Sound Design for Film 201

Basic knowledge of how to operate a recording/sequencer software is recommended although not necessary.

• You will be introduced to the terminology of the field of “Sound Design”
• You will learn about both technical and creative aspects of Sound Design.
• You will discover how music, sound effects and dialogue can enhance the audience’s experience.
• You will get an understanding what a film’s “soundtrack” consist of and how the different parts are created.
• Depending on the project the creating of a soundtrack can include Foley Recording, ADR, creating sound effects, recording dialogue or field recording.
• You will learn how to analyze a film soundtrack and how to create one on your own using your own recordings or sound effect libraries.

• Week 1:
  • Introduction to Sound Design
  • What is sound design?
  • What are the main elements of a soundtrack in a film?
  • Why is sound important?
  • The history of sound for film
  • Technical aspects of sound for film
  • Creating of a “storyboard for audio” We will look at many different examples during this course.
• Week 2:
  • How sound is applied to a film
  • How can I use sound?
  • Where do I find sound effects?
  • How can I create my own sound effects
  • Where can I find music that I can use in my projects?
  • Starting to create a soundtrack for a visual component
• Week 3:
  • Working on Sound Design
  • What can I do to improve my sound design
  • Is my sound design convincing
  • What about dialogue?
  • What about music?
  • Improving the soundtrack and getting feedback
• Week 4:
  • The final touch
  • What else can I do to my sound design?
  • How can I use effects on my soundtrack?
  • How can I make sure the format is correct?
  • What can I edit?
  • Editing, improving and bouncing the final soundtrack to the desired medium. This can be a DVD, a flash movie, or other video and sound formats.

• On successful completion of the course you will be able to create your own “soundtrack” for a visual story such as a film, an ad or an animation.
• On successful completion of the course you will be familiar with the different elements of sound in film and know the different jobs of the sound team.
• On successful completion of the course you will have the knowledge of how sound is used as a tool to enhance the viewing experience.
• On successful completion of the course you will know how to create sound library and where to search for sounds.

• Any recording/sequencing software that allows to create sound for film. e.g. Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, ProTools

I have thoroughly enjoyed this on line course, it was a real big eye opener. The information available from both the on line resources and from the comments that Bastian has made over the past 4 weeks have been invaluable to me. Battle Bee was indeed a challenge, but not an impossible one to achieve. Working on the animation had it's ups and downs for me... there were times I thought "this is a bit much for 10 hours per week"... so I did what I thought was the right thing to do... I put in more than the required 10 hours. In week 3 I think it was pretty close to 20 hours in total. I would like to thank the SAE on line course staff for all their hard work on putting such a comprehensive program together. A personal thanks to Bastian too... his advice was taken in the manner it was intended as constructive criticism. I took his advice on board and noticed how much of a difference it made to the overall sound and feeling of the animation. Thanks Bastian, you are a good guy! 

Bob Martin (Bonnie Scotland)