Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538144
42 M PS E . O R G A New Path in Sound "My background in music and samplers translated directly to games. It all just made sense." Garrett Montgomery MPSE: You began your career in film, working with iconic directors such as Oliver Stone, John Hughes, Wolfgang Petersen, James Cameron, Michael Mann, Peter Hyams, Guillermo del Toro, and David Twohy. And in the '90s, you founded Soundelux Media Labs as a "sound design think tank" to complement your film work at Soundelux. What inspired that transition, and what initially drew you into game audio? Scott Gershin: Early on, James Merks, one of the creators of the WaveFrame, introduced me to a friend of his who was starting a new video game company. Upon meeting his friend, we had a great meeting, and he really wanted to work together on his new endeavor. I asked what company he bought and what he'd be calling it. He said he's going to call it Activision. That by the Windows Operating Division to contribute to creating sound design and music for their new Windows startup sound and user tutorial, as well as contributing sounds for their new product, the Xbox. I brought in Bill Brown, who had joined my team as a composer, to join me in creating the music. As our workload grew, we rebranded from Soundelux Media Labs to Soundelux Design Music Group. One day, Buzz Burrows from Sony called to see if we could cast and record voice-overs for their upcoming games, which quickly became a relationship lasting more than 20 years. We built out our VO pipeline with help from talented people, including Carol Ruggier, Amanda Wyatt, and later, Chip Beaman, who brought deep expertise in casting and SAG compliance. Becky Allen from Microsoft joined the team and Jeff Eisner, whom I had hired earlier from USC and worked with for years, was promoted to run our new television division, alongside Cindy Gershin, who helped launch my division and was our facility manager. She worked with Jeff as their facility manager and in accounting. This began the next phase of Soundelux DMG. friend was Bobby Kotick. That meeting led to a five-year deal working on all their games, including classic titles like MechWarrior, Zork Nemesis, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Spycraft: The Great Game, Interstate '76, Dark Reign, Quake II, and Shanghai II. Our logo was even on the box! I realized my background in music and samplers directly translated to games. I came from a world of 8-bit and 12-bit formats, working with session musicians like Mike Lang and Chris Page, programming synths like the Yamaha DX7, and all the Rolands like the Jupiter-6 and Jupiter-8, as well as samplers like the EMU and Akai. When I started working on the Nintendo and Sega hardware, it clicked. Their audio systems were basically samplers. I knew this world. At one GDC roundtable with Microsoft, who were discussing DirectX, I asked detailed questions about their audio engine capabilities and shared my ideas about what could be improved. They invited me to join their advisory board. That's where I connected with Guy Whitmore, Steve Ball, and later, Brian Schmidt and Scott Selfon. Shortly after, I was invited Recording music & sound design for The Masters of the Universe Power Tour 1986. Photo by Cindy Gershin Photo by Cindy Gershin