Music and Sound Design for Film, Television, and Games

Music and Sound Design for Film, Television, and Games (BA)

Explore how music and sound work in film, television, games and other media with Royal Holloway’s Music and Sound Design degree. Get ready to launch your career in this creative and exciting industry.

Music is everywhere – on televisions, smartphones and game consoles, and in concert halls, theatres and cinemas. Our course will give you the specialist skills to meet that demand by working at the cutting-edge of music and technology.

Gain experience creating soundtracks in our professional-standard recording studios and production suites. Learn from our expert teaching staff and take up industry placements with organisations like Shepperton Studios or Netflix.

Compose, connect and collaborate

• Build creative partnerships with the next generation of filmmakers, games designers and media creatives

• Hear from guest speakers like Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, The Martian) or Julian Nott (Wallace and Gromit, Peppa Pig)

• Record your music with the college orchestra

• Kickstart your career with a portfolio of work to show valuable music industry contacts

• Receive detailed guidance on your work from our staff of active professional composers working in the industry

Pick your route

Previous graduates have gone on to compose for the screen, including BBC dramas like Silent Witness, or Hollywood blockbusters like Wonka. Other possibilities include podcasts, sound design, animation, games, theatre or theme park audio.

You don’t have to be interested in the performance side of music to join this degree.

We sometimes make changes to our courses to improve your experience. If this happens, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

Please note: MU1111: Fundamentals of Music Theory will only be a core module in your first year if you join the course via Intensive Theory entry (see Entry requirements below for further details)

• Theory and Analysis

• Fundamentals of Music Theory

• Introduction to Composing with Music Technology

Year 2

• Studies in Composition

• Studies in Music, Media and Technology

• Sound Art and Design

• Composing with Technology 1

Year 3

• Composing with Technology 2

• Creative Sound Design

• Special Study Composing with Music Technology

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

You must choose 90 credits, including up to 30 credits from Media Arts. Modules offered typically include:

• Fundamentals of Music Theory

• Creative Composition Techniques

• A Very Short History of Music

• Introduction to Historical Musicology

• Introduction to World Music

• Contemporary Debates in Music

• Introduction to Media Histories 1

• Critical Theory and Textual Analysis

• Digital Storytelling

• Screen Narrative: Theory and Practice

Year 2

• Issues in Sound, Music and the Moving Image

• Music and Video Games

• Silent Film Performance

• The ‘Classical’ Canon and ‘Popular' Culture since 1945

• Popular Music and Musicians in Post-War Britain and North America

• Creative Project in Composition, Performance and Technology

• Telling Stories with Music (Collaborative Module)

• Studying Music with Digital Tools

• Making Musical Theatre

Year 3

• Practical and Creative Orchestration

• The Music Film

• Issues in Sound, Music and the Moving Image

• Music and Video Games

• Silent Film Performance

• The ‘Classical’ Canon and ‘Popular' Culture since 1945

• Popular Music and Musicians in Post-War Britain and North America

• Special Study: Dissertation

• Special Study: Composition

• Creative Project in Composition, Performance and Technology

• Digital Tools for Music

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/music/music-and-sound-design-for-film-television-and-games/

You will take modules from both the Music and Media Arts departments on this degree, but you’ll spend most of your time in Music, where you’ll have a personal tutor and become part of the Music department family. Teaching in the Music department is through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, or group instrumental/vocal lessons - performance modules that include individual instrumental or vocal lessons are not available on this course.

In the first year, you will learn the foundations of composing and understanding music. You’ll gain a broad overview of music to draw from in your creative work. This year doesn’t count towards your final degree result, so you can relax and explore all sorts of new topics.

In the second year, you will develop your skills for composing and designing sound for picture even more, while still having room in your timetable for other subjects from the Music and Media Arts departments.

In the final year, amongst other topics, you will undertake a large collaborative project. You will collaborate as a composer/sound designer on a project with students from the Media Arts department, working with the production team. This is a simulation of real-world professional practice, building your network and giving you experience and preparation for your future careers.

There are a wide variety of assessments and forms of delivery on this degree. Composition modules are assessed by coursework portfolios, but you’ll also perform, write essays, give presentations, and so on, depending on the options you take. Some courses are lecture-based, while others primarily use tutorials, one-to-one sessions, or seminars. On this degree, you’ll spend your time composing, playing music, writing, reading, watching/studying examples and experimenting with new approaches to music and sound on screen.

You’ll join a vibrant School of Performing and Digital Arts. We have a huge number of concerts and events, giving you opportunities to perform, compose and listen to music of any style, both as part of the degree and beyond.