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MAKING IT HUGE IN VIDEO GAMES
Memoirs of Composer Chance Thomas
Chapter 11 - Sneak Peek Excerpt
ACADEMY AWARD
As Robin and Pamela spent more time together, Ken and I eventually came up in their conversations. You can imagine how the dialog may have unfolded.
Robin: “So tell me about your husband.”
Pamela: “Oh, he’s an up-and-coming composer, mostly writing music for video games. What about yours?”
Robin: “Oh, he’s a five-time Oscar winner, multi-millionaire, lord-of-all-he-surveys, genius filmmaker.”
Professional contacts can come from anywhere, and I have never been picky, let them come from wherever they may. But I was especially thrilled to discover these unexpected details about Ken Ralston. Even better, Pamela had given Robin a copy of my Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire soundtrack on CD.
In time, Robin and Ken both listened to Quest for Glory V and truly enjoyed it. With a genuine and positive reaction to my music, plus a little encouragement from Robin, Ken invited me to Culver City, California to show me around Sony Pictures Imageworks, a vast enterprise he managed as VFX Supervisor and company President.
Ken Ralston strikes an imposing figure. It’s not that he’s overly tall, ripped, or dauntingly handsome. But he can come across as slightly aloof and markedly superior – much like Khan does in Star Trek: Into Darkness, but with better hair and a well-trimmed beard.
So I was relieved when Ken hailed me with a welcoming smile upon my arrival. We had lunch together on the Sony Pictures lot, then walked around Imageworks to meet some of the artists, producers, and coordinators who worked there. Everyone was warm and friendly, and not just because their boss was making the introduction. I sensed a genuine atmosphere of merriment, imagination, and frolic in the air. Many had that Doc Brown wild-genius look in their eyes. It was intoxicating. I felt like I had stumbled into a dream factory.
When I left Imageworks that day, I left hoping, yearning really, for any possible opportunity to collaborate with these creative people on anything they might set their hands to.
Weeks passed. Then, on a sweltering summer afternoon, my phone lit up with an incoming call from Culver City. A gregarious Welshwoman named Jacquie Barnbrook was on the line and greeted me by name. She was calling on Ken’s recommendation and had a proposition for me. Imageworks was gearing up to produce its first feature-length animated movie. But first they planned to produce an animated short film, as a way to test their production pipeline. Would I be interested in auditioning to compose the score?
I could hardly believe my ears. Where do I sign up?
