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==External links== ==External links==
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*{{musicbrainz artist|id=a477389c-9b95-409b-b0b1-1514f5aaa81a|name=Martin O'Donnell}} *{{musicbrainz artist|id=a477389c-9b95-409b-b0b1-1514f5aaa81a|name=Martin O'Donnell}}
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Revision as of 16:28, 3 February 2008

Martin O'Donnell
File:O'donnell supercrop.pngMartin O'Donnell at the release of Halo 3 in New York City
OccupationMusical composer
Websitehttp://www.totalaudio.com

Martin "Marty" O'Donnell is an American musical composer who is well known for his work on musical pieces for video games from Bungie Studios such as the Myth series, Oni, and the Halo trilogy. O'Donnell frequently collaborates with his musical companion Michael Salvatori for many of the scores. He has also directed voice talent and sound design for the Halo trilogy.

Starting out writing television and radio jingles, O'Donnell moved to the world of video games when he and his company, Total Audio, did the sound design for the 1997 title Riven. Since then he has scored more than seven video games. His most recently released work is the Halo 3 Original Soundtrack, featuring the complete score to the award-winning Halo 3. The two-compact disc set was released in November of 2007.

Personal life

O'Donnell received his Masters of Music Degree in composition with honors from the University of Southern California in the early 80's. He has been married for 30 years to his wife, Marcie, and has two daughters, Alison, and Christine. His children were part of a singing choir for the Flintstones Chewable Vitamins commercials, which Marty wrote.

Music career

O'Donnell began working for television commercials and film; for example, O'Donnell wrote the jingles for Mr. Clean and Flintstones Vitamins, and owns the rights to the melodies. According to O'Donnell, "after fifteen years of doing TV and radio commercials", he decided he wanted to do game soundracks. The composer's first foray into game-related work was working as a sound designer for the video game Riven, the sequel to Myst. His company, TotalAudio, also produced the music for Bungie Studios' Myth: The Fallen Lords in the same year. TotalAudio later composed the music for Valkyrie Studio's "Septerra Core, Legacy of the Creator"; while working on the game O'Donnell met Steve Downes, and the composer would later recommend the voice actor to Bungie for the role of the Master Chief.

O'Donnell joined Bungie full-time after producing the music for Myth II; he is one of only a handful of Bungie employees who remain working at the company since then. After producing the music for Oni, O'Donnell was tasked with composing the music for Bungie's next project, which would be unveiled at E3 2000. After talking with Joseph Staten, O'Donnell decided the music needed to be "big, exciting, and unusual with a classical orchestra touch to give it some weight and stature. We also wanted it to have some sort of 'ancient' feel to it." The music was recorded and sent to New York the same night the piece was finished; the resulting music became the basis for the Halo series' "highly recognizable" signature sound. In addition to composition, O'Donnell has also arranged his work; a special arrangement was used for a Halo 3 segment of Video Games Live in London, after which O'Donnell appeared.

See also

References

  1. ^ O'Donnell, Martin; Dolby (2007-12-09). "Dolbycast Episode 29". Dolby. Retrieved 2007-12-12. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Tuttle, Will (2004-11-04). "Interview with GameSpy: "Of Music and Sound"". Gamespy. Retrieved 2007-12-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. "Halo 3 OST Product page". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  4. ^ "Soundtrack.net: Martin O'Donnell". SoundTrack.net. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  5. ^ "Marty's Biography at Bungie.net". Bungie.net. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  6. Bungie Studios. "Bungie Podcast Ep. 51". Microsoft. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  7. O'Donnell, Martin (1999-08-20). "Geek of the Week: Martin O'Donnell". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  8. KLind (2006-07-26). "Interview with the Master Chief". buttonbasher.com. Retrieved 2007-08-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "TotalAudio Questions & Answers". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  10. West, Joe (2007-06-12). "Halo 2 Vista Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  11. Vore, Bryan (2007-10-01). "Game Informer: Halo 3". Game Informer. Retrieved 2007-10-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. Games Press (2007-10-18). "London Show To Premiere All New Video Game Scores, And A Rare Chance To Meet The Makers". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2008-01-30.

External links

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