Sound Design

In Sound Design, the skills measured are:
  • An understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a sound designer and the technology/equipment to implement and support the design
  • An understanding of the artistic and practical constraints that impact the sound design
  • An understanding of the relationship of sound design to a unifying concept
  • The ability to carry out research into style, period, locale, and genre of the show
  • The ability to present and explain design choices

The  entrant must prepare and present: 
  • An artifact binder (physical or digital) – must include a complete set of the following materials
    • A design statement summarizing
      • Theme of the show
      • Unified design concept
      • Script requirements
  • The following may or may not be included in the artifact binder but must be presented:
    • Sources of inspiration
    • Techniques used within the design
    • Representative examples of the sound design to be played on a provided sound system
    • Description of sound cues organized by:
      • Act and scene
      • Stated purpose of the cue
      • Planned timing of the cue
  • ​If using a digital presentation, you must bring your own equipment to display your work so all the judges can see the details. The use of a single laptop screen is non-recommended.
Download the rubric below.
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sound_design.pdf
File Size: 157 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
usitt_sound_graphics_guidelines.pdf
File Size: 535 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
The entrant must prepare and present:
  • Up to an eight-minute presentation summarizing the work with connections to concept, collaboration, and design decision-making followed by up to four minutes of Q&A. The overall session, including the Q&A, may not exceed 12 minutes. The presentation should include:
    • Sound system plot indicating:
      • Speaker plot showing where on the set and in the performance space loudspeakers are placed
      • The clear relationship of speakers on the plot to speakers on the block diagram
      • Block diagram showing signal flow through the sound system, following the USITT Sound Graphics Standards (available at www.usitt.org)
      • Rack diagrams
      • Microphone schedules
      • Pit diagrams
      • Patch assignments
      • Sound effects, both digital and Foley
      • Programming of the playback device
      • Engineering the show in a live microphone setting
      • Training the actors in the use of microphones
      • Setting preliminary sound levels and adjusting during technical rehearsals
Title block including:
  • Show name
  • Facility
  • Source for drawing
  • Scale
  • Entrant name
  • Date

Entrants must wear all black.
  • Entrants must wear all black
  • Entrants must wear all black shoes
  • Clothing and shoes must be all black. Any visible color, including white, will result in a disqualification
  • Failure to follow any of the guidelines in this document will result in a disqualification