198 !!Chapter 11
!!Nonunion actors and
nonunion musicians can
perform one job with union
actors and union musicians
before they are required to
join the appropriate union
in states where union mem-
bership is mandatory.can Federation of Television and Radio
Artists) agreements. These unions are
responsible for negotiating scale pay-
ments and also protecting the rights of
performers, including singers, actors, and
dancers. Some voice-overs are recorded in
right-to-work states where union mem-
bership is not required; therefore, the fees
are negotiable.
Live Orchestral Music
When video games first became popular, most of the music was synthe-
sized, and the music was not an important component of the games. Much
of the music was substandard compared to music written in almost any
other medium. As all components of video games became more complex
and imaginative, so did the quality of the music. Today, large orchestras
record almost 100 percent of the music composed for games designed by
Electronic Arts. The size of the orchestras varies from 70 to 90 musicians.
Other game developers also use large orchestras.
When budget constraints exist, companies record with nonunion
musicians who reside outside the United States or in right-to-work states
in the United States. (Employers do not pay pension and health benefits to
musicians in right-to-work states.)
The initial recording is not necessarily less costly, but there are no
‘‘back-end’’ payments due. This means that game publishers own the
rights to use the music in perpetuity without having to pay residuals or
reuse fees.
!!Almost all major film
scores are orchestrated by
orchestrators rather than by
the composers primarily be-
cause of time constraints.
Games with substantial
budgets allow composers
to hire orchestrators, but
composers with limited
budgets arrange and or-
chestrate their scores.Portions of the following section are
based on an interview with composer Jack
Wall. He has composed music for the fol-
lowing games: ‘‘Mass Effect,’’ ‘‘Jade
Empire,’’ ‘‘Myst IV: Revelation,’’ ‘‘Rise of
the Kasai,’’ ‘‘Splinter Cell: Pandora
Tomorrow,’’ ‘‘Myst III: Exile,’’ and many
more.
The music written for a game is not
fully approved until all of the ele-
ments of the game have been
approved. The composer is then given
‘‘the green light’’ to record the final
score. Because of time restrictions, some composers hire orchestrators.
Unlike film music, game music is usually not altered during the studio