THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014 -
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2013 for reference only
THIS PAGE IS OUT OF DATE

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Music

Undergraduate Course: Film Music post-1950 (MUSI10072)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) Credits20
Home subject areaMusic Other subject areaNone
Course website www.music.ed.ac.uk Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThis course combines historical, theoretical and analytical approaches to music in films from the second half of the twentieth century. The course is organized around a series of films and key readings, with each class focusing on a particular idea or issue, supported by suggestions for follow-up viewing, listening, and reading. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to explore how the role of music in film may be viewed in political terms. Examples of class topics might include music and the films of the French New Wave, interrelations between the music industry and the film industry, the pop performer on screen, the aesthetics of surround sound.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesStudents should normally be undertaking music as a major component of their degree programme. Students of film taking music as a minor component should consult the course organiser.
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
A primary focus of this course is to enable students to develop an awareness and understanding of academic approaches to film music, drawing on both musicology and film studies. Students will be expected to discuss and analyse the use of music in films, drawing on a range of approaches. Students will thus develop analytical skills
and critical awareness. Through study students will also develop research methods, the ability to read critically, the ability to evaluate arguments and articulate their conclusions in written and spoken presentations.

Students will familiarise themselves with a number of set films, which will form the basis of the classes. They will develop an awareness of the impact of technology and economics on the aesthetics of film music. They will also familiarise themselves with theoretical texts concerning film sound and music.
Assessment Information
One essay c.3,000 words (40%) submitted by 16.00 on Wednesday, week 5 (13th February 2013).
One essay c.3,000 words (50%) submitted by 16.00 on Wednesday 24 April 2013.
One presentation (10%), to be scheduled during the course.
Special Arrangements
The course is supported by a weekly screening which will take place most Thursdays in the cinema in the Basement of David Hume Tower, from 9-11am. Students should ensure that they can attend both the class and the screening.
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Classes will include an introduction to the historical and industrial context of a series of key moments in the period 1950-2010, the close-reading of a series of set films and their scores/soundtracks, and will also include student presentations. The first classes will introduce the landscape of film scoring and source music in Hollywood filmmaking at the point of divorcement - the point at which the major studios were forced to sell off their theatres, signalling the end to a 20+ year period of vertical integration ¿ and explore the aesthetic impact on film music of this industrial/economic shift. Other key moments to be explored will likely include: the interface between Hollywood and the French Nouvelle Vague in the 1960s; the rise of Film Studies as a discipline and its impact on filmmaking/scoring; music and political filmmaking, energised by developments in technology; the impact of other platforms/formats on film scoring (e.g., television, video games, music video). Set films will likely include Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958), The Music Lovers (Russell 1970) Apocalypse Now (1979), Wings of Desire (Wenders 1987), Chungking Express (Wong 1994), The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not entered
Study Abroad Only available to students who will be present for the semester in which the course is taught.
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsFil film music
Contacts
Course organiserDr Annette Davison
Tel: (0131 6)50 2426
Email: A.C.Davison@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Brad Herbert
Tel: (0131 6)50 2422
Email: brad.herbert@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information
 
© Copyright 2013 The University of Edinburgh - 10 October 2013 4:56 am