DAD 310
Sound Design for Film

Schedule

Opportunities in Digital Sound Design at DSU — DSU Live runs student concerts, and Student Research Initiatives funds undergraduate work.

121 items across 17 weeks · click a week to expand

Mon 8/24
TODAY
· Class introductions
  • Your name, your major, and the last thing you heard today that you’d want to record
· Review the syllabus and expectations
slides Sound design in film
screening No Country For Old Men — video essay
homework
listen Rain is sizzling bacon, cars are lions roaring: the art of sound in movies — for Wednesday
· Look ahead: the screening log
  • Three films watched at home across the semester, three timestamped moments each. The first is WALL-E, due 9/16.
  • All of them stream free through the library, so you can start any time you like.
Wed 8/26
TODAY
slides Discuss the podcast — Rain is sizzling bacon
homework
reading Designing for Sound, Randy Thom — for Monday
Fri 8/28
TODAY
slides Narrative transition from silent movies to sound
screening Silent film playlist
Mon 8/31
TODAY
slides Designing for sound — notes on the Thom reading
Wed 9/2
TODAY
lab Sound walk — take the journal with you
homework
reading World Soundscape Project — for Friday
· Bring one idea from the readings that changed how you understand today’s walk
Fri 9/4
TODAY
· Discuss the World Soundscape Project reading and recordings and connect them to Wednesday’s observations
homework
· Check out Earth.fm before Wednesday
Mon 9/7
TODAY
off No class — Labor Day
Wed 9/9
TODAY
· Two students share an Earth.fm narrative — 10 minutes
slides Character: the aesthetics of Foley
screening Screening 1: WALL-E — watch the whole film at home
homework
assignment Screening log 1 — three timestamped moments, due Wed 9/16
Fri 9/11
TODAY
screening Foley Grail, chapter 3 — clips
· Watch the robot animation and decide which Foley element each of you takes
assignment Assignment 1: Foley Design — live performance, in teams, performed in class Mon 9/21
  • Bring a range of props for two versions with role changes on Monday 9/14; continue comparing versions and exchanging feedback Wednesday 9/16 in Charm Studios
Mon 9/14
TODAY
lab Foley workshop: sound choices and character for Assignment 1 . Bring your props. This workshop is ungraded.
  • Map the robot’s actions and divide the cues. Allow 5 minutes.
  • Build version A. Test props and rehearse the full sequence several times against picture. Allow 10 minutes.
  • Build version B. Change props or materials for at least two cues and rotate parts so everyone performs a different set of cues. Explore how the new sounds change the robot’s weight or character, then rehearse the full sequence several times. Allow 15 minutes.
  • Pair with another team and perform both versions. Compare the sounds, timing, and character. Note one discovery from changing props and one from changing roles. Allow 10 minutes.
  • Test a change based on feedback and run the sequence again. Keep notes on both versions and decide which additional props to bring Wednesday. Allow 10 minutes.
· Optional REAPER reference: Introduction to REAPER , Starting a new project , and Editing practice
homework
· Bring props for both versions, plus any new alternatives, on Wednesday. Bring your cue notes and be ready to rehearse both versions with different role assignments.
Wed 9/16
TODAY
due Screening log 1 — WALL-E
lab Foley team rehearsal and paired feedback for Assignment 1 . This workshop is ungraded; whole-class presentations and assessment are Monday 9/21.
  • Set up and rehearse version A several times against picture. Use Monday’s notes to improve the sounds and timing while I circulate to coach. Allow 10 minutes.
  • Rehearse version B several times, using different props or materials for at least two cues and rotating parts so everyone performs a different set of cues. Test new alternatives and work through the handoffs. Allow 15 minutes.
  • Pair with another team and perform both versions. Compare timing, materials, and character, and discuss what the prop and role changes helped you discover. Allow 10 minutes.
  • Choose the strongest sounds from either version, assign final roles, and rehearse the combined design. Note what still needs practice before Monday. Allow 10 minutes.
· Reference: Audio hardware and Charm Studios documentation
Fri 9/18
TODAY
off No class
· Use the time to rehearse Assignment 1 with your group before Monday’s live performance
Mon 9/21
TODAY
due Assignment 1: Foley Design — assessed live performances and design discussion
  • Set up props and playback. Allow 5 minutes.
  • Each team performs its prepared version twice, then explains one successful prop choice and one difficult cue. Classmates respond to the timing, materials, and character they heard. Allow 20 minutes across all teams.
lab Change the character: each team gets a new direction, such as making the robot seem worn out or unusually delicate. Rehearse briefly, then perform the revised version and discuss which choices conveyed the change. This challenge is ungraded. Allow 15 minutes.
· From live performance to recorded Foley : identify which sounds need separate passes, where live balance was difficult, and what recording would let you change. Allow 10 minutes.
  • If performances and discussion finish early, preview the A Quiet Place clip and identify sounds we’ll need to record. We’ll assign its cues to Foley pass tracks in REAPER on Wednesday.
Wed 9/23
TODAY
slides Spotting and cueing Foley
lab Spot A Quiet Place together using the downloadable movie clip in one REAPER project on the studio computer. The instructor operates REAPER while students identify cues, choose props, and plan separate recording passes. Put each cue on its assigned Foley pass track with its left edge at the exact sync point.
  • Practical guide: Spotting Foley in REAPER .
  • Rehearse one entrance with three beeps, performing on the silent fourth beat. Save this shared project for the recording demo on Friday and editing session on Monday 9/28. No individual computer setup or submission is required.
Fri 9/25
TODAY
slides Recording Foley : mic choice, placement, and performance
· Live demo: capture a small, usable set of cues for Monday’s editing lesson. Reopen Wednesday’s shared A Quiet Place project and check mono inputs, headphone cue routing, and levels. Rehearse a spotted cue with the beeps, then record the lead-in, performance, and tail on separate layer tracks. Reference pages: Recording in REAPER and the tracks .
homework
assignment Assignment 2: Foley Recording — record and layer the robot animation with your team outside class, due Mon 10/5
Mon 9/28
TODAY
lab Editing and layering Foley — work through Friday’s A Quiet Place takes together in the shared studio project. Compare performances, refine synchronization, and balance layers. Use a short recorded section; record a replacement only if needed to demonstrate the editing process.
· Apply this workflow to your robot project outside class for Assignment 2, due Mon 10/5.
Wed 9/30
TODAY
slides Setting: ambience, immersion and sense of place — hear how beds and details establish a place before recording your own.
· Preview Assignment 3: Field Recording : two ambience beds and three ambience details. Begin choosing locations and sources; we’ll practice with the recorders Friday.
screening Screening 2: The Zone of Interest, or Nope if you prefer — watch the whole film at home
  • Read the note on the assignment page before you choose
homework
assignment Screening log 2 — three timestamped moments, due Mon 10/5
assignment Assignment 3: Field Recording — five recordings on the Zoom, due Wed 10/21
Fri 10/2
TODAY
· Zoom recorder demonstration and supervised recording practice
  • Compare the onboard X/Y microphones for ambience beds with the external shotgun microphone for focused details.
  • Set the recording format, monitor on headphones, set levels with headroom, slate a take, and transfer the files to a computer.
  • Record a short practice bed and detail, then listen back for handling noise, wind, and clipping.
  • Reference: Zoom H4n Pro manual
· Questions about Assignment 2 before Monday’s deadline. Complete the robot recording and editing with your team outside class.
Mon 10/5
TODAY
due Assignment 2: Foley Recording
due Screening log 2 — The Zone of Interest or Nope
· Discuss how the films create offscreen places through sound. Allow 10 minutes.
slides Naming sounds: UCS and library organization — apply the naming pattern to a practice recording from Friday. Allow 25 minutes for the lesson and practice.
· Confirm your Assignment 3 locations, sources, and equipment-sharing plan. Check out a recorder and fill out the form on the wall before I leave. Allow 15 minutes.
· Trojan Days run Oct 5–10, including the Day of Service — check the campus calendar for events you want to be at
Wed 10/7
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m out of town. Independent field recording day.
lab Record the large- and small-space ambience beds for Assignment 3 , following the equipment-sharing plan arranged Monday. Monitor, slate, and listen back before leaving each location.
Fri 10/9
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m out of town. Independent field recording day.
screening Watch the Blow Out (1981) recording scene. Identify decisions about source, microphone position, and listening that you can apply to your own recordings.
lab Record the three ambience details for Assignment 3 . Back up your files and apply UCS names while the sources and takes are fresh in your memory.
· Bring your recordings and recorder on 10/16 for listening, troubleshooting, and additional recording. Assignment 3 remains due Wed 10/21.
Mon 10/12
TODAY
off No class — Native American Day
Wed 10/14
TODAY
slides Mood: emotion, tone, and working with music
slides Working with music — temp tracks, cutting a cue, licensing
screening Screening 3: A Quiet Place — watch the whole film at home
  • We spotted this film’s class clip on 9/23 and recorded Foley for it on 9/25 and edited it on 9/28. This time listen to how the film uses the whole runtime
homework
assignment Screening log 3 — three timestamped moments, due Mon 10/19
Fri 10/16
TODAY
lab Field recording follow-up — bring your recorder and your independent-session recordings. Listen back, troubleshoot, and capture additional or replacement takes.
Mon 10/19
TODAY
due Screening log 3 — A Quiet Place
slides Shape: sound maps, contrast and motif
  • The film closes this deck — we’ll come back to the implant motif at the end
Wed 10/21
TODAY
due Assignment 3: Field Recording
slides The editing mantra: L-I-S-T-E-N
Fri 10/23
TODAY
slides Editing and cleaning up audio in REAPER
· Look at Soundly and SoundQ for well-edited reference SFX
homework
assignment Assignment 4: SFX Editing and Processing — due Wed 11/11
Mon 10/26
TODAY
slides Symbol: sound worlds and metaphors
Wed 10/28
TODAY
lab Capture dialogue for today and the later worldizing lab: record one short line clean and again “in a space,” plus 30 seconds of room tone for each. Save both takes and room tones. Allow 15 minutes.
slides Dialogue editing — room tone, splits, and repair. Allow 15 minutes.
lab Fix a scene: use today’s recordings to build room tone fill and hide a cut between two takes. Allow 20 minutes.
· Assignment 4 work continues in the 11/4 session
homework
· Before Friday: film a partner reading a line somewhere noisy — hallway, parking lot, the union — and bring the clip to class for the ADR lab
Fri 10/30
TODAY
slides ADR: replacing a line to picture
lab Replace the noisy line you filmed before class: re-record it in the studio and fit it back to picture
· Free impulse responses at OpenAir
homework
assignment Reverb and echo — four sends, four spaces, due Fri 11/6
Mon 11/2
TODAY
slides Space: acoustics, silence and the frequency spectrum
slides Worldizing and futz — real spaces, phone voices, and perspective cuts
Wed 11/4
TODAY
lab SFX processing work session — bring your edited sounds and start the final-production pass
Fri 11/6
TODAY
due Reverb and echo
lab One line, three worlds : futz your 10/28 line, worldize it through a speaker in a real space, and compare both against a reverb plugin
Mon 11/9
TODAY
slides Time: transitions, rhythm and time perception
Wed 11/11
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14). Wednesday and Friday are independent work days.
due Assignment 4: SFX Editing and Processing — submit on D2L as usual
homework
assignment Assignment 5: Sound Synthesis — five foreground sounds in Vital, due Wed 11/18. Read the assignment page on your own and post questions in D2L; I’ll answer from the road.
Fri 11/13
TODAY
· No class meeting — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14)
lab Independent Vital work session — build your sound map, then start synthesising
slides Sci-fi sound design: Tron — work through the deck on your own; we’ll pick up the thread Monday
Mon 11/16
TODAY
slides Layering and pitch shifting: the explosion
lab Build your own layered explosion from the raw material
lab Compare REAPER’s time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithms
Wed 11/18
TODAY
due Assignment 5: Sound Synthesis
assignment Final Project — a five-minute sound design piece
homework
assignment Assignment 6: Ambiences — one 30-second place, ideally a scene from your final project, due Mon 11/30
· Final project proposal — due Mon 11/23: post links to the clips you’ll be designing
Fri 11/20
TODAY
· Guest visit: director Samantha Aldana and sound designer Devin Lawrence discuss their collaboration on Shapeless — 2:00–2:50 p.m. Central on Zoom
homework
· Before class, watch the selected scenes from Shapeless — links will be posted here
· Bring one question about the collaboration between the director and sound designer
Mon 11/23
TODAY
due Final project proposal — bring the clips
screening Watch everyone’s proposed footage and talk through the challenges
Wed 11/25
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess (Nov 25–29)
Fri 11/27
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess (Nov 25–29)
Mon 11/30
TODAY
due Assignment 6: Ambiences
· Listen to the ambiences together — where does each one put you, and what gives it away?
Wed 12/2
TODAY
· In-class spotting session. Each of you presents your project setup in REAPER and walks through your spotting plan — what you intend to record, and what you’ll pull from libraries or Freesound.
slides Spotting in REAPER
Fri 12/4
TODAY
slides The final mix and deliverables — dialogue leads, loudness specs, stems
lab Work session — finish your Foley and ambiences, start the final mix. Measure your loudness and set up your stem folders while you’re at it.
Mon 12/7
TODAY
· Last meeting — course evaluations
· Full-draft presentations. Each of you presents your project for group feedback:
  • Overall sound design effectiveness
  • Emotional and narrative alignment
  • Final tweaks before submission
· Final Project — presented at the final exam, Mon 12/14, 3:30–5:30 pm
Mon 12/14
TODAY
due Final Project — due today, submitted on D2L
· Final project presentations — 3:30–5:30 PM, our scheduled final exam slot

Final exam presentation — Monday, December 14 · 3:30–5:30 PM