Introduction to Sound Design for Moving Images

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to theories and practices of sound design, with a focus on moving images— that is, soundtracks for film and video. This is not a software how-to course, where you learn some specific application, though Audacity and Reaper are the recommended tools.

The course starts out with a consolidation of the historical background of sound design and how it has evolved over the decades since its emergence in the 1970s. Topics include acoustics and psychoacoustics, audio effects, sound spatialization and perception, soundscape composition, electronic music production, field and studio recording, digital audio basics, creating complex mixes and managing mix stems, Foley, film aesthetics, compositional concepts, sound and emotion, and audiovisual aesthetics in general.

As such, it provides a thorough Introduction to theory and practice of sound design, with a focus on sound's relationship to moving images. Beyond sound as a medium (music and audio art), it explores the plasticity of sound and its relationship to other media. Students will develop their skills and aesthetic sensibilities while gaining a conceptual and historical understanding of the role of sound as a media.

The overall goal of the course is to give students the tools and skills to develop their own sound design projects; whether it is a pure sonic project, a sound track for video or sound design for an interactive media.