#76 - Martin O'Donnell Interview (Halo, Bungie, Microsoft, District 9, Film, Royalties, Bill Gates etc.)

Martin O'Donnell is a video game composer who has worked on numerous game but is famous for composing the original Halo up until Halo Reach, he also was audio director and oversaw sound effects and dialogue. He is considered one of the greatest video game composers of all time for his work on Halo.

SOCIAL MEDIA

WEBSITE - http://www.martyodonnellmusic.com

TWITTER - @MartyTheElder

YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ivNZIEmepeJ3YhrkK7PJQ

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/MartytheElder/

 

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

00:30 - Marty Being In GOAT Conversations

01:06 - How Long It Took For Marty To Realise The Impact Of The Halo Soundtrack

02:53 - Entertainment Conventions

03:32 - Marty’s Method To Composing

04:38 - Working Well Under Deadlines

05:57 - Writers Block

07:30 - Marty Open To Remixing Halo Themes For Smash Bros

08:57 - Evolution Of Work Environment At Bungie

12:09 - Microsoft & Bungie Initially Fighting Over Game Development

15:07 - Bungie Fighting With Activision

16:26 - Game Developers Becoming The Men In Suits

17:45 - Martin Thinks In Hindsight Microsoft Deal Was Ideal

18:30 - Halo Was The Golden Egg & Bungie Was The Golden Goose

20:23 - Marty’s Employee Contract With Microsoft

21:42 - Marty Butted Heads In His Last Year/Was Somewhat Aware He Would Get Fired

24:03 - Marty Was Shocked & Relieved At The Same Time From Being Fired

25:33 - Working On Sound Effects & Dialogue

28:29 - Marty Never Changed Any Of The Music By The Higher Ups

32:12 - Marty Open To Scoring For TV & Film

33:19 - Marty Met Peter Jackson For Halo Film

34:06 - Background Behind The Halo Film

37:19 - Halo Film Ideas Ended Up In District 9

39:20 - District 9 Being A Great Film

40:29 - WETA Designs For District 9

41:39 - Marty’s Relationship with Bungie & Microsoft These Days

43:30 - One Individual Can Influence A Whole Company/Bill Gates/Steve Jobs

45:66 - Geniuses Still Being Flawed

46:43 - Marty’s Future Endeavours/Highwire Games

48:59 - Tolkien Estate Contacted Highwire About Golem Game

51:00 - The Pain Of Trademarks/Copyright

52:20 - Getting Royalties For Halo Soundtrack/Music Publisher Tried To Pull Marty’s Own Music

54:40 - Marty’s Early Demos/Advice To Young Composers

58:01 - Marty’s Inception Stage

59:34 - Meeting Fans Expectations/Going Viral

1:03:58 - Marty’s Wife Keeps Him Grounded

1:05:06 - Where To Follow Marty/Highwire Games

1:05:45 - Marty Wants To Come To NZ