#76 - Martin O'Donnell Interview (Halo, Bungie, Microsoft, District 9, Film, Royalties, Bill Gates etc.)

Martin O'Donnell is a video game composer who has worked on
numerous game but is famous for composing the original Halo up
until Halo Reach, he also was audio director and oversaw sound
effects and dialogue. He is considered one of the greatest video
game composers of all time for his work on Halo.


SOCIAL MEDIA


WEBSITE - http://www.martyodonnellmusic.com


TWITTER - @MartyTheElder


YOUTUBE -
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ivNZIEmepeJ3YhrkK7PJQ


FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/MartytheElder/


 


TIMESTAMPS


00:00 - Intro


00:30 - Marty Being In GOAT Conversations


01:06 - How Long It Took For Marty To Realise The Impact Of The
Halo Soundtrack


02:53 - Entertainment Conventions


03:32 - Marty’s Method To Composing


04:38 - Working Well Under Deadlines


05:57 - Writers Block


07:30 - Marty Open To Remixing Halo Themes For Smash Bros


08:57 - Evolution Of Work Environment At Bungie


12:09 - Microsoft & Bungie Initially Fighting Over Game
Development


15:07 - Bungie Fighting With Activision


16:26 - Game Developers Becoming The Men In Suits


17:45 - Martin Thinks In Hindsight Microsoft Deal Was Ideal


18:30 - Halo Was The Golden Egg & Bungie Was The Golden Goose


20:23 - Marty’s Employee Contract With Microsoft


21:42 - Marty Butted Heads In His Last Year/Was Somewhat Aware He
Would Get Fired


24:03 - Marty Was Shocked & Relieved At The Same Time From
Being Fired


25:33 - Working On Sound Effects & Dialogue


28:29 - Marty Never Changed Any Of The Music By The Higher Ups


32:12 - Marty Open To Scoring For TV & Film


33:19 - Marty Met Peter Jackson For Halo Film


34:06 - Background Behind The Halo Film


37:19 - Halo Film Ideas Ended Up In District 9


39:20 - District 9 Being A Great Film


40:29 - WETA Designs For District 9


41:39 - Marty’s Relationship with Bungie & Microsoft These
Days


43:30 - One Individual Can Influence A Whole Company/Bill
Gates/Steve Jobs


45:66 - Geniuses Still Being Flawed


46:43 - Marty’s Future Endeavours/Highwire Games


48:59 - Tolkien Estate Contacted Highwire About Golem Game


51:00 - The Pain Of Trademarks/Copyright


52:20 - Getting Royalties For Halo Soundtrack/Music Publisher
Tried To Pull Marty’s Own Music


54:40 - Marty’s Early Demos/Advice To Young Composers


58:01 - Marty’s Inception Stage


59:34 - Meeting Fans Expectations/Going Viral


1:03:58 - Marty’s Wife Keeps Him Grounded


1:05:06 - Where To Follow Marty/Highwire Games


1:05:45 - Marty Wants To Come To NZ