Course Schedule

Course Schedule

Veranstaltungen von Prof. Dr. Gertrud Koch

Lehrveranstaltungen

Scores of Films (Seminar)

Inhalt: (1) Film is a synaesthetic medium in which visual, acoustic, and haptic perceptions are intertwined. Just like cinematic moving images, sounds are also temporally structured forms. Whether natural sounds of the environment (direct sound), spoken utterances, or musical sequences – the soundtracks of a film, like its visual processes, are movements in time. There is both an internal similarity and a sense of competition between them. In editing, image and soundtrack may relate to each other simultaneously, in contrast, or asynchronously. This creates a complex interplay of expressive and semantic levels: (2) Musical motifs can, in films such as Once Upon a Time in the West or M – A City Searches for a Murderer, take on narrative functions, but they can also expressively shape affective moods, as in the horror film. (3) Environmental sounds can serve as localizing indicators (the sound of the sea, squealing car tires, train station announcements, etc.), but they can also carry references to the “off” of the film, thereby marking a space larger than the visible section of the screen. (4) Language introduces both another system of signification and a sonic dimension (the voice), which connects cinematic and musical forms, as in the musical. In the seminar, we will examine these four dimensions of the relationship between film and the world of sound through selected films. To deepen our understanding, we will also read texts that reflect on this relationship theoretically. The seminar will take place in three 2-day blocks, each consisting of 4 sessions and 1 film screening.