College Talent is an online talent show hosted on Twitch and YouTube, created to preserve college spirit and competition between universities during the nation-wide Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. I am in charge of aural branding and sound design for College Talent's promotional material and live show.
Below is a promo video with aural branding and sound design included.
Things to consider:
The thing I've heard the most from college students during the 2020 pandemic is that they are tired of having nothing to do and are sick of the feeling of stagnation and loneliness. This lack of engagement and entertainment is dangerous as it would promote them to go to parties, malls, and beaches to search for the excitement that they've missed pre-covid. It is important to market College Talent as a near-perfect alternative to social stimulation.
College Talent must be played like a party, and its sound design must agree. Some key reactions I aimed at were: "That's hella lit!", "Hype!", and "F*cking dope, bruh!" And that's exactly what I've received. Sounds of bottle opening, trip gong (boxing bell), and slot machine were used to that effect. And an insect-like moog synth is used to give nuance and texture to the existing 1980's visuals. Other swoosh/clicking samples were added to improve readability and emphasis on texts.
