Communication Breakdown
How about an example of failed communication in a project? I did a bunch of music for a startup's mobile game. They liked it enough to offer me the sound design gig as well. I started working on a batch of effects when they informed me they needed all the sound done in two weeks. This was above and beyond what one guy can accomplish alone, given the scope of the project, a convoy of assets that would likely need multiple drafts.
They asked if I knew other sound designers to join the team, and I offered up a few names I felt confident recommending. A few days later I'm told, "We're going to stop working on sound after this batch... we need to spend money on art."
Six months later the game is released with none of my music or sound. I was baffled. These guys paid me very well for both the music and the sounds delivered. I happily discussed variations and offered revisions without hesitation.
But for reasons beyond explanation (and without the opportunity to make it right) they wasted a quality chunk of time and money spinning their wheels and fired me from the project without expressing any sort of dissatisfaction with my work. Or perhaps they simply decided all the audio needed to go in a new direction. It likely ended up being an expensive decision for a small startup I suspect was working under a tight budget.
My brain spins all sorts of "I should have/I could have" scenarios at setbacks like this. Among them...
1. Seeing that I'm a freelancer dealing with a startup, why didn't I simply take control of the audio and hire other sound designers, basically promoting myself to audio lead? I could have eliminated deadline concerns by taking care it all myself. It would have kept me in the loop (that is, assuming they'd still wanted me there) and possibly prevented me from getting lowballed and squeezed out by the designers I'd recommended. And perhaps the sound designers I'd subcontracted would hire me on a project of their own down the line.
2. The team sent me animations that would accompany all of their sound effects. I thought it was making my job easier (not to mention fun, seeing the visuals with my audio), but now I wonder if it would have been productive talking about the sounds in more detail and getting instructions in writing. Though we had a few quick discussions on the sounds and they sent me a YouTube clip of a game with audio in a style they liked, both were quite general for all the unique assets they needed. More talk about asset complexity, how each one reflects the character personalities, and more reference examples would have been helpful. These things that would have helped me better focus on the appropriate sounds to accompany those animations.
3. Whenever something uncomfortable like this happens, you can't help wondering about the contracts involved. I gave this developer a contract stating all created sounds would be their property, but seeing how they didn't use any of them, I would have loved to find them a home elsewhere, be it a sound library or another game. This one could merit a separate article as well, and perhaps more experienced sound designers all ready have this worked out in their own agreements, but I'm pondering a clause stating unused sounds revert back my ownership, though I'm unsure about it.
When Dealing with a Sound Designer, What Should You Do?
I've talked to many game professionals who express similar communication issues dealing with composers. They deliver one draft of music or sound, take it or leave it, refusing to do revisions, even though the submission is totally against what was requested. Or perhaps they hire a composer to create a reggae track not realizing this artist lives and dies by orchestral music, causing each side to go crazy when track after track isn't working. I've learned expectations need to be outlined before contracts are signed. Questions need to be asked, such as:
- What sound assets do you need? This should be a complete list.
- What kind of music is needed? Is the composer experienced in creating that style?
- How many variations will be allowed before additional payment is required? If audio requirements are well-detailed and the sound artist properly vetted, this number should be small.
- How many music cues? How long is each cue?
- How much of your game's budget is dedicated to audio? In other words, how much of the budget comprises your fee?
- How much time will the sound designer have (taking revisions into account) to deliver this audio?
The more these questions are discussed the better and more efficient the results will be. It might even disqualify the composer from the gig, which is for the best if it avoids unrealistic expectations on either side. I've lost gigs explaining to indie developers three minutes of epic orchestral music created in my home studio is far too much work for $100, yet my rate is far cheaper than hiring a full orchestra for tens of thousands of dollars!
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"I've lost gigs explaining to indie developers three minutes of epic orchestral music created in my home studio is far too much work for $100, yet my rate is far cheaper than hiring a full orchestra for tens of thousands of dollars!"
I don't think most who aren't involved in music understand how much time it takes not just to compose something, but to *learn* how to compose it, to find inspiration, and to constantly revise a piece and build on it until you have something that's actually good... and that's not even counting the recording, mixing and so on, which also takes potentially dozens or even hundreds of hours. There's an understanding that music "just happens", and those who don't play it themselves rarely understand how much knowledge work is involved as well as intuitive creative skill.
You offer good advice for folks working with audio-illiterate devs. However, that's the first time I've heard anyone say that film sound folks have it better than game sound folks. If there was a competition to be the most disgruntled industry audio personnel, I'm pretty sure the film folks would put up a good fight.
"This differs from filmmaking, where by necessity sound is essential on the first day of shooting..."
You're right, of course, that the recording of production dialogue on a film set is absolutely a necessity, but it's generally considered a necessary evil. It's a bit of a stretch to imply that because dialogue gets recorded during production that the use of sound in film is anything other than an after-thought in the vast majority of productions. Randy Thom’s writing on this issue is insightful:
http://www.filmsound.org/articles/designing_for_sound.htm
"musical ideas are often planned early in the process. For example, composer Trent Reznor sent film director David Fincher music while he was shooting The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
Citing one exceptional example doesn't make it the norm. There are examples from games too, such as Austin Wintory (a free-lancer, not an in-houser) working on the score for Journey for much of its development (the results of which, I think it’s fair to say, speak for themselves), but that doesn't make it the norm in games either, right?
I think there’s a danger that some people might read your article and think “game audio development = terrible, film audio development = pure ecstasy”, which is both untrue and simplistic. There’s a massive spectrum of audio development experiences to be had in both industries. If we were to generalise then the closest we could get to a truism is “people are generally ignorant of all aspects of audio other than perhaps a naïve understanding of music as an emotional signifier, blinkered by their own limited musical experiences” – the industry at hand is, arguably, irrelevant.
Rob Bridgett’s thoughts (inspired by Randy Thom’s) on the collaboration between game audio personnel and the other development disciplines are relevant to this discussion:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130733/designing_a_nextgen_game_for_sound.
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It’s quite tempting to dismiss Rob’s "manifesto" as only being applicable to AAA game development. But “indie = audio ignorance, AAA = collaboration-gasm” is equally untrue and simplistic – brilliant collaborations and great work happen at all development scales and budgets, even if they are the exception.
But the main thing I’d like to draw your attention to from Rob’s article is this:
“Another advantage in game sound is that the game development process, and the roles of game development staff, are more mercurial than those working in the movie development process - the motion picture industry, particularly at the Hollywood level, has solidified into very rigidly defined jobs at very specific times whereas the game development model is still so young, experimental and flexible in terms of structure that it gives a good chance of getting this right before the development process solidifies.”
On a related note:
http://www.criticalpathproject.com/?v=38403565
For now, there is more opportunity in game audio than in film audio. That’s why I think the film folks would win the “most disgruntled industry audio personnel” competition. And, frankly, they’re welcome to that prize :)
I've found that the iterative process is really necessary for producing great results. If an artist wasn't willing to put in those iterations, then I can't imagine even approaching that same level of excellence. Iteration is communication in a sense., between designer and artist. That said, the more of that communication about feel, aesthetics, and experience that happens in actual words, the less waste there will be.
One tactic that I've picked up for both sound and art is to ask for 2-3 different pieces of really rough work that takes the same time to produce of a single iteration. By favouring parallel over series iteration, the differences and nuances that are created really speed along the collaborative process.
Something else that I've started doing is trying to ensure that communication and production lines stay open between all teams. For example, in my tactics game, I've got four separate factions, each with different look and feel. While developing the primary gameplay prototype using paper and canvas, we were developing the broad story for the world and the four factions. There wasn't much cross-over at that point. Eventually, we began to have problems with our writing and concept art teams; what did the factions actually do, look like, feel like? As we headed into producing our first build, the game design team had some time to work on specific strategies and abilities for each faction, referring back to the writing for inspiration. With a few more iterations of those new mechanics, we were back on track; we had defined a strategic feel for our factions and so we could now use that to fuel our story, art, and sound.
In all honestly, it was a fairly messy process and I would certainly do a better job of it next time. I do believe that it is key to ensuring that your narrative and gameplay levels are in sync - which many companies seem to ignore for the most part. From what I've come to understand from talking to my sound and art guys, it's fairly common for sound to come in at the very end o f the development process and then art somewhere in the middle. Maybe that works for some teams. I'd really love some advice on how to steam-line a team in a fashion similar to how I've been doing it.
Back to the point though, I think it would be greatly beneficial to talk to other members of the production team in those contract situations. Usually the artists will have a richer vocabulary and also be in tune with the artistic vision of the project. Adding them to the conference call with the creative director might just make all the difference. Having that conference in the same room together - with youtube access - will certainly help as well. Being able to hear and discuss something together is invaluable.
Speaking of which, I can't wait for my next audio session with my own lead.
I love Trent Reznor.
As a gamedev/software-engineering student, you make me realise that audio may be harder than it first appears, and have inspired me to put more effort into discovering the in's and out's.
Thanks for that.
If a sound designer is brought in early, I would expect them to play the latest builds as they come out and work on a living sound asset list with the design team, billing within a budget on a per-asset basis if needed. It's good know up front what's expected, but a more customized, flexible and communication driven approach is needed than a hands-off contractor approach if we as an industry expect audio to take a more prominent role.
The message for developers seems clear:
Think hard about what you actually want from your sound and audio, and write that stuff down, and re-read it and tweak it to try and make it clear and precise. Then give it to your sound designer, and after they read it, *ask them questions about it* to confirm that their understanding of the requests seem to be aligned with yours. You may be busy, but if you don't want the sound designers to waste a lot of their time (and your money) making the wrong assets, you need to engage with them enough to efficiently steer them towards the result you want. If you reject an asset they made because it doesn't feel to you like it "fits" with the rest of the game, then its a sign that they don't quite understand what you want, and you need to give them clear feedback that they can act on.