Blair Renaud's story: How Rockstar's audio engineer won a BAFTA after 25 years
It was recently announced that former Rockstar employee Blair Renaud received a BAFTA award for best sound for GTA: London '69. The situation is surprising in that the ceremony took place in 1999, and the man was awarded the statuette only 25 years later, in June 2024. In this article we will tell you why this happened.
It was recently announced that former Rockstar employee Blair Renaud received a BAFTA award for best sound for GTA: London '69. The situation is surprising in that the ceremony took place in 1999, and the man was awarded the statuette only 25 years later, in June 2024. In this article we will tell you why this happened.
Who is Blair Renaud
Blair Renaud worked for Rockstar Canada from 1995 to 2000. He was involved in creating maps and soundtracks for addons for the very first GTA. We're talking about London '69 and London '61. Later the guy tested Grand Theft Auto 2.
The guy left Rockstar, but did not leave the gaming industry. For example, he is currently working on a project for virtual reality headsets called Low-Fi. This is an RPG with the ability to drive vehicles, which is made in the cyberpunk genre. Reno cites Blade Runner and RoboCop as sources of inspiration.
What happened at the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards 1999
BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards is an award ceremony for game developers. In 1999, it won GTA: London '69 for Best Soundtrack. However, Blair Renault himself was not present in the hall, so the statuette was presented to a Take-Two representative from the marketing department. This situation was seen by Paul Bennun, sound producer of Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, who was at the ceremony. This is how he commented on what was happening:
“We got to the gym and I see this guy come up and give a bullshit speech about how great they are and what a great job they did on the game. First of all, I don't know who you are. Secondly, I haven't even heard of you. Thirdly, you have nothing to do with what you are talking about. Not the slightest.”
Interestingly, Bennan immediately contacted this organization with a claim and received his figurine in the form of a mask. And Blair had to wait two and a half decades for his well-deserved reward.
How Reno achieved his well-deserved reward
But then, in 1999, Blair did not even realize the significance of this ceremony. The man says the following:
“As far as I remember, someone in the office told me that GTA London had won an award, but without details. It was only many years later that I learned how prestigious it turned out to be. After that, I repeatedly tried to find out specific information about this, but I was not even given the opportunity to make an official request.”
The guy did not calm down and began to talk about this situation on social networks. In 2022, Time Extensions decided to help Reno solve this problem. After applying, they had to wait a year and a half before receiving an official refusal. Then Blair himself intervened and persistently argued his position. The issue of awarding the statuette was put to a vote, as a result of which the sound designer was given a well-deserved award. He has already received the famous figurine in the form of a mask, and the stand for it is still on its way to him.
[i]“It took 24 years to sort through all the data, but I’m completely happy with the result. My work has received the recognition it deserves, I feel like I fought and won a battle, and made some great friends, many memories and interesting stories along the way,” says Blair.
Why did this happen
Today the names of developers are on everyone's lips. People who are interested in the gaming industry know very well who Hideo Kojima, Hidetaka Miyazaki, Sam Lake, Shinji Mikami and others are. But in the late 90s, even studio heads remained in the shadows, and those in charge of sound were generally unknown to anyone. It was important for the Interactive Achievement Awards commission to present the statuette to representatives of the company that released GTA: London '69, and who exactly would receive it was no longer considered significant.
But at the same time, it is strange that Blair was not given the opportunity to contact BAFTA representatives. And why did it take 17 months for an official response? The only good news is that the well-deserved award eventually found its hero.
***
What do you think about this situation? Is the statue worth the effort on Blair Reno's part? We'd be interested to hear your opinions!
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