Sound & Moving Image (MDIA-0163)

Spring 2025 · MDIA 0163 · Tufts University · 4 credits · Undergraduate

When combined, sound and image influence each other in subtle and complex ways. This course provides students with the practical and conceptual skills to creatively use sound (voice, sound effects, sound design, music) with film and video. We will study examples of sound/image pairings taken from the canon of cinema, and analyze how they were constructed technically and how they function aesthetically. In addition to the conventional strategies used in narrative films of the past and present, special focus will be given to the radical experiments of Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Orson Welles, Toru Takemitsu, Christian Marclay, Ryan Trecartin, Candice Breitz, and others. Practical audio techniques covered will include: digital audio recording devices, microphone selection and placement, audio editing software, dynamics control, equalization, noise reduction, workflow, mixing, and mastering. Small and large assignments will give students the opportunity to explore the strategies studied in the examples and to practice practical skills. The techniques and concepts covered in the class will be drawn from cinema, but are equally applicable to projects executed as video, installation, and image-for-sound. The goal of the course is for students to develop an expanded concept of the possibilities for sound and image, a more personal vision of how to utilize sound and image in their work, and the technical skills to achieve their vision. Non-SMFA students will receive a letter grade.

Course codes: MDIA-0163, MDIA 0163, MDIA0163, MDIA-163, MDIA 163, MDIA163

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