AV1 Syllabus Spring 2015

Audio for Video 1
Wednesdays 11am-12:40pm
Studio C (aka Edu room 880)

 
Online Course Description
An introduction to the concepts and applications of audio production for video, television and film. Current production techniques frequently used in the post-production industry will be explored with special emphasis on synchronization and the interfacing of SMPTE time code, and multi-track audio-sweetening techniques including music editing, sound effects design, foley, and dialog replacement.

 

Instructor Course Description
This  course is an experiential based learning introduction to post production, with a focus on sound design,  audio and music editing for video.  Concepts explored in this course can be applied towards postproduction for film, television and music production. Weekly assignments in audio/video recording, editing and mixing will be given.  Critical listening and discussion will be required in weekly meetings.

Course Objectives 
Develop critical listening and productive discussion skills.  Improve ability to give and receive constructive criticism in the context of audio editing, sound design and mixing. Acquire technical skill and experience through hands-on assignments. Develop independent learning skills with regards to AV technology, rather than being given the technical how-to lessons in advance. Produce consistent, high-quality audio/video projects by leveraging critical listening, discussion and acquired technical skills.  This course does not focus on specific trade tools or SMPTE.

 

Nature of Weekly Meetings:
Other than the first day introductory/lecture the course meetings will revolve around presentation and discussion of student work.  Each student (early in the semester) or group of students (later in the semester) will present his/her/their assigned project for the week.  The class will then discuss critically, the aesthetic and technical execution of the piece. The goal of each discussion is to help the presenter as well as the rest of the group improve the work they do through highlighting what was done well and what needs improvement.   From these discussions, we can explore tools, techniques and workflow that make producing excellent work more efficient and reliable.

 

 

Grading:
Projects/Assignments: 58% Participation: 28% Attendance: 14%

 

 

Tentative Class Schedule:

Week Date Topic Deliverables
Week 1 28-Jan-2015 Introduction to AVI
Week 2 04-Feb-2015 Location Sound Audio File (WAV, AIF or MP3)
Week 3 11-Feb-2015 Background Effects Audio File (WAV, AIF or MP3)
Week 4 18-Feb-2015 Sound Effects Video File (.MOV)
Week 5 25-Feb-2015 Dialog Video File (.MOV)
Week 6 04-Mar-2015 Dialog 2 Video File (.MOV)
Week 7 11-Mar-2015 Music Video File (.MOV)
Week 8 25-Mar-2015 Analysis presentations Report (print) & Video File (.MOV)
Week 9 01-April-2015 Analysis presentations Report (print) & Video File (.MOV)
Week 10 08-April-2015 Dialog Video File (.MOV)
Week 11 15-April-2015 Effects Video File (.MOV)
Week 12 *22-April-2015* Music/Guest Video File (.MOV)
Week 13 29-April-2015 Music/Mixing Video File (.MOV)
Week 14 06-May-2015 Presenting final work Video Files (.MOV)

 

 

Assignments:
Each week work will be assigned.  Printed work will be due at the beginning of class.  Video clips are due 10 minutes before class starts, loaded onto the studio C computer.   As part of your critical listening challenge, other than the above outline, assignments may be given only verbally.   Late work will not be graded.

 

Workload and group vs solo work:
Please expect to do 6-9 hours of productive work per week outside of class. Final projects must be done in groups.  It takes about 18 work-hours per week for 5-6 weeks to produce a grade ‘A’ final project.  Dividing that load among 3 group members will allow for best work without adding extra homework time.

Final Project:
This is your chance to shine.  More details will be discussed, here for example.

 

Literary Review:
No required text,  this is experiential based learning.  Independent reading and literature review are awesome too, just not required.

gently recommended texts:
Sound Design By David Sonnenschein   :: thinkng about sound and the process of choosing sounds for a film
Shutup and Shoot By Anthony Artis    :: more about video than audio, but a good way to think about doing more with less, NOW.

 

highly recommended screenings:
Probably more important than reading about film and sound would be watching the best and most influential films. The below videos and  films are recommend for now or later,  not part of the class, but something you should see. 

http://everythingisaremix.info/  This webpage and video series shows how much of our current media is based on or comprised of previous work.

Battleship Potempkin (1925):  not really a leisure time film… but its a land mark in film making, and is referenced in all sorts of movies. 

Star Wars: Episode IV (1977),  So many new sounds that have stayed with us…. also any other Ben Burtt films

Who Framed Roger Rabit (1988),  Cartoon and Live action mixed…   also most other Charles Campbell films

 

how to and training:
www.lynda.com should be available via your NYU home account.  This is an online recourse of currated training videos.  It would otherwise require paying fees.   I personally recommend the selections produced by fellow music technology instructor Scott Hirsch.

 

 

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