Elegant Audio Easily
May 8th, 2025
Game audio no longer needs to be primitive or rudimentary! Simple is good, but simple and effective is even better. Chances are, you want your game's audio to support and enhance the gameplay as much as possible—and the good news is, there are many surprisingly accessible ways to achieve this. In this session, Hamish will showcase a variety of techniques to help you work with sound design and music that genuinely enrich the player's experience, in ways that are sometimes subtle but always elegant and effective.
Hamish OliverLecturer, Screen Sound / Composer, Arranger, Musical DirectorHamish has enjoyed a 25-year-long career as a composer, sound designer, musical director, arranger and performer for television, film, video games and theatre, and has a Master's degree in composition. He is a Screen Sound lecturer at Canterbury University, working in areas like sound design, music composition, implementation of interactive audio, production, mixing etc. In 2015 Hamish was the recipient of an $10,000 APRA Professional Development Award to further his career in music composition for video games. Hamish has toured internationally with Elaine Paige, Aled Jones and Hayley Westenra and has performed with Serj Tankian, Shapeshifter, Tiki Taane, Bic Runga, Julia Deans, Anika Moa, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra among many other artists. He plays piano and celeste for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and has had several composition commissions from them. His arrangements have been performed by The Phoenix Foundation, Alien Weaponry, Shapeshifter, Tiki Taane, Julia Deans, Anika Moa, and most of the major orchestras in New Zealand.