Los Angeles, CA (January 13, 2016)—In 1977, age 11, future mix engineer John Rodd snuck out of the house to see Star Wars; now he’s part of the Star Wars universe, having mixed and mastered Gordy Haab’s original score for the EA Star Wars: Battlefront videogame.
Haab’s score plays throughout most of the game, but also segues in and out of parts of John Williams’ Star Wars film scores. Rodd had to ensure that Gordy’s score would fit with the older scores from both a technical standpoint and, more importantly, an emotional standpoint.
“The recordings took place at Abbey Road’s largest studio, and part of my task was always striking the perfect balance between the room mics and the spot mics,” says Rodd. “If only the room mics were utilized then the music would sound too far away. The spot mics add presence and detail, but if they become too loud, the recording loses its grandeur and falls out of balance. It loses its depth.”
Rodd, whose credits include Breaking Bad, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Lincoln Lawyer, World of Warcraft, Elysium, Batman: Bad Blood, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed; and Eric Clapton among others, relied on his ATC SCM150ASL Pro reference monitors on this latest project. “I find that my ATC 150s are very revealing and honest,” he says.
“ATC is legendary for its midrange quality, and I rely on my ATC 150s to help make all the tiny sonic decisions that add up to a compelling mix. They’re brutally honest, which is a good thing! If something actually sounds glorious, then it will sound glorious on my 150s. If something is slightly amiss, it will sound wrong on my 150s. There’s no guessing; ATC gives me the whole picture. Moreover, that truthfulness guarantees that a great sound in my studio will translate well to any other system. As a result, I’m able to work with 100 percent confidence.”
TransAudio Group
www.transaudiogroup.com
