Israeli-born composer, Inon Zur is one of the most popular and most acclaimed video game composers in the industry. He has wrote music for games like Baldur Gate 2, Icewind Dale II and, quite often, games inspired by popular movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. His most recent projects are Prince of Persia (2008), Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and James Cameron's Avatar: The Game.
No matter you are a video game fan or not, do you ask yourselves who are the artists of the shadow? You know, those who accompany you honestly with sacrifice in all your missions Those who follow your shadow, step by step, and who colour your search in black, in red and in multiple other emotions. Today, Inon Zur is not an artist of the shadow anymore.
Dear Inon Zur, may you tell us more about your personality, your background and your training?
I started playing piano at the age of 8, then played a bit of guitar and French Horn, but until today piano is my main instrument. I also studied from a very early age music theory, composition and appreciation. During my early childhood I was mentored by the Israeli composer Theodore Holdheim. I graduated at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv in Israel and when I came to the USA in 1990 I studied film music at the Dick Grove School of Music and UCLA under composers such as Jack Smalley, Alan Ferguson and Henry Mancini. My early professional work included composing music for the TV shows Digimon, Escaflowne and Power Rangers as well as the Au Pair movies.
When you were a child, what did you say you wish to be?
I wanted to be a conductor, classical composer, I never thought about media entertainment. I was attracted to classical music since my early childhood and kept on asking to listen to records of symphonies, piano concertos and more. Then I started to play piano and found myself composing more then just practicing. Later on during my teens I understood that music is what I love to do and kept on learning more and more, composing more and more. It was a natural realization that I’d like to write a dramatic music for media.
What composers, be it classical or in the arena of film music, have inspired you the most?
I
am keeping my influences very open and am looking for inspiration all the time.
I enjoy the classical works of
Sergey Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky and Beethoven.
There are a few film composers like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and the
Newmans (specifically Thomas) that I think are really great, and I’m inspired by
them, but I always keep my ears open to listen to new music and let it do its
work within. I also enjoy
jazz
artists like George Gershwin and Henry McFeeny.
You did some great scores for popular videogames like Crysis, Fallout 3, Prince of Persia, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, Prince of Persia Warrior Within and last but not least Dragon Age Origins. How did you come to work in video game music?
I was approached by my agent in 1996 and he asked if I wanted to compose for games. Initially I said "no" because I had the misconception that the music was primitive with poor sound quality. But he started sending me orchestral scores that were written for the medium, like Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy by Ron Jones and I was like, wow, I didn’t know this is the type of music for games that was needed, and if this is the deal, then why not. My first game was Star Trek: Klingon Academy for which I wrote a Klingon opera. It was such an enjoyable and rewarding experience that I've since composed over 50 titles.
How did you get to score the game Dragon Age: Origins?
In 2007 the word was out – the big anticipated Role Playing Game (RPG) from BioWare was up for bids on composing the music. I was very excited about this challenge and worked really hard to make the demo for it. I also contracted and recorded a small ensemble in my studio (strings, brass, woodwinds and voice) and sponsored it myself; I believed it could make the difference in choosing me as the composer, and apparently it did! I was very happy and charged forward to start working on the game!
How was the composing for one of your latest project, Dragon Age: Origins?
The developers wanted to bring the game into the “mainstream” realm, so more people can enjoy it, not just the established RPG fan base. This is why the music has some relations and influences from other well known titles like LOTR, for example. Aside from that however I tried to bring some different musical elements to the game, something that will feel a bit dirtier, scarier and more realistic. Yes, this is a fantasy game, but it's a somewhat different treatment – darker, more menacing and less fairy tale.
Please may you tell us something about this soundtrack and your work on it?
Dragon Age: Origins is a modern approach to a classical RPG style featuring a powerful and emotional dark fantasy score, very dramatic score with lots of themes and songs. I think the best description for it is if you take the Lord of the Rings music and taint it, corrupt it and apply darkness to it you will get the style of Dragon Age. It is what we call “Dark Fantasy” as opposed to “High Fantasy”– it’s brutal, very powerful and emotional.
The score is telling the emotional tale of the game; it is full of haunting melodies, heroism, love and passion, betrayal and all the other human behaviors and characteristics. I tried hard to stay neutral and didn’t let the music take any side and convince the player what to do and where to go. I just wanted the music to react to his or her decisions and follow the story like an emotional mirror.
Many times throughout the Dragon Age score I employ human voices in a
non-traditional way, manipulating with some effects to bring the demonic
elements to life. I also used a lot of different percussion along with the
orchestral pallet, to support the primitive and wild savage character of the
Dark Spawns. Overall I feel that the orchestral pallet put to the right use was
very strong and effective to support the emotional and dramatic elements in
Dragon Age.
Was it hard to find some inspiration?
Some of the levels I composed I did not have a clue how they looked like because they were in a very early stage of development. So, I had to use my imagination. That makes your job as composer more challenging, but sometimes when you let your imagination fly rather then being fed with specifics the outcome is very interesting and compelling.
How did you approach the cinematic sequences of the game?
Every score starts with understanding the storyline, the conflicts, characters and the geographical elements involved. Then, as a composer you choose your musical pallet, of course you consult the audio director and the producer in order to get some artistic directions.
How much time have you got for this soundtrack?
I composed about 140 minutes of music, most of which has found its way into the game in one way or another.
Where did you record it?
We had a relatively small live budget to record Dragon Age: Origins. The score was recorded with select orchestra players from the Northwest Sinfonia at London Bridge Studios in Seattle as well as some small ensemble and vocal performances at my studio in Encino, California.
How did you choose the pieces for the Collector's Edition"?
I was not involved in the selection for the Collector's Edition however the official Dragon Age: Origins Original Soundtrack is now available from Amazon and iTunes.
May you tell us more about: the “Night in Fantasia 2009“ concert
I’m very grateful to Eminence for allowing me to introduce my music in this concert. The experience was great. The orchestra is very good and has a lot of uniqueness in its sound. They played my music from Prince of Persia and Dragon Age: Origins, and the performance was highlighted by the appearance of Aubrey Ashburn and her beautiful voice. I am proud to be part of this adventure, and hope it will happen again next year.
May you explain us how did you work with vocalist Aubrey Ashburn, (singer and co-writer of the Dragon Age: Origins Elvish ballad "I Am the One,")
Aubrey also performed vocals and collaborated with me on the lyrics for the “Dragon Age: Origins” opening theme. Something I’ve consciously done in this game as opposed to other games is to incorporate actual songs in the score. The power of the vocal is very unique, and I feel that it added a lot of emotion to the soundtrack, and in such a dark and violent game, this feature adds a touch of kindness, compassion and beauty. I also think the contrast that is being created in the score – harsh orchestral palette and violent percussions verses pure and a human female voice mirrors the actual game and shows that there is more than one layer; there are several, and it is quite a deep experience.
And what about your collaboration with Audio Director Simon Pressey?
I think that Simon Pressey, head of the audio department at BioWare, made an excellent choice bringing me on board early to the game. It helped me not only to fully understand the game but also to let the music influence the game as it is being developed, not just the game influencing the music. This mutual influence makes everything match together.
Please tell us something about your next projects. What kind of composing are you doing right now?
My other recent scores include the latest expansions for the EverQuest franchise; EverQuest: Underfoot and EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate. I'm currently scoring new music for the expansions to Dragon Age: Origins as well as projects for Obisdian Entertainment and Warner Bros. I'm also writing and producing original music for Hollywood movie trailers.
Christine Blanc
Fabrice Steurer
Pawel Stroinski
www.filmmusic.pl
© by Fabrice Steurer and Christine Blanc & Pawel Stroinski
16th November 2009/ 10 January 2010
Special Thanks to : Greg O'Connor
