"How do I start a project?" | Q&A

[@AlexMoukalaMusic]

Since you asked: Honestly the Q&A videos are my favorite! Being able to hear such a wide variety of insights from a composer like yourself is truly priceless. I feel like I learn a lot everytime! Also your series with Troy is formidable too. I feel that both of those segments are something I can’t find anywhere else on the internet for sure! Great stuff my friend 🙌🏾

[@mpeacockmusic]

Totally agree! Some of my favorites as well 😁

[@marco_rigoni_]

Completely agree, these two and the Game Makers Notebook are the most entertaining, and they also provide a lot of exetremely valuable insights coming from your experience.

[@alternimousdimension]

Same here.

[@alternimousdimension]

I actually really really like to see the raw footage, and especially under the hood series. It is easier for me to learn by seeing so seeing the way everything is done, seeing the notes and hearing even isolated sections of the music is very educational.

[@BadNessie]

I recently heard a professional orchestra trumpeter "complain" about how in classical music trumpets too often only get three notes to play and it's so boring and unchallenging. In your Gamemaker's Notebook talk with Wil Roget you guys talked about giving every instrument of the orchestra something that is fun to play because they will play it as a killer piece, even in case you didn't write one. How do you find out what actually *is* fun for the often "overlooked" instruments to play? Look at classical music and do the opposite? Just go ask?

[@keiwando]

Austin, the educational value of this channel is absolutely outstanding, partly because of the wide variety of high-quality videos that you upload. "You Gotta Hear This" is always a must watch/listen for me. There have been countless times that I've heard a composer's music afterwards and remembered an interesting detail about them that I learned on that podcast. Same goes for your Q&As and the "Composer's Points of View" series you put out this year. I also really like the live orchestra sessions and I try to watch the under the hood series if I find the time. I hope that the KZbin algorithm is not blindly punishing you for the variety. Honestly, I'd say your channel has a similar level of variety as Rick Beato's channel (which is a very good thing in my book).

[@StephenIC]

The podcasts are my favourite. Especially You Gotta Hear This, though I fully understand why that can't really be a more regular thing!

[@JackMason21]

Question for next time: what is your least favorite part of your job? PT2: How do you handle stress?

[@J-MLindeMusic]

I enjoy all your videos...but "Under the hood" and "Gama Maker's Notebook" series are my favorites! Question: What is the longest period you've gone without writing music? I'd imagine a lengthier voluntary (or involuntary) break for a working composer to be somewhat difficult.

[@diogo1444]

Maybe, under the hood. I learn and see how a composer works on his jobs. Thank you Austin. Always a inspiration tour videos.

[@JackMonaghanMusic]

Thank you for a great Q&A, Austin! I find it genuinely difficult to say which kind of your videos I like best, but if I had to choose: the "As Noted," series and these Q&As would be at the top of the list!

[@benshirleymusic]

Absolutely imperative that we listen to as many genres of music as we can. There's always something to like in any style. - LOVE your deep dive into Thai music.

[@marco_rigoni_]

In my opinion the most enjoyable videos are those where we get to hear you talk about stuff lol They are full of valuable insights and really entertaining

[@eugenedesmusic]

Thank you Austin, Q+As are essential in my opinion. Also, Under the Hood and Talks with Troy are my favorites :) Here's a long road to the question if I may... I'm a simple guy who is totally in love with video games, their development, and especially the musical landscapes they bring. Throughout the trials and errors of trying to understand how I want to speak and present myself in musical senses, I gathered that there are certain points that are crucial for someone who is not musically/classically trained, but someone who loves this language and understands its meaning: 1. I need to create my own voice and style, the rules I can bend and manipulate. 2. There are three distinct voices that simply bring me joy and inspire me to investigate this thorny path of being a composer: Austin Wintory, Jason Graves, and Bear McCreary. I need to understand how they do it to understand my own perspective. 3. I need to understand what are the tropes, that can help you become a successful digital composer these days. So, in the simplest form, I have to work on Composing, Studies/Ear Training, and Business aspects. And the question is: - How would you spend your energy and time on those aspects if you have a maximum of 4-5 hours to spend on an average life-bustled day? Thank you, good sir!

[@Big007Boss]

Just give me more of that Austin and Troy music love,and if Troy is busy, just get someone to say awww and ooooh,and tear up a bit to great symphonies

[@az4037]

Austin, if you upload anything, I will watch it. I think most people watch this channel because they are 1. A fan of your work and 2. A fan of you. You could upload anything from an analysis of Rite of Spring to a video of you playing one of the video games you scored and people will watch it. That being said, I think most people that watch your videos are also aspiring composers or people who compose for fun, so the more composition-minded videos might get more traction. But, in short, I'll watch anything you upload 😸

[@ScottAstr]

My biggest question is: are you planning to do another "contest" in the future? I understand there must be a lot of effort that goes into putting one on and your dance card seems full at all times but I've been wondering about this a lot lately. I guess this is more of a request than a question. I've been having a difficult time starting to write new music for years now and having a prompt and a deadline really seems to help motivate me. Working on my last submission was incredibly fulfilling and I guess I'm just looking for more of that feeling. (Maybe the meat of this comment is "How do you get out of a rut?")

[@AynenMakino]

Thanks for doing another one of these! As for your question: "You Gotta Hear This" is a really great series, imho. It's a great way to be pointed at things I may not have come across before, or to hear them from the perspective of a person who is passionate about an aspect of it that I may not have noticed. When it comes to composing channels I'm always on the lookout for videos that have a component that allows us to participate in some way that involves actual composing. Contests, viewer submission reviews, etc. I know it's really hard to get viewers to interact creatively among themselves instead of only focussing on the person running the channel, but that's the holy grail so that it can grow beyond a 'notice me sempai' type of culture. Perhaps a recurring exercise that requires working in teams can work to lay the foundation for such a viewer collaboration culture. To bring this comment to a close, here's a question for the next episode: When agreeing to do a project, how unsure do you allow yourself to be if you could actually do a good job on it while still agreeing to do the project? I imagine a certain level of uncertainty is inevitable, but surely sometimes the inner voice that says "eh, I don't know if I can do this" could be right, while other times that voice is just being overly cautious. But how do you tell?

[@rwlab1253]

Hi Austin! I wonder can you share some technical details on your composing process? Like, how do you choose the harmony, establish different sections of music so they sound coherent? Or any orchestration choices you make? Just your personal knitty griddy workflow I suppose!

[@lincolnenniscomposer]

Im a do deliveries at work sometimes and will always play the latest podcast style video from you! Be it You Gotta Hear This or the Q and As or interviews, those always get me excited

[@Eidmarion]

Absolutely love your As Noted videos, they bring so much depth and clarity to the details of your writing and orchestration in a piece. Q&A's and 10 composers answers are also superb videos which I enjoy a great lot, since they bring the interesting points of view of composers in the industry. Personally, I have a problem with the Game Maker's Notebook length. I have a very tight schedule, and more than hour long video goes to the "watch later" playlist, to essentially never play again in the foreseeable future because of its length. I would be most happy if you could try to split those videos into parts. Thanks for your work and insights, wish you all the best!

[@skywriter9532]

Question for the next one: As a writer, I often find inspiration in things outside of writing. Sometimes music, places, and more abstract feelings inspire me more than any book can. Outside of music, what kinds of things do this for you when you are creating? And does it change with each project? Love all that you do!

[@dougiedestructor1951]

I've dabbled in mastering but mostly hand it to someone else once I've mixed a recording. I've found that it's always good to have someone else's ears and touch for a recording at the end point! My mastering notes have been the same for years though, "make it the exact halfway point between Slayer's Reign in Blood and The Distillers' Coral Fang hahaha Have you ever mucked around with mastering apps like IK Multimedia's Master Match? I've found that app in particular really fun, and good for getting a snapshot of where you want to go. It's great being able to pick three songs to base your master on, and swap them in and out easily!

[@stephengoodman9058]

I may be something of an outlier among your audience in that I'm a lover rather than a creator of music but "you've gotta hear this" is my favourite content of yours. I watch some of the more technical videos but don't have the background or knowledge to fully appreciate them. The beauty of YGHT is that all you need to enjoy it is a love of and curiosity about music and the stories behind it. It's obvious that Troy and yourself both have that enthusiasm too and it's very contagious. I appreciate it makes big demands on both of your time but it's a series I'd love to see continue. Edit; LOL just read the other comments - maybe not such an outlier after all 😄

[@xaido7139]

Hi, thank you for this video, but can you please elaborate more on the process of how you study a score?

[@jaredberry4762]

I find I enjoy the majority of the videos you post here, every one of them is genuinely insightful in some way but I think You Gotta Hear This might be my favorite series specific to your channel, because it echoes similar conversations I might have with my friends or coworkers about music or movies or whatever. Troy I think is the perfect co-host for you to bounce the conversation off of because of his passion for music, and therefore his more than cursory knowledge of it. The relatively brief back and forth about each composer's history and style and the industry in general is extremely informative, especially as someone who loves music but hasn't touched an instrument since middle/high school. I've personally learned a ton from those videos. Same goes for your Game Maker's Notebook episodes.

[@morganainsleymusic]

The under the hood videos where you let us into your process and the behind the scenes of it are some of my favourites so I’d love to see more of those! Thanks for all you do

[@jakesidwellmusic]

Love this series. It’s definitely the one I gravitate to the most. I also have a question I’ve grappled with for some time and have discussed with my fellow composers to no degree of satisfaction. As a disabled composer, I often have to decide on one or two pursuits to master, rather than the whole of the modern composer’s impressive repertoire of skills. This doesn’t align with my interests, but it is my reality. So my question is: with the knowledge you have now, if you had no option but to choose one or two skills or studies to pursue and abandon all others, what would you choose? Put another way, if your survival as a composer hinged on a fulcrum, what focus would you bet your career on?

[@michael_bullard]

I forgot I asked the first question so that was a pleasant surprise 🙂

[@Whirpoolman]

Still waiting on my ''difference between games and movies music rights''... j/k, as always, very informative video. You are always very gracious with your knowledge and time

[@ianjschulzcompositions]

Minecraft has taught me those same lessons on efficiency

[@RickMcGuireMusic]

Q&A's are great. I can never get enough of the As Noted series and Under the Hood videos though!

[@BenjaminKallestein]

I really like the wide variety of videos on your channel. I especially enjoy these Q&As as well as the the podcasts with Troy Baker, but those videos where we get a sneak peek into your process as a composer really inspire me to write more of my own music. So please don't stop with any of those! :D

[@Nerdydude32]

The videos I enjoy the most are definitely the podcast-like ones such as YGHT and Game Maker's Notebook (I especially liked the one with Eduardo Vaisman you did a while back). But I also LOVE videos such as "How I wrote 2 minutes of Aliens Fireteam Elite music", so interesting and perfect for nerds and with Dallas' editing it makes it really watchable if that makes sense. AND Composer Points of View was FANTASTIC so please more of those, I realize those probably require more planning, scheduling work etc. but they were frickin great.

[@Apathynosebleed]

Thanks for making this video! Very handy

[@aj.s...]

MORE YGHT W/ TROY!! It's a shame (for me) that the both of you can't just quit your jobs and do it full-time... It's my favorite "show" on the entire internet

[@JoeFilms5420]

Great to hear your answers as always! Forgive me if this one's already been asked, but if you could compose for any game, what would you want to work on?

[@BadNessie]

Great questions, all of them - and, unsurprisingly, good answers! Thanks for taking the time for these!

[@bjornblankenheim6517]

Hello Austin! I love listening to you talk about music, the ways it is made and your general passion for game and movie soundtracks. So keep up the great work! Here are two questions I've been carrying around for a while now. I. So I asked myself, what made you share the art of your craft? Is it your own interest in making these things public - are you one of the DVD specials watchers and audio commentary listeners? Is there a general openness in the games industry that you adopted for yourself - especially given the fact that your work coincides with a wave of closer look documentaries? Or is there another reason? II. You seldom talk about what many consider to be 'classic' video game music, like Chiptunes, Tracker-Music or the early CD-games-music of the 1990s by the likes of Trent Reznor, Robyn Miller or Peter McConnell... . So I often wondered, if this may be a field of music that you're not especially versed in - no blame! - and wheather you would take us with you on a journey of discovery. Thank you!

[@zoidus6429]

I honestly enjoy most of the videos you put up because your insight into most everything, whether related directly to composition/conducting or to creativity in general or even the quirks and highs and lows BTS of the movie/TV/ game industry is always intriguing and educational. I probably like the "You Gotta Hear This" series the most because as someone who is a soundtrack nerd and have often heard the subtle (and sometimes less subtle) similarities between pieces of music from various composers, the identifying marks, the signature and fingerprint as you and Troy have discussed in those videos, it's nice to have a professional go into detail and break down those pieces of music and the stories behind them. I feel like very few composers have done (or have had the opportunity to do) videos like these to discuss a process some might take for granted to those who are not in the field (such as myself) but enjoy and are intrigued by it, as well, of course, as a teaching tool for those who are. Q+A's are my second favourite for many of the above reasons. Keep doing what you're doing, mate!

[@Bi_scotti_5]

How do you know when to tell a director you're not the right fit for a film, game, etcetera? Where is the line of when you should tell the director, or is it best practice to always know ahead of time if it's something you're interested in or even capable of working on in terms of skillset? Or perhaps a better question, how can I be confident enough in my abilities and my work so that I don't prevent myself from working on something that could be the opportunity of a lifetime?

[@odarting]

Hey Austin, this topic might be too inside baseball/under NDA to address publically, but I’ve returned to this great Q+A in the wake of reading Mick Gordon’s full timeline of events surrounding Doom Eternal. Some of the practices Mick stated as normal shocked me, and I’m wondering if you can shed some light on good business practices in game/film music, like whether it is normal to go almost a year without pay on a massive project, or if you have ever had “rejected” and therefore unpaid demos used in a final production without your consent. Love all the content, but these Q+A’s and the show with Troy are must-continues!

[@jaredcrown5812]

Hi, I would like to answer the question you asked in the end, I like all the videos you put and I don't want you to focus on specific type of videos so that we get variety of experience and knowledge from you with different types of videos. Just go with the flow, I would suggest. I want to ask you to add another type of videos like Feedback session for student composers (if it's possible) so that we can watch and learn what new composers like me could improve and what are your thoughts on the music written by us. It's not necessary to do these feedback sessions but you can do it you like. In the end, I really enjoy your channel I am visiting again after few years and so much is left to watch here.

[@morank3]

Always enjoy these, thanks for your time!

[@ianjschulzcompositions]

I have my degree in Music Composition, but it pertained to more general composition, rather than having any specific gear toward media composition. As such, I feel that I know too much about composition to go back for a bachelors in a program geared toward media/film, but don't know enough to go into a masters program for the same. I generally find self-teaching very frustrating and difficult so I'm struggling with a next step I should take. So any advice in a future video would be very appreciated, thank you so much

[@aedrilas4046]

Hi Austin, thank you for these helpful answers! I didn’t expect an answer so soon, It was a pleasant surprise. I enjoy most your ‘as noted’ and ‘under the hood’ videos 😊

[@jonathanfergluis-jorge4158]

I love your response to genre. Having spent a decade in higher education, genre was beaten out of me and I find genre a vulgar-in-the-Latin-sense viewpoint for all mediated experiences. I'd love to know what's your ratio of time spend listening/consuming/analyzing music to writing your own content? In terms of the content I like it's kinda all of them lol. In terms of favorites: the podcasts, the Q&As, and that one series you ran when you asked other composers their thoughts on things. There could easily be consolidation of the various score and As Noted content on a separate channel dedicated to the archival and niche content where this could remain the 'interpersonal' content, so to speak. Lord knows Alanah would have more insight on that with her recent-ish launch of her second channel 🤷‍♂🤷‍♂

[@emelyn7145]

Assuming there will be a soundtrack album for Stray Gods (from a business standpoint I can't imagine there won't be) how will you navigate the fact that no single version of a song will be "canon"? Will there be duplicate tracks with different choices, or maybe you'll curate a version you feel best represents all possibilities? I'm very curious to hear about the creative choices behind the scenes for this game!

[@KitKeenlyside]

Hey Austin! My favourites are the making of type videos, although I accept that they are not the easiest to make alongside writing the music. My question is - any more competitions coming up any time soon? Really enjoyed the last one and often use a rhythmic ‘keystone’ as a jumping off point in compositions I’ve done since then!

[@williamwelch4846]

A question I posed on Twitter recently, with mixed result but something I'd love your take on. Does it help or do you need to be able to read sheet music to be a composer?

[@migii820]

Just saw you got nominated for a Grammy for Aliens: Fireteam Elite!!! Congratulations!!

[@morank3]

FYI I believe this is the Composers' Hollywood Roundtable Austin mentions at 18:12 regarding the frustration of dealing with rejection: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYSkd2yVj62dnMU

[@pokelij]

Hey Austin I have one main question and a few less thoughtful questions for the next one of these: Main Question: Are there any jobs in the Game Music Industry that don't require a knowledge of the fundamentals of creating music (being able to write music/read music/play music)? I know this sounds insane but seemingly a huge portion of my passion in life in the last several years has been in Game Audio. Weather that's sound effects or scoring I have a true love of game audio. My background however is entirely in 2 main areas, Audio Equipment (recording somewhat but massively on the reproduction side, so speakers/headphones/source equipment and the works) and my Employment background is in IT. I would love to make a transition into the game audio scene, or even Movie/TV side of things but it seems extremely daunting. Obvious question any chance of Traveler live? I imagine you could just about land any indie kind of project out there, with that said do you ever take a quick job for some cash that you are less invested in to ensure that you can manage to spend far longer on a game you are more invested in (say a game of Giant Squid qualities, people you know, interesting music interactions and the works) ? Have you listened to Joel Corelitz's masterpiece of a soundtrack for Eastward? Really something special that one (even without having played the game)

[@lonco2421]

I’ve been working as an assistant for almost two years now, and I’m having trouble getting gigs as a main composer . I was wondering how do should one approach producers / directors / composers when “asking” for a job, how to let people know that you are willing to participate in projects. Thank you!

[@optipus9019]

Was writing the music for Stray God's novel CYOA musical style easier, harder, or about as difficult as you expected? Would you do it again?

[@kaanhalilakbcak9624]

I'm currently at my first year of my undergraduate study on Composition. Next year I have to choose between studying composition for film/games or concert/theatre, and I love both, especially concert music but I also want to get into film and video games. Do you think Is it would be more helpful for me to choose the film/game module to get in to composing for them?

[@nbcdy4327]

Do you know if there will be any sort of soundtrack release for Stray Gods (if such a thing is even possible)?

[@alinkbetweengames4328]

When you said you were more "experimental" in the context of classical music, I was about to disagree. But then you said in instrumentation, and I realized you're right in a sense. While there have been plenty of concert pieces with very unusual instrumentation, large-scale orchestral pieces tend to be based on some version of the symphony orchestra that has been used for the last 200 years. Additionally, collaboration between composers seems to be more encouraged on soundtracks, and I can't imagine collaboration on a concert piece remotely like what you did on The Pathless.

[@awintory]

Out of curiosity, what was the basis of the disagreement instinct ?

[@alinkbetweengames4328]

Contemporary classical music, especially from composers who tend to be performed often on the East Coast and Europe, tends to be extremely experimental, especially from a harmonic standpoint. The sound worlds created tend to be so extreme in one way or another that I couldn't imagine them being usable in non-horror soundtracks (although some of the compositional techniques used are applicable to a wide range of soundtracks).

[@jackiecozzie4803]

idk if this is too specific a question for you to answer but how often are there callbacks in Stray Gods' songs? Because calling back to previous choices makes the amount of possible versions even more bonkers and I'm wondering how often that happens

[@jonalex_io]

Any thoughts on the latest AI developements? For example, I’m wondering what your take is on Gareth Coker’s recent callout of audio jungle automatically opting in all users to use their music as training data. Also, have you been looking into using any tools yourself?

[@BoonetheAgentsofHAILCreator]

I should do a Q&A series. I've also listened to Super Smash Bros. music (particularly in Brawl and Ultimate) which really inspired me to get into doing game music. And also orchestral artists like Joby Talbot and electronic artists like Jean-Michel Jarre.

[@MarkArnoldMusic]

Congrats on your Grammy nom sir. You tell that other composer...what's his name...Beef McCready...who's boss!

[@Fryea]

Hello sir. I'm here from the amazing Erica game And I was asking you to please give me the notes for the song "Aria for Delphi" it was a masterpiece