Kazuma Jinnouchi

Composer Kazuma Jinnouchi ’02 has always dreamed of doing work that could cross cultural boundaries. After growing up in Japan and then attending Berklee College of Music, he returned to Japan to work on two Metal Gear Solid games with Konami and Kojima Productions. When he moved back to the U.S. in 2011, he was hired by 343 Industries to work on Halo 4, and though just one of his tracks was in the first volume of Halo’s soundtrack, the second volume had nine of his songs. Now, for Halo 5: Guardians, he’s composing the game’s entire soundtrack.

Jinnouchi credits landing his dream job not only to his past work experience but also to his time at Berklee, noting: “What I learned at Berklee became...fundamental [to] everything I do with music.” When he was studying in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department, there weren’t yet any classes in video game scoring, but he learned the basics of composition and analysis in multiple styles. These skills have served him well in jobs where the goal is to create not just a song but an entire experience that matches the world of a game, all while working with a team of people. Jinnouchi’s talents and knowledge have helped him flourish as he composes for some of the world’s largest video game franchises.