Can You Hear Me Now?

This was my first time at SETC, and I have to say I had a really great experience.  While I was there, I attended a lot of workshops that related to anything dealing with Sound Design.  Out of everything that I did at SETC, the workshops were the best things I could have attended because the information I gathered about portfolios, composition and even the art of sound designing itself was invaluable.
Sound portfolios, like costume, set and lighting portfolios are a representation of a designer’s work.  The only difference between sound portfolios and other portfolios, is that a sound designer’s work is “heard” as opposed to “seen”.  There are many ways that sound designer’s build portfolios.  Some use websites, DVD’s, and powerpoint or keynote presentations.  The form of the portfolio really depends on the designer, but any of the formats mentioned work well.  The main thing that was stressed –> to have a successful sound portfolio is pairing the sound with some kind of imagery.  Having pictures or video from shows gives the people your are presenting your portfolio to an idea of what the overall feel of the show was like.  It essentially adds another layer to the work you are presenting.
Most of the time, sound designing means finding music and sound effects that pair really well with the show.  Collaborating with the director, other designers and even actors is very helpful when trying to find music that fits the theme/mood of the show. Generally, sound designers pull music from various artists, a lot of designers however, also compose their own music for the shows.  It was stressed very heavily that the sound designers that get hired the most for different companies are the ones that have composition skills.  Therefore, if you are going to be a sound designer, you really need to be able to compose your own music.
Lots of information, lots of great ideas, and lots of fun! SETC was awesome, and I can’t wait for next year! 🙂
AG