Masquerade Sound and Music FAQ

1. How long can my soundtrack be?
2. In what formats will you be accepting music?
3. Can I get my CD back after the convention?
4. Can I send in my audio in advance?
5. What is the point of sending in my audio ahead of time if I have to bring a CD with me anyway?
6. Can I go on without pre-recorded sound?
7. Are you accepting DVD-Rs?
8. Are you accepting audio tapes?
9. Can we record our skit at the convention using your equipment?
10. Can my music be on more than one track?
11. Can you start playing in the middle of the track?
12. Can my music track be longer than 2 minutes and fade out?
13. Can my music track be shorter than 2 minutes?
14. What's a good piece of editing software?
15. What happens to skits that go over-length?
16. Can the sound people pause the music, or wait until I am on stage and set up to start it, or follow other cues?
17. I have other questions.

1. How long can my soundtrack be?
   2 minutes. We have to make room for a LOT of cosplayers.

2. In what formats will you be accepting music?
   Preferably, burned audio CDs. We can accept MP3 files, but preferably we'd like to receive them ahead of time so that we can adjust the audio level to be consistent with the rest of the groups and not blow out the audience's ears.

3. Can I get my CD back after the convention?
   We will try to have the CDs available for pickup at masquerade headquarters on Sunday, but some CDs could be lost or damaged in the Masquerade process. We recommend that you only bring CDs that you would not mind loosing, ideally burned audio CDs that you have a spare copy of.

4. Can I send in my audio in advance?
   Yes, and we encourage it. You can send your audio in advance by e-mailing an audio file to the Masquerade Director. When you have sent your sound in, you will receive confirmation from the Masquerade Director that the sound has been received.

   IMPORTANT NOTE: Even if you e-mail your sound to the Masquerade Coordinator ahead of time, you MUST still bring a copy with you on CD to the convention. No matter how careful we are, it is always possible that the computer which stores the music could be damaged or stolen. You must bring a CD backup with you just in case. If you fail to bring a CD with you and there is a problem with our copy of your soundtrack, you will not be allowed on stage.

5. What is the point of sending in my audio ahead of time if I have to bring a CD with me anyway?
   Having the sound ahead of time will let us adjust the volume of tracks to make sure they sound good on our system and will let us get them in the correct order and thus reduce the risk of audio problems during the Masquerade.

6. Can I go on without pre-recorded sound?
   If you are a presentation, then no, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON STAGE IF YOU DO NOT BRING PRERECORDED SOUND. If you are a walk-on, then you will have the option of selecting a music file from a few we will have ready at the convention, but the selection will be extremely limited and we cannot guarantee that there will be anything you like.

7. Are you accepting DVD-Rs?
   No. (...and no DVD+R, DVD-RW, or anything like that either.)

8. Are you accepting audio tapes?
   No.

9. Can we record our skit at the convention using your equipment?
   No.

10. Can my music be on more than one track?
    No. Your sound must all be one track. We cannot play multiple tracks for one entry.

11. Can you start playing in the middle of the track?
    No. We will start playing at the beginning of the track. If you want to start elsewhere, you should edit the music yourself and burn a CD.

12. Can my music track be longer than 2 minutes and fade out?
    Yes, if your music is longer than 2 minutes we will fade it out at the 2-minute mark.

13. Can my music track be shorter than 2 minutes?
    Sure, it can be as short as you like.

14. What's a good piece of editing software?
    We recommend Cooledit for PC systems. You can download a 30-day free trial and fiddle around with it. Otherwise, dig around; there are plenty of software packages out there. For Mac OS you might want to try GarageBand, SoundEdit, or Amadeus. For Linux you probably already have ideas if you are a Linux guru. If you have a good sound editing tool to suggest, please send the title of the product to us to post here as a suggestion for others.

15. What happens to skits that go over-length?
    If a skit goes over-length, the staff and judges will take note. Any skit that goes over-length will be rendered ineligible to win prizes and the judges will be informed not to consider it for prizes, since it is not fair for one group to take extra time. If a skit goes significantly over-length, the tech crew will stop the music and staff will go onto stage and stop the skit. Don't make us do that.

16. Can the sound people pause the music, or wait until I am on stage and set up to start it, or follow other cues?
    No. There are many entries, so it is very difficult for sound to do anything special for a single entry. If you need silence at the beginning of your skit, a pause, or some other special timing feature, you should edit those silences, pauses, and timing features into the music yourself. (However, you may want to make a note of it so the tech crew is aware there will be silence and not think there's something wrong with your audio.)

17. I have other questions.
    E-mail the Masquerade Director.

• Masquerade Information
• Masquerade Rules
• Masquerade FAQ
• Masquerade Sound and Music FAQ
• Craftsmanship Judging sample questions
• Masquerade Registration Form
• Masquerade Participation Form for Minors