Q&A with Jared Emerson-Johnson, Friday!

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Frown

When did you get to know about the iPad release of Season 3?

I am fairly certain I didn't know about it until about the same time that you all found out--I knew something was going in on that back room but I had no idea what it was (I did have my suspicions, though).

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by LuigiHann

Have you guys thought about putting some of your crazy musical numbers on Rock Band Network? Jokey songs and nerd-injoke songs seem to do reasonable well there, with Jonathan Coulton and Flight of the Conchords near the top, and a lot of hype surrounding acts like Ron Wasserman (who did the Power Rangers theme song) and Midnight Riders (a fictional band from within the game Left 4 Dead 2). Can't think of a specific song to suggest, but I know people would also get excited about jazz. I feel like some Sam and Max stuff would fit right in.

That thought did occur to me awhile back, but I haven't had a free moment to look into it at all. I'd certainly be happy if any or all of those tunes showed up on the Rock Band Network at some point down the line.

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by thatdude98

Hey Jared, I thought of a couple more questions, if you'll be so kind.

1. So, I was kinda wondering... which comes first when designing a scene for a game? What I mean is, what does Telltale do first? The music for the scene, or the scene itself? Do they design the scene around the composition or... which is easier?

2. Wanna hear my completely unprofessional attempts at music?

3. Can he have a cookie? ------>

1. The design process generally starts long before I am called in to start the music. By the time they bring me in to talk about the musical needs of an episode, the designers and directors usually have a fairly detailed sense of how they want the vibe of a given scene to feel.

The one big exception to this general rule has been the musical numbers and a small handful of the credits sequences, which tend to be timed out specifically to the music. I think the question of which is easier depends on who you ask . I certainly like having some kind of existing reference before I get going, so I know what I'm scoring. If you asked the chore artists, they might have a somewhat equal and opposite take on the matter.

2. Sure, post 'em!

3. No, no he may not.

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by PressidentMax

Jarred, I loved the previous games tracks, I have Season 1 on DVD PC from amazon and the season 1 soundtrack is with it! Is there any music you can reveal? If not then can you reveal some of the music's titles?

Alas no, I am sworn to secrecy. It's nearly over, though, at this point, so all shall be reveled before too much longer!

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Nintendo Boy1

I have a question:

1. How do you think up the music for your songs?

It depends a lot on the specific cue in question. The most important starting place is what sort of emotional response we want to elicit from the listener in a given sequence. That usually has the biggest effect on where I start for any given piece.

To get a bit more technical: I tend to be a harmonic-structure-first type of guy, more than a melodic-material-first guy. Most of the composers I know tend to be one or the other (and there are also those whose brains allow them to develop both concurrently). My first step is usually working out what sort of harmonic foundation I want a piece to have, and I build the melodies and themes on top of that.

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Iron Curtain

Jared:

"Radical" from Sam & Max: Chariots of the Dogs is my favorite piece from you, because it really sounds totally 80's to the max! Did you play all the instruments, or did you have session musicians play the guitars and sax?

The guitars are rockingly played by the inimitable Bill Storkson, and the saxophones are all played by the one and only Jordan Wardlaw

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Strong Max

Do you fiddle around until you find a nice-sounding melody and perfect it from there, or do you use another composittion method?

I kind of answered this a few questions up, but I tend to start with harmonic structure, and build up from there. That said, it's a lot of fun to craft a new harmonic underpinning, and to adapt and overlay a familiar theme on top, to give it a new flavor.

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by rct2guy

I love your music in-game. It's awesome. I was curious, how much of the music in this season was recorded with real instruments, compared to the past two seasons?

Thanks! It's roughly the same amount of live vs. sampled. The big change this year is that we added live trombones to the mix, so a lot of the material that would have otherwise gone to into the trumpets was able to be spread out (and down) into the trombones; so, I'd say the overall sound is richer this time around.

In terms of actual tracks recorded, though, it's more or less on par with the previous seasons.

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Tjibbbe

I don't know if anyone will read this now that the game is released, but I just wanted to congratulate Jared. The music in 301 is amazing. I particularly like the way the music warps into a twisted version of itself in Max's mind. Is it just me or does the music change depending on the way you move the camera in Max-mode? That's some great sound design right there.

Needless to say, this game needs a soundtrack release.

You are totally correct, it does do awesome things as you move the camera.

Credit for that actually goes to the one and only Andrew Langley, one of the lead programmers for the season, and a formidable audio ally! He rules.

[Icedhope]

Oh, now I want to ask a question....About how many tracks did you record for the whole season more or less than seasons 1&2?

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Icedhope

Oh, now I want to ask a question....About how many tracks did you record for the whole season more or less than 1&2?

Going by actual numbers of cues, it's quite a bit more in season three—I'd say around two times as many. Episodes in seasons one and two generally had 4-6 new live environment cues. Episodes in season three were more in the 8-12 range.

This was mostly because of the way the environments tended to tonally change over the course of the episodes in season three (whereas environments in the first two seasons tended to have a similar vibe across the entire episode's arc).

[GinnyN]

I now it's officially proved, again, Jared is awesome. Hands down.

[Hungryfreak]

I have to say that you've outdone yourself with this season Jared! I usually don't pay much heed to game sound tracks, but your work is continually fantastic, fitting each scene perfectly, and really stands out among some of my favorite sound work.

I really loved the Charlie Hotep themes at the end of episode four. Who did you get to do the chanting? Can you tell me what they're chanting?

[JaredEJ]

Originally Posted by Hungryfreak

I have to say that you've outdone yourself with this season Jared! I usually don't pay much heed to game sound tracks, but your work is continually fantastic, fitting each scene perfectly, and really stands out among some of my favorite sound work.

I really loved the Charlie Hotep themes at the end of episode four. Who did you get to do the chanting? Can you tell me what they're chanting?

Thank you kindly!

The chanting is all David Nowlin, the actor who voices Sam (and all of the Sam clones). The texts for all of the chants were all written by Mike Stemmle, and I'm afraid you'll have to ask him about how he came up with them!

[lombre]

I'm amazed that this hasn't been asked.

Favorite C.O.P.?

[light_rises]

*gasp!*

Jared: Rockin' even harder than usual for answering all of the questions asked after the initial talkback.

Hmm ... I think I've got one. One thing I enjoy doing with my favorite soundtracks is picking out and paying special attention to the leitmotifs, partly because I love how they're often associated with specific characters. The same goes with Sam & Max, both while I'm playing the games and listening to the soundtrack on its own. What would you say has been your favorite leitmotif these past three seasons?

(Adding, too, my admiration and appreciation for the thoroughness of your answers. I'm but a lowly, non-musical peasant who loves great music, so I found the information absolutely fascinating in an "I'm-on-the-outside-looking-in-but-I-can-still-see-when-totally-awesome-stuff-is-happening-in-there-and-I-want-to-know-how" way. Though I hope to someday figure out how to describe this without resorting to so many hyphens. )

[Hungryfreak]

Originally Posted by JaredEJ

Thank you kindly!

The chanting is all David Nowlin, the actor who voices Sam (and all of the Sam clones). The texts for all of the chants were all written by Mike Stemmle, and I'm afraid you'll have to ask him about how he came up with them!

Thank you for answering.

David's really been showing off his range this season, hasn't he? Haha. It really sounds great in conjunction with the music, though. Creepy with the right amount of hilarity. Speaking of which, I'm definitely going to have to press Mike for those lyrics, even if most of it is in evil Samspeak. Thanks again!

[The Highway]

Originally Posted by lombre

I'm amazed that this hasn't been asked.

Favorite C.O.P.?

About halfway down the page

http://www.culturalzest.com/2010/08/18/jared/2/

[JedExodus]

Jared, here's a hypothetical question for you.

You must for some reason elminate one instrument from history forever, which one do you choose?

Personally I choose the harmonica, I can forfeit just about everything they've given us if it means never having to hear one bust out at a party again

[The Highway]

Originally Posted by JedExodus

Jared, here's a hypothetical question for you.

You must for some reason elminate one instrument from history forever, which one do you choose?

Personally I choose the harmonica, I can forfeit just about everything they've given us if it means never having to hear one bust out at a party again

I'd get rid of the vuvuzela, but you're not asking me, are you?