Course summary
With the video game industry rapidly growing, more projects are now using live orchestras. Games frequently have both the budget and ambitious scale to support larger music and audio budgets and with that comes unique opportunities for composers and orchestrators. This course gives you the skills needed to reach the top in video games music, including a live orchestral session with a 50-piece orchestra and multiple chances to write for solo instrumentalists. During this comprehensive Master of Fine Arts degree course, you will cover the skills taught in both our MA Composing for Video Games and MA Orchestration for Films, Games, and Television degree courses. This course will give you all the technical and creative skills needed to realise your music as both professional grade sampled mock-ups and prepare them for live orchestra - all in the context of interactive video game scores. You will learn to write for live players and prepare scores for live orchestral sessions, as well as implementing your MIDI mockups into game engines directly using audio middleware like Wwise. On this course, you will learn:
- To write dynamic music for video games required for interactive gameplay driven by the player’s choices
- To use Wwise to implement your music interactively in fully functional Unity games, many specially designed or licenced for the course - including commercial releases.
- How to compose for a wide variety of game genres, from mobile puzzle games through to action and racing games.
- Composition for orchestra - creating and orchestrating awe-inspiring live and sampled orchestral film, TV and games music.
- Sampled instrument techniques, including skills like creating and balancing your template, instrument placement, use of reverb, and using controllers to enhance realism and orchestral mixing.
- Live orchestral session skills, including preparing a session-ready Pro Tools project and scores for live performers.
Modules
Students will complete these core modules: Sampled Orchestration Session Preparation Research Skills & Critical Reflection Orchestration 1 Foundations of Game Music Orchestration 2 Creating Interactive Music Systems *Elective Advanced Adaptive Music Final Major Project or Dissertation *Here students will have the option of tailoring the course to their own needs. You can pick one module from the following: Unreal and Blueprint FMOD Composition: Telling Stories Contemporary Games Composition Advanced Composition Orchestration in Practice Career Development for Musicians
Assessment method
You will mostly be graded on your practical ability. All assignments come with written write-ups where you will detail your approach. Each module will have at least one 'Formative' assignment, which is considered research and practice for the final 'Summative' assignment, which will be your final grade for that module. All Summative assignments are marked at least twice.
Entry requirements
Applicants are required to have successfully completed an undergraduate degree in any subject. There is no 'Recognition of Prior Learning' entry option for our MFA programs. Being an online degree, students are required to have the equipment they need to produce their own work. This means a Digital Audio Workstation capable of importing video files, as well as sample libraries/synths to compose their own music. Full requirements can be found on our website, so feel free to take a look or reach out to us directly.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Additional fee information
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Sponsorship information
ThinkSpace Education tries to provide exceptional value to all students both in the UK and the rest of the world. Our fee structure is extremely competitive and, as such, does not allow us as much room for bursaries or scholarships as some providers. However, on occasion, we do award part scholarships to exceptionally talented applicants, particularly those from disadvantaged or under-represented groups, to help them fulfil their potential. If you would like to be considered, please make this clear in your application by filling in the accompanying 'Bursary Application Form'.
Provider information
ThinkSpace Education
119 Third Avenue
Almodington
Chichester
PO20 7LB