General information


Subject type: Optional

Coordinator: Maddalena Fedele

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Angel Valverde Vilabella

Skills


Specific skills
  • E5_Design and make an audiovisual product (consisting of still or moving images), taking into account both its technical and artistic aspects, in all its components

  • E10_Apply processes, methods and techniques to develop creativity and innovation in audiovisual production, multimedia development and video game programming

  • E11_Apply musical rules and languages ​​for music creation and sound recording in music production and the creation of electronic music for use as soundtracks in audiovisual productions

  • E13_Apply the principles of visual and sound design for the creation of presentation elements used in sound, audiovisual, television and show products

Transversal competences
  • T2_That students have the ability to work as members of an interdisciplinary team either as one more member, or performing management tasks in order to contribute to developing projects with pragmatism and a sense of responsibility, making commitments taking into account the available resources

Description


The subject aims to provide analytical and technical knowledge of the link between music and image. Many examples of productions where music (or the lack thereof) play a prominent role are analyzed, and we try to understand how you can write music that really contributes to the improvement of the final product. 

We will have contributions from professional composers and we will see how a soundtrack with orchestra is recorded.

Learning outcomes


At the end of the course the student must be able to:

0. Analyze the effectiveness of music in an audiovisual production, provide proposals that increase the expected effect.
1. Organize and coordinate the production of music for an audiovisual medium, such as advertising, cinema, TV series or documentary.
2. Create and lead the team made up of composer, musicians, sound technicians and screenwriters.
3. Know the technical and aesthetic elements necessary to achieve the proposed emotional impact.
4. Distinguish and select the different genres of music applied to images.
5. Design of exclusive sounds for each product.
6. Bring your musical ideas to digital form. 

Working methodology


Determination and explanation of concepts and procedures in theoretical classes. Retroactive student-teacher interaction.

Analysis of scenes and case study, comparison, and proposal of alternatives.

Realization of practices representative of activities in the professional world. The student will show the preparations for each practice in advance to the teacher, and will make sure that the practices in the recording studio have guarantees of successful completion before entering them. 

Contents


-INTRODUCTION Audiovisual language: Analysis of the narrative and communicative functions of multiple sound elements. History and evolution of the soundtrack, according to technological, social and economic context. Areas of application: radio, TV, internet/multimedia, advertising, video games

- Musical pre-production. Description of current methodologies. Analysis of examples. Preparation of analysis exercises for documentary musical setting work.

-Musical areas of application. Areas of impact and application, musical styles and genres, musical clichés. Analysis of examples from each area and the development of proposals for practical work.

-Type of production according to technology and budget. Analysis and design of soundtrack productions based on budget, technology, timing. Preparation for practical works of musical creation applied to cinematic sequence; creation of the work team and distribution of tasks

-The production: The preparation of complete works of analysis of audiovisual proposals, search for technical and human resources, organization. recording of a soundtrack with orchestra.

- Post-production: music mixing, formats and delivery. Analysis of the previous activity and study of ways of improvement. Final generation of content according to consumption format. 

Learning activities


The semantics of sound language will be studied, specifically in the field of music, in order to develop your own product or contribute creatively to an existing product.

The practices of the subject constitute a journey through all the processes of a musical production, always oriented towards the service of a script, story or directly a film.

Fundamental concepts of sequencing on DAW systems, virtual instrument libraries, basic score editing, demo recording, click track creation will be covered.

The star project of this subject is the recording of projects with a real orchestra, where all the students will be the production team in charge of the logistical, technical and, in many cases, the composition.

Evaluation system


The subject is evaluated through the work done. 

- Oral presentation on composers of soundtracks (10%)

- Practice 1: composing/setting music for a documentary (10%)

- Practice 2: Virtual instruments. Sounding of MIDI sequence. (10%)

- Practice 3: Composition for short film (20%)

- Final practice: Music production with musicians (50%)

Class attendance of not less than 70% is required. In case of non-compliance, a complementary examination will have to be done to the previous activities, which will replace the percentage attributed to the final practice (50%).

REFERENCES


Basic

Jeff Rona. The reel world, Miller Freeman Books. ISBN ISBN 0-87930-591-6.

Michel Chion. Audiovision. Ed. Paidós Ibérica ,, ISBN ISBN 84-7509-859-2.

On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring, Karlin, Fred and Wright, Rayburn: Editor: Routledge 

ISBN-10: 0415941369

ISBN-13: 978-0415941365

Conrado Xalabarder. Music, an optical illusion. ED. Books online, ISBN 1597541672

Jose Nieto. Music for the image: the secret influence. Ed. Iberautor Cultural Promotions, ISBN ISBN 9788480486040.