You may recall the epic Audio Arts competition we did earlier this year in partnership with Steinberg Nuendo to open up our Internship Programme to the global talent pool of aspiring Sound Designers.
Entrants were tasked to create the sonic landscape for ‘NERO’ – an Afrofuturistic proof of concept and we were blown away with the quality of submissions we received from around the world.
Our internal team had the hard task of making a Top 10 shortlist which we handed over to our industry-leading guest judges (Timo Wildenheim, Keith Kavayi, Michael Matthews, Craig Parker, Adrian Rhodes, Tafadzwa Hove and Greig Cameron).
“It was a pleasure for me and Steinberg Media Technologies to support the Pressure Cooker young talent development program. I was extremely impressed by Pressure Cooker’s professional implementation of the competition and the high quality of the submissions. If you as a production studio go the extra mile to acquire next-generation talent, it will pay off – not only for the studio and the talent, but also for the location. I think the Cape Town production site will benefit greatly from such initiatives.“
Timo Wildenheim – Head of ProAudio and Steinberg Media Technologies, A Yamaha Group Company
The judges lent us their precious time to go through our Top 10 submissions and rate the quality of Sound Design from both a technical and creative point of view.
Dylan Appolis was the successful winner of the 15-month paid Internship at Pressure Cooker Studios and he starts his Internship this week!
Dylan said in his submission video: ‘I want to take this opportunity to learn about the art of sound design. I just want to consume enough knowledge so that by the end of it, I can make a career out of it.’ And that aligns with our vision at Pressure Cooker Studios. We want to build a platform for talent to flourish, and build sustainable careers in our industry.
We got Dylan to answer a few questions so we can get some insight into our newest Intern:
What was your experience of the Audio Arts Competition?
This was my first sound design contest. I’ve always been more interested in music, so I don’t really have any prior experience with sound design. I kind of fell in love with the idea of it through this competition. It was a challenging experience—going through countless tutorials to figure out how Nuendo works and putting ideas together to bring the on-screen characters to life. Despite the challenges, I enjoyed every second of the process. It was a massive learning experience, and it sparked an interest in something new.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’m an avid gamer. If you don’t see me, I’m probably playing games. (And apparently the studio is full of gamers!)
Tell us when you realized this was what you wanted to do as a career?
I decided to leave my previous job to figure out in what direction I wanted to take my career. I moved away, took some time off, and did my research. I knew I wanted to do something creative, but it’s difficult to get opportunities in those types of industries. My interest in sound design only developed in the last 12 months. I practiced on some gaming trailers, and then I looked for contests I could enter. A friend shared the Nuendo Audio Arts competition with me, and it piqued my interest to become a sound designer. At this point, it’s become my passion, and it’s something I would love to do full-time.
You visited the studio recently to meet the team; what do you think of your new work space?
The studios are beautiful. It was warm, and everyone was very welcoming. I was actually quite surprised to see the Dolby Atmos room, since there are only a handful around South Africa. I’m nothing but excited to work in this space.
What do you hope to gain from your Internship?
As much knowledge as possible. When it comes to the art of sound design and foley, there’s still a lot I don’t know about, so I’d love to take this opportunity to learn from the veterans at Pressure Cooker Studios. I know they’re big on collaboration, and that’s an aspect I’m really excited to experience.
What are you most looking forward to?
I look forward to the content we’ll be working on. Not only movies and series but hopefully getting involved in games too.
We’re so excited to have Dylan joining our creativehub and sacred space!
