Sound Design Paperwork
NEW PAGE - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Examples of paperwork used by sound designers.
Microphone Plot / Mic Plot
A chart showing who is using each radio microphone during each scene, and when swaps happen.
Sample Radio Mic Plot (PDF)
Editable Sample Radio Mic Plot (Excel)
Sound System Schematic
A diagram showing all of the elements in the sound system, along with relevant interconnections.
Used to show which venue patch connections are used, along with how the system is configured. Essential in the planning of the system.
The diagrams below are schematics from Starlight Express (1984),
Sound design by Martin Levan, diagrams courtesy of Autograph Sound.
Starlight Express Schematic 1 (November 1983)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[162kb JPEG]
From Autograph Sound
Starlight Express Schematic 2 (November 1983)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[158kb JPEG]
From Autograph Sound
Starlight Express Schematic 3 (November 1983)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[141kb JPEG]
From Autograph Sound
Starlight Express Schematic 4 (November 1983)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[179kb JPEG]
From Autograph Sound
Starlight Express Schematic 5 (November 1983)
Click on thumbnail to enlarge
[156kb JPEG]
From Autograph Sound
Tools to draw a schematic:
- Microsoft Powerpoint (part of Office 365 Suite)
- Microsoft Visio (part of Office 365 Suite)
- Affinity Design
- SmartDraw (free)
- Libre Office Draw (free)
Sound Cue List
A list, shown in the order in which they're played, of the sound cues used during a performance. How this is laid out will depend on the type of show being prepared. A traditional piece of drama, where the cues are mainly spot effects, music cues between scenes etc, may look like the following:
| Cue No. | Sound | Action / Notes | Timing | Page No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preshow Music | Play loop as audience are entering | 4 minute loop | 0 |
| 1A | Fade out preshow | Fade out as houselights fade | 7 second fade | 0 |
| 2 | Cityscape #1 | Very quiet, under scene 1 | 8 minutes, played twice | 1 - 4 |
| 3 | Crossfade into Crickets background | End of scene 1, crickets play through scene change | 1 minute 30 seconds | 4 |
| 4 | Car arrives | Just before Clive enters | 12 secs | 7 |
| 5 | Fade out crickets | With lighting blackout | 5 seconds | 9 |
Sound Desk Preset
A sheet representing each control on the sound desk, enabling the settings / connections on an analogue sound desk to be noted down, meaning the desk can be reset at the start of each show . NB: Digital mixing desk presets can be saved instantly, so no preset sheet is required.
Example preset sheet: behringer_xenyx_x2442_usb_preset