Graduate Spotlight: Call of Duty: MW3
Sound Arts Graduates Paul Stoughton (Class 68), and Travis Naas (Class 62), were a part of the sound team on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences:
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design - MPSE Golden Reel Awards: Best Sound Editing – Computer Interactive Entertainment
- G.A.N.G. Awards: Audio of the Year
- G.A.N.G. Awards: Best Cinematic/Cut Scene Audio
- G.A.N.G. Awards: Best Dialogue
- G.A.N.G. Awards: Best Interactive Score
- BAFTA
1Sales statistic from: www.vgchartz.com
All Access caught up with Paul Stoughton (Class 68), and this is what he had to say about his experience at Ex’pression and working on Call of Duty: MW3.
Ex’pression (EX): How did your education at Ex’pression College prepare you for the work you’re doing in the game industry?
Paul Stoughton (PS): The Ex’pression College Sound Arts curriculum covers a lot of ground. I think the layout of the program is designed so that you get exposure to the many types of audio production that could lead to a viable career. Getting started in the game industry as an audio assistant or intern, you’ll need a strong foundation made of basic audio skills that can be quickly built upon. Some of the most useful ‘Ex’pression forged’ skills that I utilized in the first years of game audio were editing in Pro Tools, studio setup and maintenance, sound design, linear audio post production, audio engineering for recording sessions (foley, sfx and vocal), and networking/interpersonal skills. The first year in games is really a sink or swim experience. You are given little time to learn the full spectrum of audio basics if you don’t already know them. I felt that my Ex’pression education was the best preparation for this that I could have gotten.
EX: What was one of the biggest challenges working on COD: MW3?
PS: In a game like COD: MW3, the battle with dynamic range is always incredibly tough. Throughout the production cycle, it was necessary to create sounds on countless occasions that had to be the loudest, most ‘in your face’ sound design possible to complement the epic set pieces. After a short journey down this road, you realize that everything is so loud all the time that nothing can be made loud by comparison. You’ve destroyed your dynamic range, just like the ongoing loudness wars in much of modern music. The only way out is to do a complete remix. You drop the levels of everything to give yourself some headroom, then start the mix all over. You make sure to be very careful what you make loud at any given moment. The more dynamic range you can introduce to a game like this, the louder the big moments sound when you really need them, and the less fatigued the listeners ears will get over time. Though it hardly ever happens, the best way to avoid this problem is to set hard limits for the relative levels of sound categories (guns, explosions, vehicles, etc.) at the beginning of the project and never allow yourself to break them.
EX: Do you have any additional advice for current students?
PS: Education aside, I also have to give HUGE credit to Shiloh and the entire Industry & Career Services department at Ex’pression. They are the best in the business, and I would not be working at my dream job in the industry of my choice without their help. If you are a current student, head over to their offices and introduce yourself!
