Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1490686
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S I 43 BM: I worked with Chris at Acclaim and Criterion and then a few years later, I worked with Sam at EA DICE. They were both starting their freelance journeys at roughly the same time. They are both lovely and very talented people, and I felt their skill sets would complement each other so I made the initial introduction and came up with the name "Sweet Justice" (chris SWEETman and samuel JUSTICE). I kept in touch over the years, both as peers in the industry but also as friends, and when it came time for me to move on from EA DICE and Battlefield, it was an obvious choice to join them! CM: When approaching a new project, how do you prepare for the work? BM: Getting to know or build the audio team is always the first step. Then embrace the IP and setting. Immerse yourself in as much of the lore and reference as is possible, watch, play, read and where possible, experience (and record!). Go wild, go off at tangents, fill your mind with lots and lots of things and see if things start to gel and fall into place. Check in regularly with your peers—art director, game director, narrative director, etc.— across the other disciplines. See what resonates with them and what doesn't. Not all the things you bring to the table need to be audio. Aim to create the gold standard for everything. Either find the reference, record it, or make it. Find the examples that embody the project, that set the standard and benchmark for everyone else, not just in audio, and sell you ideas and direction in, both up, across, and down the line. CS: Normally, I go through the brief and look at any research materials, and then try to find a unique "voice" as I call it, for the sound design. I tend to spend a few days or even a week creating a fresh source to find that unique sound and provide the building blocks for when I start design in PT. SJ: I love to engulf myself in all topics and genres that the project touches upon, its inspirations both visually and thematically, its approaches to the subject matter and what new things it's trying to achieve. The start of a new project is the most exciting, as it's the period where we'll have the most time and no real restrictions in terms of where our imagination can take us with it. CM: What does an initial creative call or spotting session like with your typical clients? BM: For a brand-new IP, right at the kickoff, there can be very little to go on. There could be some concept art or paint-overs, maybe a rip-o-matic, or even just a few slides of a deck (Power Point, etc.). At this stage, it's as much about the "audio" you bring to the table as it is your experience as a game developer. There are points when audio can do its own thing and shine and be amazing in its own right, but at the end of the day, audio's primary role is to support game play and/or narrative. At this early stage, it's about exploring and aligning, and then poking to find the areas and questions you need to explore. Experiment a lot and fail sooner—it's a lot cheaper at this stage before moving to full production With a bit of work, you will end up with 'pillars'—the key tenets around how audio will support and be used in the title—then you must work to prove God of War Ragnarök Worthing, UK. 2022