Semester 2- 20 credits
Course organiser -Dr. Martin Parker
Taken in year one if part-time
Location – The Sound Lab, Alison House, 12 Nicolson Square, EH8 9DF
Time – 2-3:50 pm Tuesdays
Course website – sd.caad.ed.ac.uk/ise
Students advance through a series of lectures, demonstrations, practical project work, exercises and critique in a group context. Full attendance and punctual arrival is expected of all students whether auditing the course or taking it for credit.
Synopsis
Shifting emphasis from resource creation in the studio towards innovative uses of these resources in non-linear formats. This course will familiarise students with other technologies involved in sound design, in particular the complex processes involved in computer-game sound production and websites. Students advance through a series of lectures, demonstrations, practical project work, exercises and critique in a group context.
Prerequisites
Essential:
- Familiarity with sound recording, editing and mixing software
- Experience using professional sound recording hardware
Desirable:
- Experience of using scripting languages and / or game engines will be extremely useful.
Learning Outcomes
* The ability to work with professional and/or complex sound design software tools
* The ability to use applications for design analysis, synthesis and presentation, including sound and image manipulation
* The ability to write simple instructions in a scripting language such as FMOD
* The ability to design short sound events that group together into meaningful collections
* An understanding of the issues involved in human-computer interaction and the ability to design and investigate simple interactions
* Ability to work in a collaborative context of group review and critique
* Ability to engage in a creative task within tightly constrained bounds and to present the outcome to conform to precise specifications
* Ability to interpret and apply a set of requirements pertaining to a design task
* A web-site and demonstration system for showcasing your developing expertise in sound design
Lecture Topics – subject to change
- Lecture 1 – introduction to non-linearity
- Lecture 2 – podcasting and designing for headphones
- Lecture 3 – exploring narrative
- Lecture 4 – Sound in the Unity game engine
- Lecture 5 – Sound Design with FMOD
- Lecture 6 – Using variables, passing parameters with FMOD
- Lecture 7 – Further uses of FMOD
- Lecture 8 – FMOD hints and tips
- Lecture 9 – Interactive mixing and the cinematization of game sound
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Lecture 10 – guest lecture
Assessment
Submission 1 : Nano cast – a working, iTunes compatible podcast configured for headphone playback (40%)
Submission 2 : interactive/reactive/FMOD design or advanced UNITY project (60%)
Criteria for Assessment
Work will be assessed on the basis of
* Demonstrated competence with sound design and interactive tools
* Skills in creatively deploying allocated resources, whatever their quality
* Precision and competence in presentation
* Ability to meet the requirements of the project brief and deal creatively with its open-ended aspects
* Design quality of the work in terms of meeting functional requirements, legibility, usability, interactivity, and appropriate use of media, especially sound quality and design
* Account will be taken of the risks taken and degree to which the design deviates from standard solutions
Please note that assessment will take account of tradeoffs between the above criteria, particularly taking account of the diverse backgrounds of students in the class. You are encouraged to seek feedback during the development of your work, but please note that adhering to feedback does not guarantee a high assessment of the completed work. Note also that the assessment of the work is not necessarily commensurate with the amount of time spent on the project work. The issues of design and its evaluation and documentation will be further canvassed in the Digital Media Studio Project ARCH11006.
Teaching Method
Work in this course is project-based. So the project and its tasks provide the focus, with skills being taught in targeted lecture/seminars as needed to progress the work. In general there will be two scheduled seminars per week to discuss the work, but tutors will be available outside these times as well. You will be expected to work in proximity to other students in the class and benefit from each other’s developing expertise.
Principal Software
Sound: Audacity, Pro-Tools, Max/MSP, Soundhack, Logic Audio Pro 9, quicktime, iTunes, FMOD, Unity Game Engine