Scoring the Battle: The Music of Halo Wars 2

We take a deep dive with composing team Gordy Haab, Brian Trifon, and Brian Lee White along with audio director Paul Lipson as they share their process and approach to scoring blockbuster franchises like Star Wars: Battlefront, Halo Wars 2, and others. The team dissects the games’ unique interactive music system, discuss their production process of working with a live orchestra and crafting a unique sonic palette, and share their insights on evolving the musical heritage of iconic, AAA brands.

About Gordy Haab

Gordy Haab is a multi award-winning film, video game and television composer who has written music for many well-known titles, including most recently: Microsoft’s “Halo Wars 2, and EA’s “Star Wars: Battlefront II”, and “Star Wars Battlefront I”, which won Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, and Best Instrumental Score at the 2016 GDC G.A.N.G. Awards, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Excellence in Audio Achievement. Haab also recently scored Activision/AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, based on the #1 hit TV series and Microsoft’s “Kinect: Star Wars”, which won “Best Music” at the Hollywood Music In Media Awards. Haab continues to compose the music for EA and Bioware’s “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” for which he was awarded “Best Original Soundtrack” and “Best Instrumental Music” at the 10th Annual GDC G.A.N.G. Awards.

Haab’s music has received the highest praise from numerous industry publications and many of the world’s leading media outlets, including the Huffington Post, who said, “Star Wars Battlefront is sounding better and better everyday…this new Star Wars music will light your saber”. Hardcore Gamer said, “Star Wars Battlefront features the best game score John Williams never wrote”. And the Los Angeles Times said Haab created “the B-side to John Williams’ score”.

Haab is known for his unsurpassed understanding of the orchestra as well as his unique ability to blend contemporary and traditional sounds into one – often times conceiving and creating brand new musical instruments to feature in his scores. He has recorded and conducted his music with orchestras from all around the world, including The London Symphony Orchestra, The San Francisco Symphony, The Nashville Symphony and the Hollywood Studio Orchestra.

A few of Haab’s other film, television and video game credits include: Anchor Bay’s “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon”; MTV’s “The Truth Below”; Dave Barry’s “Guide to Guys”; Lionsgate’s “War”; The Oprah Network’s “The Judds”; Roadside Attractions’ “Shrink”; TLC’s “Little People Big World”; ABC’s “Greek”; NBC’s “Kath and Kim”; VH-1’s “Scream Queens”; Endeavor’s “At the Edge of the World”; LucasArts’ “Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings”, and many others.

Haab is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received his master’s in Scoring For Motion Pictures, Television and Other Media. Prior, he received a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at Virginia Commonwealth University. While he learned from many composers in university and conservatory settings, Haab says that most of his music education comes simply from, “Playing in 100’s of rock bands and being an avid fan of Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lucas and Spielberg films . . . “B” Horror Movies of the 70’s and 80’s . . . and all of their great scores.”