Goddess of Music

By: Randall Larson
Date: Thursday, April 07, 2005

Winifred Phillips is an award-winning composer, producer and vocalist who writes and produces epic choral and orchestral music for cinematic productions. As the composer for Radio Tales, the acclaimed music drama series broadcast via National Public Radio and XM Satellite Radio, Winifred's music is widely enjoyed by a national listening audience who tunes in to hear an hour of her original music each week. She has composed original musical scores for NPR's radio adaptations of War of the Worlds, Arabian Nights, The Time Machine, The Phantom of the Opera, Gulliver's Travels, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Most recently, Winifred scored the dramatic and ethereal music for the PlayStation 2 videogame, God Of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America), and is featured as the singing voice of one of the characters in the title. An accomplished multimedia composer and vocal performer, Winifred wrote and performed ambient and combat tracks for God Of War; she performs all vocals, including the choral voices (sopranos, altos, tenors and basses) and the male chanting.

Winifred is a four-time winner of the coveted Gracie Award for artistic excellence and

outstanding achievement from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television. In addition, she is a New York Festivals World Medalist, and has been honored by the NFCB Golden Reel Awards and the Audio Publishers Association Awards. Publishers Weekly hailed Winifred's work as "Sensational!" and Billboard Magazine called it "A Real Treat!" while AudioFile Magazine praised her work as "A magnificent demonstration of the very best the medium has to offer!"

Winifred is the founder and lead music producer responsible for all music production at Generations Productions LLC, an award-winning music studio and production company.

Winifred Phillips and the Music for GOD OF WAR

Music provides overall continuity to the gaming experience a sense of the emotional core of the story that remains with the gamer even when struggling with a difficult puzzle or a powerful boss character. No other element of the video game experience is more directly rooted to emotion than music. - Winifred Phillips

Q: Can you give us some details about the choral style of music you composed for the score of God of War?

Winifred Phillips: The choral and solo vocal style was definitely influenced by world music, with an emphasis on the Mediterranean and the Middle East. But it's not really

accurate to think of any of the music of God of War as specific to any one culture. Victor Rodriguez, the music supervisor for the project, told me from the very beginning to concentrate on the ancient exotic influences that are inherent in the mythology, and not to make the music representative of any one particular world music genre or approach. For the choral and solo vocal work I performed for God of War, there are influences from Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Western musical philosophies, both structurally and harmonically. The use of the ancient Greek language had a powerful impact on the musical treatment of the choral passages and the solo work. Ancient Greek has a wonderfully exotic sound to it, with combinations of vowels and consonants totally alien to the ears of English speakers.

Also, David Jaffe, the visionary developer of God of War, had very specific ideas about what he wanted the music to achieve, and his input was crucial to the creation of the choral and solo passages. From the first, David knew exactly what he wanted to hear in the soundtrack which was great, because his direction was full of so much conviction. That was very inspiring.

I'm classically trained in voice, and so it was only natural that I contribute my own voice to the tracks I was writing for the game. Sometimes I'd sing low, moody solos with a Mediterranean technique, which helped lend an eerie, feel to some of the puzzle solving and platforming sections of the game. Other times I'd sing these wild soprano solos over a full chorus that I created by overdubbing my voice.

Q: What are the differences between composing for a radio play (no images) versus composing for a television or video game (many images)? What are the musical demands of each form and how have you approached them in your compositions?

Winifred Phillips: Video games and radio dramas share one thing in common. In both a video game and a radio drama, the audience is participating in the way the story unfolds. For radio drama listeners, that participation involves mentally creating all the sets and decorations, the look of the characters and their costumes, the movement of the camera and the position of the lighting, the way action sequences are staged and shot... all those things that would be presented visually in television and film. In radio, the listeners create it all, and the nature of their creations is limited only by the scope of their imaginations. When writing music for radio drama, the composer has to be very careful to enhance the active experience of the listeners, and not interfere with what is taking place in their minds. The listeners are actively participating in the creation of their own experience. Composers have to be aware of this, and think of themselves as collaborators with the listeners.

With video games, a similar principle applies. Gamers actively shape the story with their manipulation of the game, their interaction with enemies and allies, the choices they make and the goals they pursue. The experience of the gamer is one of fluid creativity and problem solving. The music has to enhance the active experience of the gamer, and not interfere with what is taking place in the game environment. Take as an example the music that sets the scene while a gamer is attempting to solve a complex puzzle or navigate a series of dangerous platforms. The music needs to tap into the mental state of the gamer and reflect his or her concentration level, while at the same time keeping the gamer firmly rooted in the mood and environment of the game. During an action sequence the music needs to keep the gamer motivated to destroy enemies or escape danger. And many times the score must instantly transition from one type of music to another as the gamer completes a task and enters into a new area or faces new attackers. Game composers must think of themselves as collaborators with gamers, helping gamers shape their experiences with the most emotionally satisfying results possible.

In God of War, the music was greatly responsible for the overall

momentum of the gameplay, the driving pace that prevailed as the main character Kratos pursued his epic quest to murder the god of war. In creating the music, it was my goal to capture the essence of Kratos' brutality and determination, while at the same time evoking his haunted past and inner demons. But all of that was subject to the most important goal which was to enhance the gamer's active experience. David Jaffe has said that the game was meant to allow gamers to express their rage and so as a composer it was my responsibility to enhance that emotion wherever possible, and support David's vision for the game.

Q: How vital, then, is music to the actual gameplay of a game like this?

Winifred Phillips: Music is incredibly important to gameplay. In video games, unpredictability is everywhere. The gamer has multiple choices and a wide variety of options. The story itself is changeable and advances only as the gamer progresses through the game. Music provides overall continuity to the gaming experience a sense of the emotional core of the story that remains with the gamer even when struggling with a difficult puzzle or a powerful boss character. No other element of the video game experience is more directly rooted to emotion than music. The musical score lets the gamer know that the story is bigger than this one moment, and that there is much more ahead. At its best, game music keeps the gamer motivated, and reminds the gamer of the ultimate goal.

All during the process of creating music for God of War, I tried to stay focused on how to enhance the experience for the gamer. God of War's music supervisor, Victor Rodriguez, was pivotal in providing guidance and outlining what the essence of the musical score should be for the game. Victor's direction was to breathe life into the mythology that is ever present in God of War, but not to become too bogged down in the musical style of the area of the world in which the game is set. Also, Clint Bajakian, senior music supervisor with Sony Computer Entertainment America, was a guiding force during the creation of music for God of War. He had a clear understanding of the emotional and mythological underpinnings that form the foundation of Kratos' world. God of War takes place in ancient Greece, but by no means is the game an historical documentary. The world of God of War is full of fantastic and magical elements, and it was crucial to recognize this in the score, and touch upon the dark mysticism that is ever present in the game.

Apart from capturing the soul of the setting, the music in a video game has unique demands upon it in terms of its function and structure. Music for video games is broken into two types in-game music designed to support gameplay, and cinematic music incorporated into segments of the game in which the action is taken out of the gamer's hands. For cinematic music, the creation and implementation is very much the same as it would be for television and film, since the action is predetermined and will not change. But for in-game music, an entirely different mindset and creation technique are required. In-game music is designed to react to the actions of the player. At its most interactive, one track of in-game music may consist of a large number of layers containing instruments which form combinations depending on what the gamer is doing at any given time. But not all game music requires this degree of interactivity in order to be effective. As long as the music reacts to what is happening, then it is interactive.

Q: How many minutes of music did you write for God of War? How many tracks did you compose?

Winifred Phillips: I wrote a little over 20 minutes of music for the game, which are spread over 13 tracks. I worked closely with Clint Bajakian, who gave me expert guidance on how to achieve the musical effects that David Jaffe was looking for. Clint was incredibly generous with his expertise I learned a lot from him.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your choral technique?

Winifred Phillips: I was called upon to sing quite a bit for God of War I served both as a soloist and in multi-voiced passages featured in tracks I composed for the project. On a really epic project like this, I like to overdub my voice that is, record

my voice once, and then again on a second track, and then again and again, and so on. In God of War I composed a number of tracks featuring a women's chorus (in which all the voices of the three part harmony are performed by me). The sound of a women's chorus is really effective for segments in the game that are meant to feel mysterious or full of wonder. I'm quite fond of one particular track that used the women's choral technique. The track is called "Pandora's Box," and it's special to me mostly because I understand that it's one of David Jaffe's favorites. It was very difficult to write and record structurally it seems very simple, but it had some very unusual rhythms, and required a lot of extremely high vocals on my part. David knew exactly what he wanted from that track, and so the pressure was high. In the end, I was able to write a track that really pleased David, and that makes it a favorite of mine.

Q: How did you come to perform the Siren's voice for the game?

Winifred Phillips: The game developers called upon me to serve as the singing voice for a major character in the game which was terrifically exciting, considering that this sung track would be used as the most interactive music in the game. After Victor Rodriguez heard one of my action tracks featuring my vocal performance, he asked me if I would write the Siren's Song, and perform the singing voice of the Siren mini-boss character in the game.

Writing and performing that song was an incredible rush. The Siren is one of the most memorable and dangerous characters in all of Greek mythology. She hypnotized warriors with her mesmerizing song. They would follow the song to find her, certain that only good things would await them... and then, when they arrived, she would eat them. I wrote her song, and performed it without accompaniment. What was so exciting about writing and performing that song was knowing how it would be used. During the desert level, the main character Kratos follows the song of the Siren in order to locate her and kill her. So the music is vital to the successful completion of the level, and it reacts to the player's movements in an extremely interactive way. Also, the developers used the song at the beginning of two of the promotional trailers for the game, so that it became a musical signature for the game itself. I'm very proud of that theme, and happy that I got a chance to create something so interactive.

Q: What is most challenging for you in scoring games like these? What is most rewarding?

Winifred Phillips: The biggest challenge in scoring any game is the constant struggle to enhance the gameplay to inject the right amount of excitement into the action to add the perfect amount of pathos and atmosphere to the quieter moments to reflect the emotion of the gamer and collaborate effectively with the storytelling that the gamer is orchestrating through his or her actions during the game. In God of War, the storytelling was so epic and the emotions so high, that I needed to use every musical tool at my disposal to ensure that the score supported the story effectively. In order to achieve that, I sang a sixteen voice mixed chorus women and men, in full four-part harmony sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. I have a pretty wide vocal range, but not so wide that I can hit the low notes of a bass. My music software, Pro Tools, helped me out a little in shifting the pitch of my voice for the male parts. I only shifted it slightly, but it helped the men's choral sections to sound convincing. The technique works well to bring the voices into the full range of a symphonic chorus

When I was singing I worked with award-winning music producer Winnie Waldron, who produced the vocal sessions. She lent her sensitive hearing to the process, making sure I was pitch perfect. She also oversaw production on everything I wrote and recorded for God of War, and her innate musical expertise ensured the quality of the final product.

I also worked with a translator for the ancient Greek text I was singing in the choral music I wrote for God of War. Most of the lyrics were direct quotes from the works of Euripides, including the quote used in the God of War promotional campaign, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." The ancient Greek language had a deep influence on the choral and solo vocals. Ancient Greek is very exotic and strange, with vowel and consonant combinations that are completely unexpected. There is an unfettered, primal quality to the way the language sounds, and it proved extremely effective in the context of the vocal work for the game.

In my experience, the most rewarding accomplishments have always been the most challenging. I think a person can only experience the greatest burst of victory after surmounting the greatest obstacle. As a whole, God of War was a huge challenge, but it was also one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had as a composer

Q: Music for videogames has really come into its own over the last few years. What does the future hold for this unique form of "film music?"

Winifred Phillips: The future for interactive music looks very bright. The Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (IA-SIG) is currently working on an open source music format for video games called Interactive XMF (eXtensible Music Format). When complete, it will provide a framework for composers to explore interactivity in their work with easy-to-use software that will emit code that can then be implemented in any game, regardless of the platform or the programming language. Interactive XMF is very exciting, in that it will give composers the tools they need to push the boundaries of interactivity.

Q: And what's next for you?

Winifred Phillips: I'm currently working on a triple-A movie tie-in game, which will be released this summer on all three consoles at the same time that the movie premieres. I'm singing in my new project too in a very different style than the one I used in God of War. I can't reveal anything more, other than to say that I'm having the time of my life working on it!

Thanks to Greg O'Connor-Read of Top Dollar PR for helping coordinate and put together this interview, and to Winifred Phillips for her detailed and articulate discussion of her work.

For more information and to hear some spectacular music samples, visit www.winifredphillips.com

For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com