Bart Bridger Woodstrup

WORK TEACHING CV

Course Number: Art 369
Course Name: Audio Art
Meeting Time and Room: MW 3:30 - 5:59 p.m. AB 300
Instructor: Mr. Woodstrup
Office Hours: M/W 11a.m. - 1p.m. AB 319 (by appointment)
Semester: Spring 2005

Course Synopsis:
This course will concentrate on the use of audio as an art form. It will stress the digital creation of sound through experimentation and personal expression. A key area of study will be the development of audio in relation to visual material. This course will not deal with conventional recording techniques or traditional music composition; however, these areas may be briefly discussed or referred to.

The first few weeks we will discuss terminology and the physical properties of sound. We will also learn a brief history of the experimental Electro-acoustic music. Students should be fluent in terminology, concept, and history - these areas will be quizzed extensively. The rest of the course will be spent developing skills with the software.

Student Evaluation:
Projects will be graded using a point system. Attached to each assignment sheet will be a grade rubric that specifies how points will be awarded for each project. The chart below describes the point distribution for each project and exam. The total of these points will conform to the 90 (A), 80 (B), 70 (C), 60 (D) grade scale.

10/10 - 10 points
Sound Fix - 10 points
Sound Mix - 10 points
Musique Concrete - 10 points
Audio to Video - 20 points
Interactive Sound - 20 points
Final Exam - 20 points
Total - 100 points

Recommended/Required texts:
You will be required to purchase at least one book for this course.

Technical:
The Computer Music Tutorial, Curtis Roads
Audio in Media, Stanley R. Alten

Theoretical:
Noise, Water, Meat A History of Sound in the Arts, Douglas Kahn
Sound On Film: Interviews with Creators of Film Sound, Vincent Lo Brutto

Sound Project 10 - 10

Objective:
Through experimentation with the software you will record or synthesize using FM synthesis at least 10 .wav files of 8-12 seconds in duration. Through this process you will learn the basics of recording and sound synthesis. You will also learn how to digitally manipulate sound.

Assignment:
1. With Sound Forge or Audition, create 10 diverse sounds either using FM Synthesis, Simple synthesis, or by importing sound from a CD.
2. Continue creating sounds, making sure that each is very different and unique from the others that you have created. These sounds do not need to sound like anything they can be completely experimental.
3. Be aware of the quality of your audio files. Always monitor your sound using the play meters this will help you avoid clipping your sound.
4. Add effects to your sound to enhance its quality and dynamics.
5. When you have finished manipulating your sound, make sure that you fade the sound in at the beginning and out at the end.
6. Save your sound at CD quality audio: 44,100 Hz, 16 bit, stereo, .wav files.
7. Hand in your assignment on compact disc making sure that you make a DATA CD not an audio CD!!!

Documentation:
The process used to create each sound must be documented in detail. Keeping a log while working is recommended. This documentation is required when handing the assignment in. It should be in sentence form, using terminology explained during lectures.

Sound Fix

Objective:
Using preexisting sound files provided by the instructor, you will learn to edit sound, remove unwanted noise, and master your audio levels through normalization.

Assignment:
1. Remove unwanted hiss, pops, or spikes from the audio file entitled Club Jade.
2. For the file entitled noise gate, use the noise gate effect to remove the noise from the sound file while retaining the vocal track. You may wish to incorporate an Equalizer or High-Pass filter.
3. For the normalize file, raise the volume of the file using the normalize effect. Be careful not to clip, distort the sound, or raise the noise floor.

You do NOT need to provide documentation for this project.

Sound Mixing

Objective:
Using preexisting sound files provided by the instructor, you will learn to mix sound for improved stereo effect and sound clarity.

Assignment:
1. Import sound files, from the mix folder, into Premiere.
2. Mix these sounds according to their qualities as narration, ambience, or sound effects. Your mix should be at least 30 seconds in length.
3. Use panning, crossfades, and effects (delay and reverb) to enhance the spatial qualities of your mix.
4. Export the sound from Premiere as a 44,100 Hz 16 bit Stereo .wav file (windows waveform).

Documentation:
The process used to mix each sound must be documented in detail. Keeping a log while working is recommended. This documentation is required when handing the assignment in. It should be in sentence form, using terminology explained during lectures. You are not required to provide documentation for the sounds you fixed.

Musique Concrete

Objective:
Musique Concrete is the practice of using recorded sounds that are altered to create new sounds. Musique Concrete dates back to the early 1920's when composers used variable-speed record players in concert. The practice continued through the 1940's when composers were predominately using magnetic tape recorders/players. One could make a case for the samplers or digital recording that can be heard mixed into the pop music of the 1980's-90's, suggesting that they are influenced by musique concrete. In this course, however, we will manipulate found sound in order to make the original sound undecipherable.

Assignment:
1. Collect sounds using the Mini Disc recorder, the MiniDV cameras, the internet, radio, television, compact disc audio, or any other media source. Appropriation WILL BE ALLOWED for this project.
2. Import these sounds into your favorite editing software (Audition is recommended).
3. Mix the sounds into a 1 to 2 minute composition.
4. This project should have a specific context - meaning that the sounds should be used with a specific theme or title.
5. Export the sound from as a 44,100 Hz 16 bit Stereo .wav file (windows waveform). Turn in on a compact disc as DATA (not audio).

Audio to Video (Foley Art)

Objective:
Class is required to create music and sound effects for a pre-assigned animation or video.

Assignment:
1. Based on lectures in class, choose one of the animations/films and create original sounds. Have reasons for your sound, such as "mickymousing" or "leitmotifs".
2. Create music and sound effects. Multi-track the compositions, using appropriate effects such as reverb and echo through Premiere or ACID. Do not use SFX from the internet.
3. Cut the music within the AVI/MOV, carefully maintaining mix levels, use of crossfades and cuts. Do not cut the AVI/MOV.
4. Output as an AVI or MOV (whatever the original was), 320 by 240, 15 fps, using Microsoft AVI or Quicktime with Cinepak compression. The audio should be 44.1 kHz, 16 bit, stereo, and as a Windows waveform .wav

Documentation:
The process used to create each sound must be documented in detail. Explain your reasons for the placement of sound into the animation. Keeping a log while working is recommended. This documentation is required when handing the assignment in. It should be in sentence form, using terminology explained during lectures.

Interactive Sound

Objective:
To gain experience using sound effectively in interactive applications such as Director or Flash Students are to demonstrate a knowledge of a sound’s relationship to a graphic image.

Assignment:
Create effective sounds or music to be performed interactively using Flash or Max/MSP. This interactivity must have a specific context – meaning that the sounds and images used must be used with a specific theme or title. Experimental work will be accepted, yet the students must present their concept for experimentation and outline their specific goals. Sounds/music should be used with rollovers, mouse down/up, animated graphics, and/or .mov .avi files.

Documentation:
Describe the process you went through in order to mix the audio (panning, signal processing, fading, etc.) Describe the intended relationship that your sounds have to the visual/graphic action. The process used to create each sound must be documented in detail. Keeping a log while working is recommended. This documentation is required when handing the assignment in. It should be in sentence form, using terminology explained during lectures.