Have you ever wished you could sit by the side of a composer during the entire creation of a musical score to a AAA video game? Well, your wish has finally been granted!
Join one of the most celebrated game composers of all time as he walks you through every single step of how he created the widely acclaimed original score to the hit Arkane game ‘DEATHLOOP.’
In this 7+ hour one-of-a-kind course, Salta will share with you, step by step, how he created the hit original score to Deathloop. In “The Brief” you will learn about Arkane’s original guidelines, inspiration, reference material and how Salta created the unique musical palette of the score. In “Music Overview” you will see how every minute of music was assigned in the game; all the area music, target music, exploration, fight, menus, stingers and cutscenes. “Into the Sandbox” will give you a rare glimpse into Salta’s earliest musical explorations, most not even making it into the game. In “The Main Theme” Salta breaks down the iconic Deathloop main theme, track by track. “In-Game Music” will give you a detailed breakdown of all in-game music, with track by track breakdowns of the music in all four areas of the game. “Music Delivery Prep” Salta demonstrates how he prepared all the arrangements and mixes, making sure everything is structured exactly how Arkane requested. He also will show his final ‘Quality Control’ process to ensure everything is perfect and ready to go in-game.
Everything you need to learn how to compose a AAA+ title is covered in this course.
Curriculum Includes:
SCORING AAA: DEATHLOOP EDITION
- Introduction [3m]
- Welcome to Scoring AAA: Deathloop Edition
- Course overview
- The Brief [45m]
- Arkane's guidelines
- Inspiration
- Reference Material
- Defining the palette
- Musical Overview [12m]
- Various music "states"
- Breakdown of how the game is divided
- Explanation of music implementation structure
- Into the Sandbox [30m]
- Early exploration of ideas
- Instruments and sounds
- The Main Theme [25m]
- Main Theme breakdown
- Analysis of key instrumentation
- In-Game Music [4h 12m]
- All four main areas in track-by-track detail
- Time of day variations
- Exploration/Fight/Escape
- Target music breakdowns
- Menu music structure
- Stingers
- Cutscene walkthroughs (Spoiler alert!)
- Music Delivery Prep [1h 8m]
- Organizing and naming tracks/groupings/stems
- Quality control checking and fixing problems
-- Session Musicians (bonus footage) [15m]
- Brief and approach from session musicians
- Course completion [3m]
- INCLUSIVE ONE-TO-ONE ZOOM CALL [5m]
- MEMBERSHIP TO TOM SALTA MASTERCLASS LIVE
Curriculum Includes:
GAME MUSIC ESSENTIALS
- Introduction [2m 14s]
- Welcome to Game Music Essentials
- Course overview
- Interactive Music [31m 37s]
- What is interactive music?
- Concept and Asethetic
- The R&D phase
- Composing
- Test and iterate
- Finalize and mix
- Implementation and Adaptive Scoring [44m 13s]
- What is adaptive music?
- Linear music
- Layered music
- Generative music
- Combinations of adaptive techniques
- Middleware (Wwise & FMod)
- The Creative Process (part 1) [43m 43s]
- My phases of the Creative Process
- Phase 1: The blank slate
- Phase 2: Dipping your toe in the water
- Phase 3: Getting into the meat of it
- Phase 4: Putting it into context
- The Creative Process (part 2) [25m 5s]
- Typical thought processes
- Phases of creativity
- Distractions
- Thought traps
- Organisation
- Fostering creativity
- The Business of Game Music [26m 31s]
- The importance of your Business side
- Guide to effective freelancing
- Strategy and focus
- Networking and Pitching
- Getting hired
- How much to charge
- Marketing
- Self-evaluation
- What more you can do
- Course completion [2m 5s]
- INCLUSIVE ONE-TO-ONE ZOOM CALL [5m]
- MEMBERSHIP TO TOM SALTA MASTERCLASS LIVE
Exclusive discounts to EVERY student enrolled in the
Tom Salta Masterclass Series
Get GAME MUSIC ESSENTIALS at a further discounted
rate if you are a member of the following organisation
Thirty year professional music veteran Tom Salta, known for scoring some of the most iconic Video Games in history (including the Halo Series, PUBG, the Tom Clancy Series, Prince of Persia, Wolfenstein and many others) is bringing the culmination of his experience and expertise into this brand new Masterclass Series.
ASCAP winning and MTV VMA nominated composer Tom Salta is one of the most versatile and prolific music artists/producers working in film, television, advertising and video games. Renowned for crafting emotionally engaging soundtracks for multimedia, Salta has received widespread industry acclaim for his world-class produced hybrid scores featured in film, television and video games.
For the first time, Tom is offering his knowledge from working in the Video Game industry in this unique educational series. Known for being a dynamic presenter and having spoken internationally at TEDx and numerous conferences and universities, Tom Salta’s masterclass series is a game-changer for any Composer interested in building a Video Game career of their own.
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REVIEWS
Johansson Cisneros, Composer
After watching this I knew this is what I want to do for life!
Tom was very funny and he really inspires you to keep it going! After watching this masterclass I can really say "This is what I want to be"
Amanda Charleston, Composer
FINALLY! A class that goes into extensive detail, not just about creating music for video games, but the BUSINESS side of game composing as well! Tom makes his course fun and engaging, bringing lots of energy and personal experience to the table. At the end of the course, you get the opportunity to schedule a 15-minute chat with him to ask questions and have him review your own composition. Do yourself a favor and invest in this class - you won't be disappointed!
Evan Foley, Composer
Tom's masterclass is informative, engaging, and overall a lot of fun. If you're someone who loves video game music and is interested in taking that next step in learning how approach scoring a game, then this class is for you. From creating a perfectly looping track to learning how to write vertical scores, Tom's class teaches it all. Tom's knowledge is not solely limited to techniques for writing music specifically for games. Through Tom, I was also able to improve my overall music production skills and create more professional sounding demos. These are skills that I know will translate to my professional life, and I cannot thank Tom enough. I highly recommend his class!
Manuel Soruco. Composer/Producer
The Tom Salta Masterclass contains a lot of very useful knowledge focusing mostly on subjects that are crucial but often overlooked in similar offerings, such as workflows, tips and tricks you would usually learn from an actual composer apprenticeship. Unlike many tutors out there, Tom is actually a working composer (and a very hard one at that!), so he’s always in touch with the latest developments/trends of the industry, which shows in his videos. Can’t recommend enough!
Martin Mahoney, Composer
Tom’s videos are a goldmine of real world, practical insight into professional video game composition. The content is structured and delivered in a way that’s clear and easy to digest, and ranges from big picture concepts to little tips and tricks that I’ve already started incorporating into my work. His videos on the creative process in particular are not to be missed.
Pablo Wunderlich, Composer
An awesome experience. The amount of detail Tom goes into on how he develops the music for this amazing game is mind-blowing. The insights to his process and creative decision making is stellar.
It has actually given me the confidence to step into the game--no pun intended.
Andrew Lipian, Composer
Tom Salta applies his unique blend of liquid octane energy, laser sharp focus, and explosive talent in music to deliver hard-won lessons and skills from his craft in the Video Game industry. This guru shares his accomplishments from multiple entertainment platforms, setting you on a trajectory to your own personal and professional success! Strap on your seat belt, and bring your game face - its going to be an unforgettable ride.
Tyler Walton, Composer/Producer
Having taken a couple game audio/music courses in my music degree, I was expecting this masterclass to help fill in the blanks with my current knowledge. I was very surprised to find out how technical the information was and it's completely changed how I approach writing for music games now!
Chris Frost, Composer/Producer
Tom Salta’s Masterclass Series is a must for ANY Composer who’d always wanted to write for Game. Up until twelve months ago I’d been composing for short films and producing commercial music, although I’d secretly always longed for a career in Video Game composition but didn’t know where to begin. Thanks to Tom’s tutelage and empowering personality, I have now finally begun to enter the professional world of Game Audio and have approached my first two gigs with confidence.
Tom’s Masterclass series will take you through all the necessary steps for you to start thinking ‘Game’ in clear, succinct tutorials, where what was once mysterious soon becomes second nature. Each of his classes teach you invaluable skills regardless of which DAW/Libraries you own, and in no time at all you’ll also be saying “I can do this!”
Leo Voin, Composer
In the 8 hours or so of videos, Tom goes through his process of analysis, understanding and the methodology behind scoring the game Deathloop. Beginning with his in-depth review of the brief and the references he used, he brings us into his mind and pieces together how and why he created the score the way he did.
I was blown away by the amount of detail involved in the arrangements of the musical cues, but also by Tom's focus on having the right sounds be in the right places to let the player know what is going on at the different times within the game. Additionally, I was very impressed with the amount of detail he went into explaining the different in game music for the different levels as well as the individual music for the main characters.
Eduardo Zolhof, Composer/Sound Designer
Tom's classes are packed with the real knowledge you're looking for when it comes to video game music. He cuts no corners and hides no secrets in his videos, showing every detail from all his behind the scenes. The fact that Tom is out there constantly working in major projects also means that what you get from his classes are actual practical examples of what you see when working in the industry. It feels like having an open book of something that would otherwise take years of experience, so I highly recommend it!
Marc Alan, Composer/Producer
Tom’s masterclass is jam packed full of invaluable insight. From implementation, into the creative process and even pitching - this course covers it all. The knowledge he shares is drawn from pure experience, working in the trenches on AAA material. Tom offers practical advice from his successes over the years and even what costly mistakes to avoid. You’ll come away with actionable next steps from one of the best!
Josue Vera, Composer
Tom Salta’s Masterclass has been a doorway into his reservoir of experience for composing video game music. Through these videos I’ve learned of the much needed attention to detail when working in a DAW, the technical aspects particular to this industry that make it so creative, and sure ways to make my music work in different scenarios.