ZDK_13 Design of the Sound Work

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Jozef Cseres, PhD. (lecturer)
Ing. Juraj Ďuriš (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Jozef Cseres, PhD.
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Ing. Alena Albíniová
Supplier department: Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The subject offers a summary of creative and professional knowledge in the spectrum from the rules of spatial acoustics, through digital recording to its use for final mixing and mastering in professional practice. The task is to prepare listeners for the performance of the sound master in the context of production technologies of the creative industries, film, radio, television, etc. Students are gradually acquainted with the basic attributes of sound, its physical and technical parameters and its expression characteristics, the possibilities of its acquisition, modeling, composition and stylization. In addition, they acquire craftsmanship in controlling audio technology components, develop their own artistic thinking, and are brought up to a creative partnership with film or television crew collaborators. Particular attention is paid to the development of experience in the design of sound objects and art projects in the context of wider music perspective and thinking.
Learning outcomes
Student will be able to:
- independently design and create sound objects
- compose complete projections from these objects
- produce professional sound mixers
- prepare the sound work by final mastering for the advertiser, such as television, radio, streaming services, YouTube, Spotify, etc.
- to independently orient himself in the current state of the composition using virtual sound and capable of autonomous composition of more demanding forms
- master the complex issues of current trends in the professional practice of producing a CD, digital project or DVD for different target groups
Syllabus
  • Mono, stereo, multichannel - technical and aesthetic aspects of sound creation
  • - Mixing and creating a sound image
  • - Target customer groups and their profiles for recording mastering
  • - Frequency domain FFT, dynamic level, sound image and its depth
  • - Mixing tools - monitoring, mastering, console, software, phases, panorama, dynamics, equalization, space creation, limitation, gate, expansion, effects
  • - Mixing for cinema, TV, radio, internet (dynamic ranges, crest factor, headroom)
  • - Principle of calibrated listening, volume indication
  • - What is mastering? War of volumes, starting points and consequences
  • - Digital audio formats, word length, sampling rate
  • - Mastering tools
  • - Mastering process
  • - Mastering CD
  • - Mastering for streaming services
  • - Mastering the surround
Literature
    required literature
  • Juraj Ďuriš, Alexander Mihalič a Marek Piaček. Zvuk v súčasnej hudobnej kompozícii: Traja skladatelia – tri pohľady. EDIS-vydavateľstvo Žilinskej univerzity: Žilina, 2012. ISBN 978-80-554-0612-1
  • VLACHÝ, Václav. Praxe zvukové techniky. 3., aktualiz. a dopl. vyd. Praha: Muzikus, 2008, 297 s. ISBN 9788086253466. URL info
  • KATZ, Robert A. Mastering audio : the art and the science. Third edition. Burlington, MA: Focal press, Taylor & Francis group, 2015, xvi, 391. ISBN 9780240818962. info
    recommended literature
  • Staff of Music Technology Magazine. Music Technology Magazine's Ten Minute Masters. PC Publishing, 2006. ISBN: 1870775-04-X.
  • GIBBS, Tony. The Fundamentals of Sonic Art & Sound Design. AVA Publishing, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-2940373499.
  • The audio mastering handbook. Edited by Bobby Owsinski. 2nd ed. Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2008, xiv, 274 p. ISBN 1598636561. info
  • OWSINSKI, Bobby. The mixing engineer's handbook. Fourth edition. Burbank, CA: BOMG Publishing, 2017, 312 stran. ISBN 9780988839182. info
Teaching methods
Short instructive videos, presentations, sound examples, reading texts to individual issues. Practical projects (homework) involving creative design, mixing and mastering.
Assessment methods
During the semester, students work on home assignments that are continuously reviewed and evaluated. The final assessment consists of an final oral exam, an activity during the semester and a continuous evaluation of the work.
Language of instruction
Czech
Study support
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/phil/jaro2025/ZDK_13/index.qwarp
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Teacher's information
The combined form of study will take place concurrently with the present form. The subject will be taught by an external expert in a bloc.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/ZDK_13