Andrew Aversa (Monkey Island 2: Special Edition)

Jillian Aversa (God of War: Ghost of Sparta)Jimmy Hinson (Mass Effect 2)

Wilbert Roget, II (LucasArts, The Old Republic)

• Freelancer vs. Inhouse• Indie vs. AAA

• Composer vs. Sound Designer vs. Performer / Session Musician

• Horribly Overworked

• Choose your own hours (sort of)• Be your own boss (sort of )

• Work from wherever you want• Potentially more free time for side projects

• Full control over which gigs you do and don’t get

• Greater potential for more $$$• … if you ever get a gig

• Social, work with other talented people• Work ranges from sparse to I-want-to-kill-

myself• Job security (sort of)

• Benefits• Access to great audio facilities + gear

• Direct access to the ‘client’• Minimal control over projects taken

• Minimal control over work location, time

• Main focus of this panel• Big budgets, scopes

• Far more personnel involved• More emphasis on deadlines, results,

scheduling• Harder to break into

• Very rewarding

• A good attitude!• The ability to be nice and generous (but

tough when necessary)• Social skills

• Personal hygiene• Motivation and determination

• Thick skin• A day job

• A solid grasp of music theory + arrangement• At least one style you do very well (elec,

orch/classical, jazz, etc.)• An ear for mixing/mastering

• Basic transcription, chord recognition• No formal degree needed

• Practice is most important – transcribing, studying scores, listening + writing

• Recording: $100-150 condenser mic, $200-300 interface/preamp

• Isolation: $130 Sorber Baffle• Monitoring: $100-200 headphones

• DAW: Cubase, Sonar, REAPER etc ($30-500)• Samples/Synths: Komplete 7 ($400-500)

• Orchestral Sounds: QLSO Silver/Gold ($100-300)

• Mastering Tools: Ozone, T-Racks ($50-250)• Budget ~$1000 for a pro-capable setup

• Production quality is KEY

• Networking is key, but don’t force it• Organic connections + friends

• Not JUST gamedev friends, but audio friends• Be active in seeking gigs/work but…• Don’t be afraid to branch out (music

libraries, sampled instruments, session work)• Start with indie games, mods, student projects (good for lasting relationships)

•Maintain + update demo reel(s) + website

• #1 by far = Game Developers Conference (GDC)

• San Francisco, CA – Feb/March• If nothing else, go to that

• Get involved w/ local game devs (IGDA)• Go to meetups + gamejams

• Join GANG (our trade organization)• Online communities of interest: IGDA/GANG

forums, GameAudioForum, TIGsource, GameDev

• Keep up on gear/trends: KVRAudio, VI-Control

• Protect yourself, DON’T sell yourself short• Every gig needs a contract – even a simple

one• DON’T give away rights w/o big $$$

• Low-budget, no-budget? Ask for royalties, soundtrack rights, or:

• Barter for album art, web design, resume/cover letter templates, press releases, biz cards, video content…

• Prepare yourself for possibility of not getting anything in return on indie/student

• Mainstream projects pay per minute ($800-1500 for console/PC) or project rate

• PSP/DS might go down to $250-300/min• XBLIG, Flash, iPhone – Depending on dev,

$50-100/track to $500/min• How much time will it take you? Do the math

• $300 per min, takes 2 hours = $150/hr• $800 per min, takes 10 hours = $80/hr

• Session work: $100-400 per track, or hourly ($50-100 per hour) – check w/ union too

• Any project can become time-consuming• Build a network of trusted musician/composer friends

• Better to say “yes” and delegate, ghostwrite + collab than to say “no”

• Again, reliability, results + scheduling is very impotant

• Spend money if necessary to get the job done right (but don’t lose money on the gig)

• GDC: www.gdconf.com• IGDA: www.igda.org

• GANG: www.audiogang.org• KVR: www.kvraudio.com

• VI-Control: www.vi-control.net• TIGsource: www.tigsource.com• GameDev: www.gamedev.net

• GameAudioForum: www.gameaudioforum.com

• AudioMIDI (gear!): www.audiomidi.com• BH PhotoVideo (more gear!):

www.bhphotovideo.com

Andrew – www.zirconmusic.comJill – www.jillianaversa.com

Jimmy – www.biggiantcircles.comWill – www.rogetmusic.com

Will & Andrew – www.impactsoundworks.com