TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering into the Pressure Cooker Studio and Steinberg Nuendo Audio Arts Competition (“The Competition”) you hereby agree to the following terms and conditions set out and hereafter referred to as “The Rules”.
The Competition is organised by Pressure Cooker Studios in partnership with Steinberg Nuendo a member of the Yamaha Group.
ELIGIBILITY
Entrants must be a South African citizen or permanent resident of the RSA, or possession of a valid passport, and meet the VISA requirements for working in South Africa which are set out below.
Entrants must be 18 years or older.
Incomplete or incorrect entries will not be eligible to be judged.
Entrants may not be an employee or supplier (or a family member of an employee or a supplier) of Pressure Cooker Studios, Steinberg, or any company (including any affiliates or subsidiaries) involved in operating or sponsoring of the Competition or awarding any prizes (collectively, “Competition Entities”).
If you are selected as a winner, and are not a South Africa Citizen or permanent resident, or do not have a valid work visa for South Africa, proof of Visa Application SECTION 11(1)(B)(IV), must be submitted to the relevant South African embassy or consulate in your country of residence no later than 14 days after the announcement of the winner. Failing which Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to select an alternative winner from the subsequent runners up.
Should you make an application for a visa as provided for above and same is declined, Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to select an alternative winner from the subsequent runners up.
ENTRIES
One entry is allowed per individual.
Entrants will receive a confirmation email of entry in the Competition
Entries must be original. Any entries which infringe on creative copyright will be immediately disqualified.
All winning entries are released by the Entrant to become the sole property of Pressure Cooker Studios, for the purposes of this competition and future use if applicable.
Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to disqualify any entrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe the entrant has breached any of the Rules.
In the event of any dispute regarding the Rules, conduct, results and all other matters relating to the Competition, the decision of Pressure Cooker Studios shall be final, and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.
There is no charge to enter the Competition, nor are you required to be a Pressure Cooker Studios customer.
Pressure Cooker Studios cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition or as a result of being unable to accept any prize. Pressure Cooker Studios is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, online computer systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment or software, failure of any email or entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, or any combination of these, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer or mobile telephone related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. Nothing shall exclude Pressure Cooker Studios’ liability for death or personal injury as a result of its negligence.
Winners may be requested to take part in promotional activity, and Pressure Cooker Studios and Steinberg each reserve the right to use the names of winners, any equipment the winner may use, their photographs and audio and/or visual recordings of them or their work or entry in any publicity.
Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely in accordance with current data protection legislation and subject to these Rules will not be disclosed to a third party without the individual’s prior consent. Please see Pressure Cooker Studios privacy policy for further details. Data relating to entrants will be retained by Pressure Cooker Studios for a reasonable period after the Competition closes to assist Pressure Cooker Studios to operate Competitions in a consistent manner and to deal with any queries on the Competition as well as sending information about Pressure Cooker Studios and its products to entrants.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
You are required to demonstrate your competency and skill in the Audio Arts industry by creating original Sound Design in accordance with a creative brief, for a 35” proof of concept titled ‘NERO’ which will be sent to you on application.
You will need to use Steinberg Nuendo 13 software to complete your entry. A free 60-day trial is available to you which can be downloaded here.
Competition Dates:
Entries open on 5th March 2024 and close on 26th April 2024.
Winners will be announced on or before 1st June 2024 and will be posted on www.pressurecookerstudios.co.za/win-a-life-changing-opportunity and associated Pressure Cooker Studios Social Media channels.
PRIZES:
1st Prize: 10 000 Euros worth of value.
- 15 month (3 month probation and then a 12 month programme) paid Internship with Pressure Cooker Studios, a leading Music and Audio Post Production studio in Cape Town, South Africa – currently valued at 7 500 euros.
- Software from Steinberg to the value of 2 500 Euros: Nuendo, WaveLab Pro and ICONICA Opus.
4 Runners-Up:
- Software from Steinberg to the value of 2500 Euros for each of the four runners-up: Nuendo, Nuendo Live, WaveLab Pro, SpectraLayers, Absolute or Dorico.
Prize values are estimated at time of current exchange and may fluctuate.
Prizes are non-transferable, and there is no cash alternative. Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to substitute prizes for prizes of equal or greater value at any time. No prizes can be redeemed for cash. No more than the number of prizes stated in these Rules shall be awarded.
JUDGING PROCESS AND WINNER SELECTION:
The Judging process will commence on or around the 26th April 2024.
All Entries will be judged according to the ‘judging criteria’ (see judging criteria here).
All entrants will be judged by the team at Pressure Cooker Studios, who will select a top 10 from all the valid entries received.
The top 10 will then be judged by industry leading Guest Judges, Timo Wildenhain, Craig Parker, Greig Cameron, Keith Kavayi, Tafadzwa Hove, Adrian Rhodes and Michael Matthews, from which a shortlist of 5 entrants will be selected..
The top 5 candidates will be subject to a live, online interview to ensure the candidate meets the general criteria for the Internship Programme (see more here). From the top five candidates one winner and 4 runners up will be selected.
NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS AND RUNNERS UP
Potential winners will be contacted by email, beginning on/about 1st June 2024 and may be required to electronically complete a Declaration of Compliance, Release of Liability, Prize Acceptance Form and, where legally permissible, a Publicity Release and Assignment of Rights (“Prize Documents”), which Prize Documents must be completed within four days of notification.
In the event that Pressure Cooker Studios is unable to reach you at all, within 4 days of your selection as a possible winner, Pressure Cooker Studios shall select an alternate entrant as a possible winner and you will be disqualified from the Competition.
Noncompliance within this time period may result in disqualification, and an alternate winner/runner-up may be selected in your place. Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to select fewer than the stated number of winners, in its sole discretion, if Pressure Cooker Studios does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.
If you are a prize winner, then Pressure Cooker Studios may require you to prove your identity, including proof of your address. Examples of identification documents would include passport, driving license and utility bills.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
The paid Internship excludes travel to and from South Africa or accommodation.
Pressure Cooker Studios will assist in booking the first month of accommodation on behalf of the intern if required, in order for the Intern to orientate, but holds no liability to the chosen accommodation. The intern agrees to booking accommodation at his/her/their own risk.
The entrant acknowledges and accepts the fact that the winner of the Internship will be paid R12 000 a month for the duration of the internship. This is a contribution towards living expenses. The winner accepts the responsibility to subsidise their own living expenses should this be required.
PUBLICITY RIGHTS:
By entering the Competition, you hereby grant the Competition Entities the right to use your name, likeness, and entry in connection with the Competition and for any related advertising and promotion. You also accept that by entering and supplying your details, including email address, that you will be added to the monthly Pressure Cooker Studios ‘Pulse’ mailer which you may choose to opt out of.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
You hereby acknowledge that the entry submitted by you, has been created for the Competition and for the purposes for which the Competition is being held, and shall accordingly belong to Pressure Cooker Studios.
- You hereby irrevocably make over and assign to Pressure Cooker Studios all present and future rights of copyright, in perpetuity, with effect from its creation, and waives all moral rights of copyright.
- Pressure Cooker Studios hereby accepts the assignment.
Motif shall retain all right, title and interest in and to the Nero Clip. Motif grants you a limited license to use the Nero Clip solely to create your entry and for no other purpose. You may not modify the Nero Clip in any way. In no event will you obtain any rights in the Nero Clip. Except for the limited rights granted by Motif to create your entry, Motif reserves all rights in and to the Nero Clip.
You hereby warrant that your entry is an original work created by you.
GENERAL.
In the event of a conflict between these Rules and any promotional materials or other communications related to the Competition, these Rules shall govern the Competition in its entirety.
The Competition may be cancelled, modified, terminated or suspended in the event of any computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes outside control of Pressure Cooker Studios which impairs or affects the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Competition.
Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with any entry process or harasses any Pressure Cooker Studios representative, other Competition Entity, or any entrant.
Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to cancel, modify, terminate, or suspend the Competition for reasons in its sole discretion.
Pressure Cooker Studios reserves the right to close the competition early, prior to the 26th of April 2024 on notice posted on www.Pressurecookerstudios.co.za, in the event that it has received entries that max the capacity of the judging capability and further entries could prejudice the ability of the judges to effectively adjudicate the entries.
In the event of termination or early competition closing, a notice will be posted on www.Pressurecookerstudios.co.za and winners will be determined from entries received prior to cancellation based on the same judging criteria listed above.
By participating in the Competition, each entrant agrees to hold the Competition Entities and their respective current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, licensees, successors and assigns and all of their respective officers, directors, agents and employees (collectively, “Released Parties”) harmless against any and all claims and liability arising out of participation in this Competition or use/misuse of a prize, including without limitation any claims for personal injury (including death) or property damage and any claims for infringement of any third-party rights (including any intellectual property, privacy and/or publicity rights). Entrants assume all liability for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in this Competition or use or redemption of any prize.
The Competition and Rules shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of South Africa. Pressure Cooker Studios makes no representation that materials on its Website relating to this Competition are appropriate or available for use at all locations and it is your responsibility to ensure that by accessing the Website and entering the Competition such access or entry is not illegal or prohibited by the laws of the country you are in.
VISA REQUIREMENTS
(In the case of the winner not being a South African Citizen)
Proof of Visa Application SECTION 11(1)(B)(IV), to be submitted to the relevant South African embassy or consulate in the country of residence of the applicant no later than 14 days after the announcement of the winner, otherwise PCS reserves the right to select an alternative winner from the subsequent runners up places.
APPLICATION FOR A VISITOR VISA SECTION 11(1)(B)(IV) – FOR A PERIOD EXCEEDING THREE (3) MONTHS UP TO THREE (3) YEARS
A Visitor’s Visa may be issued for a period, not exceeding three (3) years, to a foreigner who has satisfied the Director-General that he or she controls sufficient available financial resources for prescribed activities. The prescribed activity contemplated in section 11(1)(b)(iv) of the Immigration Act, as amended, relates to:
- Work conducted for a foreign employer pursuant to a contract which partially requires conducting of certain activities in the Republic and relates to:
- ii) In respect of films and advertisements produced in South Africa, including, but not limited to, an actor, cameraman, hair stylist, make-up artist or lighting and sound engineer;
As per regulation 11(5) of the Regulations we will appoint an independent expert to oversee and audit this competition and its rules.
NON DISCLOSURE
By entering the Competition (and you warrant that), you are aged 18 or over (or have permission from a parent or guardian if you are a minor in your jurisdiction of residence) and that you are not an employee or supplier (or a family member of an employee or a supplier) of Pressure Cooker Studios (PCS), Steinberg, Motif Studios (Motif) or any company (including any affiliates or subsidiaries) involved in operating or sponsoring the Competition or awarding any prizes (collectively, “Competition Entities”).
As between you and Motif, Motif retains all right, title and interest in and to the Nero Clip. Motif grants you a limited license to use the Nero Clip solely to create your entry and for no other purpose. You may not modify the Nero Clip in any way. In no event will you obtain any rights in the Nero Clip. Except for the limited rights granted by Motif, Motif reserves all rights in and to the Nero Clip.
By entering the Competition, you hereby grant the Competition Entities the right to use your name, likeness, and entry in connection with the Competition and for any related advertising and promotion.
JUDGING CRITERIA
| ITEM | WEIGHTING | EXPECTATION |
| Vetting | High | All submission files present: – Wav file – Striped video file – Session folder – 60s design rationale – 60s internship motivation – Resume / CV Includes basic layers (Backgrounds, Foley, SFX, and vocalisations) Loudness spec is within reasonable range (-30 to -18 LUFS, <-1dBTP) |
| Technical Deliverables | High | All deliverable files are clearly named, present and complete: – Audio file (48kHz/24-bit stereo WAV) – Video file (ProRes or H264 with audio) – Session folder complete Loudness spec: -23LUFS +/-1 LU, -2dB True Peak |
| Session Management | Low | A collaborator should easily be able to open and navigate the session. All tracks clearly and logically labelled, color coded, and grouped together. Empty tracks, muted clips, and unused files removed from the session. |
| Routing | Low | Appropriate and practical use of Group Tracks and FX Tracks routing for gain staging, bus processing, and send FX. |
| Processing | Med | Use of corrective and creative signal processing that enhances the sound design elements. (automation. EQ, compression, distortion, reverb/delay, time/pitch manipulation) |
| Mix | High | The mix is sonically balanced, without offending levels or tonal qualities. The mix makes use of motion, space, and dynamics that fit the action in the scene – while conforming to the target loudness spec. |
| Sound Design | High | All layers are present, and crafted to believably enhance the picture: – Backgrounds – Footsteps – Foley – Weapons – Vocalisations – Designed sounds |
| Attention to Detail | High | All sounds are in sync and present – unless intentionally omitted within reason (refer to rationale). Attention to individual sync sounds vs blanket coverage (weapons, footsteps, foley) |
| Creative & Narrative | High | Focus on emotional storytelling, with consideration for changes in perspective, pace, and tension. Detail and depth are demonstrated in layers, with focal elements drawing attention. Additional non-visible sounds used to aid the narrative and highlight key moments. |
| Originality | High | Own original sounds recorded and manipulated. Unorthodox sounds or methods are used effectively to bring the world or characters to life. |
Email us here if you have any questions.
