Interviews

BILLY MARTIN - COMPOSER

Interview conducted by Randy Sluganski

I can honestly admit that it was not that long ago that I could not tell you of any one memorable song I had ever heard in any game – and I’ve played hundreds of games. Then I played Syberia. Since that day my viewpoint on game music has been greatly enhanced. It was more than a matter of me not hearing some of these often sublime, but wonderful tunes, but more that the industry has only recently come to recognize the importance of music in games.

Since that day I’ve played the music from Syberia on my computer literally hundreds of times. LucasArts was then kind enough to send me a compilation of their game music and more recently some riffs from Curse of Atlantis, Post-Mortem and Pharoah’s Curse have all caught my ear. It’s honestly like discovering a whole new world within the gaming experience.

Even stranger – as though he knew of my recent discovery – composer Billy Martin contacted Just Adventure. As you are about to discover, Billy Martin is a prolific and award-winning composer of not just game music, but also television and film. Billy had composed some 1920’s jazz for Microid’s Post Mortem and though his composition was not selected, I thought it might be the opportune time for our readers to learn more about the process of adding music to our favorite games. Billy was more than willing to respond to my inane questions. We hope you enjoy the interview and keep reading after the final question for a biography of Billy Martin’s career and a list of his composing credits.

Billy Martin – The Interview

When composing the score for a game, how far along in the development of the game are you brought in? Is it from the alpha or beta stage or are you involved from the very first day of development?

The earlier the better. If I’m brought in early, I can make suggestions about how the music will be integrated into the game. I’ll have suggestions about how much music is needed, how the music can interact with the sound effects, and what areas don’t need any music at all. In practice, I’ve been brought in pretty late sometimes. I have come in when most of the levels are already completed, and there is a quick scramble to finish the music.

The majority of your game compositions have been for children’s titles at Disney and Ubisoft. Do you find yourself taking a different approach when doing a children’s game as compared to a game meant for adults?

I try not to think of it differently. I just try to stay true to the feeling of what’s happening on the screen. I think it very seldom works to try to make it sound like “children’s music”. There might be moments in a children’s game that are sillier or funnier than you would find in most adult games, and you can let the music relate to that, but overall kids don’t want to hear music that is corny any more than adults do. I think a good example of this is the Buzz Lightyear game I scored last year, Disney/Pixar Learning 2nd-3rd Grade. The music is straight out of the Star Wars, space adventure tradition. Now Buzz Lightyear is a funny character, and there might be some temptation to make the music “funny”. But I think it works better to let the music provide the space/adventure backdrop, to be the straight man so to speak, and let Buzz be funny. Whenever I was in doubt about how to approach the music, I tried to imagine what kind of music Buzz would choose to be his own soundtrack, and then I would just write that.

Some of your soundtracks have a very jazzy feel to them. After listening to some of the selections from your ‘Lunch With Picasso’ cd, do I detect hints of a jazz upbringing?

Yes, I’m a saxophonist, and I’ve spent many years playing in jazz groups. I’ve also studied the classical repertoire, and I have a degree in Music Composition from Indiana University. I also sing and play the guitar, and I was in a rock band that had an indie label deal for a while. I think it’s important for a composer to be comfortable as many different styles of music as possible.

You had done some music for Post Mortem that was not used. Is it typical for a game company to approach several different composers and then choose the score they like the best?

Obviously the ideal situation is that they like something you’ve done before and they just call up and want to hire you. But often there are several people being considered for a job. I can sympathize with their situation, it’s very difficult to imagine what kind of music someone that you’ve just met would write for your game. So it’s not uncommon to write one or two pieces as a demo to give them an idea of what you would do if they hired you. Again, it would be ideal to be paid for the demo Of course if they do pay for it, then they own that piece of music whether they hire you to score the game or not. If they don’t pay for the demo, then at least you own the music, and can use it somewhere else if you want to.

Other than Tommy Tallarico and The Fatman, very few game composers are household names in the gaming community. Who, in your opinion, is more deserving of recognition and why?

You mean besides me? (laughs) I think that music is becoming a more high-profile element in games, and will continue to do so. As games continue to be made into movies, and Film/TV composers cross over into the game world, new talent is bound to come to everyone’s attention.

How does the creative process differ between scoring a movie or television show and scoring a game for the interactive entertainment industry?

When you look at the big picture (which I like to do), there is no difference at all. You’re writing music to create an emotional response in the people hearing it, a response that relates directly to what they are seeing on the screen. Now there are differences in how to accomplish that in a game versus a movie, but I like to think of those as merely technical problems to be solved, not creative differences.

Can you describe the feeling of hearing a 70-piece orchestra perform a piece you wrote?

There’s nothing else like it! I prefer to conduct the music myself (since I know it better than anyone else), and that’s even better. A rock band can be more powerful in terms of actual decibels, but there is something about an orchestra that is really amazing. Having that many people, each of whom is a master of their craft, simultaneously put all their years of experience into interpreting the music puts this incredible amount of “life” into the sound.

There is a huge market in Japan for videogame soundtracks and compilations from the Final Fantasy series, the Zelda series and Kingdom Hearts are all bestsellers. What in particular needs to change in the U.S. for game soundtracks to be successful?

In general, game companies don’t understand how to market soundtracks—which is understandable, it just hasn’t been their job. It’s inevitable that some huge selling soundtrack is going to come along (just like Titanic did for films) and change the way everyone thinks about game soundtracks.

Is there still some negativity in the music community towards professionals who score music for games? For a long time, the acting community looked down on anyone who acted in or did a voice-over for a game, but now we have people like Ray Liotta doing voice-overs for Grand Theft Auto Vice City.

There is a lot of interest in writing music for games these days, I would say that it is becoming respectable. Some big names from the film world are starting to get involved. Don Davis, who has written the score for the Matrix movies, is also scoring the Matrix game.

You have said that you create music to tell stories. Can you explain in more detail how music can tell a story?

Some people would say that music expresses things that can’t be put into words. Certainly you can convey very fine shades of emotion and tone in a few seconds that would take pages and pages of dialog to explain. Music is like a direct pipeline into your feelings. That is an extremely powerful tool to have at your disposal when telling a story.

You were recently the first game composer ever elected to the Board of Directors of the Society of Composers and Lyricists. What do you think was the turning point where game composers finally began to receive recognition?

Awareness of the importance of music in games has been growing gradually for a long time. Last year, Ray Colcord (who was SCL president at the time) was the audio keynote speaker at the Game Developers Conference. At that conference, he announced that for the first time composers of game music would be eligible for membership in the SCL. If I had to point to one watershed event that symbolized the growing acceptance of game composers, I would pick that one.

You are also a member of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in interactive music and sound. How will the formation of G.A.N.G. help change how those outside the gaming community view videogame music?

G.A.N.G. is going to be very important. One thing that G.A.N.G. is doing to promote game music is the creation of the annual G.A.N.G. Awards, whose winners will be announced in March at the Game Developers Conference. These awards are sort of the “Grammys” of the game world. The awards are for excellence in audio, and they are voted on by our peers: other composers, sound designers, and others who are involved in game audio. I was thrilled to find out that two games that I scored last year (Disney/Pixar Learning 2nd/3rd Grade w/Buzz Lightyear, and Treasure Planet Training Academy) have been nominated in the Best Edutainment/Children Audio category.

On May 16th, 2003 the world’s first-ever live symphony concert to play videogame’s music greatest hits will take place at the Hollywood Bowl. Can you tell us a little about this event – who will be involved and how has the reception been from the gaming companies?

I’m not involved in putting this concert together, but it sounds like it is going to be a great event. I definitely plan to be in the audience!

Well, I’ll be looking for you, so save me a seat and thank you for your time!

Billy Martin--Biography

Whether conducting a 60-piece orchestra on the famed Sony sound stage or crafting an electronic score in his own technically appointed studio, composer Billy Martin creates music to tell stories. It may be music that mirrors the drama of a feature film, annotates the hyper-kinetic motion of an animated network series, or delivers the apocalyptic doom of a futuristic computer game; in all projects, Martin's music moves in sonic counterpoint to the on-screen action.

His outlets include such media icons as Walt Disney Pictures, Universal, Fox, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and ABC. Simultaneously, he composes for new media with a range of projects for companies including Ubisoft and Disney. As a songwriter, he has contributed songs to feature films including Outside Providence and Selena while television series from Touched by an Angel to Murphy Brown have also featured his lyrics and music. In addition, he has composed and recorded a substantial library of background music.

Billy's early musical education flourished on an axis of orchestral and pop influences. In high school, he wrote songs and experimented with multi-track recording before enrolling as a national merit scholar at Indiana University. “I was having fun studying composition and playing saxophone in jazz bands,” he recalls, “at the same time I was writing songs with the idea that I'd form a band, get a record deal and be famous. That's what you do right?”

After college, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream. He founded a band, nailed the requisite indie deal and hit college radio with an album's worth of self-produced material. When the record label went kaput, Martin played local gigs and sessions. Then came an unexpected career possibility.

Billy relates, “I knew some people who were writing underscore for various film and TV projects. They kept twisting my arm, saying, 'I'm too busy to finish this episode this week -- can you help?' Once I had the opportunity I knew that it was the way for me to express myself and to do exactly what I wanted to do.”

It was Billy's musical multi-tasking that led to his evolution as a full time composer. “I went through a phase doing so many things - as a sax player, a singer, working as a composer, writing for games, working for other composers as an orchestrator, extracting MIDI files as a copyist. In the midst of that I knew I wanted to do the writing myself because no performing or playing was that gratifying.”

Working successfully in so many visual mediums, it is evident that Billy must bring something very special to the table. What is it? “I think it's probably the take-out food I bring with me to the spotting sessions,” he laughs, “if not that, then it's an instinct. It's always best to talk about the emotions behind what is going on and describe the story in those terms. A director can direct me just like an actor. I'd rather talk in terms of making things light or dark, scary or happy. Ideally, a director will be very comfortable with that because I'm comfortable translating this language into the musical expression that will give them what they want.”

These days, self-described as “blissfully married with four daughters,” Billy is in demand as a composer for both big and small screens, with an expanding range of projects that engage him professionally and creatively. He concludes, “Shostakovich said you need to write everyday if you can. If you can't write something then orchestrate; if you can't orchestrate copy the parts. I do something related to music every single day. I've learned to trust my instincts -- to believe that the first thing I come up with is the best thing -- and it usually is.”

Billy Martin
Composing Credits:

Games

Film

TV

Billy Martin is represented by Bob Rice of Four Bars Intertainment.