EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: 'Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare' Composer Harry Gregson-Williams Talks Scoring Highly Anticipated Video Game Music & How It Compares, Contrasts From Movies, TV

As much as the graphics and gameplay of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare help add up to one of the most anticipated video games of the year, the music behind the futuristic shooter plays a big part as well. Composer Harry Gregson-Williams, known mostly for his scores for film and TV, took on the task of creating the music for this new video game. In a new interview with MStars News, the talented composer detailed how working on the game compared and contrasted to his work in the film and television industries.

"They're quite different," Gregson-Williams said when asked how he'd compare working on films and shows with Advanced Warfare. "The process is different in the making of it, so much so that the developers are still making their game as you're writing your music. For instance, with a movie like The Equalizer, I'm engaged when the director already has a rough-cut of the film. Now, the film might be overly long. It might have scenes that are ultimately going to get cut. Just about everything is going to get trimmed, so it will change, but I'll have an outline of the film to work with. As that film shortens, gets more focused, switches scenes around, switches in emphasis ... I have to be malleable and move with it, but I'm not 'sitting in the dark.'"

Harry continued, explaining that "sitting in the dark" was a change of pace for him, but one that he welcomed and enjoyed.

"With the video game, once I've started working, the game is still in [development]," he continued. "It's very difficult for them to show me final scenes because that's just the way that it is. There are various moments in this video game that they got sorted out pretty early that they could give me, so I actually had visuals. So that was more like me being a film composer. For instance, the moments when you proceed to another level, there are little movies that will illustrate what's about to happen, how well you just did, or where you're about to go. These are scored very much like I'd score a movie.

"Some of the other moments in the game, I had verbal descriptions to begin with. For instance, I'd be asked to write music that's very positive, that's our main character on the advance with a positive outlook ... whatever he's doing, he's doing it well and there's no threat of danger. Then I might be asked to write music that is actually the reverse of that - our character's not doing too well, he's in danger of getting spotted or something like that - Then the music should be more intense and nervous. So these things were spelled out for me very clearly, with still images of what would happen, but I wasn't given whole scenes like with a movie.

"Also, I bounce things back and forth. I'd send some music that might fit a verbal description and the audio lead, Don Veca-he's a really brilliant guy, he worked on all of the music and sound for the game- and he might get back to me saying, 'yeah this is great,' or 'I think that you could ramp up the positive nature of this,' etc. ... So we kind of honed it as we did it."

Harry concluded: "So it is different, in that respect, but ultimately one's writing to a script ... not necessarily literally with video games. It wasn't like I was writing with no idea what was going on, but there's slightly less attention of what's going on second to second or minute to minute as there would be in a film."

Read Music Times' interview with Harry Gregson-Williams from earlier this year, in which the composer details his training, upcoming projects, and shares advice with prospective musicians RIGHT HERE!

For more information on Harry Gregson-Williams and his work, visit his official Facebook page!

If you want to read more about music to video game composing, check out Music Times' recent interview with musician Gustavo Santaolalla, who worked on The Last of Us, RIGHT HERE!