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SCHOLARS PROGRAM ALUMNI 2020
SCHOLARS ALUMNI: GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE 2020
DAYNA AMBROSIO
COMPOSER
School: Berklee College of Music Mentor: Jason Hayes
A Berklee Film Scoring Graduate, Dayna Ambrosio is a Video Game and Film Composer with experience in music production, audio implementation, and sound design. A recipient of the 2019 BMI Film Scoring Award and Berklee Video Game Audio Endowed Scholarship for Women, she has worked on over 20 game titles in the past two years. She is currently working on two games to be released in the next year, providing music, sound design and audio implementation, as well as a short film to be released this summer.
Jack Hu is a game audio designer at Tencent Timi studio in ShenZhen, he is a Berklee alumni. During his time at Berklee, Jack was the Vice President of the Chinese Music Industry club. In the summer of 2019, he interned at Tencent Aurora Studio and fell in love with game audio. In November 2019, Jack helped organize the Game Sound Design panel as part of the 3rd US-China Music summit at Berklee College of MusicRecently Jack is working on game audio design for two mobile games: Arena of Valor and QQ Speed Car.
I’m Axel, from France ! I work 3 weeks a month as a Sound Designer in a game audio company based in Angoulême. I also study sound design and audio engineering at 3IS France. During my free time I often play videogames or I do some music too ! Why not doing both ? That’s why I’m here. I always have been creative and living in such a rural area was really inspiring. I had the opportunity to attend GDC and GSC being on of this year’s scholars . That was an amazing experience and I really would like to the organization! Cole Masaitis is a composer and sound designer from Fairfax, Virginia. He graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in their Music Technology and Applied Composition graduate program in 2019. Cole has come from playing music in numerous bands, and he most recently has found himself as a session guitarist for the newest episode of Bento Banana, as composer for the documentary “Mother to Earth”, indie games and jams, as well as being mentored by the team at Emperia Sound and Music.
Making convincing and immersive auditory experience has always been one of my strongest passions. I specialize in sound design, interactive audio design, music composition, and implementation. At Berklee, I received the Game Audio Fund for Women Scholarship. During my internship at Tencent Games Timi Studio, I was on the audio team of Honor of Kings. I am currently working with Power Up Audio as a freelance sound designer on their unannounced game project. Feel free to reach out!
XIEXIAOMENG HU (JACK)
GAME AUDIO DESIGNER, TENCENT TIMI STUDIO
School: Berklee College of Music Mentor: Scott Selfon
AXEL DELAFONTAINE
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
School: 3IS (Institut International de l’image et du son) Mentor: Max Davidoff-Grey COLE MASAITIS
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER, AUDIO ENGINEER
School: San Francisco Conservatory of Music Mentor: Anastasia Devana
SANDY ZHOU
SOUND DESIGNER
School: Berklee College of Music Mentor: Scott Gershin
SCHOLARS ALUMNI: GAMESOUNDCON 2020
TWI McCALLUM
COMPOSER
School: Yale School of Drama Mentor: Sally-anne Kellaway
Hailing from Baltimore, MD, Twi got started in theater through costume design during her undergraduate at Howard University. She relocated to NYC to work at New York Live Arts. She’s gone on to design for Kansas City Rep and National Black Theater, and received an internship at Alchemy Foley Studio. She donates to and volunteers for several charitable organizations. She also writes articles for Broadway World and Live Design Magazine, highlighting the success of Black people working in backstage careers.
COLTON DODD
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
School: NYU, Masters of Music in Screen Scoring Mentor: Max Davidoff-Grey Colton Dodd is an American composer based in New York City. As assistant to Paul Chihara, Colton worked on the album “Paul Chihara Collection Volume 4”, international film projects, and arranged for world renowned ensembles, including Brooklyn Rider, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Colton received a Bachelor of Music from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Masters Certificate in Orchestration for Film and TV from Berklee College of Music. WAYNE MESSAM, II
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
School: Florida Atlantic University Mentor: Adam Gubman
Born in 1998 in Fairfax, Virginia, video game composer and sound designer WMII began composing musicat the age of 18. Influenced by sound designers and composers like Mike Niederquell and Martin O’Donnell, he began to study digital synthesis and orchestration. Starting as an audio engineer at Hoot Wisdom Recordings, Wayne also started creating songs as an EDM Artist under an alias named after his self-made company, Neptune’s Cloud. Wayne Messam, II is currently freelancing in South Florida.
MAKO IKENO
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
School: NYU Steinhardt’s Scoring for Film and Multimedia Mentor: Austin Wintory
Mako Ikeno is a British Japanese film, television, and video game composer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film & Video Game Scoring as a scholarship student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Currently, she studies at NYU Steinhardt’s Scoring for Film and Multimedia Masters program under Mark Suozzo. She is also a freelance composer. She also has attended the Royal College of Music Junior Department in London and Wells Cathedral School in Somerset.
ANDREW J. RYAN
COMPOSER, SOUND DESIGNER
School: ThinkSpace Education / University of Chichester Mentor: Neal Acree Andrew J Ryan is a composer hailing from Australia, and educated at the Universities of Melbourne and Chichester. Having studied the hard sciences, he also got his Masters degree in fine arts as a composer, with a focus on video game music and audio. Andrew has enjoyed a multiveried career in media to include video games. He was awarded a licentiate Diploma in Piano from the Australian Music Examinations Board. Andrew is also proficient in the French, German, and Japanese languages.
QA&
ALLISON WRIGHT CLARK
MUSIC SUPERVISOR, EXECUTIVE & PRODUCER
Allison Wright Clark is a Los Angeles based music executive, music supervisor and licensing expert, score and song producer for all media, including video games, film, and television. Clark is a proud member of the Game Audio Network Guild and has been working on video games throughout her career. Notable projects include Magic The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Def Jam: Icon, Pirates of the Caribbean, and has worked with legendary studios and production companies such as Konami, Electronic Arts, Activision/Infinity Ward, Ridley Scott and Associates, and more. Clark is also an instructor for Music Supervision for Film and TV at the UCLA Extension program in Los Angeles, CA.
Q: You have worked across all screens, including games, broadcast TV, cinematic trailers and feature films.
How is each process different from the other?
A: The differences are scope of work, schedule and budgets.
Feature length animated projects typically have longer lead times which is great for concepting musical direction.
Q: How did you get started in the music industry?
A: My high school and college had student run radio stations and I was a program director and DJ.
I am a classically trained pianist and vocalist which fueled my interests in the business. I worked for a music production company specializing in music for games, advertising and films as well. It was an amazing training ground.
Q: What interested you into becoming a music supervisor?
A: Early on in my career film production was big in Illinois. I was fascinated by production, the art of storytelling, how music and songs are used in unique ways. Production is a collaborative experience where everyone lends their talents with a purpose driven goal. That process appealed to me.
Q: When did you first start working on video games, and what are some of your favorite projects?
A: After college I worked with the executive staff and video game production team at Konami’s
Chicago office. I loved that job.
I’d say Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare, Def Jam: Icon, XMen,
Lethal Enforcers, Metal Gear
Solid, and Castlevania are favorites. Now I just want to play them all again!
Q: Any exciting projects you’ve been working on lately that you can share with us?
A: I recently had the great time working on “The Comeback
Trail”, directed by George Gallo starring Robert De Niro, Tommy
Lee Jones, and Morgan Freeman.
It’s about two movie producers who owe money to the mob and set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. Comes out December 18th. within your schedule’s timeline.
Q: What is the most challenging part of your job?
A: Finding the best piece of music or creating a song for the production that works within your budget. It can be a balancing act with creative direction, rights clearance priorities, and production stakeholders’ input all under tight schedules.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of it?
A: Same as above. It’s rewarding when your creative and the business side come together within your schedule’s timeline.
When you get the chance to showcase a new artists or band’s music who’s work may not have the chance to be heard by a larger audience yet.
Also hearing the final music to picture, knowing how much work and talent went into making it happen behind the scenes is great, too. “IT’S GREAT TO HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE IDEATION, PRODUCTION AND MUSIC LICENSING PROCESS. BUT SOME OF THE BEST WORK COMES WHEN YOU’RE UNDER PRESSURE ON A DEADLINE.,”
– ALLISON WRIGHT CLARK
Clark’s most recent film, The Comeback Trail, releases on December 18th.
Q: How have you been able to give back to the music community?
A: t’s been an important priority of mine to mentor, teach, and advise up and coming professionals and talent in the business. I’ve been active in allyship within music supervision and scoring community. I had the pleasure of being on the
Guild of Music Supervisor’s allyship panel over the summer.
I was a part of songwriting camps and feedback sessions in several cities including Nashville and Chicago this past year. I’m looking forward to doing more of this work coming up.
