This is my first time seeing one of these breakdown videos of yours, and may I say it was brilliant! Not just because I’m a big fan of the Alien franchise (inc the soundtracks) but because I feel I learnt something (including a deeper appreciation) from watching you Austin, well done.
1. A perfect way to wrap up my Saturday evening 2. I ******* love your string writing...the soundtrack is an instant buy just for that. 3. Those WWs by Kristin are just...so good.
So I've taken a listen to parts of this score, and congrats. You've managed to stay true to the identity, to add your own touch to it, and overall contribute with the strongest part of the game. You've pulled a full Jerry in the sense that you scored the game they thought they were making. This is quite a compliment, as you very well know.
Playing the game, I could not emphasize enough how all the tracks I've heard throughout have set the mood perfectly for me. Probably one of my favorite soundtracks I've heard in a while. Pretty cool to see a breakdown on this!
This game was one of the biggest surprises this year. Was not expecting much, but almost everything in it was great. The sound(both music and general sound direction) was definitely a highlight. A lot of people underestimate the importance of sound in creating atmosphere and immersion.
I love how unique this OST is. It really stands out among modern game scores. I know there’s definitely the influences of the OG composers, but I think you can totally hear how you took these ideas and ran with them. Thanks so much for the vid Austin
"monolithic brass chords", yes please. Damn that was intense track. Very much enjoyed the creepiness of Duduk, (Zafun?) and other unusual wind. This was sick man.
Thanks for taking the time to share your process. Seems like a dream job, and you did a fine job paying hommage to the original scores while putting your own spin on it. I love the Alien franchise, but somehow missed this game. Feel like buying and playing it now.
What I find really interesting is your use of electronic elements to enhance the acoustic orchestral instruments by improving the rhythmic articulation or creating a modulation/flange effect over a longer note, or even just to add additional harmonics and partials to a line without making it sound digital. These are really subtle techniques that shows a great understanding of acoustics to push a sound further. Love it!
It's so great to see your process. Especially the working with solo players. Those recorded aleatoric samples are so good too. I find my ensemble patches do so much of the heavy lifting when it comes to realism and filling out the sound. Hope to record my own one day...
Im not even 10 minutes in and i absolutely love this, got the alien vibes absolutely on point, and i think, from what ive heard so far, its a welcome addition to the franchise that, while also pushing forwards, captures the history of the scores that came before it!
Thank you for this one Austin! So many educational and enjoyable senses of how to layer things, how to handle action passages... and that certain 'alien' sense of orchestration within your score. Tasty! And the merge of Goldsmith and Horner is dabbled through the score. You couldn't Not do it, it's the DNA :)
Thanks Austin, it's so nice of you to put this kind of educative lecture out for free. I would love to see this more in the future if the opportunity arises!
I dare you to make a Weyland Yatuni radio jingle! Been enjoying theses videos for a great game in my favorite franchise. Congrats on getting such an epic gig composing this game.
I never knew much about Jerry Goldsmith until listening to your music. So when I watched Alien for the first time a couple weeks ago I was surprised to see that it was him!
Played 10 minutes of Dead Space and Wolfenstein New Order because I couldn’t decide on one…Dead Space managed to scare the hell out of me in that time frame so that’s what I’m going to play first. 😂 Thanks for introducing me to the score.
Great vid, could def have used a bit of a bump up on for the volume on your voice. Was super low compared to when you played the music, the 2nd track almost blew my ears out!
In a recent interview, Todd Howard said Bethesda likes to begin game development with most of their OST already completed and use it in their conceptual phase. What do you think about this style of using the soundtrack to help guide the creative development of a game?
This is somewhat how both thatgamecompany and Giant Squid work too. During both JOURNEY and ABZU huge amounts of music were written way ahead of the rest of the development. BUT I would never call it 'completed.' It's more like a first draft. Delivering finished music to an unfinished game means that as the game evolves, the music is likely to drift off-course and be increasingly inaccurate or need finesse. My general feeling is that I'm in it until it ships and often beyond!
@@awintory How would you work in film or tv in the Yoko Kanno style, then? People send you the concept art bible, the synopsis, some preliminary script, some general music references, then say: "Give us your vision for this. We'll discuss it, make a couple adjustments, then you'll have a week with the Israel Philarmonica. We'll animate everything according to your score, like Fantasia. 3, 2, 1... Go."
You know, if I afforded a PS5, I would like to get this game along with God of War Ragnarök and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, to get a load of the soundtracks that you, Bear McCreary and Mark Mothersbaugh did, because you three have become influences on me and my project.
This is fantastic, great episode, out of curiosity what VSTs are you using for the mock-ups? I.e. the midi data during The Queen section, is it Vienna?
At around @32:30 you mention “gating” the noise perc layer “to the celli”, does that mean it’s cutting out the percussion when the celli play (ie. sidechain compression) or is it the other way around: making it play only when the celli are playing?
In this case I wasn't referring to a literal side chain, but instead the noise pulse mirroring the same rhythm and therefore adding articulation to the celli rhythm. Purely a mix thing, though I could have side chained the celli to those pulses to literally duck for a fraction of a second for an even more pronounced effect
Big fan and love the explanations and walkthroughs! Do you work independently or do you typically work with a studio? Do you do internships or anything?
UA-cam! Also just simply contacting people whose work inspires you (twitter can do wonders). And above all, just DO. Experiment. Don't wait for permission or validation. Just simply try things and see what works, what doesn't, etc
I could suggest Cimbasso for the combat momments for the raspiness of the sound it has or combine it with the round sound of tuba, as low end brass. 1 Tuba and 1 Cimbasso . Or 1 Tuba dbl.Cimbasso. Good work on Aliens Austin.
@@awintory Bit late on finding this section but, who or what is The Mouse? Because the music (and xeno designs too) is probably the best part of this game, would love to have a soundtrack to listen to, especially The Queen.
I usually only like commenting on how much I love your content and not leaving video-critiques, but your voice is often suuuper quiet compared to the music here, particularly the boss fight section- it might just be my setup though. Just often incredibly jarring (to me)
6am! ... The early bird get's the Xenomorph! Fantastic breakdown Austin!!
Haha! I'm always up early. Good eye though :)
This is my first time seeing one of these breakdown videos of yours, and may I say it was brilliant! Not just because I’m a big fan of the Alien franchise (inc the soundtracks) but because I feel I learnt something (including a deeper appreciation) from watching you Austin, well done.
1. A perfect way to wrap up my Saturday evening
2. I ******* love your string writing...the soundtrack is an instant buy just for that.
3. Those WWs by Kristin are just...so good.
She's a godsend
So I've taken a listen to parts of this score, and congrats. You've managed to stay true to the identity, to add your own touch to it, and overall contribute with the strongest part of the game. You've pulled a full Jerry in the sense that you scored the game they thought they were making. This is quite a compliment, as you very well know.
Playing the game, I could not emphasize enough how all the tracks I've heard throughout have set the mood perfectly for me. Probably one of my favorite soundtracks I've heard in a while. Pretty cool to see a breakdown on this!
"I'm going to do a LITTLE under the hood video".
Sees 50 minute video.
Nice
This game was one of the biggest surprises this year. Was not expecting much, but almost everything in it was great. The sound(both music and general sound direction) was definitely a highlight. A lot of people underestimate the importance of sound in creating atmosphere and immersion.
I love how unique this OST is. It really stands out among modern game scores. I know there’s definitely the influences of the OG composers, but I think you can totally hear how you took these ideas and ran with them. Thanks so much for the vid Austin
"monolithic brass chords", yes please. Damn that was intense track. Very much enjoyed the creepiness of Duduk, (Zafun?) and other unusual wind. This was sick man.
Thanks this behind the scenes looks like this. Please do more.
Thanks for taking the time to share your process. Seems like a dream job, and you did a fine job paying hommage to the original scores while putting your own spin on it. I love the Alien franchise, but somehow missed this game. Feel like buying and playing it now.
What I find really interesting is your use of electronic elements to enhance the acoustic orchestral instruments by improving the rhythmic articulation or creating a modulation/flange effect over a longer note, or even just to add additional harmonics and partials to a line without making it sound digital. These are really subtle techniques that shows a great understanding of acoustics to push a sound further. Love it!
This is such incredibly rare and valuable content, thank you very much for giving us this raw and honest breakdown.
It's so great to see your process. Especially the working with solo players. Those recorded aleatoric samples are so good too. I find my ensemble patches do so much of the heavy lifting when it comes to realism and filling out the sound. Hope to record my own one day...
Im not even 10 minutes in and i absolutely love this, got the alien vibes absolutely on point, and i think, from what ive heard so far, its a welcome addition to the franchise that, while also pushing forwards, captures the history of the scores that came before it!
Thank you for teaching us about music and the subsequent insight into its creation.
Thank you for this one Austin! So many educational and enjoyable senses of how to layer things, how to handle action passages... and that certain 'alien' sense of orchestration within your score. Tasty! And the merge of Goldsmith and Horner is dabbled through the score. You couldn't Not do it, it's the DNA :)
Thanks for getting into the interactive part, pre-tension loops etc., it's a whole new world of music to me!
This is awesome! Great compositions! It's so nice of you to share all of these processes that one goes through to make a score.
Great video! Thanks for taking us through your work en thought process.
Small tip for next video; overall volume of this video was a tat low.
Thanks Austin, it's so nice of you to put this kind of educative lecture out for free. I would love to see this more in the future if the opportunity arises!
man oh man I would love to be able to buy this soundtrack at some point
I dare you to make a Weyland Yatuni radio jingle! Been enjoying theses videos for a great game in my favorite franchise. Congrats on getting such an epic gig composing this game.
What a treat… I’ve been binging on Alien+Predator and the Troy Baker/Goldsmith inventiveness interviews the last month. This is great…
This is invaluable information/creativity that should be taught at schools! Thanks mate.
Means a lot for you to say that :)
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This was really neat! I like all these cool details. And I think I'm falling for that xaphoon.
I never knew much about Jerry Goldsmith until listening to your music. So when I watched Alien for the first time a couple weeks ago I was surprised to see that it was him!
I'm eagerly anticipating the day when I can buy this soundtrack. Excellent video as always!
22:44 is one of my favorite moments
Played 10 minutes of Dead Space and Wolfenstein New Order because I couldn’t decide on one…Dead Space managed to scare the hell out of me in that time frame so that’s what I’m going to play first. 😂
Thanks for introducing me to the score.
so helpful, would be cool to see you talk about some of the harmony maybe?
Great vid, could def have used a bit of a bump up on for the volume on your voice. Was super low compared to when you played the music, the 2nd track almost blew my ears out!
Great note, thanks! Didn't feel like it from here but will bear that in mind
Love it
In a recent interview, Todd Howard said Bethesda likes to begin game development with most of their OST already completed and use it in their conceptual phase. What do you think about this style of using the soundtrack to help guide the creative development of a game?
This is somewhat how both thatgamecompany and Giant Squid work too. During both JOURNEY and ABZU huge amounts of music were written way ahead of the rest of the development. BUT I would never call it 'completed.' It's more like a first draft. Delivering finished music to an unfinished game means that as the game evolves, the music is likely to drift off-course and be increasingly inaccurate or need finesse. My general feeling is that I'm in it until it ships and often beyond!
@@awintory How would you work in film or tv in the Yoko Kanno style, then? People send you the concept art bible, the synopsis, some preliminary script, some general music references, then say: "Give us your vision for this. We'll discuss it, make a couple adjustments, then you'll have a week with the Israel Philarmonica. We'll animate everything according to your score, like Fantasia. 3, 2, 1... Go."
I guess I'd do exactly what you laid out. I do tons of preemptive work on my projects in that regard, but never at the expense of the later steps
Redeeming qualities in Alien 3? I'm so curious to hear your thoughts!
Sounds fantastic! Is it hard to come back to a project file like this and not want make any edits to it?
Always :)
@@awintory Thanks! That's encouraging to know.
You know, if I afforded a PS5, I would like to get this game along with God of War Ragnarök and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, to get a load of the soundtracks that you, Bear McCreary and Mark Mothersbaugh did, because you three have become influences on me and my project.
This is fantastic, great episode, out of curiosity what VSTs are you using for the mock-ups? I.e. the midi data during The Queen section, is it Vienna?
Blend of many different ones. Cellos were using Spitfire chamber strings for the most part, brass are mostly Cinebrass
I think it's important to enjoy your job, I sometimes think some artists take their work too seriously.
A fine line to walk but in general I agree!
At around @32:30 you mention “gating” the noise perc layer “to the celli”, does that mean it’s cutting out the percussion when the celli play (ie. sidechain compression) or is it the other way around: making it play only when the celli are playing?
In this case I wasn't referring to a literal side chain, but instead the noise pulse mirroring the same rhythm and therefore adding articulation to the celli rhythm. Purely a mix thing, though I could have side chained the celli to those pulses to literally duck for a fraction of a second for an even more pronounced effect
18:50 R.I.P. my ears x)
Big fan and love the explanations and walkthroughs! Do you work independently or do you typically work with a studio? Do you do internships or anything?
I have a team (primarily just my assistant and a few musicians), who mostly work remotely from their studios / homes. I have never had internships.
@@awintory Gotcha gotcha. Just feel like I don't know how to learn anymore since my undergrad
UA-cam! Also just simply contacting people whose work inspires you (twitter can do wonders). And above all, just DO. Experiment. Don't wait for permission or validation. Just simply try things and see what works, what doesn't, etc
Damn I must be on youtube premium again
This is the good stuff
I bought this game because of the score alone, jerry
I want to buy this soundtrack! 🙂
I could suggest Cimbasso for the combat momments for the raspiness of the sound it has or combine it with the round sound of tuba, as low end brass. 1 Tuba and 1 Cimbasso . Or 1 Tuba dbl.Cimbasso. Good work on Aliens Austin.
I did use cimbasso but most of the time I prefer tuba :) Use both all the time though!
@@awintory Yes I saw that in the recording sessions. Both sound so epic low.
Fantastic!
Is one of those synths an ondes martenot, or does it just kinda sound like one?
Definitely no ondes!
@@awintory Ah, my ears deceive me! Such betrayal! haha! The sound design on this piece is absolutely fantastic though! Even without an ondes :D
Who do I got to talk to get this soundtrack released?
The Mouse! But they're on it, just a slow process :)
@@awintory Bit late on finding this section but, who or what is The Mouse? Because the music (and xeno designs too) is probably the best part of this game, would love to have a soundtrack to listen to, especially The Queen.
I usually only like commenting on how much I love your content and not leaving video-critiques, but your voice is often suuuper quiet compared to the music here, particularly the boss fight section- it might just be my setup though. Just often incredibly jarring (to me)
Yes, blah blah. Where can I buy this great soundtrack.
Out now!
Why does this score repeat itself??? It's maddening... No classic movie motifs??? What the hell??? No offense...
What do you mean by "repeat itself?"
And also we had no legal license to quote the original films...
Needs more didgeridoo
Always