Quick, name a sound designer that's won an Emmy Award. Can't? Actually, neither can we right off the top of our head. Unless there big bombs or huge explosions, an audience usually doesn't pay much attention to a show's sound design. Ambient sound and incidental music are crucial to a show, but usually go unnoticed -- sound designers don't take a bow at the end of the show. Here's one that should. Andy McWilliams, a composer, musician, producer, sound engineer, instrument craftsman and theatrical sound designer works with local companies such as Mildred's Umbrella where he just finished working on Red Death.
What he does: "I do many different things. Being a musician and engineer/producer, I play many different instruments, write and record, produce and mix different projects. As a sound designer in theater, I use my musician side to put together the right elements for the play I'm working on at that time."
Why he likes it: "I like all of the elements involved with making any artistic production come together. Making records and working in theater share a lot of similarities... [for both] you're working with people that you like and trust, and they like and trust you to add your ideas to what something. I love working with the people, and seeing the final product is always very rewarding. Sometimes the process takes so much out of you that you have to step back a bit before you can see what you've made, but it's always wonderful."
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