James Hannigan (born 1971) is an award-winning
British film,
television and
video game composer who has composed music for various entries in the
Harry Potter,
The Lord of the Rings,
Command & Conquer,
Wing Commander,
Warhammer and
Grand Prix series' of games.
Career
Notable early game credits of Hannigan include
Sim Theme Park ,
Space Hulk, , and
FreeLancer, and he has created and remixed tracks for numerous titles on the
EA Sports label, along with creating scores for the BAFTA-nominated titles
Evil Genius and . Hannigan also composes for television, most recently contributing to
BBC America sci-fi TV series
Primeval. Some of his recent VG credits include
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, and .
In the earlier stages of his career, between 1995 and 1997, James Hannigan held the position of in-house composer at Electronic Arts, before he based himself at the world-famous Pinewood Studios complex in West London, forming a working relationship with Richard Joseph which would continue for a number of years. The pair worked together on the sound and music for titles such as EA's Theme Park World and Theme Park Inc, along with Elixir Studios' Evil Genius and . An accomplished sound designer, Hannigan has also worked on films such as Lost in Space.
Awards
Hannigan's music scores have been nominated five times by the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and he won a BAFTA Award with Electronic Arts in 2000 for
Sim Theme Park (UK title: Theme Park World). In 2010 his score for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince received a BAFTA nomination and won an International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) award.
Public and media appearances
A regular on industry panels at events such as Games Meet Film, James Hannigan is a regular
radio interviewee and has been interviewed by the
BBC a number of times on shows such as
Radio 4's Front Row and Click On, and has been profiled in
Develop Magazine, Audiomedia, Resolution,
Post Magazine, Music Sound and the Moving Image (MSMI) and other publications. In 2010 Hannigan was featured in Tom Hoover's book 'Soundtrack Nation: Interviews with Today's Top Professionals in Film, Videogame, and Television Scoring'.
Written publications
In 2004, Hannigan wrote "Changing Our Tune", a seminal cover article for the UK's
Develop magazine, outlining some of the differences between scoring for games and conventional linear media forms such as film and television. Drawing on his experience as a composer and arranger in different industries Hannigan argued that, due to players being both audience to and participants in games it is increasingly difficult categorising music and sound as either diegetic or non-diegetic as understood by the conventions of the film viewing experience. The player, often a character existing inside the gameworld, is able to hear music and sound normally only reserved for a passive audience, completely inaudible to characters in the story world of a film, for example, and this raises philosophical questions as to the essential function of such content in games. Hannigan argues that, ultimately, for sound and music to best support and enhance the games playing experience, the games industry should cease to rely on the film model in forming the soundtrack of games and attempt to bring sound and music closer together in function. In an interview for the BBC's Front Row radio programme, to highlight one of the philosophical conundrums of scoring music for games, Hannigan cited the hypothetical example of James Bond's theme being utilised in a James Bond game, suggesting that if the player is being expected to assume the role of James Bond, should it follow that the James Bond theme ought to be audible to James Bond himself? Hannigan appears to concede that the use of such a theme can be effective but calls upon the games industry to recognise the gamer's dual role of audience and participant in games.
In an interview with the Independent newspaper James Hannigan is quoted as having said he believes music production for games has become as sophisticated as music for film
Public performances
In 2007, a collage of Hannigan's music entitled Welcome to Hogwarts was added to
Video Games Live debuting in London at the Royal Festival Hall on October 22, 2007, and featuring the Philharmonia orchestra.
James Hannigan's popular 'Soviet March' theme from Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 was performed at 'A Night in Fantasia', by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Australia on September 26, 2009. The popular track can be heard on YouTube
On October 28, 2010, a concert of James Hannigan's music was held at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, England, before an audience of several hundred people. As part of the GameCity 2010 Festival, the concert featured The Pinewood Singers and soloists performing the theme of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1', pieces from Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, Evil Genius and other titles
Live recording
James Hannigan has worked with the
Philharmonia Orchestra, The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, The Slovak Symphony Orchestra and The Chamber Orchestra of London, recording at
Abbey Road Studios,
AIR Studios and
Skywalker Ranch. He has recorded renowned soloists such as Miriam Stockey,
Soname,
Tony Hinnigan and the Pinewood Singers for his projects. On his official website he is quoted as saying he is 'comfortable in the studio working with synths, processors and sample libraries' but is also an 'advocate for keeping music live whenever it's possible and appropriate to do so'.
Selected works
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (EA Bright Light Studio)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (EA Bright Light Studio)
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Electronic Arts)
Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (EA LA)
Primeval (Impossible Pictures/ITV; series 3)
Art Academy (Nintendo/Headstrong)
The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (Headstrong/Warner Bros.)
FreeLancer (Digital Anvil/Microsoft)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Electronic Arts/Warner Bros; BAFTA nomination, 2010)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Ubisoft/Sony Pictures)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (EA/Warner Bros. 'Best of 2007', IGN; 'Best VG Score', Movie Music UK Awards 2007).
Evil Genius (VU Games. BAFTA Nomination, Music, 2005)
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Uprising (EA LA)
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Commander's Challenge (EA LA)
Republic The Revolution (Eidos. BAFTA Nomination, Music, 2004)
Conquest: Frontier Wars (Digital Anvil/Ubisoft)
Warhammer: SotHR (Mindscape; Games Workshop)
Sim Theme Park* NASCAR Thunder 2004 (2003), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NASCAR Racing 2002 Season (2002), Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
NASCAR Thunder 2003 (2002), Electronic Arts, Inc.
F1 2000 (EA Sports)
F1 Manager (EA Sports)
FIFA 96, FIFA 98 (EA Sports)
Theme Park World (EA/Bullfrog; BAFTA Award, 2000)
Hasbro Family Game Night 3 (EA Bright Light)
Grand Prix 4 (Infogrames)
Brute Force (Digital Anvil/Microsoft. Co-composed with Jesper Kyd and Mike Reagan)
Catwoman (EA/Warner Bros.)
Reign of Fire (KUJU/BAM)
Mr. Bean (VG)
Lost In Space (Sound Design; New Line Cinema)
Theme Park Inc. (EA/Bullfrog)
Warhammer: Dark Omen (Electronic Arts; Sound Design)
Action Man (multiple titles; Hasbro/Intelligent Games)
Privateer: The Darkening (Electronic Arts, Origin Systems)
Sim Coaster (EA/Bullfrog)
FA Premier League Manager(EA Sports; BAFTA Nomination, 2000)
FIFA Soccer Manager (EA Sports)
Cutthroat Island (Software Creations)
''Short Cuts series (Chappell)
''Big Screen (West One Music)
''Distorted Reality (Chappell)
Jetix (various titles)
Flight of the Amazon Queen (Renegade)
Yamaha SuperCross
ATV Racing
Infestation (Frontier Developments)
MoHo (Lost Toys)
Ball Breakers
Beasts and Bumpkins (Electronic Arts)
Gummy Bears Crazy Golf (Beyond Reality Games)
Darklight Conflict (Electronic Arts; additional music)
Space Hulk (PSX, Electronic Arts/Games Workshop)
References
External links
James Hannigan official website
BBC Interview March 9th 2009
Radio Rivendell interview
Behind the music of The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest
BSOSpirit intervier
PlanetCnC Interview
Tracksounds Interview April 2010
BAFTA Games Awards 2010 Nominations for Original Score
Square Enix Music Online interview March 2010
IFMCA Award Winners 2010
Film Score Monthly interview
Gamespot Podcast interview March 2010
Edge Online interview March 2010
Games Meet Film event at Pinewood Studios
Official MySpace
"Harry Potter's Other Composer" - interview
IGN feature
Crispy Gamer feature on the music of Red Alert 3
Music4Games interview
"10 Great Video Game Albums" at IGN
Article on music in games by James Hannigan, Develop Cover Feature 2004
"Magic in the Air" IGN feature
IGN Best Game Scores of 2007
Movie Music UK Best Game Score of 2007
GSoundtracks interview
Best Soundtracks of 2004, Soundtrack.net
Audio Media magazine interview, "Let Us Play"
Guardian Online article
"Brief Encounter", Develop Magazine
"What's the Score" - BAFTA Magazine 2007
GSoundtracks interview
Resolution Magazine interview
Video on Harry Potter music
Red Alert 3 Battlecast Primetime Video Interview
Channel 4 Online article
Movie Music review of Ootp score
Game Zone, Evil Genius interview
Music4Games review the music of "Republic"
Mix Online article
Game Zone, Evil Genius interview
Music4Games, Soundtrack of the Month July 2007
Category:20th-century classical composers
Category:21st-century classical composers
Category:1971 births
Category:Living people
Category:Video game composers
Category:Harry Potter music