Winifred Phillips Scores "Da Vinci;" Breaks the "Code"

by Louis Bedigian

“If God of War was about what you feel in your gut, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was about having fun in your head, then The Da Vinci Code is about what is deep in your heart.”

Last time we spoke to game composer Winifred Phillips she was enjoying the success of her first two soundtracks, God of War and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie, with its wonderful, whimsical score, and God of War, with its deep, engrossing sounds. Both so different yet equally enjoyable, the two soundtracks gained praise from gamers and critics all over the world.

“When I started the project I had no idea that Tim Burton would even be aware of my existence, much less would actually be listening to my music and evaluating each track!” Winifred told us last July, discussing her work on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “As soon as I found out this would be happening, I went into an immediate state of denial. I forced myself not to think about it.”

Tim Burton isn't the only one who was aware of Winifred's existence, nor has he been the only one to recognize her talent. Collective Studios handpicked her to compose the music for their latest title, The Da Vinci Code. 

Based on the book that has nearly 40 million copies in print and the movie that has grossed nearly $600 million worldwide, The Da Vinci Code game comes with its own set of puzzles to keep you guessing. The game has also been given an original score, one that complements the story, but is not a part of the music heard within the film.

Producer Cordy Rierson had much praise for Winifred's ideas, saying, “When we heard Winifred’s music, we knew she was the one to bring The Da Vinci Code alive with inspiring and innovative sound. Her music and vocals provided vision and helped shape what is going to be a true one-of-a-kind gaming experience." (Source: http://www.winifredphillips.com)

What does Winifred have to say about her work on the game? We spoke to the composer to find out.

First God of War, then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now The Da Vinci Code. Do you like the constant change (different music styles, different game genres, etc.)?

Winifred Phillips: I love it!  Working on videogame music is fantastic in that it allows me to experiment.  I’m constantly being asked to try new things.  God of War was a great opportunity to explore a very Mediterranean / Middle-Eastern style, so I got to listen to loads of exotic music and discover cool techniques and musical ideas.  Also, with so much violence and rage in the game, the music needed to communicate a very primitive darkness.  Every emotion came right from the gut. 

With Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it was the exact opposite – the overriding emotion was incredibly bright and carefree. Willy Wonka’s character was all about inventiveness and wicked delight.  He had this playground of silly, brilliant ideas in his head, which meant that the music needed to reflect all that busy intelligence and sense of humor. So, musically speaking, I had to do a full 180-degree turn from the God of War project to the Charlie project – from primitive rage to enlightened fun.  It was great to switch gears like that! 

My latest project, The Da Vinci Code, is another story altogether. If God of War was about what you feel in your gut, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was about having fun in your head, then The Da Vinci Code is about what is deep in your heart. Dan Brown’s novel is full of intensely heart-felt emotions like love, faith, grief and wonder. All the characters are wholeheartedly searching for meaning – in their work, or in their pasts, or in arcane mysteries that they desperately need to solve. This made The Da Vinci Code an entirely different challenge from God of War and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I definitely enjoyed the challenge! 

This window sure looks foreboding. 

What sort of research did you conduct before working on this game? Obviously you have the book to draw from, as you did with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You didn't have that luxury with God of War - how did this affect the overall process?

WP: That’s true – I didn’t have a central novel to read while working on God of War, but there were plenty of resources from which to draw inspiration. I read some of those wonderful Greek and Roman myths again.  I also focused on the classical playwright Euripides – he had a definite talent for communicating the darkness in the souls of his characters, and he was a contemporary of the fictional Kratos character from the game. For Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I read the book repeatedly, of course, and absorbed the art direction of the game to get a feel for the mood of the story. And yes, I read The Da Vinci Code many, many times. I made sure that I consulted both the hardcover and the illustrated version, so I could stare at the photos and try to immerse myself in Dan Brown’s world.

Because of all the history and culture permeating The Da Vinci Code project, I felt especially driven to do a lot of research before I started work on the music. I studied the works of art cited in the book. I found a fantastic CD-ROM called “Topics Presents: Museums of the World” that allowed me to take virtual tours of grand museums (including the Louvre)

 There was a film called “Chronos” which I found inspiring. The movie used time-lapse photography in some glorious historical locations, and it was fascinating to watch how time zipped by while these timeless monuments remained the same. Also, I have to admit that I bought every one of those documentaries about The Da Vinci Code novel that I could find, just to watch the camera pan slowly across places like Saint-Sulpice Church and Rosslyn Chapel. As a side note, it is quite amazing how the level designers on The Da Vinci Code were able to make these real life locations so convincing in the game!

I think it's awesome that you've incorporated puzzles and hidden meanings into the score. However, I don't speak Latin. What sort of things should I listen for that could help unravel the mysteries of The Da Vinci Code?

WP: Yes, Latin is a dead language, so very few people speak it, and yet whenever we hear it we immediately recognize it. Latin is the perfect ‘language of mystery.’ The sound and rhythm of the language call up mental images of the ancient past. At first I wanted to use it simply to create an atmosphere, but then I saw that it was also a perfect opportunity to infuse all those great concepts and mysteries in Dan Brown’s book directly into the game. I worked with award-winning music producer, Winnie Waldron, and together we went carefully through the book and pulled out the central concepts in it, then we converted those concepts into lyrics. 

Certainly, the music alone won’t lead directly to any solution. My experience with puzzles is that it usually takes more than one clue to solve them. However, if you listen, you’ll find reminders of important symbols and decryption techniques that you’ll be using repeatedly in the game. For instance, “Ars magna! Litterae inordinatae, veritas patefacta!” means “The great art! Letters disordered, truth revealed!” A non-Latin speaker couldn’t possibly understand the whole lyric, but the phrase ‘ars magna’ is known to denote anagrams, which are a dominant feature in the game.

To give you another example, “Stella quinque radiorum” means “A star of five points.” This lyric is about pentacles, which are also prominent throughout the game, and the non-Latin speaker might pick up on the word “stella,” meaning “star.”  Examples like these are everywhere in the music of the game. 

More foreboding? Let's get out of here! 

There are also said to be interactive music puzzles in the game, is that correct? How do those work? Could you describe one for us?

WP: Well, I could describe it… but then I would have revealed a spoiler! Which, as we all know, is the cardinal sin of gaming. To speak in general terms… at one point in the game, the player actually gets to be a little musical. If I said anything else, I think that I’d get people pretty angry!  Part of the fun of a game like this is the chance to discover things by careful exploration. Far be it from me to spoil that fun! :)

Let's talk about the other interactive music elements. Does the music have significant transitions at certain points in the game? Is it all random, or...?

WP: Every level of the game has a sequence of musical tracks that follow an emotional progression. There are quiet, contemplative pieces of music that transition to stealthier, tension-laden tracks when the player is trying to avoid detection, and those tracks will jump into combat music when an enemy confronts the player. All of these transitions hinge on where the player is and what he or she is doing. Of course, there are pivotal moments in the game that feature especially dramatic music, and writing those tracks was tremendous fun. 

Important combat segments featured especially interactive music. When I wrote the music for these highly interactive combat sequences I wrote it in sections that were sliced apart into separate tracks, specifically designed so that when the game engine played them one after another, they’d sound seamless. Some of the musical ‘slices’ were only about two seconds long.  The ‘slices’ were written and recorded so that they could be rearranged in different orders, depending on how the combat was going. The adaptive music was designed to help the player feel as though he or she is a part of an interactive movie.
 

Keep your browser pointed to GameZone Online for Part 2 of our interview with game Winifred Phillips.