four of them were created entirely in my home studio -- in other words, no need to hire an orchestra or book a recording session. Of course, live musicians should always be preferred when the budget allows.)
- Most importantly, I recognize that my music must serve the needs of the game as a whole, and I believe I have the right skills and instincts to make this happen.
Now, that said, I also recognize that I have little practical experience in this field (one short film credit, no game credits yet), and I expect I will have to prove myself further before I'll be able to make a living at it. With that in mind, I'm willing to take on unpaid projects under the right circumstances. These would mostly include 1) working with game developers in a similar position, perhaps students or startup companies, as opposed to established game studios looking to save a buck; and 2) retaining full rights to my music.
As far as the types of games, I'm open to all opportunities, but I'm most interested in projects that use music as a dramatic element rather than simply as background noise. "Cinematic" might be a good word to use. Some console-gaming examples that come to mind are Bioshock, Halo, Gears of War, the Zelda series, Final Fantasy, and so on.
But hey, if you want some loop tracks for a puzzle game, I'm up for that as well. :)
Hopefully that answers your question (and then some). Feel free to contact me -- email address is listed at the bottom of the website.
Cheers,
Conor
Torque 3D Owner Jason Ravencroft
Another thing, which would be nice to know, are the terms on which you hope to expand your portfolio into the gaming world and the types of games on which you'd like to work.
Because some people really wouldn't cut & paste:
conorbrace.com
Addendum: I'm an idiot, I didn't even do the URL right!