Bath Spa University

BA (Hons) in Creative Music Technology (Games and Interactive Media)

Year one (Level 4) modules

• Audio Recording
• Sound Design Exploration
• Creative Practice
• Audio Production
• Sonic Cultures
• Applied Sound Design

Year two (Level 5) modules

• Foundations of Audio Processing
• Sonic Art
• Hyper Production Techniques
• Sound and Music Industries
• Audiovisual Practice
• Experimental Audio Processing
• Composition
• Professional Placement Year

Year three (Level 6) modules

• Research Project
• Sonic Signatures
• Composition for Media
• Interactive and Procedural Audio
• Independent Study
• Sonic Performance
• Audio Post Production for Moving Image
• AudioVisual Performance

What you'll learn

Overview

Great sound design can enhance the gaming experience while creating an emotional narrative and dynamic impact. Gain valuable insights into sound design, composition, and dialogue in this specialist course.

You'll source original sound through Foley-studio style recording, synthesis, and location or site-specific sound capture. Within gaming, music composition ranges from traditional orchestration and arranging to more abstract, electronic, or urban production. You'll explore composition and the dialogue/voiceover recording and editing that often complements it. You'll also learn audio post-production skills such as editing, processing, producing, and mixing, with a strong focus on the techniques used to implement this audio content into interactive game environments through industry-standard software known as Middleware.

Our goal in designing this course is to give you the freedom to explore creatively while instilling the technical skills you'll need to forge a career in this exciting industry. As your studies progress, you'll collaborate on industry-style projects, offering insights into teamwork and responding to a game designer or director's brief. Collaborations with students across other areas such as Creative Computing, Acting, and Music (game designers, voice actors, producers, and musicians) are encouraged.

Course structure

Year one

Build the foundations. We'll encourage you to continue to explore and grow your existing creative activities alongside important practical and interpretive skills. You'll explore topics such as audio recording and production, sound design, critical listening, and the relationship between music/sound and game / moving image.

Year two

Take your skills and creativity into the professional arena. You'll attend a series of high-level industry guest lectures and engage in collaborative opportunities with external professionals, an internship, or an industry placement. You'll also be guided toward greater technical competence in the core areas of sound design and critical listening, and undertake a collaborative project with game designers on the Creative Computing (Games) course.

Year three

Specialise. Several creative and industry-level optional modules will enable you to select a specialized route to support your creative and professional aspirations. You'll combine interactive audio and professional game design in dedicated projects. You'll also design, develop, and present a large-scale project, that takes the place of the traditional dissertation in this program. All third-year assignments are designed to be the foundation of your professional portfolio and may be used publicly to promote your skills.

How will I be assessed?

The vast majority of assessment is through coursework, with most assignments aiming to develop your professional portfolio. We're also committed to developing your communication skills as a way of empowering you to discuss your work and the work of others. Tutors are always available to support assignments and particular assessment style preferences if needed.

The industry landscape and opportunities change constantly, and self-employment and entrepreneurship are likely to feature strongly in your career path.

Professional graduate destinations include:

• Audio Production
• Composition
• Sound design
• Game Audio
• Audio post-production
• Teaching/Education
• Audio/mix engineering
• Sound recording/Foley-studio style recording.

How will I be taught?

You'll learn through a combination of lectures, music lab workshops, large and small group seminars, individual tutorials, online delivery, and self-directed study. The majority of taught sessions are in specialized music studios, audio suites, and fully-equipped computer labs that give you individual access to your workstation with relevant software and audio materials. Access to specialist rooms such as the recording studios and our comprehensive equipment hire system allows you to work on coursework and undertake directed and private study.

Course length

Three years full-time, or four years full-time with a professional placement year. Part-time available.