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

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