Introductory – USITT Teaching Archive

Creating Rich Story Supporting Ambiances

June 30, 2015May 23, 2019 Christopher Plummer

Students will be given prompts describing a background environment and at least 3 foreground sounds. They will then be tasked with creating the environment and foreground sounds using three different techniques: 1) All field-recording based; 2) All synthesized; 3) All “Foley” (in-studio effects recording)-based. Students will explore different techniques for establishing a scene and telling narrative stories through sound by being tasked with generating three distinct versions that all represent their prompt.

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My First Sound System

June 9, 2015June 9, 2015 Christopher Plummer

Students put together sound systems in small groups and demonstrate basic vocabulary and drafting standards individually. Read More

Sound Effect Scavenger Hunt

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 Christopher Plummer

Students must find a specific list of three sound effects using found objects to create those sounds.

The One-Minute Sound Story

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 Christopher Plummer

Students create a one-minute long sound track that tells any story that they choose using only non-verbal sounds. The sound stories are then played for the class and everyone except the person who created the story tries to determine what happened. Following this discussion the story’s creator describes their intention for the action of the story. The class then discusses which aspects of the story communicated well and how to improve those that did not.

Practicum Rubric

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 Christopher Plummer

A rubric to grade crew and project work. The rubric focuses the instructor/student discussion towards encouraging behaviors that will help students be more successful in internships. This, hopefully, also helps students understand the importance of their practicum work.

We use this at midterm and final points in the semester.