Creative inspiration never runs low here, but that doesn’t mean our artists don’t have go-to media that inspires them. Grab a cup of coffee and get comfy. Learn about this Pixel Farmer and what media gets him re-inspired, how he defines creativity, and more.

Zac Bates 

Role: Audio Engineer/Sound Designer

Years at Pixel Farm: 11 years

Music: 

OK Computer – Radiohead

“Bury Us Alive” – STRFKR (Unfortunate name, but incredible synth sound)

Generally electronic music, synthesizers

But also, Neil Young and Will Oldham/Bonnie Prince Billy – pretty much everything

Generally acoustic music, guitars

Movies: 

Stanley Kubrick films, specifically A Clockwork Orange or  2001: A Space Odyssey

“Stanley Kubrick – definitely my favorite director in the history of the world. A Clockwork Orange features an incredible soundtrack. For all of the Moog synthesizer fans out there, I highly recommend giving ‘Switched-On Bach’ by Wendy Carlos a listen.”

Biggest Creative Breakthrough Moment:

“One of the biggest breakthrough moments we’ve had recently was done on our work with LensCrafters. This project was new and exciting because we were working with audio for a 360 video. At the time, there were very few examples of how spatialized audio should sound in a commercial, so this project allowed us to pioneer new strategies and transform traditional miking techniques into a modernized sound made for 360 video.”

Advertisement You’ve Been Inspired By:

“A commercial that sticks out in my mind is a United Airlines spot we worked on a few years back. The animation was beautifully done and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” gave the spot a musical perspective that is hard to beat.”

(You can check out the spot here)

Define Creativity:

“Personally, in my specific domain here at Pixel Farm, creativity is about removing technical barriers. A large amount of my work involves troubleshooting any problems that arise, so creativity is about facing a challenge and pivoting around obstacles so other ideas can be actualized.”