Game Changers: Terrifying Tracks

WITH

Composers

MICHEL F. APRIL

JOSEPH LODUCA

CRIS VELASCO

MODERATED BY GARRY SCHYMAN (Composer)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4

2:00-3:30pm PT // 4:00-5:30pm CT // 5:00-6:30pm ET

YouTube Live Stream

Seasons SCREAMINGS from The SCL, in partnership with EA Music, presenting the latest edition in the Game Changers seminar series: TERRIFYING TRACKS!!! – an exploration into scoring for horror and survival-horror video games.

Join moderator Garry Schyman (Metamorphosis, Bioshock franchise) in conversation with our spooktacular panel of composers – Cris Velasco (Carrion, Bloodborne), Joseph LoDuca (Evil Dead: The Game), and Michel F. April (Dead By Daylight) as they go in-depth into how they create spine-tingling music to some of today’s hottest horror games, how to capitalize on interactive scares in the score, and many more TRICKS AND TREATS!

Michel F. April is an award-winning and internationally renowned composer and producer who is distinguished for his novelty and mastery. April’s clients include NBCU, Alliance Vivafilm, ARTV, BehaviourInteractive, BMG, Canal D, CBC, CBS, Cypherpath, Disney Studios, Discovery Channel, EMI, Eset, FOX, Historia, Mavi Interactive, RADIO-CANADA, TVA, Ubisoft, Peacock TV, and WarnerBros. From grand captivating film scores to immersive game music, electrifying pop songs, and unforgettable signature themes, April’s versatility and creativity are a testament to his talent and passion. April has produced and co-written more than twenty albums, scored music for more than twenty-five television series, and created over two hundred cues for television and cinema. His most recent works include the interactive music score for Behaviour Interactive’s Dead by Daylight, requiring continuous music development as new characters are added through hugely successful collaborations with some of the most popular movies and television shows, such as Stranger Things, Resident Evil, and Halloween. Dead by Daylight has acquired over 50 million players around the world, and was awarded ‘Best Canadian-Made Game’ at the Canadian Video Game Awards 2016 where April was also nominated for ‘Best Original Music’. He just finished scoring the TV Serie The End Is Nye working closely with director Brannon Braga. The show is produced by Seth MacFarlane, Brannon Braga, and Bill Nye. Born to a musical family, April officially started musical training at the age of seven upon which he began to compose almost immediately. At the age of 19, he was awarded the ‘Outstanding Drum Set Player Award’ by Music Fest Canada. April studied with big jazz names such as Lorraine Desmarrais and Jean-Pierre Zanella and worked with masters such as classical percussionists Thomas Cavanagh and Ian Bernard as well as maestro Paolo Bellomia.

Joseph LoDuca is a two-time Emmy Award-winning composer (12-time Emmy nominated) who is no stranger to large orchestral action, adventure, fantasy, and thriller music. LoDuca composed the music for director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy, the Starz Entertainment series Spartacus, and Turner Network Television’s Leverage. His broadcast work includes TNT’s The Librarians, Ash v. Evil Dead for Starz, and Disjointed, a Netflix sitcom starring Kathy Bates (David Javerbaum, Chuck Lorre); recent feature films include Bad Samaritan (Dean Devlin), Cult of Chucky (Don Mancini); Pleasuredome, an 80’s-themed musical, and Say My Name (Jay Stern); and his foray into video game music with Evil Dead: The Game. Currently, he is scoring Season 2 of Chucky for USA/Sci-FI and Leverage 2.0 for Amazon. Joseph’s extensive work for television is highlighted by Xena: Warrior Princess (Emmy winner), and Legend of the Seeker (Emmy winner). Internationally, his films include Brotherhood of the Wolf (César nominee for Best Score) and Saint Ange. LoDuca also scored the film Patagonia (directed by Marc Evans), which was selected as the 2012 British entry for the Foreign Language Oscar. The project included song collaborations with pop artist Duffy and operatic baritone Bryn Terfel.

His varied career features operettas, musicals, and theme songs, which have earned him five of his twelve Emmy nominations. He sums it all up: “I understand how to apply music to film, and the sounds I discover when I work closely with a director inspire me to make my voice stronger”.

Cris Velasco is one of the most sought-after composers working today in media, scoring some of the world’s biggest video game franchises including Fortnite, Resident Evil, Overwatch, Bloodborne, Darksiders, Dauntless, Assassin’s Creed, Warhammer, Borderlands, Mass Effect, and God of War, and television series such as HULU’s Dimension 404 and Freakish. He is also a passionate art collector, curating unique dark and surrealist art exhibitions in LA and Chicago including Wunderkammer celebrating eclectic and visionary artwork from Clive Barker, and From The Depths showcasing paintings paying homage to H.P. Lovecraft. Cris’ music is regularly performed in symphony concerts worldwide and has received numerous accolades including “Outstanding Achievement In Original Composition” from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, IGN’s People’s Choice Award – Best Music, NBC News award for Best Video Game Music and Best Original Music nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Garry Schyman is a BAFTA-winning composer who is one of the world’s most celebrated voices in video game music as evidenced by his award-winning scores to the Bioshock game series, as well as dozens of hit games, films, and television productions. Schyman has most notably given the universe of BioShock (including BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite) its musical identity, scoring the hugely successful game series with a blend of haunting beauty and terrifying unease. He paid playful homage to ’50s sci-fi with his score for the 2005 game Destroy All Humans! (followed by two sequels), accelerated the heartbeat in action games like Resistance: Retribution and Dante’s Inferno, and gave a nod to the hypnotic style of Bernard Herrmann in the mystery game Voyeur. He has been in the fantasy world of Tolkien for the adventure game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Schyman’s film and television credits span every genre, including classic series like The A-Team and Magnum, P.I., stormy action (Tornado!), thrillers (Horseplayer, starring Brad Dourif), and family horror (Spooky House, starring Ben Kingsley) and more recently Itsy Bitsy.  Among his most recent work is the Square Enix game Forspoken which will be released in January of 2023.

*** IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ ***

FREE for current SCL members (click HERE to check membership status).

Attendees will be emailed a Screening Link upon Registration and a Q&A YouTube Live Stream link on Tuesday, October 4, 10 minutes before Q&A start.

Attendees can ask questions on YouTube chat, and the SCL Host will pass them on to the Moderator. The SCL Member Code of Conduct applies to online Q&As.

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