Tim Follin

Biography

Timothy John Follin (born 1970) is a former video game music composer who has written tracks for a variety of titles and home gaming systems, including the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Dreamcast and PlayStation. Follin's early 8- and 16-bit pieces were notable for their ambitious and imaginative use of samples, or clever manipulation of limited sound hardware - particularly with his work on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, on which he ma...

Timothy John Follin (born 1970) is a former video game music composer who has written tracks for a variety of titles and home gaming systems, including the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, NES, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Dreamcast and PlayStation.

Follin's early 8- and 16-bit pieces were notable for their ambitious and imaginative use of samples, or clever manipulation of limited sound hardware - particularly with his work on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, on which he managed to play up to six channels of audio from one simple, tiny, 'clickable' piezo electronic speaker.

Among Follin's works include the soundtracks to Software Creations' Commodore Amiga and Commodore 64 conversions of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (Dreamcast), Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (Super Nintendo), and home computer ports of Bionic Commando (C64, Amiga).


Influences

Follin cited progressive rock as well as many musicians (including Quincy Jones, Jethro Tull,Led Zeppelin and John Martyn) as having had some casual or subconscious influence on his music, and has also enjoyed music by Deep Purple and Guns 'n Roses.However, he did not feel that any specific artist or style had been a primary inspiration during his career.Follin acknowledged that in one instance he went for a more contemporary style when scoring the award-winning soundtrack to Bionic Commando, actively choosing to mimic other people's music for fear of potentially losing his job.

The soundtrack to Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future may have been influenced by the works of American minimalist composer John Adams, whom Follin explicitly acknowledged as a current influence during the time he was completing the soundtrack, citing Adams' work as "the only minimalist stuff I've heard which struck a chord with me."

Follin did not have much time to listen to the work of his musical contemporaries while in the video games industry, a situation he implied as having been a benefit to his career. Follin speculated that in actively listening to those works, he likely ran the risk of encountering ideas he had not thought of and subsequently becoming discouraged and/or prone to copycatting.

Media production career

Follin has written, directed, produced and composed for two short films: Body Counting and The Sun Circle. Body Counting won the Best Short Film under £5,000 award at the Salford Film Festival in November 2004.

In 2007, Follin started up his media production company, Eyecatcher Films (originally conceived as Right Eye Films, as evidenced in the title sequence of Body Counting). Eyecatcher Films has developed several commercials and television show title sequences, with Follin handling all music composition.

Follin currently works freelance offering services for commercial producing and directing, visual effects and animated graphics, and music composition. The latter opens up possibilities for a return to video game music.

Personal life

Follin has expressed interest in the works of Carl Jung regarding the meaning of dreams. He has expressed that he does not use recreational drugs, perhaps counter to inferences made by fans of his music.

Follin has little interest in television, but was a fan of the Channel 4 series Father Ted. He also enjoyed filmmaker John Boorman's short film I Dreamt I Woke Up.

Follin considers writing therapeutic.

Family

Tim, son of Marjorie Follin, was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom had careers in the video game industry. Oldest brother Michael Stuart (Mike) moved on after 16 years as a programmer to become an ordained minister in the Church of England. Middle brother Geoff Follin, a fellow game composer who was proficient in several instruments, MIDI software and reading sheet music, later went on to become a primary school teacher. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.