Blog

McDonald’s Forza Xbox One Ad Campaign Featuring Music by Lance Hayes

December 3rd, 2013 | By Lance Hayes


Whew, the title “McDonald’s Forza Xbox One Ad Campaign” is quite a mouth full. If you have a TV and live in the US then you may already seen the ads featuring a section of my track “Compression” from the Forza Motorsport 5 OST. It’s currently being used as the background in the McDonald’s Xbox One / Forza commercial titled “Legacy – Racing” as part of a prize give away including thousands of Xbox One consoles.

 

McDonalds Ad 01

The ads, in :15 and :30 versions, will undoubtedly be running nearly constantly between Dec. 3rd till the 23rd so give a shout if it comes across your screen.

As usual, there is more at Facebook and Twitter if you want the latest info.

Cheers!

BJ Shea’s Geek Nation Interview

November 4th, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

I had a great time talking with BJ Shea, Brandon Jerwa and the rest of the team at BJ Shea’s Geek Nation about my composing career, the Forza Motorsports 4 OST and how the Matrix movies stack up. We also touched on my teaching at PNWFS and, in an unexpected twist, I was forced to reveal secrets about my past. Have a listen to the podcast here if you want to increase the signal to noise ratio in the Lance-sphere today.

Cheers!

AES and SynthFest Sessions

October 24th, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

audiomatic

I’m speaking tonight at the Pacific North West AES and at SynthFest on Saturday about my work scoring video games and how I’ve used Reason over the years. Many thanks to Steve Turnidge and the crews at PNW AES and SynthFest for having me!

In honor of these events, I’m sharing this Combinator patch that I recently created in Reason 7. It uses multiple Audiomatic Retro Transformers Rack Extensions and some other tools to create instant analog sounding audio. DL and have some fun messing up, warming up and or destroying some audio!

Cheers!

Update: My clinic will be in the session room for about an hour starting at 11am. Hope to see you there!

The Forza Motorsport 5 Soundtrack: An Insider’s View

September 25th, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

Front row Chase Combs, John Broomhall, Paul Lipson, Janet Ketchum, Lennie Moore, Leslie Ann Jones, Lance Hayes

On the sound stage at Skywalker Ranch tracking strings for the Forza Motorsport 5 soundtrack. Front row: Chase Combs, John Broomhall, Paul Lipson, Janet Ketchum, Lennie Moore, Leslie Ann Jones, Lance Hayes. Subsequent rows: Marco D’Ambrosio and the Skywalker Symphony strings

Article Update (Day One, 11/22/13)

The Forza Motorsport 5 Soundtrack is now available. For more info and where to buy follow this link. Cheers!

 

FM5 signed string score at Skywalker

The Forza Motorsport 5 Soundtrack: An Insider’s View

Forza Motorsport 5’s release date is closing fast, and the excitement about this landmark installment of the franchise is building. Much has been made in the press about the soundtrack and how it’s a significant departure from previous iterations of the game. As the lead composer on FM5, I wanted to share some details and stories about its conception as well as how it’s been brought to life as the flagship title for the Xbox One.

FM5’s Departure

When Forza Motorsport 5 is released on the same day as the Xbox One on November 22, it will be a bold redirection for one of the most anticipated racing titles in the world. The game is a massive push forward as Forza has historically been known for testing the limits of the technology in every generation of Xbox. Sporting a fresh new approach to the music and the music implementation, the soundtrack is no exception. Fans will be excited in new ways as they race their dream cars all around the world.

This music, as noted by the press, is indeed a departure from the previous Forza scores. Forza 5 is enhanced by a full string orchestra, choir and percussion along with many of the elements from its traditional electronic scores.   

Sonic Fuel Sessions to record the incomparable MB Gordy

Percussion set up for the incomparable MB Gordy, Sonic Fuel

When Turn 10’s Audio Director, Nick Wiswell, disclosed his vision for FM5 to me, he wanted me to be a part of the musical reboot for the series which included live orchestra. I was humbled to be involved and very excited. Starting months before the formal composition phase, I worked closely with Nick and Chase Combs, Audio Content Lead for Turn 10 Studios, crafting the new sound for FM5. Many ideas were developed and many of the concepts created during that period helped guide and inform the sessions that followed as we advanced into composing the soundtrack.

We knew that as it was going to be the Day One launch title, FM5’s score required that we work with top talent and the world’s finest musicians. Paul Lipson, Microsoft Studios Music Director, was involved early on organizing the orchestrations, the recording facilities and managing the player talent.

Avatar's SSL 9000J

Avatar’s SSL 9000J

The core concept behind FM5’s soundtrack is that it underscores the player’s journey from their garage to the race and back to the finish line. As you play the game, the music engine is adaptively scoring your progress from the ambient beginnings, through to the epic and tumultuous racing on to your, hopefully, triumphant finish.

In past iterations, the game had a collection of music in the race sections that was primarily licensed and the last two editions featured my electronic music in the UI. All of that has changed in 5. The UI is still a chill experience but as you move forward towards the race you get a new level of exhilaration from the music as it develops into full blown cinematic excitement and uses electronics mixed with live performances by some of the world’s top musical talent.

John Broomhall and Lance in the control room at Skywalker

John Broomhall and Lance in the control room at Skywalker. In the background Chase Combs works away

To facilitate this we wrote an original score for female choir, strings, percussion, piano, and electronics and it was an absolute privilege to be joined in writing the soundtrack by game industry veteran John Broomhall. Ours was a trans-Atlantic collaboration as John is based in the UK and he also served as one of the music supervisors on FM5. He made several trips out to the US for various legs of the project and joined us for many of the recording sessions.

Once John and I had finished the core composition with Nick and Chase’s approval, the scores were sent to Lennie Moore for transcription and arrangements. Lennie worked quickly and very effectively with his team to put together the finished arrangements that met us at the various studios around the US for the recording sessions. During the composition and recording phases my assistant, Mathew Steele, was invaluable in the studio outputting over a thousand audio stems and the hundreds of MIDI files to send to Lennie for arranging.

This was truly team effort focused on achieving the highest quality and the recording sessions, spread out across the US in some of the finest facilities in the world, maintained that high bar established during the early stages of the project.

Lance, Paul Lipson and Roy Hendrickson recording the New York Film Chorale singers at Avatar

Lance, Paul Lipson and Roy Hendrickson recording the New York Film Chorale singers at Avatar

Tales from the Road

Sonic Fuel, Los Angeles CA

As the project was going to have many layers of sound we started out at Christopher Lennertz’s fantastic facility, Sonic Fuel. Paul Lipson was in charge of many of the details leading up to and during the executions of the live sessions. Paul contracted an astonishing list of players starting with M.B. Gordy on percussion.

 

Paul Lipson, Jeff Vaughn, Keith Ukrisna checking the mix at Sonic Fuel

Paul Lipson, Engineer Jeff Vaughn and Keith Ukrisna checking the mix at Sonic Fuel

M.B. was hand-picked by Paul for his incredible chops and he didn’t disappoint. Layers of percussion were tracked with everything from subtle djembe to powerful passes with the massive Taiko drums and toms that he’s used on such notable soundtracks as Battlestar Galactica and the Transformer films. M.B. was equally adept with the subtle quiet passages as he was with the thunderous accents and massive sections of our scores.

M.B. Gordy and Lance at Sonic Fuel

M.B. Gordy and Lance at Sonic Fuel

It was a treat to work with M.B. and a great time was had hanging out at Sonic Fuel. We left Los Angeles with unbelievable drum work. Our next destination was just north of the San Francisco Bay.

Skywalker Ranch, The Bay Area CA

 

Marco D'Ambrosio conducts at Skywalker

Marco D’Ambrosio conducts at Skywalker

There are few experiences that can match driving through the lush hills that surround the gates at Skywalker Ranch. There are fewer still that can prepare you for your visit as a guest at Skywalker Ranch. There are even less that can match the excitement you have when your visit is for your project, and that alongside the remarkable location, world class facility etc., you get to work with Leslie Ann Jones and her crack team on your sessions. “Over the moon” almost sums up my giddy feelings as Matthew and I were waved through the gate the day before we started recording our strings for FM5 at this venerable facility in the hills above the bay.

Leslie Ann, Paul Lipson and Andre Zweers tracking from the control room at Skywalker

Leslie Ann, Paul Lipson and Andre Zweers tracking from the control room at Skywalker

At the Ranch, we met up with Pyramind’s Michael Roache and Lennie Moore. Michael was in charge of all the Pro Tools sessions and Lennie’s company SkyPrep was there to assure that the entire Skywalker team had everything they needed from the scores on the project. This was the first time that I’d worked with Lennie and, as a longtime fan of his work, it was a special treat to spend time with him.

 

The beautiful Skywalker Neve 88R

The beautiful Skywalker Neve 88R

Working with Leslie Ann was nothing short of astounding. Her team was remarkable, warm and professional. They took the time to make sure we were comfortable and that all of the work coming out of the building was of the very highest quality. The Neve 88R certainly didn’t disappoint, and thanks to Leslie Ann, we were treated to some of the most marvelous strings I’ve ever heard in or out of the studio. I could not have been happier than I was in the control room at Skywalker.

Mathew confirms that we are on track

Mathew Steele confirms that we are on track

The Skywalker Symphony strings, under the baton of Marco D’Ambrosio, treated us to breathtaking performances of the score. Marco elicited fantastic interpretations, and these stellar players, who were a collection of the finest the Bay Area had to offer, delivered on every cue. Various members of the orchestra made special mention of how excited they were to be working on Forza and one of the first soundtracks for Xbox One. A big shout out to Janet Ketchum for assembling this top-notch string orchestra.

 

Lance, Paul Lipson, Chase Combs, Lennie Moore, John Broomhall and Gillian Broomhall out on the town

Lance, Paul Lipson, Chase Combs, Lennie Moore, John Broomhall and Gillian Broomhall out on the town

When our visit to Skywalker came to an end we headed off to a destination in New York City that I had been waiting to visit all of my life.

Avatar, New York

John, Lance and Paul get back to work at Avatar

John, Lance and Paul check the choir scores at Avatar Photo: Harry Amyotte

The thing that kept running through my mind, as my plane touched down at LaGuardia, is just how much classic pop and jazz was recorded at Avatar. This legendary facility, formerly as the “Power Station,” is where artists as diverse as Bjork, Esperanza Spalding, Roxy Music, Wynton Marsalis, David Bowie and many more have chosen to record. And for good reason, the facility and indeed the entire staff are amazing. We worked with veteran Avatar engineer Roy Hendrickson on their wonderful SSL 9000J board in Studio B to record the phenomenal singers of the New York Film Chorale.

 

John, Lance and Paul at Avatar checking the score

John, Lance and Paul at Avatar Photo: Harry Amyotte

Our score called for Alto and Soprano so Studio B was a fantastic fit for the assembled choir. The New York Film Chorale delivered vocal chills and power under the skillful direction of director, Dwayne Condon. Listening to these world class singers work their magic is near the top of the list among the great pleasures of my composing career. On take after take their superlative work could not have been more inspired, and they were as delighted as we were to be working on a Day One title. Many thanks to Kathryn Amyotte for bringing these great voices together for the session.

John and Paul at work, Avatar

John, Paul, Roy and Vince in the background at work at Avatar

This project has certainly allowed me to tick off a number of items from my bucket list, and there were many delightful “only in NYC” moments that caught me by surprise. One of those was on the second day of recording when I bumped into Yoko Ono in the Avatar lobby on my way through to collect my coffee. We exchanged greetings and when I returned a few minutes later she was gone. Just another day at Avatar.

New York Film Chorale at Avatar

Lance, Paul and John with the talented singers of the New York Film Chorale in the studio at Avatar

More to Tell

As you can guess, there are more tales and more to share, but Day One is coming and some things are better left to surprise. Suffice it to say that the coming months are going to be big ones for fans of Forza and the music of Forza so keep checking the official Forza Blogs at forzamotorsport.net and look for big updates coming on my Facebook and Twitter pages in the coming weeks.

Taking macchiato orders at Skywalker

Taking macchiato orders at Skywalker, because you know, espresso

Game Music Articles for Andertons Music UK

July 23rd, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

Anderton's Music

Series Update: The article “How to Write Compelling Music for Games” was nominated for a 2013 Game Audio Network Guild Award for “Best Game Audio Article/Podcast/Publication”. More info here

Original Post: Are you interested in learning about game audio and composing for games? How about a little dash of game business advice? Then I have just the articles for you! I’ve partnered with Andertons Music in the UK for a series starting with game audio basics and heading into other areas of interest. You can check it out here on the Andertons Music site. I’ll be posting weekly so check back often for updates and, if it helps, I’ll be posting when new articles go live on my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Cheers!

Nike+ Kinect Music Mix

March 24th, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

nike-plus-kinect-training-logo

I finally got around to putting together a little mix of samples from my work on the Nike+ Kinect title for Xbox 360. If you haven’t sweat your brains out to this title yet, what are you waiting for?!

If you want to hear more music head over to the Media page.

The Game Developers Conference

March 9th, 2013 | By Lance Hayes

GDC-2013

Its that time of year again when the snow is melting, the days get longer and San Francisco hosts one of the biggest events in the gaming industry. The Game Developer’s Conference is almost upon us!

I’m looking forward to saying hello to everyone I know that I don’t get a chance to hang with in Seattle. And realistically, given my workload with the projects I’m on, this year will be good chance to see people from the NW as well.

I’m looking forward to going back to Cali as this is the second time I’ll have been down to the Eureka state in as many month since my visit to LA to attend the GRAMMY’s in February. It’s fun to note that it won’t be my last in the near future, but I’ll have to come back to that later, after some announcements are made.

Unfortunately my visit will be brief this year as I’m booked solid in the studio and the Game Scoring class I teach as part of the PNWFS Masters in Film Scoring is already underway but a good time I intend to have. I will try my best not to repeat last years debacles and will certainly create new ones instead.

If you’re not going to be able to attend and want to see some of the action up close feel free to check out my Facebook and Twitter pages for updates as I traverse the floors of the epic Mascone. Either way I hope to see you soon.

Cheers!

Speaking Engagement: Decibel Festival 2012 Conference Panel

September 18th, 2012 | By Lance Hayes

db fest 2012

 

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be part of the panel “You Landed a Gig Working With a Game Dev / Company. Now What?” on Friday the 28th at 12pm as part of the 2012 Decibel Festival Conference in Seattle. I’ll be onstage with developer extraordinaire Kim Swift and Airtight Games Audio Director Tom Smurden to discuss what to expect on your first game audio or composing job in the industry.

From the website:

_________

FRI 12:00PM – YOU LANDED A GIG WORKING WITH A GAME DEV / COMPANY.  NOW WHAT? [Kim Swift (Portal, Quantum Conundrum), Tom Smurdon (Audio Director, Airtight Games), Lance Hayes (DJ Drunken Master)]

What should you expect when you start working in the game industry? Join a sound designer, a composer and a game designer and get an inside look at what an audio job looks like in games from different points of view. Hear about the common tools of the trade, day in the life, music and audio licensing and ask your own questions of the panel of seasoned game industry professionals.

__________

I expect it will be a lively talk that you won’t want to miss. Click here for the full conference schedule.

The panel is part of the dB Fest’s Conference that runs alongside dB Fest’s epic music events all week. Over 23,000 people attended dB Fest last year. Here’s more about the dB Fest and Conference: “Decibel festival is an annual festival of electronic music, performance, visual art and new media in Seattle”  “The dB Conference promotes the exchange of information through educational and informal conversations by bringing musicians, DJs, fans, and companies together under one roof.”

To learn more head over to dbfestival.com

Cheers!

My Game Developers Conference 2012

March 10th, 2012 | By Lance Hayes

I’m still decompressing from the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco this week. Had a great time reconnecting with old friends and making a few new ones. The only thing I missed doing this year was the Marriott Sky Bar! How did that get overlooked? Anyway GDC 2012 was a smashing success and a lot of fun. Here are some of my favorite GDC highlights and memories in non chronological order:

First off, so glad that the audio lectures were back in Moscone West! First person I bumped into at GDC: Bob Rice. Right as I was getting off the shuttle at the hotel.

Before things got cranking I was standing next to Marty O’Donnell in a nearly empty room at Pyramind for the GANG Awards after-party while he played through Halo Anniversary. He offered feedback about the revamping in real time and it was thrill to chat about the project and a have him offer a few insights about the original Halo as well.

It was great to hang with old friend Sam Hulick and to meet his better half in the down right lovely Sara Pocius. She’s a keeper Sam!

Composer extraordinaire Adam Gubman will out dress you no matter how snazzy you think you look.

Randomly meeting the legendary Ian Livingstone in the basement at of Johny Folley’s and talking with him and other UK based luminaries over a dueling piano bar! So loud but also so good to find out that Andrew Barnabas is indeed a real person!

Two words: Mick Gordon. You define enthusiasm my friend.

I enjoyed your lecture with Garry Schyman about aleatoric music and Jason Graves, please feel free to call me Stephen from now on.

Talking at length with Jason Poss about his amazing career in game, TV and film as an orchestrator and all around bad ass! It’s not often that you get to hang out with the man that helped create some of the most iconic media in the world today. Bonus moment was sitting at a table with Jillian and Andrew Aversa and talking about Andrew’s work on the Phineas and Ferb video game and comparing notes about Jason’s work on the TV version.

Rooming with the multi-talented Jeff Ball! Jeff, thank you for listening to me babble during the wee hours after only one drink. One. Yes, thanks to family life and a busy work schedule I am now officially a cheap date.

Talking school and teaching concepts with IASIG Game Audio Education Working Group board member Stephen Harwood. Our conversation made me feel more comfortable about my first week, starting this Wednesday, teaching game audio for the masters degree program at PNWFS. Thanks for the tips Stephen, I owe you an email.

It’s always great to get your drink on with Mike Caviezel. Rock on my friend!

Two more words: Caesar Filori. To me, it’s just not GDC without you.

Chatting with friend Paul Lipson about work, impending fatherhood and life. Kids. Change. Everything!

Thanks to Shawn LeMone and Jennifer Harmon for putting together another wonderful ASCAP mixer. Always a highlight at GDC.

Standing next to friend Jason Hayes and explaining, more than once this week, to various people such as Tom Salta that we are not actually related.

Annabelle’s did not disappoint with their lovely grilled King Salmon preparation but I have to get over there more next year.

Having the opportunity to congratulate Wilbert Roget for his and Gordy Haab’s will deserved GANG Award for Best Original Instrumental. I remain a fan of Will’s work and it’s great to see him get the recognition he deserves.

I don’t know anyone that wasn’t touched by Kevin Riepl’s acceptance speech for his GANG Distinguished Service Award. I picked up both of my sons today and thought of you.

Sharing the same flight home with Scott Selfon, Paul Furio and lots of other Seattle luminaries was a little thrilling until we hit a some turbulence as we descended into Sea-Tac at which point it became a lot thrilling. Is it ever a good idea for the flight attendant to say “we are going to experience some turbulence. Parents, please  hold onto your children very tightly!”?

And finally here is a partial list of people it was great to see and or meet and chat with for far too short a time: Carsten Rojahn, Otto Cate, Jesse Harlan, Hillary Thomas, Ben Crossbones, Mark Kilborn, Dren Mcdonald, Brian Schmidt, Jeffrey Michael Deary, Gerard Marino, John Culkin, Morla Gorrondona, Chris Rickwood, Rod Abernathy, John Rodd, David Kates, Michael Patti, Will Loconto, Joshua Mosley, Brian DiDomenico, Billy Martin and so many more!

Till next year all, cheers

 

ASCAP Congratulations

October 12th, 2011 | By Lance Hayes

This just in from the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) Facebook page

“Congrats to ASCAP composer/producer Lance Hayes (DJDM) Music, who scored over 100 minutes of music for Turn 10 Studios‘ forthcoming Xbox 360 game, Forza Motorsport 4. His original soundtrack for Forza Motorsport 3 was hailed as one of the best electronic albums of 2010 by G4TV…we’re guessing this one’s going to be amazing too!”

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Lance Hayes