Set / Sound Designer? Is that even a thing?

JVV

Member
Okay, so we all know Set Designers that design Lights as well, and Set Designers that also design Costumes, but has anyone ever come across a Set Designer that was also interested in Sound Design?

I have a student that is convinced he can not do both because... well, he's never heard of anyone doing that.

I'd love to know if you educators out there have ever mentored anyone with a strong split focus on design disciplines and how you helped your students balance their interests.

Thanks,
JVV
 
At some point it becomes hard to perform both duties on the same show because there's only so much time in a day, but there's no reason someone can't pursue both. Especially at the student level, it's good to try out everything and find what resonates with you. The value of a good technical director actually comes from being able to swing back and forth between disciplines. Not always designing multiple facets of the same shows, but able to manage and coordinate between them while spearheading one of them on their own if need be.

If you think about costume, set, makeup, and lighting design, they all take advantage of the use of color, contrast, lines, and highlight/shadow. It's the same principles of design painted with different brushes. Excellent sound design harnesses the auditory equivalents. It's a similar design process just with different hardware.

I've heard a bunch of derogatory jokes shot across the bow between sound and lighting disciplines, and even in jest these have no place in our business. There's nothing wrong in crossing back and forth and no reason to discourage someone from doing so. The only compelling case for someone who wants to be multi-disciplinary to select a specialization is if they reach a bottleneck where splitting their time makes it impossible to grow. That's not a bottleneck you encounter when you're 16, and not even when you're 26. There's no reason for a student to be concerned by that.

I'd also argue that the most effective production designers are the ones who see the whole field and can speak intelligently about multiple disciplines with the director or the client. Being able to act as the tip of the spear or to collaborate with other disciplines is invaluable.
 
I guess it depends at what level. In many resident theater companies, there will be any number of cross-over disciplines. I haven't heard of anyone specializing in those two specific disciplines, but I don't think that it is unheard of either. I think that it might be that sound design can often be passed over (no mics on performers, practical sound effects) and so it is less common for sound design to be combined with another designer. They are on their own or not there at all.

It could be said that someone with a good sense of sound might understand how the set design affects the performance differently than just someone who knows how to make it look pretty. So, it might be something to encourage. Even if the student goes on to only be a set designer, he might just come up with some new novel designs (playing around with what sets are made of or something like that). After all, isn't this the best time to play around with different disciplines? School is the best place to push the boundaries.
 
Honestly, from a pragmatic and logistical point of view, it makes a bit of sense: You don't to worry about the sound design while drafting or even building the set; and, if the set install goes well, you shouldn't have too many set notes to worry about while you're setting levels and micing performers.

Usually.


:)
 
I agree with Mike Nicolai. It's important to foster a multitude of interests and talents that a student possesses. It's far too soon for that student to be 'choosing' which road to follow. Ultimately he or she will need to focus on something enough to earn a degree but even after that the possibilities are endless. I worked as a production manager for years in a much larger market, and now am TD for a smaller theatre company for whom I also design about half of the season. I have found myself lately adding sound design to my plate on projects that I have also done the set for and it's exhilarating! Our production of A Christmas Carol last year was my set as well as my sound design and I had a blast producing both -- albeit at different times in the process. I'm a lighting designer as well and have had the privilege of doing sets, lighting, AND sound for some of our shows including Wit and a recent production of To Kill a Mockingbird. To be able to create with the director a complete world that is guided by a single vision is truly an amazing feeling and I think can create a uniquely individualized point of view. I think for the right projects in the right production environment it can be fun and beneficial. However on some shows that could spell catastrophe: lack of taste, talent, and physical time can make a multi-disciplined designer approach detrimental to the creative process....not to mention getting the damn show up on time.
 
I agree with Mike Nicolai. It's important to foster a multitude of interests and talents that a student possesses. It's far too soon for that student to be 'choosing' which road to follow. Ultimately he or she will need to focus on something enough to earn a degree but even after that the possibilities are endless. I worked as a production manager for years in a much larger market, and now am TD for a smaller theatre company for whom I also design about half of the season. I have found myself lately adding sound design to my plate on projects that I have also done the set for and it's exhilarating! Our production of A Christmas Carol last year was my set as well as my sound design and I had a blast producing both -- albeit at different times in the process. I'm a lighting designer as well and have had the privilege of doing sets, lighting, AND sound for some of our shows including Wit and a recent production of To Kill a Mockingbird. To be able to create with the director a complete world that is guided by a single vision is truly an amazing feeling and I think can create a uniquely individualized point of view. I think for the right projects in the right production environment it can be fun and beneficial. However on some shows that could spell catastrophe: lack of taste, talent, and physical time can make a multi-disciplined designer approach detrimental to the creative process....not to mention getting the damn show up on time.
I'm pleased to note you can see your situation from multiple points of view. (Including how easily you can be pushed beyond your time limits.)
All the best to you.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
When I was in college, our set design professor ended up doing the sound design for my senior thesis show (where I did the set design and another student did the lighting design), and it was interesting for us to see him take on a different discipline than what we'd seen from him. More recently, I've seen firsthand what happens when a set designer doesn't know enough about sound- the set I designed for our production of Grease this year put a thrust stage out in front of the PA, and the director put the actors and their 24 wireless mics right at the focus point of the speakers for half of the show. In addition, we had the band and their monitors on a platform behind the actors, without much in the way of sound isolation for them. Naturally, we ended up with a ton of feedback, phase cancellation, and general ugliness, and hopefully some good lessons learned by all.

Certainly your student will gain precious knowledge even if he doesn't end up pursuing both areas of design, and can avoid making similar mistakes when he's a paid professional! Just remind him that sound is a purely technical field, so if he wants a Tony award for design he'll have to do it with his sets :boohoo:.
 
There's no reason not to pursue both areas of design - if you're good at multiple things, hone both of those skills. I would say there needs to be a debate whether they are developing two skills independently or if the eventual goal is to market themselves as one big set/sound design package. I've had far too many shows where the set designer didn't want to see speakers and it was a huge debate - so being able to know both disciples and know both sides of the argument is a pretty great trait to get. On large shows I've seen set designers also do costume design, and set designers also do the lighting design. I've had costume and lighting design as well. I know it's more common to see doubling in regional theaters for matters of cost savings, however the doublings I've worked on have been on large shows and at the request of the director to keep certain elements of the production tied together very closely. I see no reason why on a play that a set designer couldn't double up and also sound design, but I could see it quickly going south on a large reinforced show/musical.

I would say to push this interest, see where it goes, but to also stress knowing the limitations you can take on in a production. In a professional production the sound designer and set designer both put out more paperwork than any other department, and it's a lot to take on for a single person. More importantly, in tech the sound designer often has their face in screens and is not watching the set, which is why I feel the doubling is only truly practical on plays, where a lot of the work of the sound designer can be done pre-tech and then you can set levels and truly watch the stage as the show is built. I would say that there is no reason they can't market themselves as a scenic OR a sound designer, but I would be wary of having a single resume that screams "Scenic/Sound Designer" in one package.
 
No reason in the world not to do both or more. The more marketable skills you have the more employable you are. When, in the late 80's, there was a drought of sound gigs I learned lighting. When I worked, now don't laugh, a WWF pay per view and saw how they were using video I went and learned that. The more hats you can wear the more work you can get. As I tell the students here, it is called show BUSINESS for a reason. We are teaching marketable skills like it or not. If they have the interest in multiple areas we need to encourage them in all of them.
 
I personally work in a high school and am often called upon to do the light, set, and audio design. UW-Milwaukee has a sound design professor that also teaches scenic design and works professionally in both disciplines.

My thought is this: If I'm looking to hire a set designer and an audio designer and I find one person that can do both, it saves a lot of paperwork and money to only hire one person.
 
If you want to eat for the first 10 years of your career, more tools in your bag means more work. The student will probably have to choose eventually but it'll be based on the results of real world experience and what he/she is really good at. Perhaps the student will find an odd little niche where you can do it all.

To me the real question is why do so many people focus on only one skill set in college as it makes it harder to get work afterwards. Although the university recruiters would like us to believe otherwise, in tech theater a degree is rarely the golden ticket to the dream career. Look around and talk to people with really cool jobs, I bet more than half of the time they didn't go to school for the dream job they end up doing. Ask people and you will find they got a degree in A, spent some time doing B, and C, failed at D and E, but someone needed help with F, and then they worked their way up to a position as G because of the combined experience in A-F. It's what you do with your education after leaving the university that is most important, who you impress, and the quality of your work that leads to the career of our dreams. Read our "How Important was your degree" thread for more on my theory.
 
I also work in a high school and just did this very thing for our production of "Almost, Maine".
I specialized in scenery in grad school, and did that for a while, but now I freelance lighting and am responsible for scenery, lights, and sound at my day job. For a long time I took most gigs thrown my way and am so glad I did. My advice would be to soak up any and all experience he can because, IMO, more skills = more opportunities and you never know what might come your way.
 
I also work in a high school and just did this very thing for our production of "Almost, Maine".
I specialized in scenery in grad school, and did that for a while, but now I freelance lighting and am responsible for scenery, lights, and sound at my day job. For a long time I took most gigs thrown my way and am so glad I did. My advice would be to soak up any and all experience he can because, IMO, more skills = more opportunities and you never know what might come your way.

Exactly. In my position at this high school I book rentals, manage a crew of adult techs (assigning work and making sure they get paid, teach tech kids lighting, sound, design and build sets, and do basic rigging. And my adult crew expects to be able to call me and ask why something doesn't work and I need to know the gear well enough to be able to answer... and although I took a lot of theater classes, my B.A. is in History.
 

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