For the fifth edition of its Screen Music Lab, SOCAN Foundation is teaming up with UBISOFT to present a bran- new event dedicated to videogame music, to be held in Montréal from Nov. 20-22, 2024.
Eight composers, teamed in pairs, will be tasked with creating new music over images of an existing UBISOFT-produced videogame. The process of their music-making will follow very strict criteria, such as a judicious and limited choice of instruments; time constraints; and portraying an emotional intention linked to the narrative. Over the course of a few days, the selected composers will be guided and supported by Simon Landry, musical supervisor at UBISOFT, and they will have access to the expertise of several mentors from the studio. Once again, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) and the Société professionnelle des auteurs, compositeurs du Québec et des artistes entrepreneurs (SPACQ-AE) will host a networking event for the participants.
The final compositions, each around five minutes long, will be presented during the closing event at Ubisoft on Nov. 22, to an audience that includes music and videogame industry professionals. Prior to that event will be a panel discussion on the career development of videogame composers with Simon Landry, composer Luc Saint-Pierre, and Milk & Bone’s Camille Poliquin and Laurence Lafond-Beaulne, moderated by SOCAN’s Sara Dendane.
The aim of this edition of the Lab is to facilitate the development of artistic and professional skills, so that composers and aspiring composers of videogame music can build prosperous careers. It’s an opportunity for the eight selected composers to find themselves working under real-world conditions, and to gain valuable professional experience – the kind that will prove useful in their careers.
Applications – which will be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals – are currently being accepted via the SOCAN Foundation website, until 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 11, 2024.