Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Sound Design

Undergraduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:

Critical Analysis

• Zeigen Sie Ihr Verständnis für Meisterwerke, indem Sie die entsprechenden Sounddesign-Prinzipien auf eine Vielzahl professioneller Medienprojekte anwenden.

Production Techniques

• Demonstrieren Sie Ihre Kompetenz in der Audioaufnahme, -bearbeitung und -mischung bei der Erstellung von Soundtracks
• Demonstrieren Sie Ihre Kompetenz im Umgang mit digitalen Tools für Sounddesign in einer digitalen Audio-Workstation (DAW).

Sound Design

• Produzieren Sie originelle Sounddesign-Elemente für Filme und andere visuelle Medien
• Design soundtracks that support the emotional content of the visual image
• Erstellen Sie überzeugende und ausgewogene Soundmischungen für endgültige Soundtracks

Professional Readiness

• Demonstrate professional achievement through the creation of a portfolio that showcases skills and supports career opportunities.

Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to:

• Produce a body of work suitable for seeking professional opportunities in their chosen field of art and design.
• Solve creative problems within their field of art and design, including research and synthesis of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual knowledge.
• Communicate their ideas professionally and connect with their intended audience using visual, oral, and written presentation skills relevant to their field.
• Execute technical, aesthetic, and conceptual decisions based on an understanding of art and design principles.
• Evaluate work in their field, including their own work, using professional terminology.
• Recognize the influence of major cultural and aesthetic trends, both historical and contemporary, on art and design products.
• Learn the professional skills and behaviors necessary to compete in the global marketplace for art and design.

Academy of Art University offers some of the best training and hands-on experience to help accelerate careers in music production. We pride ourselves in doing an exceptional job preparing you to excel in your chosen profession. Our degree programs are designed to equip aspiring music professionals with a comprehensive toolbox of marketable skills that lead to success in the music industry.

Score Composer

Compose original music to accompany narrative storytelling in visual media. Work with sound editors and mixers to balance music with other soundtrack elements, creating the sonic world in which characters live. Drive the emotions of the audience by crafting musical ideas that reflect the unspoken thoughts of a character.

Music Editor

Work closely with a composer to effectively create music scores that drive the emotion of the scene. Create temp scores. Edit music to fit specific cue lengths and effectively create just the right music cues to fit the scene.

Production Recordist

Manage the set and location sound recordings. Quality checks all recorded material from set and location. Assist the production mixer in all duties. Maintain equipment.

Re-recording Mixer

The last step in post-production is the final mix. Effectively balance music, dialogue, and SFX into a cohesive soundtrack that supports and enhances visual storytelling. Work on large format audio consoles with hundreds of audio tracks, and craft the sonic world for visual media.

Sound Designer

Be responsible for the overall aural concept of a film, game, or other media. Collaborate with other creatives to develop a cohesive sound and create specific sounds for visual media.

Sound Editor

Edit dialog, sound effects, ambiances, and other sounds to fit with the visual material. Use filters and plug-ins to transform audio for a specific setting. Work with the Supervising Sound Editor to deliver all audio assets for a given project, whether film, game or animation.

Unit Requirements

Degree Requirements

• A minimum grade of C- in all core courses, major courses, and LA 107 Writing for the Multilingual Artist or 108 Composition for the Artist
• Minimum 2.0 GPA and the following general education requirements:
• 1 Written Communication: Composition
• 1 Written Communication: Critical Thinking
• 1 Written Communication: Context & Style
• 1 Historical Awareness
• 1 Quantitative Literacy
• 1 Cultural Ideas & Influences
• 1 Employment Communications & Practices
• 1 Sound Design Historical Awareness
  • 1 Written Communication: Composition
  • 1 Written Communication: Critical Thinking
  • 1 Written Communication: Context & Style
  • 1 Historical Awareness
  • 1 Quantitative Literacy
  • 1 Cultural Ideas & Influences
  • 1 Employment Communications & Practices
  • 1 Sound Design Historical Awareness

After the above general education requirements are met, take Liberal Arts electives as needed to fulfill the Liberal Arts unit requirement.

Curriculum

Semester 1

• LA 101: Freshman Symposium: Artistic Resilience (Liberal Arts)
• MPT 106: Edit 1: Die Kunst des Editierens (Hauptfach)
• MUS 102: Überblick über die Soundtrack-Branche (Kern)
• MUS 125A: Audioproduktion A (Kern)

Semester 2

• LA 108: Composition for the Artist (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• LA 142: Filmmusikverständnis (Geisteswissenschaften)
• MPT 105: Filmisches Geschichtenerzählen (Hauptfach)
  Empfohlen für den Sommer
• MPT 225: Sound Design (Core)
• MUS 125B: Audioproduktion B (Hauptfach)
• MUS 258: Kreative Perspektiven im Sounddesign (Kern)

Semester 3

• GAM 107: Game Engines (Major)
• LA 291: Designing Careers (Liberal Arts)
• MUS 105: Vorbereitung auf die Pro Tools-Benutzerzertifizierung (Kern)
• MUS 179: Geschichte der Aufnahmeindustrie (Kern)
• MUS 320: Kreatives Sounddesign für visuelle Medien (Kern)

Semester 4

• LA 182: Genres im Film (Geisteswissenschaften)
  Empfohlen für den Sommer
• LA 202: English Composition: Creative Persuasion & Argument (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• MUS 195: Sounddesign für Spiele (Kern)
• MUS 205: Vorbereitung auf die ProTools 2-Operator-Zertifizierung (Kern)
• MUS 330: Produktion von Tonaufnahmen (Hauptfach)
• MUS 370: Musikbearbeitung für visuelle Medien (Kern)

Semester 5

• COM 150: Einführung in Radio/Podcasting (Hauptfach)
• LA 104: Respekt für die Schauspielerei (Freie Künste)
• LA 110: Writing the Short Story (Liberal Arts)
• MUS 285: Sitzungsaufzeichnung 1: Protokolle und Praktiken (Kern)
• MUS 425: Experimentelles Sounddesign und -synthese (Hauptfach)

Semester 6

• LA 124: Physics for Artists: Light, Sound, and Motion (Liberal Arts)
• LA 171: Westliche Zivilisation (Geisteswissenschaften)
• LA 282: Filmgeschichte 2: 1940-1974 (Geisteswissenschaften)
  Empfohlen für den Sommer
• MUS 222: Vorbereitung auf die Ableton Live-Zertifizierung (Hauptfach)
• MUS 430: Dialogbearbeitung (Hauptfach)
• MUS 498: Gemeinschaftsprojekt (Hauptfach)
• N/A: Any Course (Elective)
  Recommended for summer

Semester 7

• COM 250: Podcast-Produktion und -Werbung (Wahlfach)
• LA 368: Experiencing Culture: Anthropology for Today's Artist (Liberal Arts)
• LA 407: Die Beatles in der bildenden Kunst (Liberal Arts)
• MUS 110: Harmonie 1 (Dur)
• MUS 415: Der Musikmix (Hauptfach)

Semester 8

• COM 208: Dynamic Aerial Imagery (Elective)
  Recommended for summer
• LA 131: Geschichte des Gamings (Geisteswissenschaften)
• LA 382: Film History 3: Contemporary Cinema (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• MUS 480: Musik-Demo-Reel (Core)
• MUS 498: Gemeinschaftsprojekt (Hauptfach)
• MUS 500: Praktikum in Musik für visuelle Medien (Hauptfach)