Contest

Student Sound Design Contest Winners

by David Watkins

The Student Sound Design Contest has officially ended! Here are our winners.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first ever Student Sound Design Contest! We had over 160 incredible entries from talented students around the world. The top 10 entries were judged by Academy Award®-winner Richard King (Dunkirk, Inception, The Dark Knight), and the winners walk away with up to $6,400 in sound libraries. Here's a quote from Richard that highlighted just how impressive the entries were:

"[Judging] was difficult as they are all really good. Plus it’s such a subjective thing because you’re usually trying to match a sound with an image for a specific application or feeling. All of these would be good for some application or another. So I just rated by personal taste!"

So as you can see, we were very impressed. Check out our winners below:

First Place Winner

Niels N. Winter
@nielsnwinter

Comments from Richard King: "Very interesting, ear catching elements. Nice use of reverse dynamics, clever filter sweep at the end. Sounds really powerful and punchy. Done with a delicate touch!"

Prize: CORE 4: Standard Bundle ($6,400+ total value)

Second Place Winner

Stephen Alvarez
@stephen_alvarez_

Comments from Richard King: "Very good, powerful. Love the stuttery buildup. Bright and punchy. Very dramatic!"

Prize: CORE 4: Creator Bundle ($900+ total value)

Honorable Mentions

Dušan Banić
@the.banic

Comments from Richard King: "Interesting textures, the 'wah' sound at the end is great, cool and unexpected."

Prize: 1 Year SoundQ Subscription ($99 value)

Paul Coret
@DeepDriah

Comments from Richard King: "Dramatic. Liked the quality of the swirling vortex, it has a granular, watery quality. Dramatic and punchy throughout."

Prize: 1 Year SoundQ Subscription

Shawn Tischler
@the_tischmeister

Comments from Richard King: "Cool ringing in the ears vibe. Very punchy. Liked the filter sweep into a sound like muted power."

Prize: 1 Year SoundQ Subscription

Finalists

Hanshen Huang
www.hansonwav.com

Comments from Richard King: "I like the gurgling, swirling feeling. Good sense of 'soft' power, conveying innate energy without hits or huge impacts. Nice stereo imaging too. Might be lacking in dynamics, it all felt about the same level."

Prize: 3 Month SoundQ Subscription ($29 value)