Last year, Kuching-born LA-based music mixer, recording engineer, and music producer Alvin Wee made headlines for winning Hollywood’s Cinema Audio Society Award (CAS) as Scoring Mixer for Disney’s Encanto soundtrack.
Yes, it was big news here that Wee, a Malaysian, had worked on the multi-award-winning movie soundtrack, for which he later even earned a prized Grammy for his work on the score.
In May this year, the 35-year-old was given the BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2023’s GameChanger title, highlighting Malaysians who have made their mark in the international arena with their artistic vision and excellence.
“It’s such an honour!” he said in an interview from Kuching, where he’s currently on his summer break.
Indeed, there is little doubt that the Nusantara Institute of Information Technology/Berklee College of Music grad has been making his presence very much felt in Hollywood for some time now.
His portfolio continues to grow grander by the year as he works on high-profile films such as Mulan (2020), No Time To Die (2021) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
More recently, he finished music mixing for fellow Malaysian Adele Lim’s directorial debut, Joyride and Marvel Studio’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. He’s also worked on Netflix’s Wanna Dance With Somebody, Mr Harrigan’s Phone, Devotion and The Mother.
But you might be wondering why you’re reading about Wee in the tech pages ... Well, aside from film and television, this mixer extraordinaire has also done music mixing for video games, including Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Kingdom Hearts 2.5, Resident Evil XII, PUBG Mobile X Arcane Collaboration, Kena: Bridge Of Spirits and Uncharted: A Thief’s End – and it’s something he enjoys very much.
“Games are so much more interactive. My friends and I, those of us in sound effects, love to use music and sound to inform and build worlds to make a player feel a lot more immersed in the game world.
“It also helps to have audio clues in video games. It’s another way to add fun and interactivity,” Wee said.
According to Wee, the approach is slightly different when it comes to mixing linear media such as film and TV, and games.
“In linear media, the actions on screen aren’t affected by the audience. This gives me more room to be very intentional with my work. In video games, however, I have to mix for a wider scope and account for different things.”
Wee said that his work is primarily in music mixing, whether it’s for films or games. In fact, on his site (alvinweemusic.com), he introduces himself thus: “I produce, I mix, and I play guitar. I love mixing – whether it be songs, film scores, guacamole, virtual reality (VR) or cookie dough.”
As a mixer, Wee said his job is to take what the composer gives him and make sure it’s well presented.
“It’s like being a chef,” he said in a previous interview. “The composer creates something, and then it’s my responsibility to take all the ingredients and put them together and make sure they are well presented. My job is to capture, edit, format, present.”
Often, people mistake what Wee does for a living.
“Making ‘sound’ for games is a completely separate thing. A lot of times the terminology gets blurred and people think I create the laser and jet engine sounds for what you see on screen.
“I have friends who work really hard and love that job a lot, but I’m the farthest away from being qualified to do that and I do respect what they do!” he said, adding that there are plenty of audio or sound programs that can help one position themselves for these sorts of roles in the gaming industry, depending on where one’s interests lie.
The people in sound for video games are called sound designers or foley artists.
Foley artists create sounds like ‘shirt ruffles’, body sounds and footsteps. Sound designers, on the other hand, create synthetic sounds.
“Some of the best examples of these are the sounds of Transformers changing from cars to robots or the swoosh of the lightsaber ... really cool sounds that are created from nowhere!” Wee said.
Another achievement under his belt is music mixing for VR. In 2018, he worked on Buddy VR, which won Best Virtual Reality and VR Immersive User Experience at the Venice Film Festival.
“The VR world is a fascinating one but also more challenging because of the audio formats it uses. There are some technical challenges in implementing audio for VR that are slightly different than just straightforward video games.
“I’d say since I do it less often, I may sometimes not be as on track with the new standard,” he said, adding that he’s done a couple more VR projects since Buddy VR but has yet to hear of release dates.
While he used to game a lot more in his schooling life – “between seven and 14 when I was into various games like Pokemon, Starcraft, Tetris and Tekken”, Wee said he is more of a casual gamer these days.
His gaming experiences have, nevertheless, come in handy.
“The gaming industry is, after all, forged and grown by gamers and fans of the games they grew up with. While it’s not necessary for one to be a gamer to be in this industry, this doesn’t mean it doesn’t help. Tonnes of my friends got into the industry because they loved gaming.”
His personal favourite game soundtracks include Metal Gear Solid II, Mario Bros, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. As for highlights of working on game soundtracks, Wee cites Final Fantasy XIII.
“It was my first AAA-title game. What a memory with fellow Malaysian mixer/audio engineer and game composer Falk Au-Yeong, who I got to work with on that.
“And a shoutout to my buddy Shota Nakama, the video game music producer who gave me that first opportunity and then many more adventures after,” Wee said, adding that he just sort of fell into mixing for games a long time ago when he was in school and helped a friend on a school project.
“The next thing I knew, he called me out of the blue to help him mix this game.”
As a Malaysian, did he feel that it was challenging to gain entry and find a footing as a music engineer on the international scene? Wee said that these days there are so many ways of building a global audience.
“I don’t think where you come from is as much of a challenge as before. A large part of what you need to do is build a presence online.
“Also, travelling and meeting people are huge in terms of getting your presence known in the industry. It’s a long process and the more people you have in your court, the higher the chances of you getting thought of for a project.
“A big part of my mission is to afford the opportunity for new, upcoming musicians, engineers, and producers from Malaysia to come shadow me at my studio in Los Angeles.
“What I share with people who want to forge their own way in the industry is that they need to make well-informed decisions and be as tenacious as the next person without letting all the negative things weigh them down.
“It’s easy to feel discouraged, but what I’ve been able to do is just recognise that there are always challenges in everything, so I just have to build on my strengths.”
Home is where the game is
Closer to home, Duncan Soo, 29, from Petaling Jaya, Selangor, has been working as a sound designer for local indie game development company Cellar Vault Games.
“My day job during the week is to record, edit/design and implement sound effects and music into games. But I also do sound design for films on the weekends.
“This encompasses the editorial of dialogue, backgrounds and sound effects. I’m also tasked with marrying all the sound elements together and providing a final mix. But this only happens in lower-budget or short-form films.”
With Cellar Vault Games, Soo is currently working on Third Eye Open (TEO), a horror-coming-of-age story about a girl called Ting who has the power to see spirits.
“Together with a ghost friend, Xiu, they both embark on a journey to figure out whether Ting’s powers are a gift or a curse,” he said, adding that he finds working on games rewarding, especially within Malaysia, as we have many unique local stories to tell and it allows him to record local sounds. “Think of our paper lama truck or the Asian Koel that wakes us up in the morning.”
Equipped with both a music production degree from Full Sail University (Florida, United States) and a law degree from Cardiff University, how exactly did Soo end up working in game development?
“I met Eshan Jayatilaka, one of the founders of Cellar Vault Games, at Level Up KL (an annual platform for players in the industry to interact, learn and share knowledge) before the pandemic,” he said.
“At the time, they were still developing a shorter-form version of TEO, and I told him I really liked where the game was going. It was based in Malaysia during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
“We don’t get many local stories in games, so I told them then that if they were doing any sequels or other games that were locally based, I was down for the job. And soon after, I was brought on board.”
While he was more inclined towards music and composition in high school, Soo was exposed to other avenues of audio production while at Full Sail University.
“I was introduced to sound editorial and sound design, as well as the recording of other things like dialogue, SFX and ambiences. It was something I had not explored yet, and I found it interesting. In fact, I find it therapeutic because there is a workflow to it rather than creating music from scratch and then going back and forth with your clients for their approval.”
Soo made the decision to return to Malaysia after graduation because he wanted to be close to his family as well as be part of growing the local scene together with like-minded Malaysians.
“I didn’t want to feel alienated by the time I got back home. It would have felt very lonely to spearhead something overseas and then bring it back home. Why not just come home and grow together?”
Even though the game dev industry is still rather young in Malaysia, he said the outlook is good.
“We have studios like Passion Republic and Lemon Sky Studios that have worked on AAA game titles and blockbuster films.
“And we also have homegrown titles like Rhythm Doctor by 7th Beat Games, Metronomik’s No Straight Roads, and Passion Republic’s Gigabash.”
However, for game audio, there aren’t many published openings asking for music composers or sound designers to apply.
Soo said: “Sure, there might be an occasional Facebook posting looking for one, but it’s more like we let the community know that we do game audio and then people will then know that we can provide music or sound design services for their games.
“For example, the game studio I’m with right now didn’t need an audio person at the time I reached out to them, but I kept the connection alive and when they needed me down the line, I was available to work.
“So I’d say there are opportunities, but we need to do the groundwork.”
One of Soo’s pet peeves these days is the lack of work-life balance in the industry.
“It pains me to see my fellow crewmates working 12 hours a day. I also feel strongly about fighting for better pay, or liveable wages, for the arts industry.
“While I absolutely enjoy my work, I don’t know if I can commit to this career all the way to retirement if these conditions remain the same.”
Since he has started working, Soo says that he has had little time to indulge in gaming.
“I find myself playing fewer games. It’s the same for people in film as well. They’re just so busy making films that they don’t actually watch them until it’s actually necessary as a point of reference rather than for enjoyment. Although I do fire up my Switch occasionally to play Triangle Strategy.”
What’s his favourite soundtrack? “Anything from the Grand Turismo series. It’s just a light jazz-fusion soundtrack. I studied music at Yamaha from Form 1 to 5, playing the electone. The repertoire they gave us was pretty much jazz fusion, and I guess it just reminds me of my childhood.”
LevelUp with Duncan Soo
Q: If someone is interested in pursuing a career in music for gaming, what would you say to them?
A: It would be an absolutely niche market to be in and we mostly find ourselves working on projects that use our skillset. You’d also find yourself working across different formats to keep yourself afloat.
One thing’s for certain: you’ll have to network and you can do that by participating in game jams. Game jams are where game developers come together to make a game within 24 to 48 hours. They are the best way to get to know fellow game developers. We game audio people seem to be a rare breed in game jams!
Level Up KL usually has them before its actual conferences so that it can showcase the games during the conference. IGDA organises frequent meetups through its Game Dev Hangout series.
You can follow it on Facebook (facebook.com/IGDAMalaysia) for updates.
Q: What kind of gaming equipment do you have at home?
A: A Windows laptop to run all my games and a Switch for on the go. I do have an Oculus Quest for when VR was picking up, but it seems like it didn’t catch on.
LevelUp with Alvin Wee
Q: What advice would you give to a budding music mixer who wants to get into the gaming business?
A: Keep an open mind and have a lot of fun. Make good friends and stay hungry.
Q: What kind of gaming equipment do you have at home?
A: I had a PlayStation 4 to help me through 2020–22. I recently picked up a Nintendo Switch for my last birthday.
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