Game Trailer Composition

This project was an assignment for my class “Music and Sound for Games.” The instructions were to choose a “trailer” from a list of given videos from online games and create an arrangement that supports on-screen action.

1. Design Goals

First, I established a conceptual goal for how I think the composition should sound based on what is depicted visually. I immediately wanted to try using mechanical samples and gun sounds as a percussive element to match the industrial feel of the abandoned warehouse shown throughout the video.

2. Finding Sounds

I then looked for samples that sounded mechanical, like crashes, bangs, etc. Using Ableton Live 11, I first created a drum rack with these samples like a door lock, a foley punch, and a wood buzz. To reinforce the “mechanical” feel of each sample, I individually warped, transposed, and processed each sound.

‍ ‍

I created my own bass sound using Ableton’s Wavetable instrument which allows you to combine different waveforms as well as filter and modulate them. I wanted this track to establish a sense of weary suspense, so I chose to highlight the low end and rumbly tone, mirroring the off-settling environment of an abandoned warehouse.

For melody, I went for a more futuristic sound that still blends well with the grit of the first two layers. For this I used Ableton’s instrument Vintage Strings with filter envelopes, LFO, and slight vibrato. Afterwards, I still felt the need for more presence in the high end of the frequency spectrum, so I mapped an arpeggiated sound using multiple samples like “Whistling,” “Droplets,” “Inter Radio,” and “Dry Rain.” I set the arpeggiator to a random pattern, and transposed the samples up one octave.

3. Processing

I knew I needed to implement a delay on the drum track to mimic the echo I imagine this warehouse would produce. To do this I used a SlapBack delay on 1/8 note intervals, with a high pass filter around 5kHz.

I found my last track of arpeggiated high frequency samples a bit flat, so I added a stereo widening reverb as well as an EQ, shaping exactly what harmonics I wanted to stand out in the mix.

Finally, on the master buss I used an EQ Eight, Distort effect, and Saturation to bring the intensity and dynamics to that of a video game score.