Breaking the “Code”: Winifred Phillips Interview Part 2

by Louis Bedigian

“Have you ever noticed that when listening to the soundtrack CD of a game, the experience is very unlike that which you get when you hear the music in the game itself?” 

Winifred Phillips continues discussing her work on The Da Vinci Code. 

(Check out Part one here: Winifred Phillips Scores "Da Vinci;" Breaks the "Code")

Have the writing cycles (the time you're given on each soundtrack) been similar for each game you've worked on, or have there been significant differences in each?

Winifred Phillips: I was brought on to the God of War project about a year before its release, so the production schedule was somewhat relaxed – definitely a low-pressure situation. But both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Da Vinci Code were movie tie-in projects, which meant that the work had to be completed on a fairly tight schedule. That sense of urgency made the whole music composition experience feel very intense. It really took over my life, which I think was a good thing – I could mentally stay in the world of the game throughout the entire process. Also, that tight schedule was good training for me. I have very fast turnaround now – I can write and deliver finished music extremely quickly. 

The Da Vinci Code soundtrack has quite a few different types of songs, all that seem to fall within the same style. Which of these is more difficult: a main theme, like "The Louvre," or something that's more continuous, like "Sauniere's Mansion"?

WP: That up-tempo track from the Louvre level was tremendous fun to write. It actually went through two variations within the game. The first time you hear it is during a puzzle sequence in the Louvre – and then it is very low keyed and simple. Just a women’s choir, some plucked violins and some light percussion. Later in the game you hear the second variation, which is full-on orchestra, at a much faster tempo, with lots of counter melodies playing against the choir and an aggressive contemporary beat driving things along. I enjoyed the chance to experiment with variations of themes as they reappear in the game. You’ll hear a pretty wide variety of themes during gameplay, and each one comes back several times after having undergone significant variations. The themes work their way through the “Sauniere’s Mansion” level too, and there is a palpable momentum pushing the music forward, so almost all the tracks on that level share a common sense of determination. I suppose that made things easier – the intensity of each track built from the one that came before it.

Based on what I've heard from the soundtrack sampler, it seems that the majority of The Da Vinci Code's music has several levels to it. A song might start out slow and somber, go crazy and frantic half-way through, then go to an entirely different place in the end. Game music is typically more repetitive than that. How does this style balance out in a game world where the players make the decisions? Are the frantic points in the song only triggered when the gameplay intensifies?

WP: Let me answer this way: have you ever noticed that when listening to the soundtrack CD of a game, the experience is very unlike that which you get when you hear the music in the game itself? The music in the soundtrack can seem choppy – the tracks are sometimes very short – and there’s no sense of the musical progression of ideas.

However, in the game one music track flows directly into another as the in-game situation changes, and all of the tracks relate to each other. When we were putting together the soundtrack CD for “The Da Vinci Code” game, my music producer Winnie Waldron was determined to make the experience of listening to the soundtrack more reminiscent of the musical experience in the game itself. She conceived the idea of presenting the music as a continuous sonic thread, with many in-game tracks melting in and out of each other in a way that would be at least somewhat more evocative of how the music sounds in the actual game.

So yes, there are slow segments that erupt into more action-oriented music, which then transition into another style altogether. All of these changes are triggered by in-game events. It shows how interactive the musical score is designed to be.

I’d like to share an interesting story about the soundtrack. When I finished up the music for The Da Vinci Code, the developers, Collective Studios, were still hard at work on the game. Since I only had a little ‘pick-up’ work ahead of me, my music producer and I took the opportunity to work on the soundtrack album. 

Another code to break. Man, this game is puzzling!

WP: After a very intense week, we finished it, and I mailed it to Collective Studios and the publisher, 2K Games. Pretty soon after that, the game’s producer, Cordy Rierson, told me that she loved the soundtrack I’d sent, and that she intended to incorporate the entire album directly into the game itself. So the end result is this: the entire soundtrack album is now a part of the game as unlockable bonus content.

If you collect all the “planet items” scattered throughout the game, the whole soundtrack will unlock and you’ll be able to listen to it.  It’s a very direct way to make the soundtrack available to gamers, and also quite unique. As a side note, I found out that after I sent the soundtrack to the Collective, they got into the habit of listening to it for inspiration while they worked on the game. I think knowing that makes listening to the soundtrack in the bonus section of the game more interesting, because when you do, you’ll also be looking at concept art that’s showing on the screen at the same time. It’s like giving gamers a sort of peek inside the heads of the developers, to see what was in their minds when they were making the game. And that’s really cool. :)

Are there animated sequences, real-time or CG, in the game? If so, did you write the score for those as well?

WP: There are both real-time and CG animated sequences in the game. They forward the story, reveal secrets, help the mystery unfold, and deepen the humanity of the characters.  One of the things I enjoy most about being a videogame composer is the chance to score these scenes.  They present a wonderful opportunity to meld together the musical themes that have been introduced in-game, and intensify the emotion of the music throughout the game.

When a melody first heard in a dramatic cut-scene returns while the player is solving a crucial puzzle, that puzzle becomes all the more meaningful.  Also, when a theme first heard during combat with a particularly nasty foe returns later during an ominous cinema, it makes the cinema feel that much more threatening and dire. I always look forward to working on the music for the animated sequences, because while I’m writing them I feel like I’m pulling all the musical ideas together and sending emotional ripples all over the game.

How would you describe the experience of doing not only the music, but also the vocals for The Da Vinci Code?

WP: Singing on this project was a real privilege. The Latin lyrics were about fascinating aspects of Dan Brown’s story, so that made the experience special and unique. As always, I sang all the parts of a full chorus – sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. I took a more classical approach to the vocal style – although it is in no way stodgy. Listen for that creepy male choir chanting Latin with a very evil tone of voice, and you’ll see what I mean. I had a great time performing those parts. Still, a good portion of the vocal music was written to be very classical in nature – keeping in the spirit of a story that is brimming with great works of art.  

Some of the vocal tracks in the game were simply a pleasure to write and record.  For one of the levels, I wrote a four-voice, highly contrapuntal motet for female choir – which meant that the female voices were split into four separate sections (sopranos 1 & 2, altos 1 & 2) and each of these four parts sang their own independent melodies that played against each other.  What other videogame project would grant a composer the opportunity to write a track like that?  It was an incredible experience, and one I’ll never forget. 

Tell us about the vocal technique you used on this game and how you've refined it from each title you've worked on.

WP: With each project, my music producer Winnie Waldron and I refine the technique of overdubbing my voice, pitch-shifting a bit for the male parts, and blending it all together. To make my male vocal sections even more effective this time around, I developed a bunch of new technical approaches specifically for this game. I had to sing all the voices of a choir of monks (in good old-fashioned Gregorian style), so it was particularly important to pay attention to every little detail of the recording and mastering.

But the technical side isn’t the entire story. Overdubbing my voice into a full chorus involves acting in addition to singing and tweaking. Different singers approach their craft according to their personalities, and that influences the way each singer sounds. I try to adopt a little bit of that ‘character difference’ in my voice when I’m performing each vocal overdub, to make the resulting chorus more real. I perform the sopranos and altos with a feminine touch, while singing the tenors and basses in as ‘manly’ a voice as possible. Also, within each voice section I vary the ‘personality’ of each individual singer a bit from the others, to create variety in the final mix.

Now that God of War II has been confirmed, I must ask: are you involved with it in any shape or form? If you can't officially answer at this time, blink twice for yes, blink once for no…

WP: Wait a minute… isn’t that how the Watergate reporters got in trouble? :)

Any final thoughts?

WP: As I write this, I am intermittently looking at web bulletin boards where people playing The Da Vinci Code are asking each other for clues to the puzzles, arguing passionately about the significance of the story, and bragging about how far along they are in the game. It is a fun read.  I’m proud to have been a part of this experience they’re all sharing as a community. In a short while I’ll be starting a new video game project for Activision, and I can’t wait to get started.  Thanks so much for the great questions!

Thank you for your thoughtful answers!