Winifred Phillips: I think that videogame music offers the opportunity to experiment in different ways, within the restrictions of the medium. Videogame music is interactive by nature, so there are technical and structural considerations that impose limits and strict requirements on the compositions. That being said, videogame music plays a more dynamic and integral role in the experience as opposed to the music of film and television. It is rare nowadays to encounter a sequence in television or film in which the score moves center-stage. My last memory of such an occurrence was from The Truman Show, when the music of Philip Glass would suddenly surge forward during the movie and arrest the audience’s attention in those dramatic moments when Truman began to realize the truth about his world. But those sorts of moments are a rarity in modern film and television, whereas in videogames music serves this function constantly. In writing the musical score for The Da Vinci Code video game, I was able to create vocal motets in a liturgical style for puzzle sequences, action tracks with bombastic orchestral flourishes mixed with contemporary rhythms, and cinematic underscore that was nearly operatic in nature. This music occupies much more of the gamer’s attention, because it serves to keep the gamer immersed in the world of the game while still solving a puzzle or navigating an action sequence to its successful conclusion. Videogames offer many more opportunities to create ambitious music, and I have found this to be very inspiring.

ScoreNotes: How long have you been collaborating with music producer Winnie Waldron and what are some of the reasons why you two make such a good team?

Winifred Phillips: We started working together at National Public Radio on the “Radio Tales” series. We both continued with the series when it transitioned to Sirius XM Radio, and when I jumped ship and plunged into the videogame field, she jumped with me. Winnie Waldron has a multitude of amazing talents. In addition to producing my music for “Radio Tales”, she was also script editor for that series, so she has a thorough understanding of what makes a good story. In our videogame work she constantly stresses that the music must serve the best interests of the story and fuel its momentum. Winnie and I have a very close working relationship, and she is frequently present while I’m composing. Her guidance and feedback are invaluable to me. In the tradition of the best music producers in the field, Winnie has an instinctive and profound understanding of what the listening audience will enjoy, and what will turn them off. Working with Winnie has been and continues to be one of the most satisfying collaborations I’ve ever experienced. I can’t imagine ever working without her.

ScoreNotes: When you write scores for videogames based on movies, are you typically asked to account for the style of music heard within the film itself? Or are you generally given a good bit of breathing room to develop a stand-alone score?

Winifred Phillips: It has been my experience that the style of the upcoming film’s score is a complete mystery to the developers, which means that I’m given freedom to create music for the game in a style that makes sense to me. It is my understanding that, while the developers would like to incorporate the musical style of the film into the game, it isn’t possible in the majority of cases. For the game to be ready in time to launch alongside the film, the music composition for the game must begin long before the film composer has written a single note. I’ve heard that there are some exceptions – most notably for film sequels in which the musical style of the series has been firmly established – but I haven’t worked on projects that are part of a series. The most information I’ve ever had about the upcoming film’s score is the identity of the composer, and that really isn’t much help. For example, I knew that Michael Giacchino would be creating the music for the Speed Racer film, but his work is quite varied, which meant that I had no idea what his choices would be like for the film. So I went ahead and scored the videogame in an eclectic, retro-futuristic style that I thought would best accentuate the glossy, neon fantasy world that the Wachowski Brothers had created. When I finally went to the film and heard Giacchino’s score, it couldn’t have been more different from what I’d done. But it’s perfectly fine for the game score and the movie score to be different. A game and a movie are unique mediums, so why shouldn’t their music be unique too? My experience was the same for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory project – I knew that Danny Elfman would be scoring the film, but his style can be very divergent from project to project, so I went ahead and scored the game in a way that made sense to me. And it turned out that my approach was radically different from Elfman’s, so the experience was much the same for me as it was on Speed Racer, but with one exception. It turns out that Tim Burton (the director of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is an extremely hands-on director with every aspect of his projects, including the associated games. He personally approved every track I wrote for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That was a tremendous thrill for me, and even more so when I heard how different Danny Elfman’s score was from mine. It goes to show that two different composers can have two very different musical approaches to the same subject matter, and both can be equally appropriate.

ScoreNotes: Can you touch on the rather innovative approach you took to create the organic score for SimAnimals?

Winifred Phillips: With the SimAnimals project, I started with the main theme. Arriving at a style for the theme took some experimentation, and the development team at Electronic Arts was very helpful during this time. Once the main theme was written, the rest of the track flowed very naturally from it. The main theme has some post-minimalist elements in its composition, but is also highly dynamic, with a strong emphasis on melody. SimAnimals is a member of the simulation genre of games, in which many things are happening at once in a large environment that the gamer can influence but never completely control. It was my goal that the music should reflect this sense of simultaneous activity, while still conveying the warmth and upbeat attitude that have always characterized games in the Sims franchise.

ScoreNotes: You created a simply wonderful track entitled, “Go Mario”, on the Game Music compilation album, Best of the Best. Was that a one-off assignment that you approached with great enthusiasm? It’s quite a catchy rendition!

Winifred Phillips: Thanks very much! I enjoyed working on that track. The assignment for the album was to create a unique rendition of a classic videogame song, with the goal of paying tribute to the original piece while still bringing a fresh approach to the work. Winnie immediately suggested the theme song from Super Mario Bros. It is such a part of videogame history and culture, and I was thrilled that she thought of it. I performed a nearly a cappella vocal version of the main theme from Super Mario Bros., adorned with classic 8-bit style sound effects and kazoos. The whole purpose of the approach was to convey the fun of the original game. I knew it was a risk to perform a cover version of a song that was so well-loved, so I was very happy that my version of the song was so well received. I’m glad that you liked it!

ScoreNotes: Staying on the topic of game music – can you please touch on some of the awards you’ve either won or have been nominated for?

Winifred Phillips: My first project as a videogame composer was God of War. As members of the music team for that project, Winnie and I were honored to receive the Interactive Achievement Award from the Interactive Academy of Arts and Sciences, four Game Audio Network Guild Awards (including Music of the Year) and many “Best Original Music” awards from sites like GameZone, GameSpot and IGN. I’ve also been nominated for a G.A.N.G. Award for the music I wrote for the Shrek the Third videogame, and I received a nomination from the Hollywood Music Awards for the music I wrote for the Speed Racer game.

ScoreNotes: Your impact on the videogame music industry has been quite positive (as the recognition you just mentioned attests to). I feel your work is impressive both within the context of the games and as stand-alone soundtrack experiences. Do you think this is a field more female composers may choose to enter based on your success in it?

Winifred Phillips: Thank you very much! I’d certainly like to think that the participation of women like Winnie and myself may help reduce the gender gap in some small way. There are significant quality-of-life issues that continue to be a greater hindrance to women than to men in regards to working in the videogame field, but recent improvements in working conditions may open doors for women to join the industry in greater numbers. More specifically, however, women are still a very small minority in the field of music composition for media of any kind, whether it is in films, television or videogames. I don’t know exactly why this is, and I suspect that there are many and various reasons for the current state of gender unbalance. While organizations like the Women in Games Special Interest Group at the IGDA are helpful for issues regarding the industry as a whole, I think the barriers for female composers are probably very unique. I’m actually heartened by the story of Marin Alsop, who made history at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007 by taking up the baton as the first female conductor of a major symphony orchestra. I think the image of a woman standing at that highly-visible conductor’s podium could help the cause of female composers in America

ScoreNotes: Aside from composing, what are some other creative interests that you enjoy being involved with?

Winifred Phillips: When I have free time (which has become a precious rarity) I enjoy creative writing, specifically in the fantasy genre. I’ve had short stories published in the Sword and Sorceress XX anthology, and in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy magazine. I have a great passion for fantasy and mythology, and would love to create music for a fantasy roleplaying videogame in the future.