WELCOME


August 2013 Issue 273


MEET THE TEAM


Deputy Editor – Jory MacKay jory.mackay@intentmedia.co.uk


Staff Writer – Jake Young jake.young@intentmedia.co.uk


Managing Editor – Jo Ruddock jo.ruddock@intentmedia.co.uk


Sales Manager – Graham Kirk graham.kirk@intentmedia.co.uk


Head of Design & Production – Adam Butler adam.butler@intentmedia.co.uk


Production Executive – Jason Dowie jason.dowie@intentmedia.co.uk


Designer – Jat Garcha jat.garcha@intentmedia.co.uk


Publisher – Steve Connolly steve.connolly@intentmedia.co.uk


Press releases to: pressreleases@intentmedia.co.uk


© Intent Media 2013. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.


Audio Media is published by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LN, England. Editorial tel +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel +44 (0)20 7354 6000


Audio Media ISSN number: ISSN 0960-7471 (Print)


Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6001 email: lianne.davey@intentmedia.co.uk


Printed by Stephen & George, Wales Jory MacKay, Deputy Editor


THIS MONTH I had the pleasure of attending the Audio Track sessions during the 2013 Develop Conference in Brighton (you can read our full show review on page 18). And while I would have taken any excuse to spend a day on the beach in the weather the UK was experiencing, the sessions provided enough high-quality content to persuade me from popping out for a few pints on the waterfront.


While the day provided an excellent crash course on the intricacies of game audio, it also proved to me that there are some universal issues facing everyone in the audio community. Chanel Summers, co-founder of Syndicate 17 and adjunct professor at the


USC School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media Division, asked an incredibly significant question during her presentation on artistic expression in game audio design: Can audio ever reach the same status as art?


“What we don’t realise is that sometimes getting wrapped up in the technical specifications of a piece of kit or obsessively tweaking sounds can take away from the bigger picture of how audio can be used to tell a story.”


While those in the industry will undoubtedly and unanimously scream ‘yes!’ Chanel’s presentation brought up the ugly fact that it might not be such an easy answer for those on the outside who routinely see audio as a more utilitarian endeavour when compared to the visual ecstasy of film, TV and, increasingly, video games.


What we don’t realise is that sometimes getting wrapped up in the technical specifications of a piece of kit or obsessively tweaking sounds can take away from the bigger picture of how audio can be used to tell a story just as much as visuals can. Talking to Julian Slater and Mark Paterson during the final mix of Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (See our Final Cut feature on page 26), it’s inspiring to hear them say how collaborative the process was between Director and Sound Designer, and how when it came to the sounds of the film ‘nothing was by accident’.


Returning to the Develop conference, another point that stuck with me were the multiple presenters who spoke about how through communicating with other departments early on in production and demonstrating just how much sound design and effects can raise the value of a project they were able to have animators work to their audio assets – something you don’t hear about too often.


It’s this level of communication and collaborative effort that is needed to raise the profile of audio into something as widely recognised and respected as video, or even art. Although an unlikely place to look for it, maybe the games audio industry is the perfect place to find inspiration for us all.


www.audiomedia.com


August 2013 03


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76