Art 067 Problems: Sound and Image Workshop
Tech 350 Workshop

Instructors:

Rian Brown-Orso
Assistant Professor of Art
Allen Art Building room 111
Office Hours: Tues 9:00-12:00
Rian.Brown@oberlin.edu
Office phone: x8674

Tom Lopez
Visiting Assistant Professor
TIMARA Studio 5
Office Hours: see office door or by appointment
Tom.Lopez@oberlin.edu
Office Phone: x8748

 

Course Content and Description:

This class is an audio and video production workshop which will examine the structural and semantic correspondence between acoustic material and film / video material. Concentration will be on AV recording and editing techniques utilizing digital video cameras and Macintosh based editing software (ProTools and FinalCut). We will explore the history of the relationships between sound, radio, the avant-garde, film, video, and installation.

This course will help students develop the technical skills required for the craft of audio production and post-production and the development of a creative style and voice. Successful completion of this course will require dedication, collaboration, passion, and a large commitment of time.

Course Structure:

Class time will consist of technical lectures and demonstrations; listening to and discussing a variety of sound art works; studying the use of sound in scenes from selected films; discussing reading assignments; and group critiques.

This course has a rich combination of conservatory and college students. Ten students from the TIMARA Department are signed up for Tech350 and ten college students (not all of them art majors) are signed up for Art 067. There are multiple technological aspects to manipulating audio and video on the computer as well as a limited amount of access, so this class is a collaborative venture. This requires cooperation and respect. Your peers are also a valuable source of sharing expertise and resources. Be kind.

Course Activity:

There will be a few small exercises and two major creative projects; one project is due before spring break and the other at the end of the semester (see the section about important dates for details). Students are also expected to keep a diary of sounds and images (to be explained further in class).

Grading:

The grade range of A is reserved for exceptional quality work. The grade range of B does not mean work is mediocre, rather it signifies strong, solid accomplishment. Copyright infringement will not be tolerated. If you are unsure of copyright regulations, look at: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/.

10% diary
20% participation & attendance
20% exercises
25% project 1
25% project 2

Attendance:

Classroom attendance is required. The subject matter requires visual and aural correlation of the technical and artistic concepts presented. Classes begin promptly at the scheduled time. While it is better to arrive late than not at all, tardy students are requested to cause as little distraction as possible when joining the class. It is the studentÕs responsibility to ask the professor about missed information.

Important Dates:

NO MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 5PM THE LAST DAY OF READING PERIOD

February 22 - Trinh Min Ha (film maker) at the Cinematheque
February 26 - guest lecture by Stephen Jost (art historian)
March 5 - guest lecture by Gary Chang (film composer)
March 21 - first project due (documentation due April 4)
April 2 - guest lecture by Rebecca Leydon (music theorist)
May 7 - second project due (documentation due May 14)
May 15 - last day of reading period, final deadline for all written work

Communication:

The class web site contains information for the course. It will have a copy of this syllabus and most other material distributed in class; it is a good place to look for answers to questions. The class listserv is also used to share information about various aspects of the class. Students are expected to use their electronic mail account regularly.

Web Site: www.timara.oberlin.edu/~tlopez/a_v.html

Listserv: listavserv@oberlin.edu

Studios, Labs, Equipment:

Learning in the TIMARA and Art Departments is largely a group process; you should be aware of each other's work and treat the equipment in the studios accordingly. TIMARA students are expected to use the TIMARA Department facilities and college students are expected to use the Art Department facilities, students should not attempt to access the other studio. We will be encouraging students to collaborate with one another and in those particular circumstances students will be allowed access to the other departmentÕs gearŃbut only when a student from that department is present. Please respect these guidelines as they will ensure fewer technical difficulties.

Materials:

Students will be responsible for buying appropriate media as needed.

Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
Digital Video Tape
Slide Film
VHS Tape
Zip Disks

All these items can be purchased from John Donalds (Art Department) and John Talbert (TIMARA Department).

Recommended (not required) Books:

Any Sound You Can Imagine, Paul Thˇberge, Wesleyen University Press
Audio-Vision; Sound on Screen, Michel Chion, Columbia University Press
Noise Water Meat: A History of Sound in the Arts, Douglas Kahn, The MIT Press
Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, Tricia Rose, Wesleyan University Press
Bring the Noise, Havelock Nelson and Michael A. Gonzales, Harmony Books
The Computer Music Tutorial, Curtis Roads, The MIT Press
Cut ŌNÕ Mix, Dick Hebdige, Routledge
Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein, John Corbett, Duke University Press
Film Sound: Theory and Practice, Elizabeth Weis & John Belton, eds., Columbia University Press
Futurist Manifestos, ed. by Umbro Apollonio, ed., Thames and Hudson
Noise: The Political Economy of Music, Jacques Attali, University of Minnesota Press
On Sonic Art, Trevor Wishart, harwood academic
Repeated Takes, Micahel Chanan, Verso
Silence, John Cage, Wesleyan University Press
Sound States: Innovative Poetics and Acoustical Technologies, Adalaide Morris, ed., University of North Carolina Press
Sound Theory, Sound Practice, Altman, Rick, ed., Routledge
Sound for Film and Television, Tomlinson Holman, Focal Press
Sound by Artists, Dan Lander & Micah Lexier, eds., Toronto: Art Metropole & Banff: Walter Phillips Gallery
Wireless Imagination: Sound, Radio, and the Avant-Garde, Douglas Kahn & Gregory Whitehead, The MIT Press

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