Screen Sounds and Music
Overview
This unit introduces students to screen sound and music cultures across film, television, video games, streaming media services and online digital platforms. Students will examine:
• Major theoretical frameworks and key debates in the field of screen sound
• Local and indigenous sonic traditions and how they can serve as conduits for representation or are appropriated in screen sound conventions and music styles
• Industrial and technological histories of screen sound and music, and how these histories are shaped by gendered and power structure across global/local cultures
• How key technical developments in screen music and sound design continuously impact the forms and styles of screen media around the world
• Where different music composition, performance, and sound design methods shape screen audience cultures and interpretative practices
Students will become equipped with the critical tools to analyse the intersections between the audio and visual dimensions of screen texts and will understand how pivotal industrial and technological developments have shaped screen sound cultures. Students will produce a podcast using professional-standard software and meeting industry expectations.
Requisites
01-June-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Critically analyse how sound and music shape genre, form, and style in screen media
- Identify the relationships between screen sound theory, diverse social and cultural context and professional practice
- Relate specific screen texts, as well as types of screen media, to their technological and industrial contexts in music and sound design
- Apply key principles of screen music and sound design to audio-visual practice
- Understand how gendered and cultural power dynamics have impacted screen sound industries and conventions
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus Class (Seminar) |
1.5 | 12 weeks | 18 |
| On-campus Class (Tutorial) |
1.5 | 12 weeks | 18 |
| Specified Activities Various |
4.00 | 12 weeks | 48 |
| Unspecified Activities Various |
5.5 | 12 weeks | 66 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis | Individual | 30% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Essay | Individual | 40% | 1,2,3,5 |
| Podcast | Individual | 30% | 3,4,5 |
Content
- Film sound practice from the silent era to synchronised sound
- Genre and screen sounds
- Music and the movies
- Gender and cultural dynamics of screen sound industries
- Leitmotif and the development of music as brand
- Industrial and technological histories
- Dubbing and subtitles
- Digital technology and sound
- Screen sound cultures
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Verbal communication
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.