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Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title Audio & Sonic Design
Module Code ICT1033 (ITS: CM555)
Faculty Humanities & Social Sciences School Communications
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Description

The aims of the module are twofold: 1. To develop a critical understanding of the use of sound and music in emerging media an. 2. To give students a practical introduction to the planning and implementation of audio and music components in time based and responsive mixed media projects

Learning Outcomes

1. 1D6463C8-CE13-0001-A510-AE86AFC06000
2. To be able to record audio suitable for the production of music, voiceover, foley, ADR, and other uses in the media industries.
4. 17,7,12,6,8
5. 1
6. 1D6463C9-D07C-0001-BCAD-1B1C15D07C00
7. Show proficiency in the use and application of location recording technologies.
10. 2
11. 1D6463C9-E7F9-0001-EFC7-1A50DA701786
12. Manipulate, edit and produce sound recordings using digital software.
15. 3
16. 1D6463CA-1FD2-0001-F488-1DE01FAC12F3
17. Appraise the work of sound artists, sound designers, and other professionals in the audio industries.
19. 22,17,20,7,12,6,21,9
20. 4
21. 1D6463CA-8C41-0001-744E-E6B51E301F51
22. Produce a major sound work for integration with media environments, including legacy and emerging media.
24. 22,20,18,7,12,16,6,23,8,19,21,11,9,10
25. 5
26. 1D99672A-0DC7-0001-5E7E-2E0075C01D1A
27. Design and produce sound for linear and responsive media
30. 6
31. 1D99672A-11A2-0001-F29E-17201C409B50
32. Mix sound from both musical and environmental sources.
35. 7


WorkloadFull time hours per semester
TypeHoursDescription
Lecture12Theory and Case Study based
Seminars24Lab session practice based, demonstration & feedback sessions
Assignment Completion40Assignment 1
Assignment Completion60Assignment 2
Independent Study54independent learning time
Directed learning60Researching relevant techniques, artists and sound works
Total Workload: 250
Section Breakdown
CRN10869Part of TermSemester 1
Coursework100%Examination Weight0%
Grade Scale40PASSPass Both ElementsN
Resit CategoryRC1Best MarkN
Module Co-ordinatorAndreas Aurelio Rauh OrtegaModule Teacher
Assessment Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
ProjectProduce a piece of mixed audio ( studio and environmental sounds) for time-based media.30%Week 6
ProjectTo produce a major sound work or sound installation.50%Week 12
ProjectWritten component of the major sound work or sound installation (exegesis), with rationale, production report, and self-reflection sections.20%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
RC1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module.
RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element.

* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Module Delivery
This module is delivered through a series of lectures, workshops, seminars, resource-based learning and demonstrations.

Hearing and spectral content of sound:
Frequency domain, fundamentals, harmonics, subharmonics & overtones. Principles of hearing:-Psycho-acoustics Principles of reproduction: monitoring, speakers and environment

Sound Design for Moving Image
Recording source audio for moving images. Foley recording and design Film Soundtrack and music

Digital Audio Recording.
Microphone Techniques & Location recording The recording studio for dubbing and voice over & Multi-track recording.

Multimedia Sound and Music
The semiotics of sound and music; cymatics; sound/colour theories; synaesthesia; sound narratives; silence; acoustic ecology.

Synthesis and Sampling;
Sound synthesise: additive, subtractive, modulation and granular MIDI

Digital Signal Processing
Multi-track Mixing: Editing, Effects & Processing:( equalisation, compression and reverberation)

Audio for responsive/ interactive environments:
Sound design for installations Sound design for games, Algorithmic Audio composition.

Sounds in Spaces
Theory and practice of how humans perceive sounds in spaces; potential practical applications for emerging media projects; use of spatial audio software for audiovisual production.

Indicative Reading List

Books:
  • Barry Blesser & Linda-Ruth Salter: 2007, Spaces Speak; are you listening?: Experiencing Aural Architecture, MIT Press,
  • Alan Licht: 2007, Sound Art: Beyond Music, Between Categories, Rizzoli, New York,
  • Sean Cubbitt: 0, Digital Aesthetics,
  • Altman, Rick, ed.: 1992, Sound Theory/Sound Practice, Routledge,
  • Nisbett, Alec: 1995, The Use of Microphones, Focal Press,
  • Jean_Francois Augoyard: 2006, Sonic Experience: A Guide to Everyday Sounds, McGill, Montreal,
  • Matt Woolman: 2000, Sonic Graphics: Seeing Sound, Thames & Hudson, London,
  • David Gibson: 1998, The Art of Mixing,
  • Dan Hosken: 2012, Music Technology and the Project Studio, 1, Routledge, 9780203804
  • Daniel W. Hosken: 2015, An Introduction to Music Technology, 1, Routledge, New York, 382, 9780415825726
  • Bernie Krause: 2016, Wild Soundscapes, Yale University Press, 240, 9780300218190
  • R. Murray Schafer: 1993, The Soundscape, Destiny Books, 320, 9780892814558
  • Joshua Tucker: 2019, Making Music Indigenous, University of Chicago Press, 290, 9780226607160
  • Jonathan Sterne: 2012, MP3, Duke University Press, 359, 0822352877


Articles:
  • Lebrecht: 2009, The Evolution of Sound Design, Sound and Music for the Theatre:The Art & Technique of Design, 1-36, 517969
  • 2009: Sound Art: Origins, development and ambiguities, Organised Sound,, 14,, pp 3-10, 517970, 1
  • Sound Affects: Post-production Sound, Soundscapes and Sound Design in Hollywood's Studio Era: Music, Sound and Moving Image Journal, 1,, 27-49, 517971, 1, Gabe Klinger
  • FIPRESCI: Undercurrents,: http://www.fipresci.org/undercurrent/issue_0106/shatz_klinger.htm, 517972, 1, Truax, Barry, 2002
  • 7(1): 5-14, http://www.sfu.ca/~truax/OS5.html, 517973, 1, Westerkam, Hilidegard, 2002, Linking soundscape composition and acoustic ecology
  • pp 51-56: 517974, 1, Weidenaar, Reynold, 2002, Composing with the Soundscape of Jones Street, Organised Sound
  • 517975: 1, Fontana, Bill, 1990, THE ENVIRONMENT AS A MUSICAL RESOURCE,
  • 1: Westerkamp, Hildegard, 2002, Bauhaus and Soundscape Studies - Exploring Connections and Differences, Goethe Institut Tokyo, http://www.sfu.ca/~westerka/writings%20page/articles%20pages/bauhaus.html
  • Thom, Randy: 1999, Designing A Movie For Sound, FilmSound.org, http://www.filmsound.org/articles/designing_for_sound.htm,
Other Resources

None
Update to MSc. title and to reflect developments in the field -

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