TO BE CREATIVE ON POINT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY. EVERYBODY KNOWS THE SITUATION WHEN YOU ARE SITTING IN FRONT OF A WHITE SHEET OF PAPER TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT BEGINNING AND THE RIGHT IDEA. HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED YOURSELF IN SUCH A SITUATION AND HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FIND THE BEGINNING?

“Yes, I know this situation and I often find myself in it especially when there is a deadline I have to stick to. Often I force myself to start with any idea to overcome the dead point and to get into the right workflow. Partially I overrule my first idea and just use it as a catalyst to get some new ideas in mind. It’s important to start the work and not to suffocate every idea with self-doubts.“

IF YOU GOT THE CHANCE TO GIVE YOUR 15 YEARS YOUNGER SELF AN ADVICE – WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

“If you start out on your personal development sometime you try to slip in things that bother your current thoughts. That is very important for the learning effect, but also can go down the drain if you have to work on commissioned works. Probably I would advise myself to gain a more objective view on the tracks and more to empathize with my customer. In my opinion this is the factor with the most potential of development of young composers.”

HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FIND THE RIGHT WORKFLOW? DO YOU HAVE ANY RITUALS OR METHODS THAT HELP YOU TO GET INTO THE SPIRIT OF A THEME?

“Rather not, but the requirements are very different so it can’t hurt to listen to tracks of the same genre.”

HOW CAN SAMPLE LIBRARIES SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR DAILY WORK? SURE, THEY ARE HELPFUL FOR TIME CRITICAL PROJECTS, BUT ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS?

“In general libraries enable me to make my musical vision audible. In this regard we have a leg-up on composers of the past who arranged their idea on the piano and just before the recording session they could first listen to the implementation through a bigger ensemble.”

HOW DO YOU RATE THE QUALITY OF SAMPLE LIBRARIES IN COMPARISON TO LIVE RECORDINGS?

“I think there is no general answer. It depends on the genre. Nowadays some instruments are well represented. Percussion libraries are on a very high level. You can record great mixing tracks that are hard to record with live drums as you can control the single signals of the rate of overdrive. But also the melody instruments get better and better on samples. Some legato instruments sound really realistic. In some genres a mix of libraries and live recordings is established as you can use both strengths of the two music worlds.”

WHAT DOES YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH A NEW LIBRARY LOOK LIKE? WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR YOU WHILE TESTING THE NEW PRODUCT?

“Besides the sound aspect, the usability is really important. An inconvenient mapping can keep me from using it as the layering of several instruments is very annoying if you have to adjust to many parameters.”

HOW DO YOU JUDGE YOUR OWN COMPOSITION? WHICH FACTORS PLAY A ROLE?

“During a commissioned work the compliance of the customer’s briefing plays the biggest role. Thereby the creative frame is narrowly defined. But I am still in search of certain originality. I am only really content if I manage to surprise myself.”

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT YOU FOLLOW THE WRONG DIRECTION WHILE COMPOSING? HOW DO YOU REACT?

“Yes, it happens. When I notice that my composition doesn’t lead to the right result I start a new one. In the best case I can use parts of the arrangement as a starting point for a new idea. If I am in a real deadlock it is reasonable to start all over again.”

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CUSTOMER’S CRITIC IF HE/SHE HAS GOT ANOTHER VIEW ON THE RESULT AS YOU HAVE?

“I would say it is individual different. Some customers are open for contrary argumentation, when you fight for your idea. Often you have to bite the bullet and do some reworks. Sometimes you have to do some reworks although you think there is no optimization scope. That’s part of the business.”

•
Christian Hartung

We had the pleasure to open the European League of Legends Spring Split 2017 season with sound design, additional music and mixing of the “They’re Back” trailer. Furthermore we worked on the opening trailer for the grand European League of Legends Championship Finals “G2 Esports vs. Unicorns of Love“.

League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) is the name of the European and North American E-Sport professional league in the multi online battle game League of Legends. It’s a game in which two teams – each consisting of five players – compete against each other. The season is divided into two sections: The Spring Split and the Summer Split. The results of the splits will serve as a qualification for the League of Legends World Championship.

The LCS is organized and financed by Riot Games – the developer of League of Legends – in collaboration with ESL (Electronic Sports League), a world-leading platform for E-Sports. It’s the highest level of competitive League of Legends play and a professional competition on a global scale.

Like the Champions League final for every football fan or the Superbowl for every American football lover, the annual League of Legends Championship Series crowns the future champion of the most seasoned Moba’s (Multi Online Battle Arena) under the eyes of countless enthusiasts.

The most important thing while working on trailer projects is that everything (dialogue, music and sound effects) has to sound homogeneous and loud while keeping the right dynamics and tension. Sound FX accents on specific visual key-elements arouse the attention and the music addresses the listener emotionally while leaving enough room for the voice-over and the great visuals. We think that both the visual story and our acoustic story became a perfect match and the result is a great E-Sports trailer.

We’re delighted to be part of this great E-Sports game spectacle and we hope you enjoy watching the two opening trailers!

  TO BE CREATIVE ON POINT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY. EVERYBODY KNOWS THE SITUATION WHEN YOU ARE SITTING IN FRONT OF A WHITE SHEET OF PAPER TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT BEGINNING AND THE RIGHT IDEA. HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED YOURSELF IN SUCH A SITUATION AND HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FIND THE BEGINNING?

“I know this situation, sitting in front of a glaring blank page, waiting to be filled. I try to plunge into the right mood with the help of movies or images of the same genre. If nothing helps: I take a break and do some sports to clear my mind.”

IF YOU GOT THE CHANCE TO GIVE YOUR 15 YEARS YOUNGER SELF AN ADVICE – WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

“Be tenacious, trust your strengths, go to more concerts and take care of your network.”

HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FIND THE RIGHT WORKFLOW? DO YOU HAVE ANY RITUALS OR METHODS THAT HELP YOU TO GET INTO THE SPIRIT OF A THEME?

“Funnily enough that always works without any problems. I can plunge into a new world very well. I don’t have any methods or rituals.”

HOW CAN SAMPLE LIBRARIES SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR DAILY WORK? SURE, THEY ARE HELPFUL FOR TIME CRITICAL PROJECTS, BUT ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS?

“As I compose only on my PC, sample libraries are my main tool – so I can’t work without them. The work of many composers has changed as well as the customer’s claims. If a composition has been commissioned usually a composer can’t deliver scoresheets. The customer’s expectation is a great sounding mock-up. Therefore my work depends on realistic sounding and easy to handle sample libraries. Meanwhile there are phrase based libraries on the market which can support your working process and your idea generation.”

HOW DO YOU RATE THE QUALITY OF SAMPLE LIBRARIES IN COMPARISON TO LIVE RECORDINGS?

“That is always very different. As much as there are excellent sounding libraries on the market you can also find the opposite. A composer always tries to let his/her music sound as realistic as much as possible. The quality of a live recording is the aim of every sample production. Of course there are situations when a desired sound is not easy to record live. I mean for example epic, modern orchestra soundings which have been really in demand since Hans Zimmer. In this case live recordings are mixed with sample libraries to sound bigger and more epic.”

WHAT DOES YOUR FIRST CONTACT WITH A NEW LIBRARY LOOK LIKE? WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR YOU WHILE TESTING THE NEW PRODUCT?

“I definitely focus on the sound, but no less important is the usability of a library. You shouldn’t have to read a manual before you start to work with it. Of course the price plays a role, but for me that’s not too decisive, as long as it is not too excessive.”

HOW DO YOU JUDGE YOUR OWN COMPOSITION? WHICH FACTORS PLAY A ROLE?

“My compositions have to make the grade of my own expectations. And they have to be competitive in the media landscape. Equally I have to be clear on the musical aspiration. But this is always very subjective. The best way is to let your customer decide, but also the evaluation of and reflection upon the composition includes some important factors. Here are some questions I ponder: ‘Did I manage to create the intended emotions?’, ‘Is there enough variety in the composition?’, ‘Does the track fit into the main context?'”

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT YOU FOLLOW THE WRONG DIRECTION WHILE COMPOSING? HOW DO YOU REACT?

“Yes, this happens. I have learned to stop the what I am working on and save it in a special folder for a later use. And then I just start from scratch.”

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CUSTOMER’S CRITIC IF HE/SHE HAS GOT ANOTHER VIEW ON THE RESULT AS YOU HAVE?

“Meanwhile I can handle criticism very well although it is a process of development. In the beginning it was exhausting and stressful to make the fourth or fifth rework of one track, but it’s merely a matter of time when you start to take the things more relaxed. With years of experience you usually don’t have to do so many reworks as well. If you still have to edit your track again and again the reason is mostly a lack of communication. Find out the customer’s expectations.”

•
Jochen Flach