Featuring a live orchestral soundtrack recorded in Prague, the music for Spider-Man: The Movie game was composed and conducted by award-winning composer Michael McCuistion who has been composing for animation and superhero action motion pictures for several years. He has received numerous accolades for his action oriented musical scores including 2001 Emmy Award for the futuristic Warner Bros. series Batman Beyond. He is also composing music for the Batman/Superman and Superman: The Last Son of Krypton movies and has worked as an orchestrator on some of the top Hollywood films with A-list composers Howard Shore, Elliot Goldenthal, Michael Kamen and Danny Elfman. We spun him a few questions about weaving film score quality music for games...

Music4Games: We've received A LOT of enquiries about the music from Spider-Man: The Movie game soundtrack. How did you get involved?
Michael McCuistion: I received a call from the audio director at Treyarch, Sergio Bustamante II. I had worked with him on Treyarch's "Max Steel" and he was aware of my writing on the Warner Bros. "Batman Beyond" and "The Zeta Project" TV series, so when a superhero project came to Treyarch it was a natural match.

M4G: What was the most unique aspect of the Spider-Man project? How was it different from the others that you've worked on?
MM: I think this project was rather unique in that we really tried to capture the cinematic scope of the movie in the music for the game. To do that authentically involved hiring a full symphony orchestra in addition to using more contemporary electronic elements. The basis for the music was the orchestra with the electronics taking a secondary role for most of the score rather than the other way around. I guess you could say that in "Spider-Man: The Movie Game" the orchestra is the "star" of the music, just as it has been for most Hollywood superhero films.

M4G: How much inspiration did you take from the soundtrack of the movie?
MM: None, since the music for the movie had not been written yet when we finished the music for the game. In film, the music is one of the last elements to be finished, usually a few weeks before the film is released, whereas in video games the music has to be completed months ahead of the release date. The only thing we knew was that Danny Elfman would be composing the music for the film, but of course that music did not exist when we were working on the music for the game.

M4G: How much direction were you given on this project and where did it come from; the games' developers, or the movie rights owners?
MM: Sergio Bustamante (at Treyarch) was the main creative force behind all of the sound. It was a very exciting process; we had many long concept meetings and even discussed temp music to be used before I had written original music for the game. I also had meetings with the creative director Chris Soares whose overall concept for Spider-Man was deeply rooted in the film. He was able to get some still shots from the film's production - this was important to me since my background is primarily composing to picture. The senior producer Gregory John was also present for most of our meetings and contributed to the overall direction of the score.

M4G: What was the biggest challenge you faced on the project?
MM: Getting the music done! No, seriously, it was a logistics challenge since we had the live recording session in Prague and then synth tracking here in Los Angeles, not to mention the mixing and delivery requirements. Bringing all the necessary elements together for a project of this scope is always a challenge. But with the right team, it works great, and we definitely had the right team.

M4G: Tell us a bit about the overall process of composing, orchestrating and performing the music for this project. Who, and what, was involved at the various stages of production?
MM: It all began with meetings I had with Sergio and the gang at Treyarch. We talked about Spider-Man's character attributes and his motivations, the way he moves, what makes him different from other heroes. We also discussed in detail the villains of the game and the different levels of game play which would require different musical treatment. We settled on a master music list that included all of those requirements plus generic pieces for use throughout the entire game. Then I assembled my team for music production. This team included my principle orchestrator Nerida Tyson-Chew (a fantastic composer in her own right), Paul Chew (handling technical logistics for score preparation and the scoring session itself), and Nerida's copyist Greg Ellis in Australia. Here in Los Angeles the rest of my team included engineer Mark Mattson and orchestrator Larry Rench. I would write music for the various levels and then present the music to Sergio and the Treyarch gang. If minor adjustments were needed those would be made after that first meeting. Then each piece of music was sent to Nerida in Australia for orchestration and copying. She produced the large paper scores that I would be conducting from in Prague and then forwarded the score to the copyist who copied out each part for each musician in the orchestra. Needless to say with 17 individual pieces and 60 orchestral musicians, this was a lot of work! After all the music had been written, approved, orchestrated & copied, Sergio and I flew to Prague to record where we were met by Nerida and Paul (who incidentally flew the OTHER direction around the world to meet us there!) with the full set of scores and parts. We had a double session day with the orchestra, then Sergio and I flew back to Los Angeles where my mixer Mark Mattson was waiting the next day to begin mixing the live elements with the electronic tracks. When that was complete, Sergio came by my studio for some minor tweaks and the final master was delivered to Treyarch the following day.

M4G: Who made the decision to record the soundtrack in Europe, using The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and why?
MM: We talked about many different orchestras and the final decision was made by Sergio.

M4G: What would you say are the benefits and drawbacks of games companies using an East European orchestra rather than some of the American or British orchestras that are, perhaps, more familiar with large film soundtracks?
MM: I'd say the main benefit is that you might be able to stretch your budget a little farther, at least in theory. The main drawback is communication (the language barrier) and the technology, which is simply not as up-to-date as what you'll find in Britain or certainly here in Los Angeles. These issues need to be carefully examined since both technology and communication play such an important part in the live recording process, thereby affecting the budget. There is a stylistic difference in the playing since there is already a deeply rooted film tradition in some orchestras, particularly here in Los Angeles where this kind of recording would be second nature. I am so happy that we were able to find a way to record with live musicians and bring that depth to the music rather than trying to to approximate the sound solely with electronics.

M4G: How would you describe the music for the game and what inspired and influenced you?
MM: The music for Spider-Man is intentionally large in scope. I wanted to create the feeling of a theatrical experience while playing the game, so that the player would feel the same kind of exhilaration that would be felt in a big-screen cinema. There are definite musical themes associated with several characters, especially Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, whose themes appear in several different game levels and in several different incarnations. The fact that the music relates so closely to the characters and the environments of the different levels I hope allows the player to get emotionally involved with the action. A great deal of time was also spent creating musical energy and movement in the orchestrations that would relate to Spider-Man's web-swinging and fighting pace. Treyarch was very supportive of these concepts which made my job that much easier. As I said before, I took most of my inspiration from conversations I had with Sergio and the visuals provided by Chris, not to mention my experience with larger-than-life heroes from my work in television and film.

M4G: In general, who or what are your biggest musical influences and which other film or game composers do you currently admire?
MM: I think musically I've been influenced by almost everything I've ever heard, from classical music to heavy metal and everything in between. The great thing about writing for a new project is that I get to forget about everything I've heard and then create something that will hopefully strongly relate to the project in a fresh voice. I admire any composer who can put his individual stamp on a project and create memorable music that truly relates to the player/audience.

M4G: Have you recently played any games that blew you away in terms of music?
MM: I guess the question would more accurately be "Have you recently played any games?" Time has been a little short, thankfully, for me lately. Actually, I was a huge fan of early video games (especially primitive hand-helds). Lately I'm hearing music I recognize and then later find out it's from a video game rather than a CD or a soundtrack. That's pretty cool.

M4G: You've scored music for various characters such as Spider-Man, Superman and Batman. What is it about you and superheroes?
MM: Good question. I guess I can just relate to the scope of expression that's required for these larger-than-life characters. I always enjoyed writing for large orchestra and writing powerful, action-oriented music. I'm also fascinated by these characters' complex psychological makeups - you know, what kinds of emotions give them human qualities and vulnerabilities and what motivates them to do the things they do. Maybe I'm a psychologist at heart. But I'm also really a kid at heart and superheroes are just plain fun!

M4G: How does scoring for film / TV and animation compare with composing for an interactive game?
MM: It's very different. With film and television, the form of the music is dictated by the form of the picture and the way the picture is edited. With interactive gaming, that form is continuously changing, never the same way twice, so the music has much more freedom to flow organically from itself rather than being constrained to a locked picture. Plus the music for the game usually exists before the game is complete, so the music has to be able to stand on its own since there's nothing definite to write around.

M4G: What is your philosophy on scoring for games? What is the main aim you have in mind from the start?
MM: I want to involve the player emotionally in the game. Music can add so much life and humanity to the amazing technology that is available in gaming today. Emotional involvement, on whatever level big or small, can blur the lines between fantasy and reality, and if the music helps a player believe that he is "inside" the game he's playing even for only a moment then I've been successful as a composer.

M4G: What plans do you have for the future and what do you see happening in the future of game music?
MM: Currently I'm composing for the "Justice League" animated series on Cartoon Network and I have a few irons in the fire for projects in the spring [2003]. I can honestly say that I see a big future for game music. I was blown away when I first saw the visuals and gameplay for Spider-Man, and with technology moving ahead at light speed I see interactive gaming as a growing force in entertainment media in the future.

M4G: Thank you very much for your time and good luck with all your future projects!
MM: Thank you also very much, and enjoy the game!

Interview conducted by Alex Hyde-Smith

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