Teaching Dossier

Program: BAA ANIMATION
Course Name: Sound Design: Music, Dialogue and Sound Effects
This course is designed to introduce students to theory and practical use of sound for picture with a particular concentration on animated film. Topics include a detailed background of the technology and aesthetics of sound in current industry practice and throughout the history of motion pictures. Through interactive lecture and discussion, the physical theory of sound and issues of digital representations of audio are examined. Through studio work, students focus on the use of industry standard audio recording, editing and processing software in order to create a finished soundtrack for an animated film.

Program: BAA ANIMATION
Course Name: Music Structure & Culture Through Animated Film
This course is designed to provide students with a cultural and historical survey of music with an emphasis on its presentation in animated film. Cultural, social & political issues are explored through an examination of musical styles in various cultures and contexts.

Program: MEDIA ARTS
Course Name: Music in Media
This course provides a cultural, historical and geographical overview of music with an emphasis on its role in modern media such as film, television and the internet. The appreciation of music is developed through an understanding of its basic elements - rhythm, melody, harmony and instrumentation - extended by the examination of musical styles in various historical and geographical cultures. The knowledge and skills appropriate to the selection, editing and synchronization of music with picture will also be developed.

Program: MEDIA ARTS
Course Name: Audio Production Concepts
This course provides an introduction to audio. It deals with the technology of audio, audio concepts, aesthetics and introductory techniques. The technology component addresses basic understanding of the operation of equipment and focuses on microphones, recorders, and digital audio workstations. Audio concepts deals with the basic physics and perception of sound, simple acoustics, and audio systems and signal flow. The emphasis is placed on operational understanding of audio. Audio aesthetics will develop basic listening skills, concepts and vocabulary in music, acoustics and audio that is of relevance to the media sound designer. Production techniques are introduced with examples and workshops. Emphasis is placed on the design of sound through recording and editing. Class discussion of concepts in these areas will centre on recorded examples, as well as student's work in progress and finished assignments.

Program: ADVANCED TELEVISION & FILM
Course Name: Pre-Production Sound Design
Exercises focus on the creative aspect of sound design appropriate to the pre-production, scripting and early production stages of project development. Specific topics include: script marking of sound highlights; analyzing a script for fundamental tension; drawing a soundtrack graph; the function and procedure of the sound spotting session; and selecting music and creating a temp music score. Several film soundtracks are studied from the point of view of audio story-telling, including IMAX Blue Planet, 2001:A Space Odyssey, and Snatch. Students leave the module with a clear concept of the audio issues relating to their particular projects, including graphic and verbal analyses of their project's sound design.

Program: ADVANCED TELEVISION & FILM
Course Name: Post-Production Sound Design
Exercises focus on the creative aspect of sound design appropriate to the post-production, mixing and mastering stages of project development. Specific topics include: the function and procedure of the sound spotting session; selecting music and creating a temp music score; stem mixing practice; premix and final mix practice; mixing formats.  Several film soundtracks are studied from the point of view of mixing practice, including IMAX Space Station.  Students leave the module with a clear concept of the audio issues relating to their particular projects, including a complete detailed soundscript.

Program: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA, COMMUNICATIONS, CULTURE & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Course Name: Advanced Audio
This course explores how to design and produce a soundtrack for film or television. The foundations of technical theory and nomenclature are provided, as well as aesthetic guidelines. Practical exercises explore: voice recording, use of library sound effects, creative sound design, sound editing and processing technology and soundtrack mixing.