343 Industries and Microsoft have announced that Neil Davidge will be the composer filling the shoes of the acclaimed Marty O’Donnell.

Enlisting a 16-person, hand-picked, male tenor/bass choir plus 10 female Bulgarian vocalists, a full 50-piece orchestra, and a whole host of other performers is just one of the things Neil Davidge and his production team has done to bring the music of Halo 4 to life. The following video, which shows a recent choir and orchestral recording session at Abbey Road and Angel Studios in London, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the haunting and compelling Halo 4 soundtrack.

Q: Why change the music to something new rather than sticking with the old?

ND: It’s ten years later and the Chief has been on a journey and the music should travel with him. We should always be moving forward and looking for new ideas. The music needs to evolve as the story evolves.

Q: Living up to composer Marty O’Donnel must be stressful. What do you hope to bring to Halo that you think will make your work distinct from his, while still maintaining the classic sound of Halo?

ND: It is indeed very daunting to live up to Marty’s stuff. He was a groundbreaker for video game music and he set the bar very high.I’ll be using more electronic production and sound creation techniques.

Q: Will there be songs from Halo 1-3?

ND: I think there is a thematic Halo score approach that I have tried to continue, but I haven’t actually adapted any of the original themes.

Q: Will we hear any Gregorian Chants on the soundtrack?

ND: Possibly. Something reesembling Gregorian Chants but not exactly like the original chant you are familiar with.

Q: I noticed in the sample that you are using a large amount of drums in the music, is this to create a more ‘heroic’ feel to Chief?

ND: A more “muscular” Chief, more physical.

Q: Can you talk about the difference in music you have created for the Covenant vs the new enemy?

ND: How would I put that into words… the Covenant themes are more direct, whereas the [REDACTED] are far more complex themes. With more variation.

Q: Is there a central theme for Halo 4, like the chanting from the previous trilogy

ND: That’s down to 343 to answer. I think there are several key themes, memorable themes for this game. But it’s up to the fans to decide, and attach themselves to a favorite theme.

Q: In the recent video, I spotted some extended techniques (bowing a table/using the ebow, etc). What unique/new sounds/instruments are you excited about bringing to the Halo universe

ND: Generally I am loving experimenting with sonics in the studio and adding completely unique sounds and textures to the score to help flesh out this new universe that is being created. The instrument you point to is called a Kantele, it’s from Finland, a traditional folk instrument.

Q: Will we be seeing various slow piano pieces, as we saw in the previous games?

ND: There are some very beautiful, slow pieces, most of those are orchestral, there is some piano, but with the rest of the orchestra.

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ND: So that’s it from me. Thanks to everyone for tuning in and I hope you enjoy the game, and enjoy the music for the game. Thanks and goodbye, Neil.

We had a chance to ask composer Sam Hulick some questions regarding his work on the Mass Effect franchise, and gave him a chance to give us all some insight as to what goes on during production.

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LMG: What has it been like working on one of the greatest modern day RPGs with the team at BioWare?

SH: It’s been an amazing experience and I’m truly grateful to have been a part of it! Thinking way back to the very beginning of Mass Effect 1, I never could’ve known how huge this was going to get by the very end of it all. BioWare has been fantastic to work with, they’re such a hard-working and talented team, and it really shows in everything they do.

LMG: I personally noticed that the original Mass Effect had a much more space-y feeling to the music while the sequel attempted to ground the series more. What would you say the team’s approach was for Mass Effect 3?

SH: There’s definitely more of an emotional touch added to Mass Effect 3‘s score. We wanted to make this the most emotionally powerful score in the series, and at the same time we wanted to bring back some of the “old school” sound of Mass Effect 1. I think we got the best of ME1 and ME2 mixed in with this new touch of raw emotion that served as the backbone for the final score.

LMG: Alright, now for a fun question, choose wisely. What’s your favorite song from each game in the trilogy?

SH: Honestly I couldn’t pick just one from each game. I’ve tried this before, and wound up listing about four or five pieces per game! I will say that I’m very attached to the main theme and the victory theme. I’ve been wanting to bring back the victory theme since the end of ME1, but there just wasn’t a suitable place for it in ME2. I’m glad I was able to make it a central theme in ME3 and inject it with a bit of melancholy to reflect the tragic nature of the game.

LMG: Where do you draw most of your inspiration from when you sit down to write a composition?

SH: I usually soak in the story material and concept art, and find inspiration in whatever area I’m writing music for. It’s all about picking up a mood or “feel” for what’s going on. So, for example, if it’s a scene where a close friend is dying, I’ll try to put myself in that mindset and pull from that to translate into music.

LMG: When did you begin work on the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack and how long does the entire process from concept to the final composition take?

SH:I started work around the middle of October 2011, working on initial concepts, and wrapped up final production in early January.

LMG: Finally, are you working on any other projects currently and do you have any future plans that you can disclose?

SH: I’m in the very early stages of something I’m really excited about, but that’s unfortunately all I can say at the moment!

LMG: Again, thanks for taking time to answer our questions, we appreciate it. See you on Twitter.

SH: Thanks, Dillon!

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Sam Hulick can be found on Twitter (@SamHulick) and on Bandcamp and Soundcloud where you can find some of his compositions that were not included in the final game.

BioWare Pulse was kind enough to share with us an interview with Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series. Enjoy the video below!

Since the What is 51 campaign started Corey and Myself have been fascinated with it.  We asked questions and only got vauge answers which somehow made us like Fiftyone even more.  Fiftyone Marketing strived to make thier campagin fun for everyone and let me tell you it felt like a rollorcoaster.  Well today we sent them an email with 10 epic questions.  Do you want to know what 51 is?  Well the answers can be found below.

1. (AP) When and where did Fiftyone Marketing start?

(51) FiftyOne Marketing started a little over 9 months ago in a secret meeting amongst gaming industry people that I was a part of.  I guess you can say that’s where the inspiration for it began and the ball started to bounce towards establishing it.

That meeting took place in California but FiftyOne Marketing is based here in Dallas, Tx.

2.  (AP) Who’s idea was it to start Fiftyone Marketing and what kind of people
make up the team?

(51) It was an idea I had as I mentioned and to date I’ve gathered a range of awesome people to contribute to team FiftyOne.  We’re each very passionate about gaming and giving something more to the community of gamers.

The kind of people I sought after to help me with FiftyOne had to each pass one simple test.  That test was an ego test and I’m happy that each of them passed it.  To make something such as this work it was important that the people I introduced to the project have zero ego and were able to work easily with others towards one unified goal.

3. (AP) What was the idea behind the viral marketing including the original site and countdown?

(51) The idea was two-fold really.  First, it was aimed to separate FiftyOne from the typical marketing company you’ve experienced. I knew we had to do something different.  So what I thought was an awesome idea was a viral
aimed at introducing the company.  You don’t see marketing companies participating in the fun and I wanted those who played along to understand that we’re different in our approach.  We’re all gamers and we know how
fun it is solving a viral.  We all had a lot of fun sitting back as things played out.

The countdown was specifically set for this year’s Penny Arcade Expo because that’s where we planned our coming out party so to speak.  It was our first visibility test and it went great.  We managed to get a lot of interest about what we’re doing.

Secondly, which is something most people don’t know, is that it was not only aimed at gamers.  It was also aimed at publishers and developers.  The initial stage was to give gamers something fun to do and the final stage (which hasn’t completed) was aimed at publishers and developers.  I mean who aims a viral campaign at publishers and developers?  It’s unheard of in this industry because it’s usually the publishers aiming the viral at gamers. But that is the unique thing about FiftyOne.  We don’t do use conventional tactics when it comes to creating buzz or any type of
marketing campaign.

4.  (AP) We know the team is comprised of gamers and we know you market games are there any you are marketing now?

(51) There are a few games that we have in the pipeline but I can’t speak to the specifics of them just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled though.  When you see that 51 Seal, you’ll know it’s something we’re working on.  If it doesn’t have the seal, then it’s not real and likely from robots.

5.  (AP) How did “the list” start and what is the goal behind it?

(51)When the viral started, I knew that I wanted to reward those who took the time to play along.  What’s the harm in having a little fun on the internet?  None at all so those who did have a little fun and were good sports about it would be on “the list”.

The goal is simple.  You show us love and we show you love.  It’s a great relationship to have because the projects we work on will be aimed primarily at the very same people we’re establishing an early relationship with.  So “the list” is just a reminder of the people who were with us before things got either a) really successful or b) really not successful.
We’re hoping for a) though.

And it’s nothing that you have to do specifically to be on the list.  Saying hello on Twitter, shooting an email, saying hello when you see us can all get you on the list.  I don’t want people to think that if they’re not on the list it’s some awful thing.  It’s not. It’s just a little fun we’re having with people who have been there since the beginning, middle
and ongoing.  Bottom line, everyone will likely be on the list because that’s how we roll.

Building trust amongst each other is the only way a successful partnership can thrive and I think we’ve done that with everyone who continues to support FiftyOne.

6. (AP) You made a twitter feed as your primary outlet why did you choose it over other outlets?

(51)I don’t think there’s any other outlet that lets you communicate a message as quickly as Twitter does.  I started randomly following people, posting Tweets and before I knew it, the hunt was on and the occupants in Viral City started to rise.

We’ll communicate with other outlets of course but Twitter just seemed like the best one to use for some quick communication.  It seems that was the right choice.

7.  (AP) Most marketing companys don’t normally communicate with the consumer  (aka gamers in this case) what sets you apart from those other marketing companys?

(51) You said it yourself.  Most don’t normally do what we do.  In fact, you can probably count on one hand the number of marketing companies that you’ve even spoken to directly.  That’s ridiculous really and something that we’re aiming to change because gamers aren’t robots and numbers.  We’re not robots so you’ll never get a robotic response from FiftyOne.

I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both sides of marketing so I know how much it sucks not having communication and being treated like you’re beneath a company.  That’s not what we’re about.  Marketing isn’t a one-way street and somehow that got lost in translation over the years.

And it’s not only our communication that separates us but it’s also our ideas and trust within the network of friends we now have.  We do 51 things better than everyone else!  (more on that later)

8.  (AP) You mentioned on your twitter feed that your main offices are in Dallas, TX but mentioned that other team members are in italy.  Are there any other countrys where team members reside?

(51) There are FiftyOne team members in the United Kingdom as well.

9.  (AP) Does Fiftyone Marketing have any other websites you operate?

(51)We have a string of gaming websites that each team member owns and operates outside of FiftyOne  Marketing.

10.  (AP) What is the end goal of Fiftyone Marketing?

(51)We want to bridge the gap between marketing and gamers.  How best to develop something by starting inside the heart of the people who make marketing work?  We’re gamers here and our goal is create the type of marketing that reflects what gaming and gamers are all about.

If it’s a campaign that you can say “hey, that’s exactly what I do, or need or want to hear”, then that’s music to our ears.  Because let’s be honest, the games we play and purchase are being fed to us by people who know nothing or very little about them (or you) at all.

It’s time to have a marketing team that gamers can stand behind to feed them good milk and cookies…not the kind that expired a month or so ago.

Part 2.

1. what were some of the ideas that people had in phase 1?

Most of the ideas during Phase 1 revolved around establishing FiftyOne as something that wasn’t robotic and establishing the fact that we were people who first and foremost communicated.  There were a couple of funny ideas that eventually got tossed. For instance, I had a crazy idea to use a camera following someone’s bar3 bottom around (not my bare bottom).  This bare bottom of course would have had a 51 on it but I decided against even approaching the team with that.

2. who is a part of the team? you mentioned on Twitter for a contest that it was 5 parts man, 1 part woman?

Initially the team was made up of 5 guys and 1 young lady.  We’ve grown acouple in each sex since then.  So now there are actually 7 guys and 2 ladies.

3. How do you plan to aim at the gaming industry? or what does 51 marketing? I mean so far we have seen a 51 themed xbox, t-shirt, and pins, is it going to be like a Fatal1ty brand name? or?

Well we aren’t exclusive to anything although we have a very strong focus to market primarily in the gaming sector because that’s what we are.  We’re gamers who know how to market to other gamers.  That particular audience has yet to be truly reached and we believe FiftyOne Marketing is the only way to reach it in a way that won’t cause rebellion.  Judging from the response internally with some of today’s publishers, they too believe in what FiftyOne is doing.

4. 51 problems but games ain’t one?

Those familiar with the rap artist Jay-Z will understand that one.   Although he originally had 99 problems, I figured 51 played a bit more to the moment.  We’re big music fans here at FiftyOne too so when I created the Twitter account, it just seemed like the perfect line.  It’s perfect because I may have many problems but doing this, marketing games and being who FiftyOne is, isn’t one of them.

Thank you Fiftyone Marketing for taking the time to answer our questions.

Written by Travis Gardner aka. (AlkalineProdigy)