Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/237968
Tracy Bush audio Director 5th cell Media Bellevue, Wa www.5thcell.com 5th Cell Media creates original games for both mobile and console platforms for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Recent games include the award-winning Scribblenauts Remix for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, and Hybrid, which is exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade. sTrENGThs: "In the last year we've seen a lot of legitimacy in that game audio has really started to get recognized as a craft. There have been articles on USA Today showing that audio composition has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of employment in the country, and a lot of that is based in video games. Composer Austin Wintory was up for a Grammy nomination (his soundtrack for Journey was the first video game soundtrack to be nominated for a Grammy Award). We have game composers graduating to films, and that line is blurring. I think that's a good thing to see. People are looking at our industry as a legitimate craft. With a lot of studios, for a lot of years, it was pretty tricky to try to get money thrown at audio because the thinking was nobody really pays attention to audio; they just play the game with the sound off. But now you're getting people paying atten- 5th Cell recently worked on the Xbox tion to what we do, and that's a good thing." WEaKNEssEs: "One of the weaknesses we have to face as cre- title, Hybrid. ators is finding interesting ways to create sound. While audio is getting a lot of money thrown at it, it's harder to find innovation. It's harder to find something truly new. We're getting more money thrown at the soundtracks and sound design, but at the same time, you are hearing a lot of stuff that sounds the same, and that's not great. We need to push out into more creative and interesting directions to try and keep ourselves fresh." OPPOrTuNITIEs: "Mobile, I think, is where there is an opportunity to do something really interesting. It's been said very wisely that, it's harder to start doing something creative when you've got infinite directions to go in. If there's nothing that you can't do, then where do you start? I know, for a lot of us, we've been given the keys to the kingdom, continued on page 45 www.aja.com Maximum Thunderbolt™ 2 Performance 4K/HD/SD capture and playback Io 4K leverages the latest Thunderbolt™ 2 technology to offer a broad range of video and audio connectivity that supports 4K and UltraHD devices for capture and output. Connect Io 4K seamlessly with leading broadcast, post-production and delivery tools for easy integration into your 4K, HD or SD workflows. 4K UHD HD SD Scalable Professional Connectivity Compatible Work in SD, HD, UHD and 4K performance all from a single device with dedicated, high-quality down-conversion for HD-SDI output of 4K projects. Full-sized connections for SDI, HDMI, analog audio, reference, LTC and RS-422 control make Io 4K the choice for working professionals. AJA's driver and plug-in technology integrates Io 4K with a wide range of production, editing, graphics, and broadcast software packages. www.postmagazine.com Post • December 2013 27