Overview

This standard is about composing music for use in interactive media projects. It is about applying music composition skills in an interactive media context which may require scoring music for non-linear productions where scenes and moods may be of varying, unknown lengths and the occurrence and timing of key drama points is not predetermined.

It includes composing, recording, mixing, editing and storing music assets for use in interactive media projects.

Interactive media projects can involve any type of interactive media content, products or services for multi-platform or multi-channel use, including, but not restricted to, games, websites, applications or online marketing campaigns and can also include the use of immersive technology. (Immersive technology can include, but is not restricted to, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).)

This standard is for anyone who creates music for interactive media projects.

 

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

  1. create music in line with projects specifications and parameters
  2. seek clarification of requirements and raise issues with appropriate people when required
  3. compose music that is appropriate for the purpose and mood of projects
  4. create music that works in conjunction with required sound effects and dialogue
  5. use appropriate software to record, sequence and mix audio
  6. record, mix, edit and deliver composed music in formats that can be reproduced within the capabilities of the target platforms
  7. create music assets that can respond to required events and user interactions
  8. save music assets in appropriate file formats for projects
  9. organise work using appropriate filing and naming conventions so that it can be located easily by others
  10. provide clear documentation as necessary for others to incorporate composed music work into projects
  11. liaise with colleagues to ensure your work is appropriate and meets requirements
  12. liaise with relevant authorities to obtain approval for composed music

 

Knowledge and understanding 

You need to know and understand:

  1. how to obtain information on project specifications or briefs including music purpose and mood, interaction with sound effects and dialogue and parameters and constraints including target platforms and their capabilities, especially relating to audio playback and data-transfer rates
  2. who to seek clarification from and raise issues and check appropriateness of outputs with
  3. how to lead the process of specifying music requirements and assessing how music has been used to enhance comparable projects including those of competitors
  4. strategies and techniques for composing, recording and delivering music that address and mitigate the challenges of scoring for non-linear projects including branching segments and dynamically-mixed synchronous music layers
  5. available computer-based music technologies and industry standard software and how to use them including samplers, sequencers, MIDI devices, ‘outboard’ recording studio hardware and mixing desks
  6. different approaches to take when music will be played back as recorded or generated procedurally from software code
  7. techniques for changing music in response to events or user interactions including change of key or tempo, or by segueing into another piece
  8. how to sample audio from legitimate sources and use sound samples
  9. the effect of audio sampling rates and bit depth on file size and data-transfer rates
  10. the limits of what may legally be done with material created by others, when permission is needed to sample or use others’ material and how to obtain it
  11. different formats in which music can be delivered and when it would be appropriate to use them
  12. project naming conventions, standards, guidelines, specifications, version control systems or asset pipelines