by Trent Rentsch
Here we go again. It’s time to turn the mundane into the Creatively sublime and win valuable prizes! And this year, we have a great prize… wait, more on that in a moment.
First, the set-up, for those of you who weren’t with us last year. Like you, I often find myself digging through music and sound effects libraries, looking for the “perfect” track. During that search, I’ll give endless files a half second listen, then blow on by, leaving the same tracks unused, over and over. There are hundreds of pieces of audio that I leave orphaned, abandoned. One day, it occurred to me that the issue wasn’t the audio tracks… maybe it was me, not giving them a chance, or worse, not flexing my Creative muscle enough to discover a way to make them work. And that’s when the idea for the contest was born.
Last year we had a small, but wonderfully Creative group of entries, more than I imagined we’d have, and many more Producers wrote me post-deadline saying they wanted to give it a go. So to those who missed out last year, here’s your chance!
Here is your assignment. On the RAP Soundstage this month (track 2), you’ll find 3 pieces of audio that any self-respecting Creative would ignore [click here to listen or right click to download]. They include a sound effect, an audio drop, and a music loop. To enter, you must utilize all 3 in either a mock commercial or promo. Of course, you can add other music and/or effects and VO to the piece, but these orphans need to stand out in a Creative way. It’s going to take some thought to make them work effectively in your Creation; these are not something you’d be naturally drawn to use. And this year, there’s a new twist… I’m going to give you the topics you must use. If it’s a commercial, it must be for a Florist. If it’s a promo, it must be for a Cash Giveaway contest. Honestly, I’m kind of scared of this challenge myself…
The deadline to enter is Friday July 15th. Email your entry to:
Like last year, the entries will be judged by RAP’s Gold Members, the same judges that cast the votes in the RAP Awards. They know their stuff and will be listening for the most Creative use of each Orphan. They’re a tough crowd. As a reminder, here’s what some of them said about last year’s entries:
None of them made me think "I wish I had thought about/made that", so I´ll have to go with a blank vote on this one. Maybe I´m setting the bar too high, maybe it´s the European in me, or maybe Trent just came up with an extremely different task :) That said I love the fact that you do competitions like this one, and I definitely would have entered myself had I been able to find the time, so I hope there will be plenty more.
This was a tough one: one piece was far superior (to my ears) in terms of production values and entertainment value but it didn’t have any place on a radio station, as far as I could figure out. So I had to go for one that might actually be used. It was a great idea for a contest!
Wow – Hard to wrap my head around this assignment! I had to listen to the 3 sounds to figure out what was going on. I chose the entry I voted for because I like how the effects are woven into the bed.
Why would you put yourself through this abuse, you might ask? Well, while last year’s winner, Chadd Pierce can tell you, it’s more than just the fame (cough, cough), it’s the fun of the challenge. Oh, and then there are the prizes…
This year I’m proud to announce a cool prize from iZotope, makers of my favorite Creative plugins. This year’s winner will receive a copy of their wonderful Ozone 7! Yep, makes me wish I could enter… in addition, the winner will get a Gold RAP Membership, an iZotope t-shirt, and a one of a kind “Sankey Directive” coffee mug, featuring art from my CD.
So, you know your assignment, you know what’s at stake. Pull down that audio, get Creative, and put together a masterpiece… or at the very least, give us a good laugh.
In closing, I just want to say, good luck, the orphans are all counting on you.
Trent Creates words, voices, audio and music. His professional home is Krash Creative. Send your entry to
