(DOUG JESSOP’S JESSOP’S JOURNAL – ABC4 NEWS – SALT LAKE CITY, UT) Video games have always had some kind of sound to enhance the experience. From the tonal blip of “Pong” (yeah, I’m showing my age) to full orchestras of today, it’s clear that music is an integral part of the video game experience.
In this episode of Jessop’s Journal I had the pleasure to sit down with Chance Thomas. Yes, Chance is his real name. You’ll have to watch the story for the origin of his name.
Not only is Chance Thomas a prolific music composer for video games, movies and TV shows he literally has written “the book” on how to do this for a living, “Composing Music for Games: The Art, Technology and Business of Video Game Music.”
You may know his work and not even realize it. Chance is the guy that created the music for Lord of the Rings Online as well as James Cameron’s Avatar video games. Yeh, those little projects. He’s even got an Emmy and Oscar.
I have to admit, a big part of the reason for this interview is because of my youngest son, who as a kid would have me listen to music and guess where it came from and then he would grin and tell me it was from one of his video games.
In my opinion, a lot of video games are a form of escapism where you need to have a certain amount of “suspension of belief.” Chance gave me the perfect example when we talked about a project that he worked on that featured dinosaurs coming towards you. Last time I check there weren’t a lot of microphones around when dinosaurs were walking around Vernal, Utah. You can see their bones now, but people really don’t know what they sounded like.
What do you think a dinosaur coming toward you sounds like? Chance described being in the mountains working on this project and seeing two trees sway apart. He thought; “That’s what would happen if a dinosaur. I’m imagining this thing getting closer and closer. Steps, thump, thump. Imagining what it would feel like if my house was shaking. What if a T-Rex stuck his head through these trees, right now, and roared at me?”
It could be said that Chance is a method actor. As he put it; “You put yourself in the emotional state that you have to convey to your audience.” He went on to say; “Music flows from, and conveys, emotion.”
Consider this your personal invitation to watch this entire episode of Jessop’s Journal and share it with someone that you know that like a good story and maybe even, a good video game.
Everyone has a story. I strongly feel that “stories have power”. Chances are that if you are going through something, that someone else probably has as well. The shared experiences we humans have can help each other. That my friend makes the point that stories “help us understand each other.”
You don’t have to agree with everyone, but in my opinion, if people would take more time getting to knowing more about others and where they are coming from, we just might find out that we have more similarities than differences.
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Jessop’s Journal is something special when it comes to broadcast news. I have the honor of being able to do longer in-depth interviews that you don’t normally see with people from all walks of life. A big shout out goes to my collaborator, Ed Wilets, who does a great job as my videographer/editor for all my stories. Your feedback is always welcome at DJessop@abc4.com
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Everyone has a story. Stories have Power. They help us Understand each other. With another entry into Jessop’s Journal, I’m Doug Jessop, ABC4 News.
