Click the music player (top left) to preview tracks from X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Austrian-born Paul Haslinger has secured a distinctive reputation for composing unique scores, which incorporate both robust classical elements and compelling electronica. Prior to his solo career scoring films and video games, he was a member of the band Tangerine Dream collaborating for several albums and programmer for Graeme Revell, supplying memorable textures and atmospheric style to Blow, The Negotiator, The Siege, Pitch Black, and Tomb Raider. Haslinger's solo film and TV credits include Sleeper Cell, Cheaters, Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush, Into The Blue, Minority Report (additional music), Underworld, Shoot Em Up, Crank, Vacancy, Death Race and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. In the world of video games he has composed the scores for Far Cry: Instincts, Rainbow Six: Vegas and their respective sequels. His recent game projects include EA's Need For Speed: Undercover and Activision's upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine Official Video Game. 

M4G recently caught up with Paul to discuss his score for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Scheduled for release in May 2009, the official video game coincides with the global debut of Twentieth Century Fox's release of its feature film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is also based on the famous Marvel character. From the award-winning studio Raven Software, the video game enlists players to experience the tormented origins of Wolverine, from his escape of the Weapon X facility to the jungles of Africa and beyond.

M4G: How did you get involved with the game? Did Activision’s Head of Audio Adam Levenson contact you? Did you have to pitch for the game?
Paul Haslinger: We were contacted about working on this game in late ‘07/early ’08, but didn’t actually start until the summer of 2008. There were several talks with Adam Levenson as well as the rest of the Activision crew (Brian Pass, Chris Palmisano, and Doug Grutzmatcher). Andy Bayless and Jeff Poffenbarger at Raven were also great to deal with and very heavily involved in the process.

M4G: When did you get involved during the game’s development?
Paul Haslinger: About halfway through. Compared to most games it would probably be considered early on, as they had more time to develop the game while production was halted on the movie, allowing them to spend a lot of time “getting it right”.

M4G: What attracted you to the game?
Paul Haslinger: The cool thing about this game was the enthusiasm Raven/Activision had for it. They really wanted to do something that had never been done with this character. That aspect alone is always something that draws you to a project. Wolverine has always been such a “cool”, legendary character. Who’d want to pass on the chance to really give him his due!

M4G: How do you keep a fresh approach for each new project you work on?
Paul Haslinger: You have to take the influences of the creators and put your own spin on it. This is almost always different from person to person, which makes it a lot easier to take a fresh approach and sometimes helps you discover things you may not have just going down your normal path. Of course this can also have the opposite effect if/when you don’t share any common ground with these influences. This was definitely NOT the case on this project. Everyone saw eye-to-eye on just about everything the music needed to be and do.

M4G: What was the music brief?
Paul Haslinger: Raven/Activision provided a very specific/detailed cuesheet for the project. Best we have seen. It, in detail, specified the type of music, length, location and characters…all without being wordy/convoluted. It allowed us to stay creative while being able to accurately hone in on exactly what they wanted, which was brutal, aggressive score supporting their goal.

M4G: What kinds of musical styles are featured in the score?
Paul Haslinger: Well you can imagine such an aggressive character needs an aggressive score. So we threw in all the stops…from hard-hitting industrial/electronica to epic orchestral with rock and metal influences. There are of course the dramatic bits that enhance the story, but we didn’t want to get too sappy ;)

M4G: Do you get to add your own identity to their music?
Paul Haslinger: The game had a musical identity separate from previous games/films, so in that sense I was able to add a lot of my own identity.

M4G: Did you liaise with Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams who is writing the movie’s score?
Paul Haslinger: Unfortunately, the 2 projects existed so separately in production planning/schedules, that this was unable to happen.

M4G: What materials did you have to work with for reference?
Paul Haslinger: Activision and Raven gave me a list of music they saw fitting for the game, including some of my previous work from Underworld, Death Race and Far Cry, along with other composers they had used for temp. They also mentioned several metal/hardcore bands they enjoyed listening to both personally and while working on the game. They wanted the score to have a bit of that edge.

M4G: How many different themes/locales/cinematics did you have to compose for?
Paul Haslinger: There was a decent amount of cinematics. Raven did some and the rest were done by Blur. There were also 6 different locations they wanted adaptive game play music for as well as boss fight specific music. Also, they gave us some fun stuff, like elevator/supermarket “muzak” pieces and 2 jukebox tracks that play during the Sabertooth boss fight. Go ahead, throw him into the jukebox and see what happens. ;)

M4G: What would you say were the biggest challenges?
Paul Haslinger: Living up to the characters potential and hopefully not disappointing the Wolverine fans. This was a common theme/challenge to all the people involved in this game and we hope it delivers!

M4G: Did you record live (if so, where)?
Paul Haslinger: The only recordings we did were in-house guitars and basses with assistant Chris Newlin and myself. The rest was conjured up in some form or fashion in my brain and on my writing setup
 
M4G: How long did it take you to compose the score?
Paul Haslinger: This project went from June/July 2008 right up to the end of the year, with a few breaks here and there. There was about a total of 3-4 months spent working on this score all said and done.

M4G: What do you think is the most unique aspect of the score for Wolverine?
Paul Haslinger: It’s embodiment of a character and the story of his life through many different journeys and encounters. I feel the music really reflects this and there is something unique about each part of the game. Whether it’s a different level or character, you can find something about the score that stands out. All while tying in to a central primal, explosive vibe that is Wolverine.

M4G: Which are your favorite tracks and why?
Paul Haslinger: The Sentinel Labs level came out really cool and the giant Sentinel Alpha fight was a blast to work on, if simply for the amazing visuals! Trying to find aggressive sounds to cut through great robot sound FX always produces interesting results…

For the Blob, we used a distorted bass guitar, re-amped with a wah pedal at the end of the chain to get this crazy sound that kind of became his “signature” whenever he shows up. Creating an effect that captured the duality of the character - heavy and clumsy, yet fast and destructive.

There is also one cinematic piece towards the end of the story (I won't give away anything) that was a standout for me, simply because it’s the one piece in the game that captured the emotional/tragic side, all while still having Wolverine’s “sound”. Maybe it’s just because it stops to take a breath!

M4G: Will there be a soundtrack album release?
Paul Haslinger: As of right now, there are no plans for a soundtrack release, but who knows what the future may hold.

M4G: What other game scores are you working on that you can mention?
Paul Haslinger: None “officially” at the moment, but there are a few cool possibilities in the works.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an epic action-adventure featuring a true-to-character Wolverine gameplay experience that takes gamers through and beyond the movie's storyline. Set in a variety of vivid real-world locales, the title challenges players to hone their animal instinct as they uncover hidden dangers, hunt and destroy enemies, and take on seemingly insurmountable situations while discovering the truth about Wolverine's tragic past. With razor-sharp adamantium claws unsheathed, the future X-Man enacts lightning-quick combat, evasive maneuvers, in-depth combo attacks, and an array of brutal finishing moves. Wolverine doesn't just deliver massive damage, either - he also takes it, thanks to his mutant regenerative power that heals him in real time right before the player's eyes.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Official Video Game Website:
www.uncaged.com