Conversations with Ben Lipkin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Lipkin.

Hi Ben, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew in a town called Lockport, IL, one of Chicago’s south suburbs. Growing up, I played many video games (The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Dark Souls, etc.) and had a strong passion for music and sound. I studied Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and while there, I learned to create sound effects and music for games while working on a variety of student games. After graduating, a professor I had at Berklee, Gina Zdanowicz, brought me on to work as a Technical Sound Designer on the game Eternights as a part of her and Spencer Bambrick’s company, Serial Lab Sound. I’ve worked with Serial Lab as a sound designer and composer on a variety of projects since 2021. In May 2022, I started a contract as an Associate Music Editor for Sony Interactive Entertainment in San Mateo, CA. While at PlayStation, I edited and implemented music for games like Call of Duty: Vanguard and the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Since PlayStation, I’ve been working as a sound designer on upcoming projects from Pahdo Labs and Sondering Studio.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been fortunate to have mentors and people who have helped me find opportunities at the start of my career, like Gina. Covid was tough to deal with while at Berklee. Me and my peers missed out on things like in-person recording or rehearsal sessions, and my graduation was done entirely on Zoom. I left PlayStation to live with my now fiance here in LA. Finding work after PlayStation was tough, but it was rewarding to find my own path, and I really enjoy getting to work with the teams at Pahdo Labs and Sondering Studio.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a sound designer for games, so I make the sound of explosions, magic, monsters, footsteps, and anything else needed to make a game world feel real and alive. I record sounds from around the house or out in the world and manipulate them in the audio software to sound like things from fantasy or sci-fi worlds that we can’t hear in real life. Games allow for the real-time exploration of space, so I focus on implementing sounds in a game so they play dynamically or adaptively to mimic the random variations and interactivity of sounds in our real world.

I also have a strong passion for interactive music systems in games. In film or TV (linear media), the timing of every moment and emotional beat will happen at the same time every time, so writing music for linear media requires hitting all these moments as they are laid out. In games, the timing of a moment or the direction of the story can vary greatly depending on the player’s actions and choices. I am a huge fan of developing interactive music systems that use tricks and techniques which allow the soundtrack of a game to intelligently follow the action and emotional arc of the gameplay as closely as a film score would.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Ultimately, family and friends matter most. I care a lot about my career, and I want to create awesome and memorable experiences with sound. But at the end of the day, I always want to make sure that the people I care about are happy and safe.

If the question is from a career perspective, then I want to use sound to create memorable and immersive worlds. I want to create sounds that draw a player in and feel satisfying and interesting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lipkinaudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipkinaudio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lipkin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lipkinaudio
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg3NEFjf6ATadZa0Zp1na5Q
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/benlipkin