Biography
In 2018 I literally wrote the book on audio production for VR, AR and 360 video. The first ever on this subject. Why did I write this book?
Over the last few years I have been engaged by the Facebook Spatial Audio team to explain and explore spatial audio to users around the world, to ensure these new reality experiences are achieving their potential to touch audiences. Before that I worked for Magic Leap, helping design how the Magic Leap One device would present audio and how developers could best create spatial audio content for bleeding edge AR devices.
Simultaneous to all of this, I was creating audio content for free roaming VR experiences, military simulation and traditional VR platforms. This all stemmed from when I was asked to create the first spatial audio environment for the original Oculus Rift Tusconi demo.
My love and passion for audio production covers a range of skill-sets. In 2008, ten years of interest in location recording culminated in the release of my first commercial sound library. I now have a catalogue of boutique sound libraries used by the biggest media companies on the planet. Disney, Skywalker Sound, Warner Brothers, Activision and EA all utilise my SFX as part of their productions.
In nearly twenty years of audio production I have created content for every available game platform, worked with some of the most talented people in the industry and had the privalidge to create content for incredible franchises. Composing live orchestral scores for Jurassic Park and Polar Express games, creating sound design for Star Trek, Spongebob Squarepants and Starship Troopers games and working with voice talent such as John Demagio, Danny Glover and other top level talent.
I have received incredible support from those around me in this industry, who are, in my opinion, some of the most wonderful people you can find anywhere. As such it is so easy to return that support to the industry at large. I speak regularly at major conferences such as GDC and AES. I am the current Chairperson for the Game Audio Network Guild advisory board, and I was recently asked to join the Technical Specifications group for spatial audio for the Audio Engineers Society. I gain as much from the education and mentoring roles I undertake as those that I am teaching.
It is easy to have passion for what you do when you work with so many incredibly talented and dedicated folk.
Stephan was born in Guildford, England and moved to Australia as a child. He studied at both the Victorian College of the Arts and LaTrobe University, before spending five years in the Australian Army Band Melbourne as a horn player. He may also be one of the few people in the industry who likes BioShock 2 more than the original.
In 2018 I literally wrote the book on audio production for VR, AR and 360 video. The first ever on this subject. Why did I write this book?
Over the last few years I have been engaged by the Facebook Spatial Audio team to explain and explore spatial audio to users around the world, to ensure these new reality experiences are achieving their potential to touch audiences. Before that I worked for Magic Leap, helping design how the Magic Leap One device would present audio and how developers could best create spatial audio content for bleeding edge AR devices.
Simultaneous to all of this, I was creating audio content for free roaming VR experiences, military simulation and traditional VR platforms. This all stemmed from when I was asked to create the first spatial audio environment for the original Oculus Rift Tusconi demo.
My love and passion for audio production covers a range of skill-sets. In 2008, ten years of interest in location recording culminated in the release of my first commercial sound library. I now have a catalogue of boutique sound libraries used by the biggest media companies on the planet. Disney, Skywalker Sound, Warner Brothers, Activision and EA all utilise my SFX as part of their productions.
In nearly twenty years of audio production I have created content for every available game platform, worked with some of the most talented people in the industry and had the privalidge to create content for incredible franchises. Composing live orchestral scores for Jurassic Park and Polar Express games, creating sound design for Star Trek, Spongebob Squarepants and Starship Troopers games and working with voice talent such as John Demagio, Danny Glover and other top level talent.
I have received incredible support from those around me in this industry, who are, in my opinion, some of the most wonderful people you can find anywhere. As such it is so easy to return that support to the industry at large. I speak regularly at major conferences such as GDC and AES. I am the current Chairperson for the Game Audio Network Guild advisory board, and I was recently asked to join the Technical Specifications group for spatial audio for the Audio Engineers Society. I gain as much from the education and mentoring roles I undertake as those that I am teaching.
It is easy to have passion for what you do when you work with so many incredibly talented and dedicated folk.
Stephan was born in Guildford, England and moved to Australia as a child. He studied at both the Victorian College of the Arts and LaTrobe University, before spending five years in the Australian Army Band Melbourne as a horn player. He may also be one of the few people in the industry who likes BioShock 2 more than the original.
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Employment
2021
Creative Director
Sound Librarian
2020
Audio Director
Oddworld Inhabitants
2017
Audio 360 Technical Communicator
Facebook Audio 360 Spatial Workstation Team
2015-2016
Audio Generalist
Magic Leap
2010-present
Director / Sound Designer / Composer
Sound Librarian
2008-2010
Lead Audio Designer
Big Ant Studios Melbourne
2007-2008
Composer, sound designer, R&D
Studio Easter Tokyo Japan
2000-2006
Lead Audio Designer
BlueTongue Entertainment (THQ Inc)
1990-1995
Professional musician
Australian Army Band Melbourne
2021
Creative Director
Sound Librarian
2020
Audio Director
Oddworld Inhabitants
2017
Audio 360 Technical Communicator
Facebook Audio 360 Spatial Workstation Team
2015-2016
Audio Generalist
Magic Leap
2010-present
Director / Sound Designer / Composer
Sound Librarian
2008-2010
Lead Audio Designer
Big Ant Studios Melbourne
2007-2008
Composer, sound designer, R&D
Studio Easter Tokyo Japan
2000-2006
Lead Audio Designer
BlueTongue Entertainment (THQ Inc)
1990-1995
Professional musician
Australian Army Band Melbourne
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Lectures and speaking engagements
2018
Co-Speaker with Sally Ann Kellaway
GDC 2018
The Conflict of the New Realities
San Francisco, USA
2017
Co-Speaker
GDC2017
Rising Tides: We can be heroes
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
Unite Melbourne 2017
Enhancing the Reality of VR and AR
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
GCAP 2017
Game Audio Masterclass
Melbourne, Australia
2016
Panel Chair
GDC 2016
Impostor Syndrome
San Francisco, USA
2015
Panelist and judge
GDC 2015
Gang Demo Derby
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GCAP 2015
Everyone at this Conference is a Fraud
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2015
Paralyzed! Managing Impostor Syndrome
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
AES Audio for Games London 2015
Exploring the Possibilities of Dynamic Music
FMOD Studio Hands On
London, UK
Oslo IGDA
Guest speaker
Oslo, Norway
Big Point
Expert guest trainer for Big Point’s Audio team on using FMOD Studio
Hamburg, Germany
2014
Speaker
Animfx
Death and the Maiden
Dynamic Audio
Wellington, New Zealand
Speaker
GCAP 2014
Death and the Maiden
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker and Panelist
GDC 2014
Crafting Better Creatures
GANG Demo Derby
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GSC 2014
FMOD Studio Workshops
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
AES LA 2014
Next Generation Game Audio panel
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
Academy of Scoring Arts
Master class on game audio scoring
Los Angeles, USA
2013
Speaker
AES Audio for Games London 2013
How Sound Affects Realities: Enhancing Narrative with Audio
London, UK
Panelist
AES Audio for Games London 2013
Theoretical, Technical & Practical Frameworks for Interactive Mixing: A Moderated Panel Discussion
London, UK
Speaker and Panelist/Judge
GDC 2013
Successful Location Recording for Games
Wwise Limbo Redux
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GSC 2013
http://www.gamesoundcon.com
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
Unite Korea 2013
FMOD Studio Introduction
Seoul, Korea
Speaker
Workshop on Game Audio
Introduction to FMOD Studio
Beijing, China
Presenter
Location Recording Workshop 2013
Docklands Studio
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
Victorian College of the Arts
Introduction to Game Music
Melbourne, Australia
2012
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2012
FMOD Studio Essentials
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
AES 133 2012
Audio for Mobile Platforms
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
AES 133 2012
Using Generative Audio
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
AES 133 2012
New models for game audio education
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
ACMI
The Stuff of Nightmares
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
APRA Song Summit
Screen Summit on Interactive audio
Sydney, Australia
Presenter
Location Recording Workshop 2012
Docklands Studio
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Sydney, Australia
Lecturer
RMIT University Melbourne
Introduction to interactive audio
Melbourne, Australia
2011
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2011
FMOD Essentials
San Francisco
Speaker
Freeplay 2011
Tiny Speakers
Getting the most out of your audio for mobile devices
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
Screen Futures 2011
Why Sound Matters
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AES Melbourne
Introduction to FMOD and game audio processes
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Sydney, Australia
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Games Program
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Music Business
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
2010
ASRA Conference
Outside the Circle
An Introduction to Game Audio Production
AFTRS Melbourne
Understanding the opportunities provided by the iPhone, iPad, XBox Live and Playstation Network
Freeplay 2010
Group Panel
The First One is Free
AFTRS Melbourne
Introduction to FMOD sound system
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Computer Games Boot Camp
Monash University
Game Audio Blast
APRA Song Summit 2010
Screen Summit: Game On
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Games Program
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Music Business
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
2009
Game Connect Asia Pacific, Melbourne
Emotion Mapping, supporting storytelling through audio
Computer Games Boot Camp, Monash University
Introduction to game audio
Freeplay 2009, State Library
How to get quality audio into a project for little or no budget
2004-2008
Australian Film Television and Radio School, Sydney
Storytelling: Interactivity, Sound & Music, AFTRS, Sydney
2004-2009
Australian Film Television and Radio School, Melbourne
Screen composition for computer games
2006
Australian Center for the Moving Image
Music for film TV and games
2004-2005
Australian Game Developers Conference Melbourne
Continuum speculative fiction convention
Cinematic audio for all media
So you want to make a computer game?
2018
Co-Speaker with Sally Ann Kellaway
GDC 2018
The Conflict of the New Realities
San Francisco, USA
2017
Co-Speaker
GDC2017
Rising Tides: We can be heroes
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
Unite Melbourne 2017
Enhancing the Reality of VR and AR
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
GCAP 2017
Game Audio Masterclass
Melbourne, Australia
2016
Panel Chair
GDC 2016
Impostor Syndrome
San Francisco, USA
2015
Panelist and judge
GDC 2015
Gang Demo Derby
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GCAP 2015
Everyone at this Conference is a Fraud
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2015
Paralyzed! Managing Impostor Syndrome
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
AES Audio for Games London 2015
Exploring the Possibilities of Dynamic Music
FMOD Studio Hands On
London, UK
Oslo IGDA
Guest speaker
Oslo, Norway
Big Point
Expert guest trainer for Big Point’s Audio team on using FMOD Studio
Hamburg, Germany
2014
Speaker
Animfx
Death and the Maiden
Dynamic Audio
Wellington, New Zealand
Speaker
GCAP 2014
Death and the Maiden
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker and Panelist
GDC 2014
Crafting Better Creatures
GANG Demo Derby
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GSC 2014
FMOD Studio Workshops
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
AES LA 2014
Next Generation Game Audio panel
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
Academy of Scoring Arts
Master class on game audio scoring
Los Angeles, USA
2013
Speaker
AES Audio for Games London 2013
How Sound Affects Realities: Enhancing Narrative with Audio
London, UK
Panelist
AES Audio for Games London 2013
Theoretical, Technical & Practical Frameworks for Interactive Mixing: A Moderated Panel Discussion
London, UK
Speaker and Panelist/Judge
GDC 2013
Successful Location Recording for Games
Wwise Limbo Redux
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
GSC 2013
http://www.gamesoundcon.com
Los Angeles, USA
Speaker
Unite Korea 2013
FMOD Studio Introduction
Seoul, Korea
Speaker
Workshop on Game Audio
Introduction to FMOD Studio
Beijing, China
Presenter
Location Recording Workshop 2013
Docklands Studio
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
Victorian College of the Arts
Introduction to Game Music
Melbourne, Australia
2012
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2012
FMOD Studio Essentials
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
AES 133 2012
Audio for Mobile Platforms
San Francisco, USA
Speaker
AES 133 2012
Using Generative Audio
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
AES 133 2012
New models for game audio education
San Francisco, USA
Panelist
ACMI
The Stuff of Nightmares
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
APRA Song Summit
Screen Summit on Interactive audio
Sydney, Australia
Presenter
Location Recording Workshop 2012
Docklands Studio
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Sydney, Australia
Lecturer
RMIT University Melbourne
Introduction to interactive audio
Melbourne, Australia
2011
Speaker
Game Sound Con 2011
FMOD Essentials
San Francisco
Speaker
Freeplay 2011
Tiny Speakers
Getting the most out of your audio for mobile devices
Melbourne, Australia
Speaker
Screen Futures 2011
Why Sound Matters
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AES Melbourne
Introduction to FMOD and game audio processes
Melbourne, Australia
Lecturer
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Sydney, Australia
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Games Program
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Music Business
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
2010
ASRA Conference
Outside the Circle
An Introduction to Game Audio Production
AFTRS Melbourne
Understanding the opportunities provided by the iPhone, iPad, XBox Live and Playstation Network
Freeplay 2010
Group Panel
The First One is Free
AFTRS Melbourne
Introduction to FMOD sound system
AFTRS Sydney
FMOD Intensive Introductory Course
Computer Games Boot Camp
Monash University
Game Audio Blast
APRA Song Summit 2010
Screen Summit: Game On
Lecturer
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Games Program
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
Sound Design Course
RMIT University Music Business
Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphic Design)
Bachelor of Arts (Digital Art)
2009
Game Connect Asia Pacific, Melbourne
Emotion Mapping, supporting storytelling through audio
Computer Games Boot Camp, Monash University
Introduction to game audio
Freeplay 2009, State Library
How to get quality audio into a project for little or no budget
2004-2008
Australian Film Television and Radio School, Sydney
Storytelling: Interactivity, Sound & Music, AFTRS, Sydney
2004-2009
Australian Film Television and Radio School, Melbourne
Screen composition for computer games
2006
Australian Center for the Moving Image
Music for film TV and games
2004-2005
Australian Game Developers Conference Melbourne
Continuum speculative fiction convention
Cinematic audio for all media
So you want to make a computer game?
Publications
Book
2018
Focal Press
New Realities in Audio
A Practical Guide for VR, AR, MR and 360 Video
Gamasutra
2017
Yonder; The Cloud Catcher Chronicles: An Episodic Audio Journal, Episode Two: 40 Species of Noise
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles: An Episodic Audio Journal, Episode One: Risky Beginnings
Polygon Magazine
2016
Impostor Syndrome, Game Developers Who Feel Like Frauds
Gamasutra
2016
Travel Tips for Developers
Beep: A Documentary History of Video Game Music & Sound
2016
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/veemix/beep-a-documentary-history-of-video-game-sound/description
https://vimeo.com/120956400
The Beep Book
2016
The Beep Book: Documenting Game sound
Gamasutra
2015
The music system 15 years in the making Part 1
The music system 15 years in the making Part 2
The music system 15 years in the making Part 3
The tools tips and tricks that allow us to perform our magic
Designing Sound
2014
Planes, trains and automabiles and tanks and bikes and boats and...
A Sound Effect blog
2014
The Current state of game audio and what lies ahead
FMOD Studio 101: An introduction to FMOD Studio
2013
ISBN: 978-0-9922746-2-7
FMOD Studio 101: Trainer’s guide
2013
ISBN: 978-0-9922746-3-4
The Sound Architect
2013
Interview with Stephan Schutze
Audio Technology Magazine
2013
“Sound Librarian Gets Loud”, Issue 99, December 2013
Develop magazine
2012
The Generation Game
The Age Screenplay
April 2012
The Symphony of Legends (Review)
Designing Sound
2012
A week spent chasing planes
The Age Screenplay
March 2012
Exposing the diamonds in Minecraft
IGDA Perspectives Newsletter
June 2011
Real-Time Generative Audio Environments
IGDA Perspectives Newsletter
May 2011
Stepping outside the Studio
Game Dev
Using FMOD Designer to create explosion sound events
GameDev.net
The Age Screenplay
May 2010 Article and interview in Screen Play Blog
The Age June 2010
Game Programming Gems 7
Chapter 4.1
Removing repetition from audio in games
Organized Sound volume 8 issue 02 August 2003 Cambridge University Press
The creation of an audio environment as part of a computer game world: the design for Jurassic Park – Operation Genesis on the XBOX™ as a broad concept for surround installation creation
Game Developer Magazine November 2003
Sound Principles “Be very, very quiet
Book
2018
Focal Press
New Realities in Audio
A Practical Guide for VR, AR, MR and 360 Video
Gamasutra
2017
Yonder; The Cloud Catcher Chronicles: An Episodic Audio Journal, Episode Two: 40 Species of Noise
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles: An Episodic Audio Journal, Episode One: Risky Beginnings
Polygon Magazine
2016
Impostor Syndrome, Game Developers Who Feel Like Frauds
Gamasutra
2016
Travel Tips for Developers
Beep: A Documentary History of Video Game Music & Sound
2016
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/veemix/beep-a-documentary-history-of-video-game-sound/description
https://vimeo.com/120956400
The Beep Book
2016
The Beep Book: Documenting Game sound
Gamasutra
2015
The music system 15 years in the making Part 1
The music system 15 years in the making Part 2
The music system 15 years in the making Part 3
The tools tips and tricks that allow us to perform our magic
Designing Sound
2014
Planes, trains and automabiles and tanks and bikes and boats and...
A Sound Effect blog
2014
The Current state of game audio and what lies ahead
FMOD Studio 101: An introduction to FMOD Studio
2013
ISBN: 978-0-9922746-2-7
FMOD Studio 101: Trainer’s guide
2013
ISBN: 978-0-9922746-3-4
The Sound Architect
2013
Interview with Stephan Schutze
Audio Technology Magazine
2013
“Sound Librarian Gets Loud”, Issue 99, December 2013
Develop magazine
2012
The Generation Game
The Age Screenplay
April 2012
The Symphony of Legends (Review)
Designing Sound
2012
A week spent chasing planes
The Age Screenplay
March 2012
Exposing the diamonds in Minecraft
IGDA Perspectives Newsletter
June 2011
Real-Time Generative Audio Environments
IGDA Perspectives Newsletter
May 2011
Stepping outside the Studio
Game Dev
Using FMOD Designer to create explosion sound events
GameDev.net
The Age Screenplay
May 2010 Article and interview in Screen Play Blog
The Age June 2010
Game Programming Gems 7
Chapter 4.1
Removing repetition from audio in games
Organized Sound volume 8 issue 02 August 2003 Cambridge University Press
The creation of an audio environment as part of a computer game world: the design for Jurassic Park – Operation Genesis on the XBOX™ as a broad concept for surround installation creation
Game Developer Magazine November 2003
Sound Principles “Be very, very quiet
Education
1996-1999
Latrobe University
Bachelor of Music Technology
1987-1989
Victorian College of the Arts
Diploma of Music (French Horn)
1996-1999
Latrobe University
Bachelor of Music Technology
1987-1989
Victorian College of the Arts
Diploma of Music (French Horn)
