Devin Nee is a sound, lighting and video designer based in Minneapolis, MN and San Francisco, CA.

I'm in my second year of grad school at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities working on my MFA in lighting, sound and video design. I believe that a great designer starts as a great technician and an eye for detail. Knowing the gear opens up the doors to creative implementations.

As a designer my work is influenced by the people I surround myself with. My inspiration may come from a song i heard at my favorite coffee shop, the stories of my neighborhood barber, another artists work and everything in between. I feel that it’s imperative that i not only continue to see other designers work but challenge myself to work outside of my comfort zone within my designs. My mentor put it best when he said “I wake up every morning to a sign above my bed that reads ‘Nobody will work harder than me today’ and i try my very best to continue to do just that”

Download my resume is here and samples of some of my productions are below. I'm a proud member of United States Institute of Technical Thaetre, Theater Bay Area, Stage Jobs Pro and Show Crew Network. If you like my portfolio or have a show or event you'd like me to design, shoot me an email.

Productions

Sounds

Pre-show announcement (The Foreigner)

I have always enjoyed creative pre-show announcements that help pull the audience into the world that we have created. For The Foreigner I worked with the assistant director to create a script that introduced the show as well as the information that needed to be conveyed. I then coached and recorded two of the understudies.

Transition Music (The Foreigner)

For the transitions in The Foreigner I wanted them to have a back country down to earth feel as well as support the mood of the scenes around each one. To me the back country feel that i was thinking of was a back porch band with a banjo, washboard, and a bass. The director had requested that there was a harmonica in the instrumentation because Betty plays the harmonica. This combination is not a main stream instrumentation and not easy to find. When i did find the right sound i was faced with the challenge of having vocals that did not match that show in all of the tracks. The following transitions are examples of tracks that no longer have vocals.

Ellard Falling in Cellar (The Foreigner)

This was a cue that I put together to reinforce Ellard falling in the cellar. I recorded the most of the sounds in my kitchen including breaking bottles, dropping utensils and other heavy objects, and even breaking scraps of wood.

Pre-show announcement (The Subject was Roses)

This is another example of a pre-show announcement that i wrote in order to smooth out the transition from pre-show to act one. This track also helps connect the radio announcers voice from the pre-show radio and the in show radio announcements.

Radio Dance Sequence (The Subject was Roses)

This is one of the only sound cues in the script. Timmy turns on the radio and tunes it to find a slow foxtrot. when the foxtrot finishes there is a short radio announcement before timmy tunes to a lively polka. In the middle of the polka Timmy turns off the radio. Listen carefully for the coffee advertisement as timmy's father is in the coffee business.

Intro Into Act 1 (The Subject was Roses)

My concept for this show was to follow the arc of the story with the clarinet. In the beginning the music is of a fuller more upbeat nature with the focus being on the clarinet. In later tracks the music becomes melancholy as the clarinet becomes more of a solo instrument.

Transition Into Act 1 Scene 2 (The Subject was Roses)

The mood is still happy the day after the welcome home party.

Transition Into Act 1 Scene 3 (The Subject was Roses)

The end of act 1 scene 2 is a particular high point as the family is leaving for a night on the town.

End of Act 1 (The Subject was Roses)

The audience is left with a big shock to the system just before intermission.

Into Act 2 Scene 1 (The Subject was Roses)

The music really starts to mellow out at this point.

Transition Into Act 2 Scene 2 (The Subject was Roses)

Mom has disappeared into the night.

Transition Into Act 2 Scene 3 (The Subject was Roses)

This track transitions from mothers return into her late night heart to heart with Timmy.