Jory Prum (January 31, 1975 – April 22, 2016), also known as Jory K. Prum, was an
American audio engineer, best known for his work in film and
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedb ...
. He was the owner of a
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...
located in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
.
Biography
Prum was born in
Fullerton, California, attended
Troy High School's technology
magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nic ...
,
and later studied sound for film & video as an undergraduate student at the
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...
(CalArts) in the 1990s under John Payne, Craig Smith, and Doug Loveid.
While studying at CalArts, Prum worked on many student films, some of which were screened at festivals, such as
Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation is a presentation of Award-winning animated short films, annually touring throughout theaters, film festivals or college campuses in the United States.
Background
The festival is presented annually in the ...
. One such film, a parody of ''
Schoolhouse Rock!
''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated Musical film, musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday-morning cartoon, Saturday morning children's programming block on the ...
'' titled ''Political Correction'', was a collaboration between Prum and fellow student
Steven Fonti
Steven Fonti, also known as Steve Fonti (born June 16, 1970), is a Primetime Emmy Award winner who has worked in the Art Department on movies such as ''Over the Hedge (film), Over the Hedge'' and Adam Sandler's ''Eight Crazy Nights'', ''Cinderell ...
.
Another was Adam Lane's ''Sea Slugs'', a
stop-motion animation
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
about pirate slugs on the open seas, which was also featured as part of MTV's
Cartoon Sushi
''Cartoon Sushi'' is an adult-animation showcase program that aired on MTV from 1997 to 1998. It was developed by Eric Calderon and produced by Nick Litwinko, and was the successor to Liquid Television. The title screen opening was illustrated b ...
.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Prum worked as an ''Electron'' at
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States.
History
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originall ...
and then briefly at
Disney Online
Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company.
History
1995–1996: Formation and beginnings
In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
. After being let go, he inquired during a CalArts job fair about employment opportunities in the sound department of
LucasArts Entertainment Company.
He joined the LucasArts sound team in January 1999 and was involved with all of the ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...
'' release titles and most of the other games published by both LucasArts and
Lucas Learning
Lucas Learning was a company founded by George Lucas in 1996 as a spin-off to LucasArts in order to provide challenging, engaging and fun educational software for classrooms. Many of their award-winning titles were based on the national curriculum. ...
between early 1999 and the beginning of 2001.
Prum departed LucasArts at the start of 2001 and continued to work in video game sound. He contributed
sound effects
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
, recorded
voiceover
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...
and music and mixed
cutscenes
A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
and orchestral scores for numerous games, such as LucasArts' ''
Knights of the Old Republic'',
Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
' ''
The Walking Dead: The Game''
—for which Prum and his team won the Game Audio Network Guild's 2013 award for ''Best Dialogue''
—''
The Wolf Among Us'',
and
Sam & Max
''Sam & Max'' is an American media franchise about Sam and Max, a pair of anthropomorphic vigilante private investigators. The characters, who occupy a universe that parodies American popular culture, were created by Steve Purcell in his youth ...
episodic titles,
Double Fine Productions' crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
''
Broken Age
''Broken Age'' is a point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Double Fine. ''Broken Age'' was game director Tim Schafer's first return to the genre since 1998's ''Grim Fandango'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, macO ...
'',
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include ''Assassin's Creed'', '' Far Cry'', ...
's ''
CSI'' games, and
Pandemic Studios
Pandemic Studios, LLC was an American video game developer based in Westwood, Los Angeles. Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick founded the studio in 1998 after leaving Activision. Pandemic Studios, alongside BioWare, was acquired in 2005 by Elevation ...
' ''
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames''.
Prum and his dialogue production team have been nominated nine times for "Best Voice Acting"
Aggie Awards
''Adventure Gamers'' is a computer game website created by Marek Bronstring in March 1998 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game desi ...
and have won three times.
In addition to video games, Prum worked in
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
Th ...
audio for feature films. He created the voice of the big bird, Leo, in
Pixar Animation Studio's animated short film ''
For the Birds'',
earning him a mention in
Ralph Eggleston's acceptance speech at the
74th Academy Awards
The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly ...
.
Prum also worked as the
foley recordist on
Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in t ...
' ''
Lost in Translation'', and
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
' ''
Adaptation.''.
In 2004 Prum set up a recording studio
Studio Jory near his home in
Fairfax, California
Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of . The population was 7,605 at the 2020 census.
History
The Coast Miwok Native Americans occupied s ...
.
In August 2014, Prum recovered the aging audio archives of the classic
point-and-click adventure game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
Grim Fandango
''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on Rendering (computer graphics), ...
as part of Double Fine Productions' restoration and
remastering effort.
He also worked with composer
Peter McConnell
Peter Nelson McConnell (born April 19, 1960), also known as Peter Mc, is an American video game composer and musician, best known for his work at LucasArts and for composing the soundtracks for every '' Sly Cooper'' game since the second instal ...
to record and mix the new orchestral score, performed by the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
.
Jory died on April 22, 2016 after suffering severe injuries in a motorcycle accident.
The final game Prum worked on was ''
2064: Read Only Memories'', which is dedicated to him.
Accolades
Game Audio Network Guild Awards
Spillprisen (Norwegian Game Awards)
Independent Games Festival
Golden Joystick Awards
Aggie Awards
''Adventure Gamers'' is a computer game website created by Marek Bronstring in March 1998 dedicated to the genre of adventure games. It publishes reviews and previews of adventure games, as well as opinion articles and interviews with game desi ...
National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers
Selected games
*''
2064: Read Only Memories'' (2017),
MidBoss
MidBoss is an American video game and media production company that was founded by members of the GaymerX team as they expanded beyond GaymerX into other ventures, specifically '' Gaming in Color'' and '' 2064: Read Only Memories''.
On March 26 ...
*''
Earthlock: Festival of Magic'' (2016), Snowcastle Games
*''
Through the Woods
''Through the Woods'' is a third-person Norwegian horror adventure video game developed by the indie studio Antagonist and published by 1C Publishing EU. On 27 October 2016, the game was released for Microsoft Windows on Steam and GOG.com.
...
'' (2016), Antagonist
*''
Manual Samuel
''Manual Samuel'' is an adventure video game developed by Perfectly Paranormal and published by Curve Digital. It was released on PlayStation 4 on October 11, 2016 and on Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on October 14, 2016. The Nintendo Switch v ...
'' (2016), Perfectly Paranormal
*''
Grim Fandango Remastered
''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered static backgro ...
'' (2015), Double Fine
*''
Among the Sleep
''Among the Sleep'' is a first-person survival horror action-adventure video game developed by Norwegian developer Krillbite Studio for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was released on 29 May 2014 in North Americ ...
'' (2014), Krillbite Studio
*''
Broken Age
''Broken Age'' is a point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Double Fine. ''Broken Age'' was game director Tim Schafer's first return to the genre since 1998's ''Grim Fandango'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, macO ...
'' (2014), Double Fine
*''
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers'' (2014), Pinkerton Road
*''
The Walking Dead: The Game, Season 2'' (2014), Telltale Games
*''
The Walking Dead: 400 Days'' (2013), Telltale Games
*''
The Wolf Among Us'' (2013), Telltale Games
*''
The Walking Dead: The Game'' (2012), Telltale Games
*''
Brütal Legend
''Brütal Legend'' is an action-adventure video game with real-time strategy game elements created by Double Fine and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America, E ...
'' (2009), Double Fine
*''
Tales of Monkey Island
''Tales of Monkey Island'' is a 2009 graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games under license from LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the '' Monkey Island'' series, released nearly a decade after the previous installment, ''Escape ...
'' (2009), Telltale Games
*''
The Sims 2
''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 strategic life simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims.'' The game was released for Microsoft Windo ...
'' (2003), EA/Maxis
*''
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'' (2003), LucasArts
*''
SimCity 4
''SimCity 4'' is a city-building game, city-building Construction and management simulation games, simulation Personal computer game, computer game developed by Maxis, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. It was released on January 14, 2003. It is t ...
'' (2002), EA/Maxis
*''
Escape from Monkey Island
''Escape from Monkey Island'' is an adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the ''Monkey Island'' series, and the sequel to the 1997 videogame '' The Curse of Monkey Island''. It is the first game in ...
'' (2000), LucasArts
*''
FlixMix
''FlixMix'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by Celeris. The game focuses on solving jigsaw-like puzzles with animated images.
Gameplay
The object of the game is to place all the rectangular pieces into the correct positions. ...
'' (1993), Celeris
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prum, Jory
1975 births
2016 deaths
People from Fairfax, California
Musicians from Fullerton, California
California Institute of the Arts alumni
American audio engineers
American sound designers
Video game developers
Engineers from California