The legend of Vox Machina continues to build an impressive group of animation talents to bring the world of Critical_ to life. Earlier this week, Critico_ announced that Neal Arcee had joined his lively the legend of Vox Machina Series as the composer of the series. Arcee is an award-winning musician with more than 25 years of experience and secured the place of him as the legend of Vox Machina composer when composing an orchestral version of Critical-musical theme and then having a complete orchestra actually interpreting it. For more information about Arcee’s role with The legend of Vox Machina and the unique challenges that the program brings, Comicbook.com sat with Arcee through an interview:
comicbook.com: How long have you been a fan of Critical Role? Do you have a favorite character in Vox Machina?
Neal Arcee: I think I started looking in mid-2017, but it has only grown from there. He had worked so much indirectly as in a case directly with cast members in videogame projects and had been a fan of them as actors of dubbing for years. But Critical Role is something completely different. One of the most outstanding aspects of recent years was (before the pandemic) sit in the studio and see how a live episode was made. There is magic in that room.
Vox Machina Favorite Character? That is difficult, since everyone is fascinating and endearing in their own way. And I approach this as a fan of the program and as a composer to dance with their performances on the screen. It is very fun to write music for Grog, both from the perspective of comedy and for rude and furious. I love the grace and emotional depth of Vax and Liam contributes a lot to the game and paper. I love them all, but if I had to choose one, Scanlan would probably say. Both by being a musician and by the fact that Sam is nothing less than a comic genius.
As mentioned in the video of The Legend of the Legend of Vox Machina that announces its participation in the series, you provided a sample of a complete orchestra by making an interpretation of the Critical Role theme when they were considering composers. I have to ask: How long did he lead to composing all the parts for a complete orchestra and then organize the recording of the piece?
Arcee: It probably took a couple of weeks from start to finish. It is not a long piece, but from writing to orchestration, recording, edition and mixing, there are many opportunities to get lost in the process, especially something that wanted it to be as perfect as possible. It may seem like a striking movement record an orchestra for a demonstration, but for me it was about capturing the detail and energy that real musicians provide. I always felt that the orchestra should be a large part of the show and that idea is much easier to convey with something you do not have to imagine.
You have a long history of composing everything from long-term videogame franchises to extremely popular science fiction programs. What kind of challenges does this project have that you have not faced before?
Arcee: Things that make the show so great are also among the things that make it challenging as a composer, but I love good challenges. There is a lot of content in each episode, from comedy to action, suspense and terror, sometimes everything in the same scene! Browse that and find a cohesive thread that links everything is always a very fine line. In addition to that, there is live orchestra in each episode, a lot of music to write, record and mix and everything has to be done in a fast-paced television schedule.
You mentioned that you took from a variety of different genres and musical styles when creating topics for different characters and places. Since Rol critical is a very fantasy-oriented program, how does the epic scores balances the Fantasy Series with the modern sensitivity of the program?
You know, even before you start writing, I had many preconceived ideas about what she wanted the score to be. He wanted him to capture the emotion he felt when he saw the cartoons on Saturday morning when he was a child, but without ringing retro. He wanted to incorporate many interesting global instruments to give him a feeling of time and place, but I also felt that the scope of history deserved a broad orchestral score. I wanted to challenge the conventions of gender but in the most organic way possible. I did not want to throw modern elements just for trying to be modern.
But despite all my planning when I finally sat down to start writing, the program really took its own life. Everything was there on the screen and it was just a matter of finding what resonated with that. There were sometimes I sent them something to Sam and Travis and said Is this too strange? The answer was always no and I love having the freedom to experience and overcome the limits that way.
Among the songs of Sam and Peter Habib and some of my own, we were able to take the music to really unexpected places.
Is there a particular musical piece of the series that is most excited than fans listen?
Another difficult question! There are so many small musical Easter eggs that I am looking forward to see if people catch them. The beauty of television is that you can develop ideas for long periods of time and join moments in a much greater space than in a movie. I can not be too specific, but I will say there are moments related to the briarwoods and with percy that I am really proud.
How excited the fans should be for the first season of The Legend of Vox Machina?
I am sure that there are many people who are already close to the spontaneous combustion point at this point, but the truth is that it really is a really good spectacle. Whether it’s a fan of a long time or someone who is completely fresh, is the real business. One of the best things I have worked on.
The Legend of Vox Machina will be transmitted on Amazon Prime. A launch date has not been announced for the series, but the promotions of the program say that it will arrive soon. Amazon has already renewed The Legend of Vox Machina for a second season.