David W. Collins interview | LucasArts

David Collins

Proxy (The Force Unleashed), LucasArts

Interview: January 2011

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Hi David!

Hi Dennis! It’s a pleasure to be doing this interview with you.

Thanks! Let’s get started! How did you join LucasArts?

I actually started at LucasArts in 2000, after working as an intern and scoring assistant on the Scoring Stage at Skywalker Sound. I learned so much while I was there, and fell in love with the Lucas companies all over again…. but this time as an employee.
After working for about a year, a position in game audio opened up at LucasArts, and I jumped at the chance. Having been a huge gamer all of my life, it was a great opportunity for me… and I think my love for film sound is something that they were looking for, as production value in games was becoming really competitive. I started as an assistant, working on titles like Bounty Hunter and Obi-Wan. Two and a half years later, I was rewarded with my own project as an Audio Lead. I’ve been lucky enough to work on Star Wars for over a decade now.

You are currently the lead sound designer and voice director with the video game division.
What does an average work day look like?

Great question! One of the things that I love about working for LucasArts is the variety of creative tasks that I’m able to do. In 2010, I got to voice direct Monkey Island 2, LEGO Clone Wars, The Force Unleashed II, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. So my morning may start out with a voice-over session with a talented voice actor, either in person or via phone)\. From there, I’ll go to a staff meeting, maybe answer some e-mails, and then head to lunch, where I’ll have an engaging and geeky conversation about game audio, film, level design, etc… and then head back to my desk. My office is a sound mixing and design suite, and the afternoon is usually when I’ll start the creative energy going: I was fortunate enough to be the mixer on all The Force Unleashed II cinematics, as well as a couple of really awesome trailers. And then maybe late in the day I’ll sit down with our great marketing folks and talk about an upcoming interview, etc…. much like the one we’re doing now!

Most fans will know you as PROXY; the droid from The Force Unleashed. How did you get this voice acting part?

That’s kind of a fun story. My role on The Force Unleashed was that of the Audio Lead, which is responsible for every sound that comes out of the speakers. That means Sound design and effects, music, and voice-over. Well, for this game we knew we wanted to utilize ILM for likeness capture and motion capture, so we set about casting “theatrical” film and TV actors for the lead roles. My boss, Darragh O’Farrell, was the casting and talent director for that game, and I was assigned to read across from every actor that auditioned for every role! As a result, I traveled quite a bit, and read with dozens and dozens of actors.
One fortuitous thing that happened however was that the concept art for Starkiller was approved and I looked at it and immediately thought of my good buddy Sam Witwer. It looked just like him! Sam and I had been friends for years, and his career had just started taking off with Battlestar Galactica and Dexter, so I slipped his headshot and demo reel into the casting pile. I didn’t tell anyone on the team that I knew him. Well, Sam was BRILLIANT in the audition, and was immediately the team’s first choice. I got to read across from him quite a few times. That was fun!
As we approached the initial mocap shoot in February of 2007, we were still missing a few characters (we didn’t prioritize their casting because they weren’t going to be captured), such as Darth Vader, and PROXY. The team was still struggling for a direction with PROXY, and most actors read him in a very creepy way, which was not the team’s vision for the character. When we got to rehearsals, I continued my role as the person who read all of the “other parts.” In this case, I read for PROXY, Darth Vader and Bail Organa. This was before we got Jimmy Smits, who we shot a few months later. When I started reading as PROXY with Sam, the room lit up! People were giggling, smiling, and it just…. worked!
I kept reading him throughout the shoot, and it just stuck. We continued interviewing other actors, and finally, by summer of 2007, I was officially given the part. They just loved how it turned out, and that’s how it all came to be! I like this story, because I can’t help but think that my chemistry and friendship with Sam came through in the read… and I like that by helping him land his part, it came back around and gave me an opportunity to play PROXY. I’ll always remember The Force Unleashed very fondly, in no small part because of that exchange.

How did you create PROXY’s voice? Were you inspired by something or someone?

Funny: I’ve never thought about this. I just kind of naturally showed up to the table read in February of 2007, and that voice came out. If I had to pinpoint it, I would say that it came from years of listening to sci-fi characters like C-3PO and Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the actual sing-song and tone that I gave it most likely came from a play I toured in college. I played a monk named Juniper who was very loyal, very sweet, and like PROXY, prone to mischief due to his simplicity.
The effects process adds a lot, of course. PROXY has a vocal effect that almost sounds like there are multiple voices in his head… this was done to emphasize that PROXY is a holo-droid, and most likely has millions of voices in his programming.

The story of The Force Unleashed got a very positive reception. What do you think about the storylines of both The Force Unleashed I and II?

I loved the story. The idea of giving Darth Vader a secret apprentice has always appealed to me. I was lucky enough to be included in some story workshops on the first one, and got to do a large portion of in-game dialogue writing on the second one. Like a lot of Star Wars fans, I find the dramatic possibilities surrounding clone technology fascinating: so many opportunities for great stories. I’m glad we got to go to Kamino for The Force Unleashed II.
And we just found out today that The Force Unleashed II received a Writer’s Guild Award Nomination!

In which way(s) is George Lucas involved with your work? Does he give you instructions on how he wants things to be done for instance?

George is deeply committed to LucasArts, and is very encouraging of the work we do. But George is also a filmmaker at heart, and a very busy one at that! The continuity of his products is extremely important to him… so much so that he has a whole group within Lucas Licensing that provides continuity and feedback notes to us on a weekly basis. We work very closely with all of the Lucas companies, and the collaboration is really rewarding.

Were you a Star Wars fan when the original movies were released? Do you remember when you saw your first Star Wars movie and what you thought of it?

Was I EVER! The original Star Wars films literally defined my childhood. I honestly credit so much of my early creative influence to Star Wars. It’s always been a huge part of my life.
Several years ago, I had a story that appeared in Bantha Tracks about a trip to see Return of the Jedi with my Grandfather…. So many important and awesome memories.
(click HERE and HERE for the two page Bantha Tracks article)

Are you involved in the upcoming Clone Wars LEGO game? Could you tell something about this game?

I’m definitely involved in the upcoming LEGO game. In fact, I just did an interview on G4 about it.
LEGO Star Wars III is all about the Clone Wars, and features episodes from the first two seasons of the Clone Wars, as well as scenes from Attack of the Clones. It is by far the biggest LEGO Star Wars to date… I love it! I’m really excited for fans to get their hands on it… it’s been a blast to work on.

What are you currently up to at LucasArts? And are there new Star Wars games in the works we don’t know of?

There are always new titles in the works… unfortunately, I can’t spoil the surprises! Right now I’m finishing up LEGO Star Wars III, and planning for the future….

Besides working for LucasArts, you worked as the contemporary music director at the Presbyterian Church of Novato in California. Can you tell something more about this job?

I did it for about four years. What a great group of people! I am a musician and I gig pretty regularly. In fact, I have a band called SwingSet that is about to finish its first album.

What would your ‘Star Wars dream project’ look like?

In a lot of ways, working on Republic Commando, Battlefront II, LEGO, and The Force Unleashed series have been “Star Wars dream projects.” I feel so lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to Star Wars, and make my creative mark on the franchise.

Of all the things you have done so far at LucasArts, what do you regard as the highlight of your career?

Boy, it’s hard to pick! As I mentioned above, I’m very proud of the projects that I’ve worked on as an Audio Lead, Voice Director, Sound Designer, Actor, etc. Republic Commando is one of the most special creative experiences of my life. How cool that those characters have found their way into the Clone Wars! And working on The Force Unleashed was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. What a treat to make Star Wars with your closest friends. And the TALENT that I’ve worked with! From designers, engineers and artists, to musicians, sound designers and voice actors… I’ve gotten to work with and learn from the best of the best, and I’m so happy for those opportunities.
I’ve also had some wonderful opportunities to share my enthusiasm for Star Wars with fans at conventions like E3, Gamescom, and Star Wars Celebration IV and V. This past summer I got to sit and interview Ben Burtt. What an amazing influence he’s been all of these years.
I’ve also really enjoyed working on the Monkey Island and Thrillville franchises, as well as working with other divisions like Skywalker Sound and LucasFilm Animation. LucasArts has been so good to me, and I’m happy I’ve been here for over a decade doing what I love. If I wasn’t here, I’d be at home playing LucasArts games anyway, so I’m glad they put me to work!

 

Hal Barwood interview | LucasArts | Star Wars

Hal Barwood

LucasArts

Interview: August 2010

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How did you get started in the movie business?

My father ran the local movie theater in Hanover, New Hampshire, where I grew up. I was exposed to every kind of movie ever made from an early age, and I guess the experience festered in my brain. Sometime in high school I saw Bergman’s Seventh Seal, and its weirdness made me realize that movies were made by individuals with ideas and not manufactured like Ford automobiles.
At about the same time I read an issue of National Geographic that was all about the construction of Disneyland. I thought any place that embraced airy fantasies so enthusiastically was my kind of society, but I didn’t know how I was going to get there and join up. During my college years, I began making short animated movies in 8mm. Then I heard about USC’s famous film school, applied, and won a fellowship. That was my ticket west. So I married my childhood sweetheart, Barbara Ward, and we migrated to California, me to study movie-making, she to teach.

You worked on THX1138, the famous George Lucas movie. You knew George from USC. How was he in those days? Did you expect he would become as big as he is now and your paths would cross again (at LucasArts) 25 years later?

George was always George. We all thought he was a tremendous talent from the very beginning, a precocious master of movie material. All of us in that USC cohort admired his imaginative work and his organizational skills. I didn’t imagine the magnitude of his career, but I did think he would be a big success.
Our paths never really uncrossed. The reason I wound up at LucasArts was because, through my friendship with George, I got to know a number of the early employees of what was then called Lucasfilm Games.

In the late 70’s you had a small part in the Steven Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. How did you get this part?

Well, Matthew Robbins and I were screenwriting partners. We wrote Steve’s first feature, The Sugarland Express, and he kept us abreast of the developments on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After a couple of screenplay drafts by other writers that didn’t ring any bells, Steve himself did a draft and showed it to us. We liked it, but thought it needed a lot of help. Steve liked our suggestions, so we wound up doing a lot of re-writing. Instead of a credit we got a percentage and appearances in the film.

In the early 80’s you produced and wrote the great movie Dragonslayer. Can you share some of your experiences regarding that movie?

Thanks for the kind remarks. Matthew and I were looking for an exotic concept that might grab attention, but not attempt to compete with Star Wars or Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Alien. We thought we knew how to do a fantasy by grounding it in historical iron-age reality. We were right about that, but wrong about grabbing attention. It wasn’t a commercial success — but I still love it.

If I’m correct you joined LucasArts in the early 90’s. Why did you make this change from movies to games? And where and when did you get an interest in games?

It was in the middle of Dragonslayer when I realized I wanted to pursue another childhood passion — games. We were preparing one of the most difficult sequences, the burning of Valerian’s village, and it was a logistical nightmare for me, the producer. One of our actors didn’t read his call sheet and was off in Ireland. We were building very expensive thatched huts on a farm in suburban London that had to burn without setting fire to the local countryside. We had 200 extras dressed in burlap we had to check for wrist watches and sneakers. We had a choreographer teaching them how to dance an iron-age gavotte. We had to reveal Valerian’s gender. We had to light the whole thing with moonlight, which meant tall towers with cable stays and 10K arc lights. When all the goods and services were delivered and the cameras started rolling, I found I had no desire to watch my partner Matthew direct the action. It should have been among the most exciting moments of my life, but a few months earlier I had purchased an HP 41C calculator, the first little gadget that could do alphanumeric displays, and I was happier sitting in my trailer teaching that thing to play a Dragonslayer version of Hunt the Wumpus than to be on the set. I knew right then I was in the wrong business, but it took me 10 years, another movie, several more screenplays, and a couple of ambitious Apple 2 projects to make the switch professionally.

One of the first games you worked on was Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. You even wrote the story for this game. A lot of fans (including me) think that story is the best Indy-story outside the movies. How did you come up with the story?

As part of The Last Crusade project, George’s group built an adventure game based on the movie. The guys involved, David Fox, Ron Gilbert, and Noah Falstein, didn’t want to do another one, but they wanted a follow-up. I had gotten to know them through George, and they decided that I knew what I was doing, so they brought me on board. The group had been handed a script for the purpose. It had been rejected as a fourth installment of the Jones franchise, but management, which didn’t know any better, thought it would be good enough for a game. It was rejected for a reason, though, and I thought it was hopeless. Noah agreed, so we marched down to George’s wonderful research library and started thumbing through Dark Mysteries of the Past -type coffee table books. We opened one of them up to an illustration of Atlantis arranged in three concentric rings, and we both thought, wow, this looks like a game.
That’s not enough for a story, however. Atlantis, unlike the Ark of the Covenant, never had a historical basis. But I knew that Plato was the origin of the myth — at least in written form — and we decided to fasten on Plato’s reality to give the thing legitimacy. Orichalcum, the mysterious metal he wrote about, seemed like an ideal McGuffin to lure the Nazis if we could pretend that it harbored atomic power. And then we needed a companion who was connected up with the whole problem, so I cooked up Sophia Hapgood as a fellow archeologist. She was kind of a shadow version of Indy — sharp, capable, fascinated by antiquities, but she jumped the ethical tracks after finding a supernatural amulet in Iceland.
Noah, more sensitive to the delicate sensibilities of adventure game players than I was, thought we should cater to varying tastes by instituting three paths through the game emphasizing either wits, fists, or team play. He then went off on another project, and I spent long agonizing months making that idea work. Whew, I’m still tired.

After Fate of Atlantis came another popular game. You directed the live action cut scenes of Star Wars: Rebel Assault II. How was that, directing scenes that come as close as possible to directing a Star Wars movie?

That was the era — don’t blink, it was brief — of Multimedia. Remember? Anyway, live action video was briefly in flower, and I was the only one at LucasArts who had ever directed a movie. So I got recruited by Vince Lee, the project leader. It was great fun, very intense, because we had almost no budget, and we had to work very fast. We also had to solve a lot of production problems: how to integrate 3D models, how to capture the video material, how to do it all against blue screen. Digital movie-making years before it became the current practice.

What are your best memories regarding working on Rebel Assault II?

The speed. I think we were in production for five days. Most game development takes years. Fate of Atlantis took two years; my last game at LucasArts, Red Rock took almost four. So blasting through a project like Rebel Assault II was exhilarating. Oh yeah, our CEO quit in the middle, I remember that too.

In 1997 you created the game Yoda Stories; a desktop adventure game. (I must admit: I played this game for hours….I really loved it) It was the Star Wars version of the 1996 Indiana Jones desktop adventures game. Where did you get your inspiration for the Yoda game and the short stories?

Both of these Desktop Adventures were casual games before such things had a label. I love storytelling in games, and I wanted to build games with broad appeal. I thought the key was to minimize players’ time commitment, and provide lasting value with replayability. Convincing management to make these things, however, was an agonizing process, because no one had yet plowed the field for me. The casual game business, now prominent, was undiscovered territory.
The Jones game was a little bit experimental — it was the first replayable story game ever, I think. Yoda Stories — another quick project that we turned out in about eight months — was a better idea. The story premise works perfectly, just like the second movie, with Luke learning his trade from the Jedi Master. We made big improvements to the structure of the puzzles, and we introduced a simple campaign mode. I’m very proud of both of these games, especially Yoda. Figuring out how to do algorithmically-driven puzzles and stories was a genuine accomplishment. I still play them now and then.

Then, in 1999 you did another Indy game: Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. Again, I’m curious regarding how this story was conceived.

I was at a dinner party with George one evening in the mid-nineties, and he casually mentioned he had an idea for a new Indy movie, to take place during the 1950s. I thought, hmm, what kind of exotic artifacts might my favorite archeologist be after in that time frame? So I guessed — Science fiction? Roswell? George froze, and even though he wouldn’t confirm it at the time, I knew I had guessed right. So years later, when I wanted to drag Indy into the 3D action-adventure game genre, and when another Indy movie looked out of the question, I proposed it. Word came back, “Don’t go there.” Uh-oh, the movie wasn’t dead after all, but unless I could squiggle up an alternative tale, my game was.
In desperation, I started making lists of all the ancient mysteries that Jones hadn’t already tackled. The Tower of Babel is a well-known idea with some basis in fact as a companion to the famous hanging gardens of Babylon. I thought we could make use of the Babylonian god Marduk as a supernatural force and bring the Russians along as well. Looking back, I’m glad my Roswell proposal was denied. I like my story much better than what turned out to be The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

What are you currently up to? Do you have new projects and is there any chance you’ll work on a new Star Wars or Indiana Jones game?

These days I’m a freelance consultant, designer, and writer. I do small projects for various clients. Most of the time, I’m not that busy, so I’m also working on some small one-man game projects in Flash. My Star Wars and Indiana Jones days, much as I enjoyed them, are over.