Q: Do you do much work for other outlets like computer games? Mike Patton, for example, has most recently voiced The Darkness.
CM: Im doing a video game this year actually. Mass Effect 3. Funnily enough, talking about Mike, weve exchanged emails about the possibility of doing a show featuring the Quartet and people theyve collaborated with. Itd be a Kronos show, with different rooms for other people to do their thing, then bringing it all together. Its pretty cool-sounding.
Im definitely interested in different outlets thats one of the reasons I get involved in short films. Its not so much that I can experiment as it is to be in a situation where nobodys looking over your shoulder. Short films are usually made by young people and theyve got ideas I can bounce off. They can take me in a different direction.
Q: So in a game, the character might arrive at a big boss and you have to have a piece that can quickly become dramatic.
CM: Thats what Im figuring. As I was saying about Public Enemy and re-working old hip-hop tunes for Requiem, and kind of re-working old ballet tunes for Black Swan, with something like Mass Effect youre more like a DJ, with all these elements. Youve got the holding pattern, then the big explosion where you need the score to kick in. Then you need to take it off on a tangent. Youve got all these different elements that change depending on what the player does. You have to figure out an overall symphony, but be able to break it down into component parts. You can bring the pain when required.
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