Martin ODonnell

Nathan Swartz

The reason I chose this composer was because of my love for video games. The first
action game I played was Halo Combat Evolved and I loved the space age theme of the
game and the sound track. The sound track is what would really bring me into the game.
This trend continues to this day with Halo, other games have tried to recreate that same feel
but without an awesome score they fall short.

The composer of the scores is Martin ODonnell, Martin was born May 1, 1955 and
had normal upbringing. His mother was a piano teacher and taught Martin how to play,
this could be one of the reasons he liked a more classical setting of music. He studied
classical components of music and composition at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music
from 1973-1977. He transferred to the University of Southern California in 1980 where he
later received a Masters Degree in Composition in 1982.

His plan was to teach at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Shortly after
moving to Chicago his plan fell through when he wasnt hired. He was then invited by
Michael Salvatori to work on different projects. The two later started Total Audio doing small
projects when they could the notable work was the Flintstone vitamins jingle and other radio
station scores.

In late 1993s Martin was invited to make the music for Myst The fallen lords
(strategy game made by Bungie that released in 1997). After the success bungie presented
the offer to continue to make the music for their upcoming games. During the recording for
Septerra Core the Total Audio studio caught fire and was mostly destroyed, afterward he was
hoisted through a wall to try and recover over 20 hours of recording work. After this event
was finished and the music for Myth II finished, Bungie offered a full contract to Martin.

Not 10 days after Martin being hired by Bungie, they were bought out by Microsoft for
the task of making a new FPS title Halo for the upcoming Xbox. Martin was tasked with
making something big for the E3 2000 convention. He made the decision to go with a
classical touch. He thought to have a signature opening he wanted to use a Gregorian Chant
in combination with the classical style theme. And this made the distinguishable sound of
Halo. This score later earned the Best Video Game Soundtrack from Rolling Stone

In each Halo title to date there was been a special rendition to the main theme. The
first game has the sound of an old but futuristic setting. This was perfect for the new title
and defined it from others. Halo 2 the follow up to Combat evolved was the action-packed
Hollywood thriller of the series and thus needed a score to match. Martin saw the need for a
different lead sound, and he choose to have a guitar to bring that action feel to life. Halo 3
was the somber end of the trilogy and thus needed a very emotional moving score, martin
used Piano solos and small accompaniments to bring out a personal flare to the third game.

Shortly after the success of Halo 3 bungie wanted to work on an indirect sequel to
the game, this became Halo 3 ODST. The setting for the game was a dark and lonely one
where you the amateur is separated from the team and need to catch up with them. The city
is a large one located South Africa, Martin took cultural beats and rhythms from the area
and mixed them with the classic score. And to go with the lonely setting more blues came
through in the sections where isolated, further feeding the vibe that you were all alone.

The last halo game that Martin worked on was Halo Reach, the prequel to Halo
Combat Evolved. In the game, you know that Reach was destroyed and little survived. The
score in the beginning is very lively but you can pick on small notes that are off, making the
keep listener question what that beat was for. The score slowly becomes more repressed
and somber as the story continues. It leaves with the sound of hope from utter despair as
the story draws to an end. Martin executed this score perfectly as you are drawn in by the
emotion that the music presents.

The next and last large project that martin worked on was Destiny. Martin spent a few
years working on the main score for the game with other composers. Before the E3 2014
the team was working on the trailer that was going to be presented. While working on the
project Martin contract was terminated by bungie and all wages withheld for the project.
Martin Filed a lawsuit and won. He received his wages around $96,000 and additional pay
that he was to receive $150,000. A large some of bungies stock was also given to Martin to
compensate for the success of game.