Capcom audio director discusses what goes into creating a game's soundscape
A portion of a DesigningSound interview with Capcom Audio Director Tomoya Kishi...
DS: How much field recording has typically been done for projects you have worked on? What sort of field recording gear to you use? (microphones, digital recorders and accessories)
TK: I don’t actively go out to do field recording. The amount of time allotted for production is quite limited, and considering everything else on our plate the schedule just doesn’t allow it. This is especially true for someone like me who is both a sound designer and tasked with being the Audio Director. Also, there are lots of things I have to do on the game design side such as give my opinion on the game itself, participate in meetings, train new recruits, and work to improve sound production throughout the whole organization (as most large Japanese publishers also do in-house development, I imagine it’s the same at those places as it is here.) For better or for worse, we typically rely on our existing library when creating sounds since that’s more efficient.
When we do need to do Foley or field recordings, we often work with studios in Hollywood in order to make the most of our limited production time. For example, we worked with Peter Zinda of Soundelux DMG on the sound design for Lost Planet 1 & 2. We asked Todd-AO to handle the Foley recording with Foley artist Gary Hecker and Foley mixer Nerses Gezalyan; it was truly sound design at its finest, just superb. Foley artists James Moriana and Jeffery Wilhoit are also amazing―the way they make sounds is almost magical. Working with them was such a great experience.
For the Dragon’s Dogma sound design, Bryan Watkins of Warner Bros. did a great deal of field recording for us. One early morning we all gathered together at the Warner Bros. Studio Facilities to record the sound of a bell echoing across the set, which we were able to reproduce in the game’s village. We also worked with John Fasal on animal recordings. Thanks to him we got some superb sounds for bears, lions, and tigers.
DS: How much field recording has typically been done for projects you have worked on? What sort of field recording gear to you use? (microphones, digital recorders and accessories)
TK: I don’t actively go out to do field recording. The amount of time allotted for production is quite limited, and considering everything else on our plate the schedule just doesn’t allow it. This is especially true for someone like me who is both a sound designer and tasked with being the Audio Director. Also, there are lots of things I have to do on the game design side such as give my opinion on the game itself, participate in meetings, train new recruits, and work to improve sound production throughout the whole organization (as most large Japanese publishers also do in-house development, I imagine it’s the same at those places as it is here.) For better or for worse, we typically rely on our existing library when creating sounds since that’s more efficient.
When we do need to do Foley or field recordings, we often work with studios in Hollywood in order to make the most of our limited production time. For example, we worked with Peter Zinda of Soundelux DMG on the sound design for Lost Planet 1 & 2. We asked Todd-AO to handle the Foley recording with Foley artist Gary Hecker and Foley mixer Nerses Gezalyan; it was truly sound design at its finest, just superb. Foley artists James Moriana and Jeffery Wilhoit are also amazing―the way they make sounds is almost magical. Working with them was such a great experience.
For the Dragon’s Dogma sound design, Bryan Watkins of Warner Bros. did a great deal of field recording for us. One early morning we all gathered together at the Warner Bros. Studio Facilities to record the sound of a bell echoing across the set, which we were able to reproduce in the game’s village. We also worked with John Fasal on animal recordings. Thanks to him we got some superb sounds for bears, lions, and tigers.
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