Music and the Moving Image 2

(MUSI 224)

Final assignment

Dr P Tagg, IPM, University of Liverpool

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All students will complete one of the following two projects:
either A (composition) or B (dissertation).

A. Composition to existing video footage

1 General 2 Composition - video/SMPTE - paper composition 3 Documentation 4 Assessment

A1: Composition assignment: general points

Students select video footage suitable for composition purposes.
The final choice of video footage is subject to the approval of the lecturer in charge of this module (MUSI 224).
If the video footage already contains music, this music should be ignored and totally new music provided for the sequence(s) in question.
The required total duration of the composition will be in inverse proportion to the technical and aesthetic problems of the task, e.g. complexity of synchronisation, orchestration, compositional texture, etc. The duration of compositions submitted range typically from 60 seconds to 5 minutes, excluding any possible general pauses in the music.
All compositions must be submitted together with a written explanation (see Documentation under A3, below).
The actual composition part of the assignment may be submitted either [a] in video-recorded form (see A2a below) or [b] in notated form, as a professional score (paper composition, see A2b below).

A2a: Composition assignment: video recording option

Your composition should be recorded and synchronised to picture using such equipment or techniques as MIDI sequencing, SMPTE code, synthesiser(s), live instruments or vocals, tap time, sound effects, sound treatment etc.
Any dialogue or sound affects in the original soundtrack may be retained or discarded.
Your composition should be transferred, together with the footage it accompanies, to a normal-speed VHS cassette for submission. Stand-alone sound recordings of your composition on mini-disc, DAT tape, CD, cassette, etc. are, for technical and aesthetic reasons, not accepted.
To successfully complete this option you will need easy access to the necessary equipment, e.g. to the Music Department's main studio.
Students without access to the necessary equipment or without prior experience of work with MIDI sequencing and synthesisers are strongly advised not to choose this option.
Your composition must be submitted together with a written explanation (see A3 below).

A2b: Composition assignment: notated option

Your composition should be a correctly presented full score showing the following features above each system: [1] exact metronome marking(s); [2] seconds elapsed from the start of the musical cue; [3] cue points to the nearest eighth or tenth of a second; [4] story board showing, where appropriate: [a] on-screen action; [b] dialogue; [c] sound effects; [d] visual editing events (cuts, zooms, pans, cross-fades, etc. Before submitting your score together with the relevant video cued up 10 seconds before the start of where your music starts, you should, if necessary, use the photocopier to reduce all sheets to A4 format (see Tagg's Assignment Tips).

A3: Composition assignment: written documentation

Your composition (video recording or score) should be accompanied by a written explanation of the following: [1] your intentions with the music you have composed to picture; [2] how you think the combination of music and picture will work; [3] how and why you have chosen which cue points, etc. In the case of video recordings, documentation should also include details of sounds and instruments used.

A4. Composition assignment: assessment criteria

Assessment is based on the following criteria:

[1: composition] synchronisation, pace, appropriateness of mood, originality;

[1a: video recording] use of technology; sound balance; sound quality

[1b: written score] detail; correctness of presentation; comprehensibility; legibility;

[2: documentation] clarity of intent and means of expression, semiotic awareness, language, legibility, presentation.

Weighting of evaluation: 65% for composition, 35% for documentation

B. Dissertation

You may opt to write a mini dissertation (minimum 5,000 words) on any topic relating to the creative and/or aesthetic and/or functional aspects of music for the moving image. The dissertation topic must be cleared in advance after consultation with the course tutor. Typically successful topics have been related to particular types or functions of music, for example advertising, news, sport, soaps, a particular film (other than the one analysed in the previous project), a particular film genre, a particular composer, etc.

Assessment is based on the following criteria: clarity in presenting and solving a problem of knowledge, degree of innovation and independent research, theory and methods used, awareness of problems relevant to the topic (e.g. semiotic, musical-structural, social, commercial, political, technical, compositional), language, legibility, presentation.

2000-08-24