Chance Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1961 San Gabriel,California |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, author, entrepreneur |
| Website | www |
Chance Thomas is an Americancomposer,author, andentrepreneur. As a composer, he creates original music for animation, video games, movies, television, and virtual reality. His music has received critical acclaim and commercial success, including an Oscar, an Emmy, and billions of dollars in sales worldwide.[1][2]
Chance is best known for scoring video games likeDOTA 2,The Lord of the Rings Online andJames Cameron’s Avatar.[3] He also scored Columbia Pictures’The ChubbChubbs!, which won anAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and the TV filmLost Treasure Hunt, which was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards.[4]
Chance is the author of the university textbookComposing Music for Games: The Art, Technology and Business of Video Game Scoring. The book was released in 2016 byCRC Press, a Taylor and Francis Publishing imprint.[5] As an entrepreneur, Chance founded "HUGEST" sound in 1998 and sold it in 2016 to a large and diversified entertainment conglomerate, R Legacy Entertainment. He now serves as VP of Music and Creative Development for HUGEsound Post Production.[6]
His projects have won major awards, including anOscar,Emmy,IGN, Telly,Aurora and several G.A.N.G. awards. He is considered the father of game musicGrammy eligibility and was honored in 2013 with the Game Audio Network Guild's Recognition Award.[7]
Throughout high school, Thomas formed and played inprogressive rock bands until he was called to serve amission in northern Italy for theLDS Church. When he returned home in 1982, he met his bride-to-be, Pamela, at a single's ward family home evening.[8] Thomas worked atUPS, putting his music on hold while pursuing a business degree atCentral Oklahoma State University. While in rehab due to a torn shoulder, a friend informed him of a job as an entertainer at a pizza restaurant. Thomas got the job, which paid more than UPS.[8] After two and a half years in Oklahoma, he received a transfer scholarship to finish his business degree atBrigham Young University in Utah. Shortly after his transfer, he switched his scholarship to the music school and eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in music.[8]
Chance Thomas began his professional career as a performer, singing and playing piano as well as keyboard at ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains and on cruise ships in the Caribbean.[9] In 1991, he opened a small music production company and studio inSalt Lake City,Utah, calledbyChance Productions and began creating music for ad agencies and corporate clients. He made several orchestral scores for public service announcements produced by non-profits likeThe Salvation Army,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, andThe United Way.[10]
He emerged into the video game industry in 1996. At the time,Sierra Online was looking for a full-time composer, and Chance moved back to California to take the job. This opportunity allowed him to write music forQuest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, creating one of the first orchestral video game scores in history.[11] In the late 1990s, Chance led a successful movement which brought game music into the Grammy Awards. The Quest for Glory soundtrack was a factor in theAcademy creating three new categories — Best Score, Best Song and Best Soundtrack for Film, Television and Other Visual Media.[8]
Chance was also an innovator in video games. He led the design and implementation of one of the world's first successfuladaptive music systems based on digital audio streams (1997).[12] He also pioneered new techniques for composing game music, including ambient set matrices (1996) and interactive scoring maps (2001).[5] When Sierra Online closed the doors of its California studio in 1998, Chance opened HUGEsound, located just outsideYosemite National Park. Projects scored during that time included the Oscar-winning film,The ChubbChubbs!, and games likePeter Jackson’s King Kong,Marvel Ultimate Alliance, andLord of the Rings Online.
In 2007, Chance relocated HUGEsound to Utah and continued to compose for high-profile game titles likeAvatar: the Game,Heroes of Might and Magic, andDOTA 2.
Chance Thomas'Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) scores are among his most acclaimed and documented work so far. He based the instrumental palettes, vocal ranges, stylistic tendencies and emotional conjuring of many pieces on direct references/inferences scattered throughout the text.[13] On June 16, 2017, Thomas released The Lord of the Rings Online: 10th Anniversary Commemorative Soundtrack through HUGEsound Records. The album contains tracks from 2007 to 2017.
In 1998, Chance launched HUGEsound inOakhurst, California as a full-service audio development company to service clients in film and gaming. HUGEsound providedsound design,foley, original music scoring and song production forThe ChubbChubbs!, among other projects, for nearly 20 years. In September 2016, Chance sold HUGEsound toR Legacy Entertainment, a privately held umbrella corporation containing a diversified portfolio of entertainment companies inNashville,Los Angeles, andSalt Lake City.[6]
In February 2017, HUGEsound Post Production was opened as a 16,000 square foot recording and production facility. It offered a variety of post-production services in picture, music, and sound.[6]
Chance has served in volunteer capacities for community councils, universities, churches, food banks and industry organizations throughout his career. In 1994, he launched the annual Wasatch Front Frozen Turkey Hunt for the Utah Food Bank. In 1998, he helped organize the Music and Sound award review committees for theAcademy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and led those committees for 2 years.[14] In 2002, he helped found theGame Audio Network Guild and served on its board of directors for 15 years.[15] In 2007, he joined the Advisory Board for theGame Developers Conference (GDC).[16] He has served on Advisory Boards for theMusicians Institute,Brigham Young University andFull Sail University.
Chance speaks regularly at universities, colleges and professional conferences on the art, craft, tech, and business of music scoring.[17][18] He has spoken at theUniversity of Southern California,University of Michigan,San Francisco Conservatory of Music,Cincinnati Conservatory of Music,Oklahoma City University,Berklee College of Music,Full Sail University,Musicians Institute, VRDC, FMX Animation Conference,GameSoundCon and theGame Developers Conference, among many others.[19] Chance won the Ace of Spades Award from GDC in 2010, given to the speaker with the highest rated talk of the entire conference.[20]
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In 2016 CRC Press released Chance's textbook,Composing Music for Games: The Art, Technology and Business of Video Game Scoring. The text is a guidebook for launching and maintaining a career as a video game composer. The book includes sections about scoring principles, specific styles for video game music, and several project assignments and simulations.[5]
The lists below show some of Thomas' most notable work in various scoring categories:
| Year | Title | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Bachelorette | ABC |
| 2006 | Hometown Heroes | PBS |
| 2009 | Pawn Stars | History Channel Lifetime |
| 2010 | Swamp Men | National Geographic Wild |
| 2013 | Nathan For You | Hulu |
| 2014 | Lost Treasure Hunt | American Public Television |
| Year | Title | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Rigoletto | Feature Films For Families |
| 2002 | The ChubbChubbs! | Columbia Pictures |
| 2007 | Inspire: The Chicago Spire Art Film | Imageworks |
| 2013 | The Life Of Christ | LDS Films |
| 2016 | Driven In Detroit | LDS Films |
| 2013 | The Reason Behind Christmas | LDS Films |
| 2017 | Tales of a Time Traveler | Evans and Sutherland |
| Year | Title | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Curse Of The Serpent's Eye | The VOID |
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| International | |
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