Feature: Take This Job and Love It! - Sound Designer - The Fat Man
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Name: The Fat Man, George Alistair Sanger Title: uh, The Fat Man. Notable Past Projects: Over 200, including Wing Commander and The 7th Guest. See http://www.fatman.com/faqs.htm#1 Current Project: A Spongebob Squarepants Gamecube/PS-II game for BigSky/THQ A licensed PC title for Hulabee Entertainment An online poker game for the blind http://www.zform.com/ A book for New Riders Publishing, "Tasty Morsels of Audio Goodness" A whole bunch of slot machines for Indian Casinos (Multimedia Games) Project Dumbass, the Biggest Team Fat Project Ever A live surf show with Team Fat at the Classic Gaming Expo http://www.cgexpo.com/ And I'm to be the "Voice of Abstainance" for an anti-sex propaganda film (or game, I'm not sure which) for the Government. Our Government. Schooling/Degree: Music degree from Occidental College. Film School at USC. TV school at Loyola Marymount. General duties of your position/title: Make noises for games, keep it from getting messed up too badly, move people's hearts, do more than was dreamed of, revolutionize things from time to time, roll with the punches, enjoy people. Salary Range for your title (not necessarily what you specifically make): Zero to Tommy. Tommy is my rich younger brother. How many people are in your department/team? If you are a manager, many people do you oversee? One to six. Sometimes zero to six. What was the most valuable bit of knowledge or experience you brought with you to the job? It's not about the money. It's about being blessed with the power to play a concert for tens of thousands of captive listeners, who might or might not have been expecting one, and then using that power for Niceness instead of Evil. What was the first major lesson you learned once you started working in the industry? Things that seem obviously important about putting audio in a game are not obviously important to most people. Even if they are, there are often other things that take priority. Sometimes these other things help the game more than audio would. When Audio is not the most important thing, one can take a low profile and do what's good for the game. When the developer is not making efficient use of the possibilities of audio, and it's for no good reason, one does well to take the bull by the horns and tilt at a windmill or two, whatever that means. It is a very, very difficult and lonely process. What academic focuses would you recommend for someone who wants to do your job someday? Psychology and Comparative Religion. This assumes that you already know what is needed to make good sound, which is...the ability to make good sound. You can bump that up a notch with various foci, such as audio engineering, music, film, that kind of thing. But the thing that separates you from the pack of unhappy mercenaries are the first two I mentioned. Common misconceptions about your job? That you are out to beat your competitors. That would be like Bach trying to "beat" Brahms. That somebody in the game business is looking for a fresh new audio person. That there is a desk in a major game developers office somewhere that is not covered with demos from people who have made several Hollywood films. That there are rules about how game audio is done. That there are established methods, and tools for doing game audio. That the above are bad things. Is college a necessity, a really good idea, or not required for your line of work? A really good idea. Not required. Remember, Friends, there is a big stinking difference between what you need to "get the job" and what you need in order to be able to contribute the maximum beauty to the world in your short lifetime. Pick which one you want to do and give it a very good shot. What tools and software do you use on a regular basis? Trumpet Banging a Brake drum Anything by Sonic Foundry Digital Performer Gigasampler (Made in Texas) a mini-disk recorder Eudora and Netscape, and a very fast connection Ukulele Really Nice Compressor by FMR (Made in Texas) One-string guitar Crowds of Friends Eggs Orchestra Manuscript paper Coffee ("Workahol") Time with my Children Cassettes of my old bands Cousin Ernie and a Nudie Suit (http://www.fatman.com/faqs.htm#s1) What's your advice for breaking into your line of work? All you need is Love. And that's no bull.
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