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This is the Sound Studies Group at the SUSTech School of Design, Shenzhen. It is led by Dr. Qiushi Xu and Dr. Marcel Zaes Sagesser. Our research focuses on sound in relationship with technology, the environment, and human listening. It includes sound technology, sound studies, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), sound design, philosophy of science and technology, spatial audio, interactive audio, and creative media. The output of this team is published in prestigious international journals, at domestic and international conferences, and at international exhibitions and concert halls.

We are continuously looking for exceptional students for short-term or long-term internships and visiting student positions in our group. Please send us your CV and your portfolio if you are interested.

SUSTech School of Design ● Sound Studies Group
南方科技大学创新创意设计学院 ● 声音研究科研组

#Sound Studies
#Creative Media
#Digital Media Arts
#VR + Sonic Architectures
#Interaction Design
#Sound Design
#Auditory Interaction
#Human Computer Interaction HCI
-> Jianguoyun folder
-> Github project

Shared Class Notes
Class + Group Projects + Skill Sharing List
Mapping with QGIS open-source project
Sound Synthesis with VCV Rack
Audio Editor Audacity (free)
Virtualpiano.net
Learn Adobe Audition

DS345 Sound Design 声音设计


Designing for Inclusion, Accessibility and Public Spaces: Interventions with Sound Design for Yuanling Street, Shenzhen

-> Sound Design for Cultural Accessibility

Collaboration Partners: 
-> C-Foundation, SACA, Paralympics, Yuanling Street Office
Fall 2024


Prof. Marcel SAGESSER
Office hours Marcel: mondays, 2-4pm, 3rd floor (send an email for an appointment 24h before)
Teaching Assistant: WEN Jiayi 文嘉懿 (12333207)
Research Assistants assisting the course: ZHENG Hao 郑好 | FU Xuehua 付雪画 | JIN Yixuan 金仡暄 | 



Course Description

This course takes the students on a journey into the realm of the sonic. As something that is quite always around us and yet often remains underinterrogated, students learn about the emotional, narrative, social, and informative potential that sound has in contemporary media applications and beyond. This course focuses on sound as a malleable, raw material that we can craft, and that we can craft with – that is, sound as an opportunity for design. Students will learn to generate sound from scratch with synthesis, and by so doing, will develop critical listening skills, a vocabulary to analyze sound & affect, and will sharpen their skill to imagine auditory worlds for their future projects. The gained skill will help students more critically design intangible, socially engaging experiences in their life as designers. Beyond understanding the basic principles of acoustics, sound generation, composition, and audio editing, this course also surveys contemporary opportunities for the delivery of sound in digital media. The students will engage in English-language classroom discussion, will work both individually and in groups, and they will develop, produce, and deliver a large-scale sound design project that is relevant for experience design. This course might include field trips and/or collaborations with external partners depending on availability. Lecture and activity schedules are indicative and may be adjusted.
Skills: composition, sound generation, editing .


Design Brief for Fall 2024

This course is offered in collaboration with the Yuanling Street Office (Shenzhen-Futian) and SACA, the Shenzhen Accessibility Association, and is funded by C-Foundation. 

For the 2025 Paralympics and Special Olympics in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the City of Shenzhen is launching several initiatives to render Shenzhen more accessible and inclusive. The games will attract athletes, as well as a large number of audiences from close by and far away. For Shenzhen, it is an opportunity to improve its infrastructure and showcase innovation projects in the domain of accessibility and inclusion.

With this course, the SUSTech School of Design will realize 4-6 sound design projects that provide more accessibility and inclusion to the Yuanling neighborhood of Shenzhen, where a part of the games will take place. The focus of this course lies on cultural accessibility: how can sound be used to communicate to the visitors – athletes, guests, but also local spectators – what the local culture is, and how they can better learn about, explore, and navigate, the area? 

The SUSTech School of Design will specifically not focus on physical modalities of accessibility. Instead, they will put emphasis on what the special competence area of this school is: on innovation and creative, digital technologies. As a School within SUSTech University, this course will combine the core capabilities in scientific approaches and creative innovation. Sound is one of these technologies, and particularly the use and application of interactive digital sound design will showcase how new media and new technologies can be applied to improve the city also in public space.

Accessibility and Inclusion often means that people with special ability can participate fully in society, including sports and culture. Yet accessibility is more than that, it also includes any potential citizen, and can help them feel more welcomed, and more taken seriously, if they are met with content that is tailored to them with the sensibility for cultural nuance and appropriateness. 

Sound is special in that it can communicate information and emotion at once. An audio guide could encompass auditory geographic navigation within Yuanling for visually impaired. Yet more so, communicating to all kinds of visitors through sound means to give them access to information that otherwise remains hidden: the local sports traditions, stories of local people who have lived here for many decades, the history of the district, its culinary specialties, it‘s musical and cultural heritage and contemporary culture, and so on. These specially designed insights will provide the visitors a better experience as they will gain valuable cultural knowledge which then helps them navigate the area with a sensitivity for the place, the history, and the people of Yuanling. These sound design innovations will even allow them to explore the area on an emotional level, beyond receiving helpful information.

The student design teams will create prototypes of site-specific, interactive audio guides for Shenzhen’s Yuanling Subdistrict’s public space. By the end of the course, students will also document their sound designs in high-quality concept films that demonstrate their contribution in cultural accessibility for the Yuanling district and for Shenzhen.


Deliverables

  • Small assignment #1 (individual skill demonstration in sound)
  • Small assignment #2 (individual skill demonstration in sound)
  • Interactive audio guide, 1st draft (audio files, map, title, concept note) — interim presentations in classroom
  • Interactive audio guide, final version (audio files, map, title, concept note) — outdoor demonstration in Yuanling
  • Concept film (2-4min), documenting the interactive audio guide and public sound design, 1st draft (video, contains your sound design, contains your map, annotations, accompanied by bilingual poster) — final presentations in classroom
  • Concept film, final version, with bilingual poster, final version — final course submission


Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate skill in sound composition and sound editing
  2. Analyze, identify, and critically describe sound design opportunities within experience design
  3. Present original research on the social and cultural consequences of sound
  4. Realize and present an original high-quality creative project in sound design


Technical Details for Audio Guide APP


Mini thumbnail
landmark
-> goal: gives a small “mood” of your project
Can be photo or graphic or combo (better no text) 
Rectangle, landscape
500 x 300 px

Project overview
Background image or graphic
-> goal: gives the mood with more detail about your project
Your project title and name will be juxtaposed over it
Can be photo or graphic or combo (no text allowed)
Portrait size
768 x 1024 px

Map
Streets have to be exactly like in our template, otherwise GPS is wrong
But the design / style / colors can be totally up to you
-> You can: add things/ change colour/ add icons to existing image
Better use no text, because there is not enough space
Square
1246 x 1246 px


Syllabus / Weekly Plan


Week 1 (Dr. XU Qiushi + FU Xuehua – Marcel at SMPR’24)

Introduction  to sound design: what can sound do within experience and industrial design? Welcome, overview of the course content, practice project, and the expectations about academic, ethical and creative rigor.

  • Course intro
  • What is sound? Outdoor recording exercise
  • What is sound design? Reading of  book chapter introduction
  • Introduction to the practice project (Yuanling Paralympics Shenzhen)



(image courtesy of amazon.com)

Week 2

Theory of acoustics and listening: what is sound, and how do we perceive it?
Basic knowledge, skill, and keywords, introduction to sound editing
In the studio: sound recording
The principles of microphones, loudspeakers, storage, recording techniques, norms, and applications
Introduction to Mapping, Fieldwork, and Ethnographic work

  • Course administration
  • Recap theory from last week
  • Theory: how do microphones and loudspeakers work?  (short)
  • Topic: 
  •     What is cultural accessibility?
  •     Final project, and a few case studies (including Hao)
  •     Discussion: what can design do? (design for ...)
  •     Exercise: topic search, academic desk research (individual), with upload
  • Examples of sound:
  •     Analysis exercise of sound design cases
  • Preparing for fieldwork:
  •     Ethnographic methods, anthropology
  •     Interviewing (book chapter 7, page 147-154)
  •     Data Collecting
  •     Mapping
  •     Design Opportunities
  •     Topic mapping -> group making
  •     Technical demo of audio recorders

Homework until Tuesday Sep 24, 8:00pm (individual, upload to class folder)
  • The director of the 园岭 street office has helped me to organize several local residents who are willing to talk to you on Friday and answer your questions in short interviews. The director wants to see your questions earlier, therefore I need to change the date for the interview questions:
    Each of you upload 3 good interview questions in Chinese *and* English and upload them to the shared course folder (OneDrive) before tomorrow evening, Tuesday Sep 24, 8:00pm into the folder called "week 2 interview questions". Label the text file clearly with your name. Remember, the project is about cultural accessibility, so you want to use the locals to find out a lot of information about the local culture of Yuanling, and which parts of their culture they think is important for visitors to know about. You can choose your favorite areas of culture, of course, for example sports. But please talk to colleagues and make sure that not everyone is asking the same topic or the same question, we want some wider range of topics.

Homework until Wednesday Sep 25, 8:00pm (individual, upload to class folder)
 Prepare for fieldwork: Make a fieldwork plan
  • define your “field” (what are the part(s) of culture that you think you want to study there?)
  • find 1 academic article and 1 internet source about Yuanling
  • list 3 tentative design opportunities based on your desk research
  • define your methods that you will use (at least four, 1 is sound recording and 1 is interview, 1 is mapping, 1 is free)
  • read book chapter 7 “interview”
  • create 3 good interview questions that you would like to ask to a local resident of Yuanling
  • prepare a map
  • -> put all of it into your fieldwork plan, make it look nice -> be creative
Deadline: upload to class folder on Wednesday evening, 8pm (Sep 25) - individual homework


Week 3 - Fieldwork (Futian Excursion)

In the Field: fieldwork in Yuanling Street, Shenzhen-Futian

  • Each student, run at least four methods while we are in the field, and collect as much materials as possible for your tentative project topic(s), for your intended directions, and for seeking for opportunities. 
  • Mandatory methods: sound recording with Zoom H4, interview, mapping
  • Free methods: choose 1 more method

Homework:
Before the next class starts, before 7:59am on Sun Sep 29,  upload all your materials from yesterday to Onedrive:
  • Sound recordings, Images, Videos --> to the folder "Fieldwork Yuanling" - select the corresponding sub-category or create your own --> put all the files there into a subfolder clearly labeled with your name.
  • Sketches, maps, drawings, notes, hand written notes, etc.: into the folder projects --> "week 3 field notes"





Week 4 (Sunday class! – Sep 29)

In the machine: sound synthesis; the principles of generating sound from scratch; using sound as a malleable raw material to craft with; sound in the machine as an opportunity for interaction
-> hand out assignment #1 prompt
-> Postponed: guest talk #1 (waiting for confirmation)


  • Post-processing of fieldwork: interview transcription of 3 important parts + translation, interview analysis, fieldwork analysis, update mapping, define opportunities
  • Clarify grading
  • Introduction to Audio Editing
  • Group making process
  • Skill sharing session organization
  • New topic: “In the machine - synthesis” (see above)

Homework:
  • Assignment #1 (individual, upload to OneDrive)
  • Final project: progress (individual, upload to OneDrive under the folder “week 4 fieldwork analysis”), tasks: interview transcription of 3 important parts + translation, interview analysis, fieldwork analysis, update mapping, define opportunities
    Deadline: upload to class folder on OneDrive by  Oct 11, 7:59am

Assignment #1
Deadline: upload to class folder on OneDrive by  Oct 11, 7:59am
  • Individual Work
  • Use VCV Rack (and Adobe Audition or any other professional audio editor)
  • Create a generative sound design work that remains interesting for a duration of 2 minutes. “Interesting” means that some elements must be constantly changing (fast oder very slow, or both).
  • It should have at least 3 layers of sound (3 Oscillators / VCO).
  • It should use filters (VCF)
  • It should use time control (Step Sequencer SEQ and/or Low Frequency Oscillator LFO)
  • All sounds must be made with VCV Rack 2.
  • The sounds can be assembled in Adobe Audition or any other professional audio editor. Audition can also be used to add additional reverb, or effects such as EQ, panning, automation.
Upload to the OneDrive folder “week 5 sound synthesis”
  • audio file (2 minutes, .mp3 / .wav / .aif), ideally stereo with left and right channel
  • VCV Rack project file (.vcv)
  • screenshot of your VCV Rack project that shows everything in a way that can be reproduced
  • diagram (made by hand or by computer) that shows the concept of your sound design.

(National Holiday Break)





Week 5

Opportunities for sound in experience design: survey of sound design applications, workshop on identifying and developing new opportunities, project work, background research, idea development
-> submit assignment #1 (technical sound design skill)

  • Peer Skill Sharing Sessions (10 minutes for each student in class; individual)
  • Reading: book chapter 1 “Opportunities in Sound Design”
  • Reading: book chapter 2 “Subtractive Sound Design for Products”
  • Lecture: opportunities in sound design (experience design) - analysis of examples -> mapping, seeking for opportunities, in-details analysis of soundscape
  • Report from Oct 10 meeting at Yuanling Street Office - what other universities are doing
  • Input on Audio Guide Development (in-progress, presented by ZHENG Hao)
  • First group tutorials

Homework for next week (deadline: upload to class folder, under projects, by Oct 18, 7:59am)
Project work, develop your final project, including background research, idea development, mapping of Yuanling, sound collection, and making sketches + drafts (individual upload inside the new “Project / Group X” folder)
-> follow the group tasks that are written down in the TencentDoc.


Week 6

Sound and affect: the social and cultural consequences of sound; theory of affect; sound as emotional, narrative, informative, and ambience. Theory of socio-cultural context of sound-making; project work, background research
-> hand out assignment #2 prompt
-> guest talk #2 (waiting for confirmation)

  • Introduction: emotion+affect
  • Peer Skill Sharing Sessions (10 minutes for each student in class; individual)
  • Reading: book chapter 3 “Adding Sound to Interaction”
  • Reading: bokk chapter 5 “Sound and Brand”
  • Analysis of examples: sound and affect, sound and emotion, sound and culture, sound and the social, sound and narrative, sound as information, sound as ambience
  • Project work + group tutorials

Homework:

Final Project
Finish Audio Guide Concept (includes: graphical plan of your sound design including a list of all elements needed, such as music, mood, voice recording, brand sound, sound effects, ambience/atmosphere, background, short notification sounds, etc; and your map of Yuanling to indicate the dynamic sound design, which sound playing in which location, and why; then a clear list of all sound elements that you need to record or synthesize or find online. Each project also needs a written text - or several - in two languages CN/EN that will be recorded, a voice over or narrator).
-> upload until Friday morning Oct 25, 7:59 am to Class Folder under your project / week 7

Assignment #2
Deadline: upload to class folder on OneDrive by  Oct 25, 7:59am, under “week 7 assignment 2”
  • Individual Work

  • Task: create a narrative in sound design that creates emotion (affect)
  • Use Adobe Audition and any other tool of your choice
  • Use at least 4 different sound elements: at least 1 voice recording (self-made), 1 synthetic sound, 1 ambience, 1 sound effect
  • The voice need to be self-recorded, all others can be your own recordings, your own synthesis, or from online resources
  • Combine these into a single sound experience (narrative)
  • Apply all your advanced sound editing skills to create a smooth, beautiful sound design
  • length: should be around 30-60 seconds.
  • It can be a part of your actual final project that can be used in our audio guide
  • The sounds can be assembled in Adobe Audition or any other professional audio editor. Audition can also be used to add additional reverb, or effects such as EQ, panning, automation.

Upload these components:
  • audio file (30-60 seconds, .mp3 / .wav / .aif), ideally stereo with left and right channel
  • screenshot of your sound design software (Adobe Audition or similar) that shows everything in a way that can be reproduced
  • diagram (made by hand or by computer) that shows the concept of your sound design.
  • list of what the files are that you used
  • upload also all individual original sounds that you have used



Images: student work from peer skill sharing sessions



Week 7

Composing sound is composing time: imagining auditory worlds; conceptualizing timelines, perception of time, advanced audio composition: integration, collaging, cutting, transitioning, decontextualizing, working with depth, arranging time, and creating original auditory worlds
-> submit assignment #2 (technical sound design skill)

  • (no peer sharing)
  • continue case study analysis from last week (Izzy, Hank, Fred)
  • Read book: chapter 8
  • Technical skill: elements: record a voice and a studio sound (compare to field recording and sound synthesis)
  • Start audio guide production: workshop on sound design
  • Demonstration of technical backend of browser-based audio guide
  • Project work and tutorials

Homework:

Final Project
Make lots of progress: finish several of your sound files, update your maps and concepts according to the new defined areas on the map. Write texts and record them (double language). Make sound design elements. Put them together on a timeline. Show a draft of your sound design when the next class starts (have at least 3 sound files completed).

 



Images: technical demonstrations in Adobe Audition and Garage Band (sound design)



Week 8 - Nov 1

Advanced time structures: non-linearity and interactivity; conceptualizing advanced timelines; non-linear, cyclical, interactive, and generative structures with their social and cultural consequences for users; project work, interim review preparations

  • Skill peer sharing
  • Case study analysis: Mario Kart + Tetris: interactive, non-linear game audio
  • read book chapter 9
  • Project work and tutorials: introduction to Github, coding workflow, Web development, Audio Guide web project (with WEN Jiayi and ZHENG Hao)






Week 9 - Interim Review - Nov 8

Interim Review: presentation and critique of background research and project drafts
Please check the guidelines in the pdf “DS345 Interim.pdf”.

 -> every group finish their interactive Web Audio prototype of the audio guide
-> every group present their project in slides (follow the instructions) 

After the review: Guest Talk #1 by Kila Liao, signed music artist / music producer, Shenzhen






Images: materials from students in the class, as presented at the interim review



Week 10 (No class - SUSTech Sports Day)

Design process: responding to critique and feedback; after the critique is before the critique: learning to respond to critique; rethinking the projects; project work, software and tech tutorials as needed by projects

Homework for next week
to be uploaded before 7:59am

  1. Each of you create a Jianguoyun account and make sure you can log in and access your project data (the earlier the better)
  2. Reread the design brief (on the course website), and also the "Deliverables" section, as well as the Final Project section one more time very precisely. I realized not everyone is aware what is expected from you in this course. All info is at https://soundstudiesgroup.net/DS345-2024
  3. Each of you should have received the feedback sheets (pdfs). If you have not, please contact me. 
  4. Read the feedback very precisely, and each of you (individual!), make a list of the 6 most important points of feedback. The list looks like this: Critique point --> Describe how I am going to react / what I am going to change. Structure the list like this:
  • 2 points about the main concept / design idea
  • 2 points about the sound design
  • 2 points about the technical backend / interaction / UI
  • --> put all these points into one document (pdf), name it with GroupX-name-feedback-report
    --> upload it under week 11 inside your project
  1. 5. Each of you (individual homework) take one of all your soundfiles (choose 1!), and make improvements to it according to the points that you have identified on your feedback list. This assignment has to be executed by each member individualy, but what changes you make have to be coordinated with the group membmers (to avoid that everyone is doing the same changes).
    upload your new soundfile (1 file) to the course drive under week 11, named GroupX-studentName-trackX-improved




Week 11 - Nov 22

Crafting sound II: advanced synthesis, recording, sampling, and editing techniques; sound as a material to create auditory worlds with; perfecting concepts and ideas in realization; project work; software and tech tutorials as needed by projects



    Homework:
    • finsih all visual images and color concept until Monday evening 23:59 (communicate with ZHENG Hao)
    • finish all sound files (including background) until Wednesday evening 23:59 (communicate with ZHENG Hao)
    • prepare Yuanling audio walk (details will follow)


    Week 12 - Audio Guide Prototype Presentation (Futian Excursion) - Nov 29

    Creating space: sonic architectures and post production; when time becomes spatial: thinking time-based sound design as sonic architecture; learning the techniques of spatial processing; filtering, panning, layering, automating volumes, depth, compressing, and mixing sound productions; project work 

    • Field trip to Yuanling Subdistrict: testing of Audio Guides, with filming and footage production
    • Shared lunch at Yuanling food street



    Homework for next week
    • Individual work: each of you look through the video clips that have been recorded, develop an understanding of what material you have to work with (link will be shared on Thursday because video upload is big and takes time)
    • Individual work: install and try PR. (can also be on School computer).
    • Individual work: each of you, create a 1-page overview sketch/diagram to show what elements you could combine into your final video production that shows the audio guide, the usage scenario, shows Yuanling, shows cultural accessibility, shows your design concept. List all the materials that you think you will put into the video, existing ones, not-yet-existing ones, and imaginary ones. Draw/sketch/diagram everything on one single page (can be hand drawn or tablet or computer made, must be in English, can be in color, any style that you like, must be a pdf). 
      -> upload to course folder by 7:59am on Friday morning, December 6. Filename: [yourname]-material-sketch.pdf (example: Marcel-material-sketch.pdf) -> put it inside folder GroupX / week 12.



    Week 13 - Dec 6

    How to present something that is sonic: writing about and representing sound; project work, internal feedback, and learning to write and present sound in a report and in a presentation.

    • Peer Skill Sharing (last time!)
    • Discuss Midterm Feedback
    • Assignment #2 Feedback discussion
    • Guest talk #2: Assemblage Narrative
    • Workshop, group work: start final project video






    Midterm Feedback Survey: One item that you have learned in this course?



    Student work from this class, examples by Cora, Fred, Kara, Garnet, Hank, and Christine, 2024




    Courtesy of students in this class (Garnett, Kara)


    Homework for next week
    Each group uploads the first rough draft of their video (2-4min) to the course folder (under “week 14”).



    Week 14 (Replacement Teacher – Marcel at VINCI’24) - Dec 13

    Tutorial Work on final projects, internal feedback

    Prof. Qiushi Xu will be teaching this week.

    • Exam preparation (Theory part: practice exam #1, and class discussion)
    • Project work: work on final project video delivery
    • Project work: tutorials with Zheng Hao, Wen Jiayi, and Qiushi Xu


    Stills from video drafts by student groups


    Homework for next week:

    (1) Study the summary of the textbook that you have received last week. Start to learn it well, memorize details. On Friday we'll run the next practice exam.

    (2) Continue your final project video: improve the last draft and create a new draft out of it, and upload it on the course folder clearly labeled under "Week 15 draft"
    For the video, you have received feedback from ZHENG Hao and WEN Jiayi, and some of you also from Prof. XU Qiushi. Please take that feedback into account and update accordingly. See also the feedback below.

    Feedback for all groups:
    1. All of you either don't show the UI and the map clearly, in a nice, clean, animated way, or you show it but it's not clear enough. All your videos need to show clearly how your sound design is connected to Yuanling, and you can show that with an animated map. On the UI in the audio guide you had a very simple, small map. But now in the video production, you can actually go into more detail, show a larger map
    2. All groups need to show clearly what is your contribution to "cultural accessibility" in "Yuanling Subdistrict of Shenzhen". As I said two weeks ago, you should use text annotations in EN+CN, keywords (EN+CN) and you could also use spoken voice-over, to explain well.
    3. Your original sound design from the audio guide is very good, so you should re-use and re-cycle it in the videos, but you probably need to adapt it to the new length / shorten it / re-compose it a little bit to make it fit
    4. All your videos need to be double-language EN+CN or CN+EN



    Week 15 Dec 20

    Tutorial & Presentation Skill Project work, internal feedback, practice of presentation skill

    • Prepare for final exam (practice exam #2)
    • Project work: Poster + Abstract writing workshop
    • Project work: Work on final project video
    • Course evaluations

    Examples for abstracts on cultural accessiblity (from public websites):
    https://accesscult.eu/projects/
    https://www.arches-project.eu/
    https://www.interregeurope.eu/openregioculture
    https://www.berlinklusion.de/



    Week 16 - Final Review (classroom) - Dec 27

    Final Review — Presentation and critique of final projects and project reports

    Week 16 - Final Submission - Dec 29 - 6pm

    Submission of projects and project reports (Submission on Sunday evening 6:00 pm)




    Week 17

    Exam week



    Week 18

    Exam week
    Exam: Monday, January 6, 2025, 16:30 - 18:30



    Skill Sharing

    Each student has 10 minutes to present 1 selected skill to their peers. The skill has to relate to the course topic, and has to be discussed with the teacher beforehand. Students sign up at the beginning of the semester. The skill presented can be a specific software or app, a specific function/tool within an app, or can relate to hardware (sound recording / synthesis / etc.), or can relate to anything else that is of interest to the course (especially skills that help the other class members to create their projects). Examples: coding, animation, foley making, make a particular sound effect, film making, sound design, synthesis, etc. -> sign up here.


    Readings:

    • Case, Amber, and Aaron Day. Designing with Sound: Fundamentals for Products and Services. 1st edition. Beijing ; Boston: O’Reilly Media, 2018.

    Additional readings:
    • Collins, Karen. Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. MIT Press, 2008.
    • Collins, Karen. 2013. Playing with Sound: A Theory of Interacting with Sound and Music in Video Games. Illustrated edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
    • Collins, Karen. Studying Sound: A Theory and Practice of Sound Design. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2020.
    • Filimowicz, Michael. Foundations in Sound Design for Embedded Media: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Routledge, 2020.
    • Filimowicz, Michael. Foundations in Sound Design for Interactive Media: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Routledge, 2019.
    • Horowitz, Steve, and Scott R. Looney. 2014. The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games. CRC Press.
    • Scott-James, Kahra. Sound Design for Moving Image: From Concept to Realization. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.
    • Sinclair, Jean-Luc. Principles of Game Audio and Sound Design. 1st edition. New York, NY: Focal Press, 2020

    Assessment

    • Attendance 10%
    • Final Exam 20%
    • Small Assignments (individual) 20%
    • Final Presentation / Final Project 50% (33% is group grade, 67% is individual grade)

    Attendance

    Attendance: 10%
    • 100 points for never late and never missing a class
    • 100 points for being up to 4 times late (up to 50min), OR for missing 1 entire class
    • 50 points for missing 1 entire class and being up to 4 times a little late (up to 50min)
    • 50 points for never missing a class, and being up to 8 times a little late (up to 50min)
    • 0 points for missing 2 or more classes
    • 0 points for being late for more than 8 times
    *all late or missing when unexcused. If excused with a reason, it doesn’t count toward the attendance grade.

    Classroom Policy

    After each class, the classroom has to be cleaned up properly. Everyone is responsible for their computer and their desk, chair, and the floor around them. Remove any food waste, any trash. Make order on the computer, on the desk. If the keyboard/mouse are low on battery, put them on charge. Backup your files privately, put the chair nicely to the desk.
    No eating during class time. Drinking is always allowed. The breaks can be used for eating.

    Equipment and Device Policy

    Technical devices are here to be used by the members of this class. They can be used freely during class time, and outside of class time, they can be either accessed in the classroom, or some of them can be checked out and can be taken with you. TA Jiayi is responsible for the device checkout.

    Academic Integrity

    https://msagesser.github.io/ds226-2023/SD-late-policy.pdf
    Contact
    All content © 2023-2025 Sound Studies Group