Media

HI SCOR3 – A Video Game Orchestra – Upcoming Performance

August 24th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

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The concert that HI SCOR3 concert put on this last March was a highlight of the gaming and music social calendar. For the lucky crowd that found their way to the exclusive Seattle location that night, it was an evening of fun, endless memories of wonderful games and great music.

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And they plan to do it all again on September 19th. HI SCOR3 is bringing back their unconventional style of live video game music performance to Belltown which you can find out more at this link. Suffice it to say, it will be a fun evening of fantastic music, games and more than a few surprises.

Hope to see you there!

 

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Interview – IGN Denmark

May 5th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

IGN Denmark Profile of Lance Hayes

 

The interview I did with IGN Denmark just went live, and hey, I made the front page! Interviewer Kristian West was interested in learning about my work in the studio and we talked about my background in the industry. (Some of which ties in nicely with my “A Career In Audio” talk I’m slated to give this weekend at DigiPen) We discussed the tools I use, and since he has a particular interest in Reason, we talk specifics about some of my favorite setups and how I use the Propellerhead flagship software.

I had a great time talking shop and was delighted that he selected some of my lesser known works from my indie soundtracks to showcase among the crowd favorites from the Forza series in this interview.

The entire piece is in Danish so, if you’re like me, you will probably need a translator. If so, Google Translate does a reasonable job. Cheers!

 

IGN Denmark 02 Lance Hayes

Speaking Engagement: The Annual DigiPen Audio Symposium

April 9th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

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Update: I’ve re-posted the original Keyboard Magazine article retitled “A Career In Audio” LinkedIn.

I’m looking forward to joining the stellar line up of speakers for DigiPen’s annual Audio Symposium held on Saturday May 9th on the DigiPen Redmond campus.

From the site, here’s more about the event:

DigiPen is pleased to host the third annual Audio Symposium, which is being jointly sponsored by the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.). Talks will cover a mix of topics related to sound engineering research, interactive music, and game audio.

This event is free and open to the public. Please register online if you plan to attend.

Come join Marty O’Donnell, Prof. Edgar Choueiri, Greg Dixon, Christopher Mael and myself as we talk about the business, technologies, techniques and the future of audio.

Here’s more about my talk:

Lance Hayes: A Career in Audio
“Taking his cue from a popular blog he wrote for Keyboard Magazine in 2011 featuring career advice from various composers, Lance digs in and shares what it takes to work professionally in sound. Looking back over his two decades in audio, Lance shares insights and lessons learned from his experiences working as a composer, studio owner, studio manager, game audio blogger, sound designer, educator and more.”

About DigiPen Institute of Technology:

DigiPen Institute of Technology is a dedicated leader in education and research in computer interactive technologies. DigiPen is committed to fostering academic growth and inspiring creativity in all its students. More about DigiPen here.

What Can We Do For You?

January 27th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

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Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to work on projects of all sizes for developers and publishers such as Microsoft, Activision and Nintendo. To assist me I’ve assembled a crack team of audio professionals and contractors. I’ve worked with the best on projects ranging from composing 8bit to orchestral soundtracks, creating original sound design and field recordings to implementation and more.

As an independent contractor I’ve spent years crafting audio that fits perfectly into titles so my team and I are focused on delivering great audio experiences. With award winning talent from projects that span next gen consoles, handheld and PC titles our skills range across the entire spectrum of audio disciplines, (a list of some of the titles we’ve worked can be found here). We specialize in bringing the sound of the games we work on to life.

We’re available for new projects, no game is too big or too small, Indie to Fortune 500. Please contact djdm at djdm.com for more information to make your project’s audio stand out!

For the latest updates about the studio please see our Twitter and Facebook pages.

 

Complete Video of AES Lecture Available Online

January 12th, 2015 | By Lance Hayes

Forza 5 OST Lecture

Lance Hayes Speaking at Microsoft Research

 

Update: The PNW AES Section report featuring notes about my Forza 5 presentation is live on the national AES site.

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My session from last weeks PNW AES section January meeting at Microsoft Research was a lot of fun with great questions from the audience. The meeting was well attended by AES members, game audio pros and students. Thanks to everyone that came out!

The video of the talk billed as, “a detailed look at how the soundtrack to the one of the first next gen video game soundtracks for the Xbox One was conceived and executed” is now online here. And, thanks to Microsoft Research, it’s free to view.

This session was lively as well as a little bittersweet as its likely my last public Forza 5 talk. I discuss my work as the lead composer on on the launch title for the Xbox One as well as the cross country recording process so there are audio and video examples and a live demo of the game. I cover composing, adaptive audio, how the soundtrack was prototyped and wrap up by taking questions from the audience.

So if you have an interest in my work on the Forza franchise, next gen game scores and or game audio this talk is for you. Enjoy!

(Special thanks to Gary Louie, Rick Chinn and Ivan Tashev from PNW AES for hosting and coordinating this special event)

Microsoft Research recently reorganized their lecture library, moving all of the talks to YouTube. Here is the new link to the video:

 

Lance talking about FM5 at the PNW AES meeting

Beep: A Documentary History of Video Game Music & Sound

September 25th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

GameSoundCon is next month in LA. I’ll be speaking about working as a franchise composer on the Forza series as well as interviewing with Karen Collins and her team for the documentary “Beep: A Documentary History of Video Game Music & Sound”.

Beep is a feature-length documentary film & book of game sound & music from the mechanical arcades through to today’s orchestras. I’m looking forward to speaking with Karen and her crew. If you are interested in game audio, the Beep Kickstarter campaign has several days left to go so head over and help “Beep” be all that it can be!

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Propellerhead Rack Extensions Video

June 11th, 2014 | By Lance Hayes

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I’m pleased to be featured in the latest Propellerhead video talking about their brilliant Rack Extensions. It’s an honor to be included alongside industry luminaries, designers and friends in this piece discussing one of my favorite developments in the Reason rack.

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.

 

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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!

Build-A-Lot Fairy Tales

May 25th, 2012 | By Lance Hayes

HipSoft Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales

I wanted to share a couple of my tracks from the latest casual title “Build-A-Lot Fairy Tales” from the brilliant team at HipSoft. I had a great time expressing my inner magic kingdom on this one.
Just released this week “Fairy Tales” follows in the grand tradition of all HipSoft games, great artwork, devilishly addicting game play and cleaver design. If you haven’t tried any of the Build-A-Lot series this is a good time to jump on board.
Cheers!

Update: I’ve consolidated the Fairy Tales music into my larger “Game Music” playlist on my SoundCloud Page. Check out tracks two and three for “Fairy Tales Intro” and “Swamp Town”. Cheers!

Game Music by Lance Hayes (DJDM)

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