Casey Edwards

Thanks LadyCrimson! Okay guys, here's the deal. I'm finally not covered in work at the moment, but I'm still a rather scatter brained person at this moment. So let me propose this: If someone will pick one of the races that has been spoken about in detail from one of the Obsidian updates then I'll write a theme for that race. (Only exception being anything related to the Human or Dwarven race, those are covered already). If there's not a lot of responses then I'll pick the first one mentioned. If there are a lot, then I'll choose the most popular one. Thanks guys again for the kind words.

Hey guys, I'm still wrapped up in a lot of work right now so how about a little RPG inspired wedding music? Me and my wife love to play games and we also have a lot of musical inside jokes. As a composer I absolutely had to break tradition and write her an aisle walk just for our wedding including those inside jokes, which some are RPG related to games and movies we like as well as things I've written for her in the past. I hope you enjoy it while I get my mess together. http://soundcloud.com/caseyedwards/alis-wedding-walk

Hey guys, I just got back in town today from my honeymoon and I'm TIRED! As soon as I'm back up and running 100% and time is willing between music projects I'll begin posting some more stuff. Me and my wife already have some ideas floating around. Thanks again for all the encouraging words and taking the time to listen to my music.

The last update said they were working on distributing the funds on excel spreadsheets, so I imagine Justin is either making it himself or staying in touch with whoever composer(s) they've chosen. Most composers have close relationships with their own teams so I'm sure they're working it out right now with all departments.

Well, you surely know the music of the games, that were loved by people who backed this project. I'd rarely go into the direction of guiding the artist what he has to do. I'd show him a picture and ask him to create the music, then evaluate the result... Unfortunately I am away on the road, so I do not have an access to my bookmarks with some great pics. You will have to do with your creative mind and surprise us I'll probably just apply this message to a thought that I had already, which is to write a theme for each race they have listed and explained on the Kickstarter page. Noble Serenity was inspired by the human fighter. Probably not an ideal theme for that race, but inspired by none-the-less. I'll look into it.

Thanks for listening all! And since Darkpriest has asked for "Moarz music" do any of you have suggestions of your favorite style of RPG music? Do you like ambient? Grandiose and bombastic? Intimate and soft? Low and brooding? You get the point... just let me know. I've already got something in the works. When I get back from my honeymoon me and my wife will get to work on it!

Haha, thanks for the kitty paws! And Thanks for listening guys!

I'll give this one friendly self bump to see if anyone likes the music.

Thanks, guys! It actually didn't take long to compose them. Dwarven Dwellers is very incomplete as far as development is concerned and only took about 4 hours. Celestial Terrain was written in a day, and Noble Serenity took me a while to find a theme I was happy to move forward with so that took about 2-3 days to hammer out. Once themes are solidified it's much easier to write great lengths of music by morphing that theme into smaller or larger elements. I love musical development! Not much going on in these pieces, so sorry about that.

Neither. I'm saying I hope "live music" doesn't necessarily mean using a classical orchestra, because that should be a stylistic choice rather than one based purely on budget. Oh, okay. Gotcha. Sorry, it just now clicked. I was thinking style as in the classical style rather than a broader stroke of it being 'orchestral' music, therefore defining it's instrumentation. I wouldn't worry about that either though. A lot of times live orchestras are recorded and still paired with synths and other things to give the track a fresh flavor. TV shows do this all the time.

I'm not sure if you're confusing the word classical with the era, or if you just don't like orchestral music. The orchestra itself is an entity of great power and a weird freak of nature. There are section number changes to every orchestra and some instrument exceptions, but almost always the same. Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Strings. I have my preferences in details but not need to go into that. I think it's safe to say the choices are in good hands with Justin and others at Obsidian.

Hey guys, I thought since I saw an awesome Bard inspired thread with some cool singing that I'd share my RPG/Project Eternity inspired orchestral pieces with you. They're not polished to perfection or anything but I do hope you get some enjoyment out of them. Thanks to Justin Bell for the encouragement to share them! LINK: http://caseyedwardsm...cteternitydemo/

$100k for JUST the orchestra... maybe. I've said this before, but the last budget I saw for a AAA video game during my internship was $100k-150k JUST for the orchestra. Then you have to add the costs for score prep, orchestrators, engineers, conductor, mixing and mastering, assistants, costs of physical CD printing, and then any other on-site musicians they'd need to hire for live vocals/choir or ethnic winds or percussion, for example, that they don't want directly mixed with the orchestra. And like I said before also, this doesn't even cover the payment for the composer him/her/themselves. There is a lot more that goes into it than just 'hiring an orchestra'. More than likely they're all union musicians too, so those costs pay for medical, dental, etc.

Yes! Post them! Your music sounds awesome Casey, and it deserves to be heard. @everyone reading. Please listen to this man's music. It's good stuff! Well, with encouraging words like that how could I not? Link here: http://caseyedwardsmusic.com/projecteternitydemo/ These are just 3 quick examples I whipped up during my down time in-between projects to show some love for Project Eternity's fundraising success. I hope you guys enjoy it. If not, there's plenty more to sample at my website in the sig. below.

I wrote a few tracks inspired by RPGs and Project Eternity's campaign success, but I'm not sure it would be very appropriate to share them. I don't want anyone thinking I'm doing so to trump the future announced composer or Justin Bell's wonderful music for the Kickstarter video. If there is enough interest and it's not imposing then I'll post them. Otherwise, I'll just let them drift off into the nether regions of the internet.

Of course, it's the performance gestalt that's the key. Example: Recorded telephony narration, like an operator, is often done with a real voice--synthetic voices are extremely off-putting. Makes you cringe. But haven't you noticed how jarring a full sentence of that pre-recorded human voice narration is? It's easy for the human ear to pick up the "unnaturalness" of this sort of thing even despite the "real" recording of individual elements. Performance with live instrumentation has specific imperfections and transitional characteristics that carry genuine immersive and emotive presence. A swelling high note with a scratch on a fiddle, like a broken voice, can carry quite a lot of emotive punch right there. A very slightly off-tune or off-beat instrumentation in a tavern means the players are having fun and are probably as drunk as their clientèle. It's much more "present." P.S.: I'm not saying that synthetically composed music is bad or far inferior, of course--I do enjoy it. I'm just saying merely recorded individual notes is not the same as a live performance either. Here's the thing though, we're not talking about phrase libraries or one note samples stuck together anymore. With the rise of VSL came an idea called 'True Legato' where now developers have been sampling the 'scoop if you will between notes of different intervals. Plus, effective phrasing can be had with VSTs as well. They have programmable nuances that are used with Continuous Controller Commands, or CC commands. These are most often just volume, dynamics, expression, and velocity sensitive. Then you have extremely detailed developers like Sample Modeling who have made digital imprints of completely controllable vibrato (speed and intensity), growl, breath, key clicks, mutes, etc. And this is just talking about legato patches. There are of course the Round Robin techniques involved with staccatos, marcatos, etc, but there are also extended techniques like trills, rips, flutter tonguing and so on. VSTs in the right hands could fool anyone, or at least make them really challenge their ears to listen for 'mistakes' rather than enjoying the final product. I play ALL of my MIDI data live, and I make sure I breathe properly if it's a wind instrument, and that I phrase lines appropriately. Some people even use EWI's for optimal results. With that said, Ultimately, any composer would love to have their music played live! It's thrilling and full of energy and live performances can't be reenacted in my opinion through the best recording software (Recordings are great, but man, being there!!!). Actually being where the sound is live and hearing the instruments interact with the room is a magical experience. No composer would trade that feeling for anything, I'm sure of it. At the same time, we are extremely blessed to have the technology and the tools we have to work with today, because your average Joe Blow can't afford to even hire a string quartet for an hour, let alone an 80 piece orchestra, a hall, and an engineer for a 5-7 day session.

I didn't listen repeatedly or with the up most focus, but I feel like I heard tin/penny whistle, Bansuri Flute, and some Hurdy Gurdy-ish drones.

Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen are fantastic composers, but from what they've both said, they're perfectly content and happy making orchestral sample libraries (maybe not anymore though due to Nick leaving East West) and writing for trailer licensing. They were both writing at Remote Control Studios during the time of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and while both said it wasn't terrible, they did say that writing for film definitely wasn't their thing. I could see them enjoying writing for Video Games though, considering there is a larger degree of freedom involved than that compared to writing to strict picture.

I had an internship like that once... It's like walking on glass, but it was a very important experience for me!

Yes, a live orchestra would be FANTASTIC, but if you guys saw what kind of budget it took to hire one, you'd probably rather that money be spent elsewhere (after you picked up your jaw off the floor). As Justin said, doing orchestral mockups as the final product is very popular these days and very doable. A lot of the times solo players or small choirs are brought in to supplement to the virtual ones as well and this is very effective! The last budget I saw for a AAA game score was $100k-150k just for the live sessions (So-Cal union fees I think). $40k-50k for orchestrators, $20k-25k for score prep, and $10k-15k for assistants. Notice that the composers fee IS NOT included in this. Also, at the moment I can't remember if the conductor fee was included in the live sessions fee or not, but I think it includes conductor, live players, and the engineer (I think). Regardless, it's ridiculously expensive, and the better the hall you want, the higher the prices get! Have faith in the professionals to make the right call on this, I'm sure you won't be disappointed in any amount.

I still feel very inspired by this project and would love to be a part of it. As soon as I catch a break from my current projects I'm going to take a stab at writing a mock-theme for the game and see how it goes.

Thanks a lot Justin! If I haven't said it already, you did do a fantastic job on the teaser! If you guys are looking for any pitches from a pool of composers please PM or email me through my website in my signature. Keep on keeping on!

Is THIS too orchestral for you?

This is why I decided to speak. Yes, Jeremy Soule is fantastic! As are composers Jason Graves and Russell Brower! Fantasy is one thing I have a huge heart for and being able to paint that with music would just be a fantastic joy. I take pride in using a traditional route of writing by using not only themes, but thematic development. By letting the music grow and change with the game, the player will experience a deeper connection at the core with these audible nuances that make such strong emotional ties to the story and experience.

Yeah, the only Jeremy Soule like piece I have on my site is called "Celestial Terrain". I might try my hand at writing a theme for this anyways. What do you guys like to hear in fantasy music? Always nice to hear from the actual recipients and listeners.