School is fun, but drafting is more fun.

Okay, so on top of finishing up with school and exercising, I've resolved to take some time to really hammer out my portfolio before the summer comes.  I am going back to the basics with AutoCAD and Vectorworks in order to make sure that I can provide Lake Tahoe Shakes with paperwork that done in the USITT graphics standard.  I also want to back up and provide myself with some more accurate paperwork for shows that I've worked on previously, like stuff from Heritage and my designs from last spring.  I'm already familiar enough with AutoCAD and Vectorworks to make lines and text and arrange them how I want, but the internets have granted me a gift of an AutoCAD 2010 training manual, so I think I'll start with that.

The urgent need for a portfolio with better paperwork has arisen from the idea that I might actually want to apply to grad school in the next few years, and I will need an accurate portfolio.  Also, any bigger jobs that I could be looking at (or higher profile employers) will probably not be too impressed with what I have thrown together at this point.  So, here are the goals for my portfolio:

• Create packages as complete as possible for each production that I've worked on so far, including block diagrams, equipment lists, ground plans w/ speaker placement, and rack diagrams.
• Create a website that will allow me to showcase my work.
• Set a working standard for myself that complies with USITT standards and my own high personal standards in order to further my career.
• Complete Portfolio as far back as last summer by the beginning of June, including audio mix-downs of LSOP performance.  

As someone who works in a theater program where sound is not at the forefront monetarily or artistically (which is not to say it's a poor program, we really do produce great theater), I can fully appreciate (though not first-hand) coming into a new job and getting strong paperwork and information from the previous sound team.  It makes everyone's life easier, and it showcases the engineer's organization and planning skills.

So, that's my plan.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't write this in order to procrastinate doing homework.  Life is hard.  Blah blah blah.