ANU - STUDYAT - Film & Music

Offered By:

School of Humanities

Academic Career:

Undergraduate

Course Subject:

Film Studies

Offered in:

Second Semester, 2010

Unit Value:

6 units

Course Description:

An exploration of: a) the relationships between image and music, and between music and other elements of the soundtrack; b) various functions of film music through the analysis of selected films (e.g., how music confirms or contradicts visual narratives and how music can support the cinematic construction of gender, class, ethnicity, culture); c) different techniques and aesthetics of selected film music composers and directors (e.g. the Hitchcock/Herrmann collaboration); d) the historical evolution of film music from the silent era through to the present.

Learning Outcomes:

On satisfying requirements for this course, students will have gained greater awareness of Film soundtracks, of a range of historical approaches to film scoring, and of sound as a major aspect of film as text. Skills in approaching and analysing film music will be developed.

Indicative Assessment:

Close reading/listening excercise (15%, week 5),

Research Essay (35%, due mid semester),

Research Essay (50%, due in examination period).

Workload:

13 lectures, weekly tutorials, fortnightly seminars, fortnightly screenings. The division of tutorial groups will depend on numbers enrolling from each area.

Areas of Interest:

Film Studies and Music

Assumed Knowledge and
Required Skills:

Students are expected to have some technical background in one field (e.g. score-reading, or grasp of technical film terms, but not necessarily both).

Requisite Statement:

Courses counting towards a Film Studies or Musicology major to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.

Preliminary Reading:

Chion, Michel, Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, Columbia UP, 1994.

Majors/Specialisations:

Cinemedia and Film Studies

Programs:

Bachelor of Arts (Digital Arts) and Bachelor of Arts (New Media Arts)

Academic Contact:

Dr Roger Hillman (Film Studies) and Dr Ruth Lee-Martin (Musicology)

Film and Music FILM2008 - Details