Postgraduate Course: Music on Screen (MUSI11045)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is designed to introduce Masters students to the analysis and interpretation of music in different screen media (film, television, video games, YouTube videos, music video, etc.) from a variety of historical, theoretical and institutional perspectives. The course will familiarise students with key topics in understanding music on screen, enabling them to develop analytical responses to screen media texts that interest you. The course is organised around a series of lectures, screenings and set readings. |
| Course description |
The course is designed as an introduction to the study of music on screen(s). We explore a variety of theoretical perspectives and analytical tools to understand and discuss the myriad aspects of screen media music, including its production and consumption. We consider original and pre-existing music in screen-media texts from different historical periods and from around the world, and explore how the relationship between music, sound and voice(s) differs across repertoires and in different formats, such as cinema and video games.
Lecture topics usually include the classical Hollywood film score, cinema of the senses, music in African cinema, and music and emotion. Audio-viewing sessions might include screenings of Mildred Pierce (1945), Vertigo (1960), Touki Bouki (1973), In the Mood for Love (2000), Under the Skin (2013) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The course aims to help students effectively articulate their ideas about music in screen-media texts through class discussions and in written and audiovisual essay formats, with basic software training provided to support the latter. Students are expected to engage with the set readings and weekly screenings.
The course has two weekly two-hour sessions, usually comprising a lecture/seminar and viewing session. A workshop on creating audio-visual essays is provided and tutorials are offered to help students develop their own research projects.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course does not require any additional costs to be met by the student. |
| Additional Costs | This course does not require any additional costs to be met by the student. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 1,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 2,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
148 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has three assessment components.
1) Analysis of a Given Sequence, 1000 words, 25%, weeks 4-6, relating to Learning Outcomes 1 and 2;
2) Trailer for an Audiovisual Essay, 2-3 minutes, 25%, weeks 8-9, relating to Learning Outcomes 1 and 4;
3) Audiovisual Essay, c.12-13 minutes, or a written essay, 3000 words, 50%, December exam diet, relating to Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Resit Information
The resit tasks for each assessment component are the same as those outlined above. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Formative feedback is offered in several ways through the course:
- in discussion sessions during lecture/seminars (delivered by CO and/or other teaching staff and peers)
- it is provided (verbally) by CO and/or other teaching staff and peers during the plenary session that features screenings of the cohort's trailers (assessment 2), which is scheduled promptly after submission, enabling the delivery of timely formative feedback
- the summative feedback provided for assessments 1 and 2 also functions as formative: e.g., errors corrected, clarifications offered and suggestions made to improve understanding, articulation and/or argumentation; the feedback for assessment 1 supports the production and development of assessments 2 and 3; the summative feedback for assessment 2 also relates directly to the development of assessment 3.
Summative Feedback
Summative feedback for the three assessments will be delivered as follows:
- Assessment 1 (analysis): summative feedback is provided by the Course Organiser/teaching staff in written or verbal form. An individual tutorial may be offered in some cases.
- Assessment 2 (trailer): summative feedback is provided by Course Organiser/teaching staff in written or verbal form.
- Assessment 3 (audiovisual or written essay): summative feedback is provided by Course Organiser/teaching staff/tutor in written or verbal form.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate your understanding of a wide range of theoretical approaches to music in screen-media texts.
- Demonstrate that you are able to use this knowledge in a sophisticated manner to articulate and develop cogent arguments concerning the aesthetics of music on screen.
- Demonstrate awareness of historical, technological, and economic issues affecting the development of music composed for screen (whether film, television, videogames, webpages, apps, etc.).
- Demonstrate the ability to use audio-visual evidence in the development of musicological arguments.
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Reading List
1. Chion, Michael. 1994. Audio-vision: sound on screen. Columbia University Press.
2. Buhler, James, et al. 2010. Hearing the movies: music and sound in film history. Oxford university Press.
3. Kalinak, Kathryn Marie. 2010. Film music: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
4. Fritsch, Melanie and Tim Summers (eds). 2021. Cambridge Companion to Video Game Music. University of Cambridge Press.
5. Halfyard, Janet K. and Nicholas Reyland (eds). (2024). The Palgrave Handbook of Music and Sound in Peak TV. Palgrave Macmillan. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy: Connecting theory and practice in analysing and understanding music in screen-media texts will help you develop a critically reflective approach to studying and improve your ability to achieve your goals. You will also develop skills in creativity and inventive thinking by exploring opportunities offered by audiovisual media as a means of producing and presenting your research.
Personal Effectiveness: Developing ideas into outcomes that demonstrate your ability to select and use relevant sources related to the study of music on screen will enhance your assertiveness.
Communication: By expressing ideas and information about current issues and debates in contemporary screen music studies in written, audiovisual and oral formats, you will enhance your skills as a compelling and effective communicator. It will deepen your understanding of the subject and help you convey complex concepts clearly and persuasively.
Research and Enquiry: You will develop skills in problem solving and analytical and critical thinking by connecting theory and practice. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The course has two weekly two-hour sessions, usually comprising a lecture/seminar and viewing session. A workshop on creating audio-visual essays is provided and tutorials are offered to help students develop their own research projects. |
| Keywords | Film,television,videogame,music,screen musicology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Chris Letcher
Tel: (0131 6)50 2333
Email: Chris.Letcher@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Ruth Lee
Tel:
Email: clee5@ed.ac.uk |
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