Program Overview

NZSM 405: Topic in Composition: The Total Audio Landscape in Film

Course Description

This course explores the integration of music and sound design in film, focusing on the technical requirements for creating a complete audio production. Students will engage with this integration from their particular specialisation, collaborating with other students to realise a complete audio production for a short film project.

Course Details

• Dates: 6 July 2026 to 8 November 2026
• Starts: Trimester 2
• Fees:
  • Domestic students: NZ$2,540.70
  • International students: NZ$11,081.40
• Lecture start times: Friday, 9:00am
• Campus: Miramar Creative Centre
• Estimated workload: Approximately 300 hours or 16.7 hours per week for 18 weeks
• Points: 30

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: Two courses from CMPO 301-315, CMPO 381-389
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: None

Taught by

New Zealand School of Music — Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Disclaimer

This course outline may be subject to change.

Key Dates

Important dates, including mid-trimester teaching breaks, can be found on the University's key dates calendar. Assessment dates will be announced once the course has begun.

About this Course

This course will be delivered in person, examining how sound elements in a film work together and complement the visual aspects. It will cover sound effects, sound design, music, and dialogue, discussing how they combine to tell and enhance a film's story. The course includes a practical component where students will record different types of sound for film and use them in assignments.

Lectures

• Introduction
• Differing approaches to score and sound
• Recording — good and bad approaches
• Score — music and film
• Sound design
• Genre and its impact on sound design and music
• Spotting a film and more recording
• Working together — sound design, dialogue, and music
• Breaking a film down — frames, cuts, scenes, acts
• Using effects and sample libraries
• Mixing and mix preparation
• Seminar — discussion of major assignments and demos

Course Learning Objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

1. Create music and/or sound design cues appropriate to the mood of the film, supporting and enhancing its emotional narratives and trajectories.
2. Create music and/or sound design for a film that displays high levels of individuality, creativity, and production values.
3. Reflect on, critique, and analyse the role of film soundtracks and their constituent parts in supporting and enhancing the message, intent, and/or emotional narrative of films.
4. Create a fully integrated film soundtrack for a short film or section of film that demonstrates facility in the techniques and concepts of film sound/music.

How this Course is Taught

This course is offered as fully on-campus only, with online elements used only as a back-up contingency measure. It includes a mixture of practical work, lectures, and critical listening sessions.

Assessment

• Minor Assignment: Creating music or sound design for an existing film scene (15%)
• Analytical essay and presentation (20%)
• Critical journal (15%)
• Portfolio of exercises relating to the integration of music and sound into a scene (15%)
• Final Project: Sound or music (or both) on a section of film (35%)

Mandatory Requirements

To pass this course, students must:

1. Attend at least 6 of the Composer Workshops held during the trimester of enrolment.
2. Achieve an overall pass mark of at least 50%.

Lecture Times and Rooms

Lectures will be held from 6 July 2026 to 8 November 2026, with specific times and rooms to be announced.

What You'll Need to Get

It is strongly recommended that all students own their own laptop, with key software available in the NZSM Keyboard Lab and on computers in the Miramar Creative Centre.