Musicanon.com || Brendan Wood's Online Portfolio
About Me
Infinite 0 Studios
I started an independent company focused on game development and custom audio called Infinite 0 Studios
Music
My passion for music started at an early age while listening to my mom play the piano.
I was a percussionist in my school band and took private drum lessons for many years, but
then I discovered the guitar at age 13 and I practiced endlessly, also picking up piano
and experimenting with MIDI controlled instruments. Finally I got my own computer when I was 15
and turned my basement into a personal studio.
Since then I have been writing, recording, and producing
my own music with whoever I meet and any objects that generate sound. Mainly influenced
by blues rock, I reach out to a variety of genres from ambient electronica to classical. While living abroad in Spain for 8 months, I
studied Flamenco guitar and have been hugely affected by the scope of international music. I like
writing songs by myself but thrive off of the collaboration with others. Right now I'm composing the music
for a friend's senior thesis film entitled "Nathan and the Luthier," and am passionate about bringing the film
to life through the score.
Sound Design
Isn't it interesting how audio can alter your perception of a game, picture, movie, or anything you experience? Obviously I think it's very interesting, which is why I'm studying Audio Implementation and Design for New Media as a graduate student. I love exploring how sound can cultivate unique experiences. I'm the audio lead for Londontown, a massive online virtual world created by Lee Sheldon and being worked on by students and faculty at IU and RPI. Working with Wwise, an audio middleware tool, we are incorporating the sound and music we record into the Gamebryo software engine. When not working on this, I enjoy recording interesting noises and creating ambient soundscapes.
Interactivity
Last semester I got involved with Arduino and physical computing as a means of musical expression. I believe physical sensing can create truly remarkable experiences through the synergy of light, sound, and motion. I built and coded a device which I call ABCI (Aleatoric Body Composing Interface) that allows people to generate sound samples based on their proximity to sensors and change the input with foot controlled buttons. My aim is to bring people together around a shared platform to encourage playful interaction based on the relation of motion through a physical sound space.
Games
Growing up with two brothers and lots of neighborhood friends, we were constantly creating our own games to play in the backyard or competing in video games. This passion has stuck with me and I try to seek out the fun in everything I do. Throughout my life I've created board games, new sports, card games, and social games but now I am learning how to program so that I can start bringing my gaming design creativity to mobile devices and the web. I launched Zeke in Orbit in Summer 2011 and am currently working with a team on Warp Shooter - a dual stick space dog fighter which will be available for on the Xbox Live Arcade soon.
Other
Apart from my sonic life, I enjoy reading and writing, cooking, rock climbing, soccer, and spending time with my amazing girlfriend. Attending concerts, watching movies, traveling (check out my Flickr!) when I can, and playing with my dog Zeke occupy a lot of my time as well. I hope to become a sound effects or music producer for video games on the West Coast or in Europe after I graduate but until then, I'm busy enough building new sounds, songs, and ways for people to interact playfully and meaningfully.