Kevin Manthei
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| Kevin Manthei | |
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Kevin Manthei is a music score composer for film, television, and video games. His recent film credits include Batman: Gotham Knight and Justice League: The New Frontier, as well as additional music credits on Scream 2, Scream 3, and Resident Evil. Kevin has been prolific in television too, having scored over 150 episodes of television for clients Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney and Warner Brothers for shows such as Invader Zim, Xiaolin Showdown and Johnny Test. Kevin has composed music for over 50 game titles having worked with all major publishers and developers. Recent game credits include Kung Fu Panda, Ultimate Spider-Man (video game), Marvel Universe Online and multiple Dreamworks titles.
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[edit] Biography
Kevin Manthei has been working in the film, television and game arena for over 12 years. He has worked as the series composer on four animated TV shows – representing over 130 half hour episodes, composed over 50 game soundtracks, has made a mark composing music for independent films, as well as contributing additional music on many well-known feature films. Kevin’s contribution to the industry can be found at the heart of his philosophy: No matter the genre of music, Kevin strives to find a unique and creative way to approach the score.
Combining genres, styles, sound palates as well as his ability to combine electronics with the orchestra make him versatile and in demand. It is this philosophy and desire that allows Kevin to make progress towards creating a new sound, and a new way of approaching the scoring of music.
Kevin grew up in Minnesota. From his early years on the piano and his trumpet blowing in high school, Kevin began writing music almost as quickly as he learned his first notes and chords. This led him to the University of Minnesota where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Theory and Composition.
After College, Kevin headed out to sunny California with his new wife Lori to attend the University of Southern California – where the real learning began. After studying with the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, Kevin left the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program with his certificate in hand. Other graduates of the program that year, Christophe Beck, Marco Beltrami, and Jon Ehrlich, proved to be more than just friends. Kevin worked with these composers in his early years doing everything music related. This eventually led to Kevin writing additional music for Chris on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other shows, and composing additional music for Marco Beltrami on many films including Scream 2, Scream 3, The Faculty, Scary Movie 2, and Resident Evil.
At the same time as his collaborative relationships with other composers, Kevin began his game writing career working on some of the biggest titles of the time: Panzer General 2, Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, Sacrifice, Wizardry 8, Twisted Metal: Black and other classic games. In fact, it was his work in video games that brought him to television.
Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Nickelodeon’s cult hit Invader Zim, was a huge fan of games and game music, and it was this interest that brought him to Kevin. Kevin’s work on Invader Zim garnered him his first Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music for an animated series. Invader Zim also led to Xiaolin Showdown for Warner Brothers Animation as well as Brandy and Mr. Whiskers for Disney. Recently Kevin has continued his television scoring with Warner Brothers' Johnny Test, which Kevin wrote the emo punk inspired main title and score to the first season.
While not content with only scoring television, Kevin has continued his work on games and film working on such game titles as Kung Fu Panda, Marvel Universe Online, Upshift Strikeracer, Xiaolin Showdown, Ultimate Spider-Man (video game), City of Villains, The Sims 2, Starcraft: Ghost, Shrek 2, and Shark Tale. Kevin has also been active working on scores for Independent filmmakers (the most recent score was for the film The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman), but more recently has has written the music for the feature films Justice League: The New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight.
Kevin's goal is to take on projects which challenge and push the boundaries of genre and style. With such a stong base of credits and talent, growth is inevitable and Kevin Manthei will only become more and more prominent in the music world.
[edit] Scores
[edit] Film Projects
| Project | Studio |
|---|---|
| Batman: Gotham Knight | Warner Brothers Pictures |
| Justice League: The New Frontier | Warner Brothers Pictures |
| Lapse | NYU Thesis |
| The 24th Day | Screen Media Films |
| Milo | Sterling Home Entertainment |
| Redemption High | Digital Entertainment Network |
| Resident Evil | Sony Pictures * |
| Scary Movie 2 | Dimension Films * |
| Dracula 2000 | Dimension Films * |
| Scream 3 | Dimension Films * |
| The Faculty | Dimension Films * |
| Scream 2 | Dimension Films * |
| Deep Impact | DreamWorks SKG * |
| Crossworlds | Trimark Pictures * |
| Cursed | Dimension Films Trailer |
| Terminator 3 | Warner Brothers Trailer |
| Gangs of New York | Miramax Trailer |
| They (film) | Dimension Films Trailer |
| Below (film) | Dimension Films Trailer |
| Spy Kids | Miramax Trailer |
| The Yards | Miramax Trailer |
| Impostor (film) | Dimension Films Trailer |
| Air Force One | Sony Pictures/sequencing |
| Scream (film) | Dimension Films/sequence orch. |
| Halloween H20 | Dimension Films/sequencing |
| Children of the Corn III | Paramount Studios/synth programming |
| * additional music |
[edit] Television Projects
| Project | Studio |
|---|---|
| Random Cartoons | Nickelodeon |
| The Bubbas | Comedy Central/Film Roman Pilot |
| The Wizzard of Krudd | Nickelodeon Animated Short |
| Johnny Test | Warner Brothers animated series |
| Xiaolin Showdown | Warner Brothers animated series |
| Brandy and Mr. Whiskers | Disney animated series |
| Invader Zim | Nickelodeon animated series |
| Tuesdays With Morrie | ABC prime time movie * |
| Buffy The Vampire Slayer | Warner Brothers action series * |
| The Pretender (TV series) | NBC action drama series * |
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith (TV series) | CBS action spy prime time * |
| Dellaventura | CBS detective drama series * |
| Turning Point (TV series) | ABC news magazine * |
| Second Noah | ABC family drama prime time * |
| F/X The Series | Syndicated action series * |
| Land's End | Syndicated detective drama * |
| Pigs Sty | United Paramount Network * |
| * additional music |
[edit] Video Game Projects
| Game | Developer |
|---|---|
| Kung Fu Panda | Dreamworks/Activision |
| Marvel Universe Online | Cryptic Studios/Microsoft |
| Upshift Strikeracer | Gala-Net |
| Over the Hedge - Hammy Goes Nuts | Dreamworks/Amaze |
| Xiaolin Showdown (video game) | Konami/Bottle Rocket Entertainment |
| Ultimate Spider-Man (video game) | Activision / Treyarch |
| Shrek Superslam | Activision / Shaba |
| The Sims 2 PSP | Electronic Arts / Amaze |
| City of Villains | NCSoft / Cryptic Studios |
| Starcraft Ghost | Nihilistic Software/Blizzard |
| Shark Tale (video game) | Activision / Dreamworks |
| Nancy Drew Series –15 titles | Her Interactive |
| Shrek 2 (video game) | Activision / Dreamworks |
| Pitfall: The Lost Expedition | Activision / Edge of Reality |
| Kill.Switch | Namco |
| Dead to Rights | Namco |
| New Legends | Infinite Machine/THQ |
| Destroyer Command | Ultimation / SSI / Mattel Interactive |
| Twisted Metal: Black | Sony |
| Silent Hunter II | Ultimation / SSI / Mattel Interactive |
| Wizardry 8 | Sir Tech Canada |
| Sacrifice (computer game) | Shiny Entertainment / Interplay |
| Panzer General III: Scorched Earth | SSI / Mattel Interactive |
| Vampire: The Masquerade: Redemption | Nihilistic Software / Activision |
| Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim | Cyberlore Studios / Hasbro Interactive |
| Deer Hunt Challenge | Electronic Arts - EA Outdoor Sports |
| Championship Bass | Electronic Arts - EA Outdoor Sports |
| Ultimate Hunt Challenge | Electronic Arts - EA Outdoor Sports |
| Championship Bass | Electronic Arts - EA Outdoor Sports |
| The Next Tetris DLX | Blue Planet Software -Japanese release |
| Army Men: Sarge's Heroes | Studio 3DO |
| Panzer General 3D Assault | SSI / Mattel Interactive |
| Jagged Alliance 2 | Sir-Tech Software / TalonSoft |
| Kings Quest 8: Mask of Eternity | Sierra On-Line |
| Panzer General II | Strategic Simulations (SSI) |
| People's General | Strategic Simulations (SSI) |
| Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds | MicroProse |
| Indian In The Cupboard | Viacom New Media |
[edit] Available Soundtracks
- Justice League: The New Frontier
- Upshift StrikeRacer
- Xiaolin Showdown
- Ultimate Spiderman
- Shark Tale
- Shrek 2
- Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
- Kill Switch
- Dead to Rights
- Wizardry 8
- SSI Panzer General Series
[edit] Interviews
- Kevin Manthei and Dan Spitz Interview 1
- Kevin Manthei and Dan Spitz Interview 2
- Kevin Manthei Interview
- Shrek 2 Score Interview
- StarCraft: Ghost Interview
