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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2015 - 2016

Module Title Digital Audio and Sound Design
Module Code CM555
School School of Communications

Online Module Resources

Module Co-ordinatorDr. Declan TuiteOffice NumberC177
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

The aims of the module are twofold: 1. To develop a critical understanding of the use of sound and music in multimedia. 2. To give students a practical introduction to the planning and implementation of audio and music components in mm projects.

Learning Outcomes

1. Operate a recording studio during a live radio broadcast.
2. Show proficiency in the use and application of location recording technologies.
3. Manipulate, edit and produce sound recordings using digital software.
4. Appraise the work of sound artists.
5. Produce a major sound work for integration into a multimedia environment.
6. Design and produce sound for linear and responsive media
7. Mix sound from both musical and environmental sources.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
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

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.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

  • 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,
Other Resources

3342, Handouts:, Training handouts, 0, 3343, Readings, Project Brief, 0, Course related readings, 4853, Audio:, Examples, exercises and listening training, 0, 3346, Video, Course related video support, 0, 4854, Website, WALTER MURCH, 0, Stretching Sound to Help the Mind See, http://www.filmsound.org/murch/stretching.htm, 4855, Website, Walter Murch, 2005, DENSE CLARITY – CLEAR DENSITY, http://transom.org/?page_id=7006, 4856, Website, 0, The Wire: Adventures in Modern Music, http://thewire.co.uk/, 4857, Website, 0, Interference Journal, http://www.interferencejournal.com/, 4858, Website, Ira Glass, 0, Radiolab: An Appreciation by Ira Glass, http://transom.org/?p=20139, 4859, Video, Bob Katz, 0, Music mastering and loudness Part 1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EgamkLkXW8,
Programme or List of Programmes
GDMMGraduate Diploma in Multimedia
MMMMSc Multimedia
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