Made in Abyss and Florence composer Kevin Penkin returns to Australia for High Score gaming music event.
Following a sold-out event last year, High Score is back as part of the Melbourne International Games Week program.
With a booming games industry comes a demand for the music that soundtracks a player’s experience. As part of Melbourne International Games Week, APRA AMCOS, in partnership with Creative Victoria, will present its popular High Score: Composition and Sound Art for Gaming, a full day dedicated to the craft and business of composing for games.
Taking place at Southbank’s game development hub The Arcade on Saturday 20 October 2018, and facilitated by host of ABC ME’s Spawn Point Angharad 'Rad' Yeo, High Score will kick off with a keynote from London-via-Perth composer and arranger Kevin Penkin.
“Video game music is really coming into its own, and I am so thrilled to be heading to Melbourne to talk about the nuances, skills and the process of composing for games,” said Penkin, whose credits include collaborations with legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and the scores to the anime series Made in Abyss and Melbourne-based craft game Florence.
“High Score is the kind of event I wish I could have attended when I was just starting out,” he said.
With a program mix of quick talks on hot topics like AI and how to work with developers, to in-depth industry panels covering royalties, grants, licensing and beyond, composers and music creators of all skill levels are encouraged to attend.
Also announced for the event are BAFTA-winning composer Jeff van Dyck and audio designer Anne-Marie Weber, the creatives behind the sound world of Hand of Fate 2.
Co-founders of Melbourne’s Girl Geek Academy, Sarah Moran and Lisy Kane will be sharing insights across topics including diversity in teams, project management, and how to break into the industry.
A slate of industry pros from Remote Control Records, Film Victoria, Pozible, The Otherworld Agency and more will also take part, and the day will include ample time for networking.
Jana Gibson, Head of Member Services, APRA AMCOS said: “Composing music and sound for games is by no means a niche speciality. It is a very viable professional opportunity, and we’ve produced High Score to help composers make inroads into this growing and diverse sector.”
“It’s fantastic to have music as part of a really dynamic offering of programs at Melbourne International Games Week,” says Gibson.
Kevin Penkin keynote. Photo Andrew Watson
Host Angharad 'Rad' Yeo. Photo Andrew Watson
Biddy Connor, Michael Theiler. Photo Andrew Watson
Photo Andrew Watson
Registration, Acknowledgement of Country – 9am-9.30am
Keynote – 9:40am-10:35am
The Value of Music: How to Add to Gaming Experiences
Kevin Penkin – Moderator: Angharad Yeo
London-based Australian composer, Kevin Penkin, discusses his process for writing for video games and anime – how they are similar and how they differ.
Showcase – 10.45am-11.15am
Paperbark - The Role of Aesthetic
Biddy Connor, Michael Theiler - Moderator: Angharad Yeo
“Composer Biddy Connor and sound designer Michael Theiler showcase their work on recently released iOS game, Paperbark.
Ask Me Anything – 11.45am-12.15pm
Grants & Money
Gemma Bastiani (Pozible), Liam Routt (Film Victoria), Kaushali Seneviratne (Creative Victoria) - Moderator: Angharad Yeo
A Reddit-style ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Grants and Crowdfunding with the experts, upvote your favourite questions to get them to the top of the queue.
Showcase – 12:20pm-12:50pm
Hand of Fate 2 - Return to a Soundworld
Jeff van Dyck, Anne-Marie Weber - Moderator: Angharad Yeo
What is different about writing music for a sequel? What are pros and cons of returning to your previous scores and sound design? Audio team Jeff van Dyck and Anne-Marie Weber discuss everything in relation to Hand of Fate 2.
Panel – 12:20pm-12:50pm
The Value of Diversity in Teams (Gender, Genre, Generation, Geography, & Culture)
Lisy Kane (Girl Geek Academy), Brett Leavy (Virtual Songlines), Jess Zammit (Queerly Represent Me) - Moderator: Cameron Lam
Diversity is a broad and multifaceted topic including discussions of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and culture. Together this panel of people championing diversity explains the benefits of diverse viewpoints and experiences to the team and gaming at large.
Lunch – 1.40pm-2:25pm
Quick Talks – 2:30pm-3:30pm
AI Is Listening - Justin Shave (Uncanny Valley)
Project Management - Communication between Artists & Devs - Lisy Kane (Girl Geek Academy)
Sound Right? - Audio in Videogame Marketing and PR - Lauren Clinnick (Lumi Consulting)
Three short talks from experts covering a wide range of topics, how AI affects the future of music composition, how to better communicate in teams, what a games marketer needs in terms of sound
Panel – 3:35pm-4:20pm
Business - Licensing, Rights and Royalties
Panel: Greg Morrow (APRA AMCOS), Jill Stewart (Remote Control Records), Fabian Malabello (Otherworld Agency) – Moderator: Cameron Lam
Our second panel covers the business side of the industry including synchronisation, copyright, contracts, and what you can do with your music.
Ask Me Anything – 4:40pm-5:25pm
Breaking into the Industry
Panel: Lisy Kane (Girl Geek Academy), Giselle Rosman (IGDA Melbourne), Kevin Penkin, Fabian Malabello (Otherworld Agency) - Moderator: Angharad Yeo
Our final session will take all of your burning questions about breaking into the industry or getting ahead of the pack.
Networking drinks – 5:30pm-6:30pm
Based in London, Kevin Penkin is an Australian composer best known for composing the Crunchyroll Anime Award-winning score of Made in Abyss, as well as the score to the craft game ‘Florence’, which won an Apple Design Award in 2018.
Biddy Connor has composed, arranged, and performed for a diverse range of projects including film, television, theatre, large-scale community events and games. In 2018, Biddy composed and produced the music for the animated interactive game Paperbark and a live acrobatic show, The Bottle Collector. In 2016 she was a finalist in The Melbourne Music Prize Outstanding Musicians Award.
Michael Theiler is the Studio Director for Kpow Audio, which he founded with Peret von Sturmer, who specialise in delivering richly details, precise and specific audio solutions. Michael has also contributed to the sound of the five million selling AAA game, L.A. Noire.
Gemma Bastiani is the Campaign Advisor for crowdfunding platform, Pozible, where she focuses heavily on helping local artists successfully fund projects from recording, to vinyl pressing, to overseas showcase opportunities. Gemma also currently hosts a podcast about new Australian music called Australian Jams.
Liam Rout leads the Games and Digital Media team at Victorian Government screen agency Film Victoria. He has also worked across games such as Legends of the Guardians, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Kaushali is a Senior Arts Officer at Creative Victoria, where she is responsible for delivering a number of funding programs for independent artists and small arts organisations, including Music Works, the VicArts Grants program, and Creators Fund. Kaushali has previously worked in the museum and galleries sector, including RMIT Gallery on their exhibition program and publications, RMIT’s Design Research Institute as an Exhibition Assistant, The Substation and the Bayside Arts and Cultural Centre.
Jeff van is a two-time BAFTA award winning Composer and Audio Director, known for his emotive scores and immersive audio design in videogames over the last two decades. Jeff was awarded a BAFTA in 2001 for the soundtrack Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition, was nominated in 2005 for the soundtrack Rome: Total War and led his team to another BAFTA in 2015 for Alien: Isolation.
Anne-Marie has been working in games as an audio designer since 2005, both freelancing and in-house at companies such as Krome Studios, KMM Interactive, Sega, and now Defiant. Some of the titles she’s worked on include Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, Spyro: A New Beginning, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3, The Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake, and most recently Hand of Fate and Hand of Fate 2.
Lisy Kane is the other Co-founder of Girl Geek Academy and in 2017 was recognised by Forbes in it’s prestigious top 30 list: Forbes 30 Under 30 2017: Games. Lisy’s gaming industry insights have seen her curate and produce sell-out events for the academy, including #SheMakesGames – Australia’s first all-women game-making day – which was such a hit it has been made an annual event.
Brett Leavy is a First Nations, Digital Aboriginal and descends from the Kooma people whose traditional country is bordered by St George in the east, Cunnamulla in the west, north by the town of Mitchell and south to the QLD/NSW border. Brett’s dedicated his working life to cultural knowledge recording and the industry of communications. His digital work seeks to represent the arts, cultural stories, heritage, traditional knowledge and histories of First Nation people using new, immersive and interactive technologies.
Jessica Zammit is the Director for Queerly Represent Me, a not-for-profit consultation and research organisation, which works with companies to consult on their games, events, and studio culture, and use proceeds from those contracts to provide free resources and services to the wider community, particularly to give a voice to queer developers and support the creation of queer content.
Justine Shave has been producing music since he was 19 and is one of the most sought-after and awarded producers in the country. Highly skilled in both classical and modern electronic composition and production, he works for the biggest directors and brands in the world including Citroen, Bacardi, Toyota, Jim Beam, Coke, Volkswagen and Shine. His extensive artist credits include collaborations with Shapeshifters, Fatboy Slim and Darren Hayes.
Lisy Kane is the other Co-founder of Girl Geek Academy and in 2017 was recognised by Forbes in it’s prestigious top 30 list: Forbes 30 Under 30 2017: Games. Lisy’s gaming industry insights have seen her curate and produce sell-out events for the academy, including #SheMakesGames – Australia’s first all-women game-making day – which was such a hit it has been made an annual event.
Lauren Clinnick is a marketing and PR specialist, and Director of Lumi Consulting with Co-Founder Katie Gall. She is a marketing maven in the games and tech industry and loves strange games driven by story and emotion, and is drawn to innovation in all forms. Lauren also volunteers as a committee member of WiDGET (Women in Development, Games and Everything Tech) and for the Australian STEM Videogame Challenge to advocate for diversity in the games industry.
Jill Stewart is the Licensing Manager for Remote Control Records, who provide publicity, label management, distribution, marketing and synchronisation services to both international and local artists and labels
Fabian Malabello is an audio director, music supervisor and agent for composers and sound designers within the video game industry. In 2013, Fabian founded The Otherworld Agency, an audio agency that partners video game developers with some of the industry’s brightest creative minds in audio – match-making composers and sound designers with game developers.
Lisy Kane is the other Co-founder of Girl Geek Academy and in 2017 was recognised by Forbes in it’s prestigious top 30 list: Forbes 30 Under 30 2017: Games. Lisy’s gaming industry insights have seen her curate and produce sell-out events for the academy, including #SheMakesGames – Australia’s first all-women game-making day – which was such a hit it has been made an annual event.
Giselle Rosman has been involved in the Australian games industry since 2007. In 2009 she took on running the Melbourne chapter of the International Game Developers’ Association (IGDA). Giselle was also nominated for an Ambassador Award at the Microsoft Women in Games Awards in 2014 and in 2015 awarded Woman of The Year at the inaugural MCV Pacific Women in Games awards, having been a finalist in every category. Giselle is a regular public speaker, particularly with regards to issues related to diversity in games and the Australian games industry.
Based in London, Kevin Penkin is an Australian composer best known for composing the Crunchyroll Anime Award-winning score of Made in Abyss, as well as the score to the craft game ‘Florence’, which won an Apple Design Award in 2018.
Fabian Malabello is an audio director, music supervisor and agent for composers and sound designers within the video game industry. In 2013, Fabian founded The Otherworld Agency, an audio agency that partners video game developers with some of the industry’s brightest creative minds in audio – match-making composers and sound designers with game developers.