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Sound · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Sound Design & Recording

Great sound sells the visual. This course covers the complete audio pipeline from set to screen. Students will learn “Location Sound” techniques—boom operation and lavalier placement—to capture pristine dialogue. Then, the course moves to “Audio Post,” teaching Foley, ADR (Dubbing), and sound effects editing to build immersive sonic worlds using Pro Tools or Adobe Audition.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Master location sound recording: Signal-to-Noise ratio and gain staging
  2. Operate Shotgun mics (Booming) and Wireless systems effectively
  3. Clean and repair audio dialogue (De-noising/EQ)
  4. Record and edit Foley (footsteps, cloth, props) to match picture
  5. Execute a final mix balancing Dialogue, Music, and Effects (DME)
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The Physics of Sound: Frequency & Amplitude
  2. 02Microphones: Polar Patterns & Selection
  3. 03The Field Recorder: Sample Rates & Bit Depth
  4. 04Boom Operation Techniques
  5. 05Wireless Audio: Lavaliers & Frequency
  6. 06On-Set Protocol for Sound Mixers
  7. 07Audio File Management & Metadata
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Post-Production: The Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
  10. 10Dialogue Editing: Splitting Tracks & Crossfades
  11. 11ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement)
  12. 12Foley Artistry: Performing Sound
  13. 13Sound Effects (SFX) & Hard Effects
  14. 14Ambience & Room Tone
  15. 15Mixing: EQ, Compression, & Reverb
  16. 16Final Project: Sound Design for a Short Film

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: Sound Design for a Short Film

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. The Location Sound Bible by Ric Viers
  2. The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers
  3. Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen by Michel Chion
  4. Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures by John Purcell
  5. Producing Great Sound for Film and Video by Jay Rose
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