Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Sound Design

Undergraduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:

Critical Analysis

• Demostrar comprensión de ejemplos de obras maestras aplicando los principios de diseño de sonido apropiados a una variedad de proyectos de medios profesionales.

Production Techniques

• Demostrar competencia en grabación, edición y mezcla de audio en la creación de bandas sonoras.
• Demostrar competencia en herramientas digitales para el diseño de sonido en una estación de trabajo de audio digital (DAW)

Sound Design

• Producir elementos de diseño de sonido originales para películas y otros medios visuales.
• Design soundtracks that support the emotional content of the visual image
• Cree mezclas de sonido convincentes y equilibradas para las bandas sonoras finales.

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

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: Edición 1: El arte de editar (principal)
• MUS 102: Descripción general de la industria de bandas sonoras (básico)
• MUS 125A: Producción de audio A (núcleo)

Semester 2

• LA 108: Composition for the Artist (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• LA 142: Apreciación de la música de cine (artes liberales)
• MPT 105: Narración cinematográfica (principal)
  Recomendado para el verano
• MPT 225: Sound Design (Core)
• MUS 125B: Producción de audio B (principal)
• MUS 258: Perspectivas creativas en diseño de sonido (núcleo)

Semester 3

• GAM 107: Game Engines (Major)
• LA 291: Designing Careers (Liberal Arts)
• MUS 105: Preparación para la certificación de usuario de Pro Tools (básico)
• MUS 179: Historia de la industria discográfica (núcleo)
• MUS 320: Diseño de sonido creativo para medios visuales (núcleo)

Semester 4

• LA 182: Géneros cinematográficos (artes liberales)
  Recomendado para el verano
• LA 202: English Composition: Creative Persuasion & Argument (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• MUS 195: Diseño de sonido para juegos (núcleo)
• MUS 205: Preparación para la certificación de operador de ProTools 2 (básico)
• MUS 330: Grabación de sonido de producción (principal)
• MUS 370: Edición musical para medios visuales (básico)

Semester 5

• COM 150: Introducción a la radio/podcasting (especialidad)
• LA 104: Respeto por la actuación (Artes liberales)
• LA 110: Writing the Short Story (Liberal Arts)
• MUS 285: Grabación de sesiones 1: Protocolos y prácticas (básico)
• MUS 425: Síntesis y diseño de sonido experimental (especialidad)

Semester 6

• LA 124: Physics for Artists: Light, Sound, and Motion (Liberal Arts)
• LA 171: Civilización occidental (artes liberales)
• LA 282: Historia del cine 2: 1940-1974 (Artes liberales)
  Recomendado para el verano
• MUS 222: Preparación para la certificación Ableton Live (especialidad)
• MUS 430: Edición de diálogos (principal)
• MUS 498: Proyecto colaborativo (principal)
• N/A: Any Course (Elective)
  Recommended for summer

Semester 7

• COM 250: Producción y Promoción de Podcast (Optativa)
• LA 368: Experiencing Culture: Anthropology for Today's Artist (Liberal Arts)
• LA 407: Los Beatles en las Artes Visuales (Artes Liberales)
• MUS 110: Armonía 1 (Mayor)
• MUS 415: La mezcla musical (mayor)

Semester 8

• COM 208: Dynamic Aerial Imagery (Elective)
  Recommended for summer
• LA 131: Historia del juego (artes liberales)
• LA 382: Film History 3: Contemporary Cinema (Liberal Arts)
  Recommended for summer
• MUS 480: Carrete de demostración musical (núcleo)
• MUS 498: Proyecto colaborativo (principal)
• MUS 500: Prácticas en Música para Medios Visuales (Especialidad)