Scarface: Sound Design and Mixing Using a Post Production Audio Model

Speakers: Rob Bridgett

Track: Audio

Format: Lecture

Experience Level: Intermediate

Description: SCARFACE used a unique model for its audio, combining conventional audio development from the beginning of the project and augmenting this with a movie-like post-production audio phase at Skywalker Sound. This essentially concentrated on two major elements, sound design and a final mix.

Post production Sound Design
The audio development team spent a week with Oscar winning sound designer Randy Thom reviewing the game’s audio and took away assets just prior to alpha. Returning two months later with most of those sounds implemented for a final week of concentrated sound effects replacement.

Post Production Mix
The entire audio development was also taken to a movie mix stage for three weeks where all the sound for the game was mixed. This used unique proprietary technology that allowed a mix control surface to be attached to all the sounds in the game and enabled the game to be mixed by a motion picture mixer Juan Peralta.

The lecture talks about the work flow aspects of taking the audio development off site, as well as the technical and aesthetic advancements made during the Scarface project.

Idea Takeaway: Attendees learn about what was achieved by using the post-production audio model on a videogame.

Intended Audience: This session demosntrates how a traditional game development environment can be augmented by a dedicated post-production sound phase, similar to the way sound is post produced in movies.