A celebration of the talent and legacy of important VFX projects with the creators who made them happen.
Jason Hayes is a composer and audio director who made his debut in the gaming industry with Sierra Online before making the jump to Blizzard Entertainment when the company was still in the early days of growth.
Over the course of this conversation, we explore Jason's early career, including his time developing the music, sound - and even some voice work - on some of Blizzard's biggest titles including StarCraft, Diablo II and, of course, World of Warcraft.
SPEAKER
Jason Hayes
Composer & Audio Director
A multiple award-winning composer, Jason Hayes is well known for his long-standing relationship with Blizzard Entertainment, contributing music to their games set in the popular worlds of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. He was the lead composer of the original release of World of Warcraft, the most successful online game in the world.
Jason's music has been performed by symphony orchestras all over the world in various concerts including the show "Video Games Live", which debuted at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic, and continues to tour internationally. He's also been a featured speaker for UCLA, USC, the Film Music Network, ASCAP, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Game Developers Conference, and the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program.
He is the co-founder of Critical Hit, a symphonic rock band performing electrifying live concerts of music from the most celebrated video games of all time. The band features musicians who record for top-grossing video games, movies, and TV shows and perform live at The Emmys, Cirque Du Soleil, American Idol, symphony orchestras worldwide, and more.
MODERATOR
Marina Antunes
Festival Director, Film Critic, Podcaster // Spark CG Society
Marina joined the Spark Computer Graphics Society as Festival Director in 2014. Throughout her tenure, the festival has grown into Western Canada’s premiere animation festival, featuring a number of specialty programming including the “Made in Canada” program celebrating Canadian creators, “Mother of a Medium” featuring works from female filmmakers, and “Spotlight on France” which celebrates the best of French animation. In 2019, the SPARK ANIMATION FESTIVAL became Academy Award ® accredited, the only festival in British Columbia to hold that distinction.
Marina is also a writer and podcaster with over 15 years of experience, first on a personal blog followed by a decade-long tenure on the now-retired Row Three. In 2008 she joined the writing staff at Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014, a role she still holds. Over the years, she has also produced and hosted a number of podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, bi-monthly film podcast with nearly 300 episodes.
Marina is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Visual Effects Society is the President of the Vancouver SIGGRAPH chapter, and has served on juries for several film festivals including the DOXA, St. Louis International Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival.
A celebration of the talent and legacy of important VFX projects with the creators who made them happen.
Jason Hayes is a composer and audio director who made his debut in the gaming industry with Sierra Online before making the jump to Blizzard Entertainment when the company was still in the early days of growth.
Over the course of this conversation, we explore Jason's early career, including his time developing the music, sound - and even some voice work - on some of Blizzard's biggest titles including StarCraft, Diablo II and, of course, World of Warcraft.
SPEAKER
Jason Hayes
Composer & Audio Director
A multiple award-winning composer, Jason Hayes is well known for his long-standing relationship with Blizzard Entertainment, contributing music to their games set in the popular worlds of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. He was the lead composer of the original release of World of Warcraft, the most successful online game in the world.
Jason's music has been performed by symphony orchestras all over the world in various concerts including the show "Video Games Live", which debuted at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic, and continues to tour internationally. He's also been a featured speaker for UCLA, USC, the Film Music Network, ASCAP, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Game Developers Conference, and the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program.
He is the co-founder of Critical Hit, a symphonic rock band performing electrifying live concerts of music from the most celebrated video games of all time. The band features musicians who record for top-grossing video games, movies, and TV shows and perform live at The Emmys, Cirque Du Soleil, American Idol, symphony orchestras worldwide, and more.
MODERATOR
Marina Antunes
Festival Director, Film Critic, Podcaster // Spark CG Society
Marina joined the Spark Computer Graphics Society as Festival Director in 2014. Throughout her tenure, the festival has grown into Western Canada’s premiere animation festival, featuring a number of specialty programming including the “Made in Canada” program celebrating Canadian creators, “Mother of a Medium” featuring works from female filmmakers, and “Spotlight on France” which celebrates the best of French animation. In 2019, the SPARK ANIMATION FESTIVAL became Academy Award ® accredited, the only festival in British Columbia to hold that distinction.
Marina is also a writer and podcaster with over 15 years of experience, first on a personal blog followed by a decade-long tenure on the now-retired Row Three. In 2008 she joined the writing staff at Quiet Earth, becoming Editor-In-Chief in 2014, a role she still holds. Over the years, she has also produced and hosted a number of podcasts including Before the Dawn, a long-running podcast on the Twilight franchise, Girls on Pop, a podcast on film and popular entertainment from women’s perspective and After the Credits, bi-monthly film podcast with nearly 300 episodes.
Marina is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Visual Effects Society is the President of the Vancouver SIGGRAPH chapter, and has served on juries for several film festivals including the DOXA, St. Louis International Film Festival, and the Whistler Film Festival.
