Overview

This standard is about presenting music so that the audience hear it in the way intended.

For incidental music, this means enhancing the mood, atmosphere and specific action. For source music, this means creating an authentic sound. 

This standard should apply to anyone who is involved with using music to complement visual material.

 

Performance Criteria 

You must be able to:

  1. develop approaches to music with clients to meet their vision and ideas
  2. agree the role of music and what it is to communicate with clients
  3. develop ideas that help tell the story
  4. select music that is capable of realising agreed ideas
  5. select material that meets production requirements, including the intention of the script, and are of a sufficient duration for required sound
  6. manipulate sound tracks to achieve level, balance, tonal quality, perspective and dynamic range that best communicates the required emotion or acoustic authenticity
  7. create a balance between music and other sound
  8. edit music to fit and complement visual material
  9. assess and control audio quality against expected artistic and technical standards
  10. confirm that music works as intended with edited visuals, checking your findings with colleagues and clients
  11. check that material is in a format and medium suitable for the required sound and equipment being used, converting between formats or media where necessary
  12. make sure music can be acquired and incorporated within agreed budget and schedule
  13. comply with copyright laws and conventions and pass on any relevant information about material to appropriate people
  14. maintain security for files and other materials in line with legal and organisational requirements
  15. keep records of material you use and its sources
  16. return loan material by agreed deadlines and in a condition acceptable to lenders

 

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:  

  1. the client or production requirements, including any script requirements
  2. the technical and artistic requirements, including any technical specification
  3. the timescales, deadlines and other operational constraints of the production
  4. how to collaborate and cooperate with clients in creative conversations
  5. how to assess audio quality to expected artistic and technical standards
  6. how to source music and the impact that this can have on schedule and budget
  7. sound treatment and equalization
  8. how to manipulate and extend sound
  9. how to calculate timing
  10. characteristics of tonal quality and perspective
  11. the effects of different types of music on mood and emotion
  12. how people hear music in different settings
  13. the differences in quality between live and recorded music and how to approximate the sound of live performance
  14. the use of mono, stereo and multichannel sound to realise creative ideas
  15. how to create the effects of music in different acoustic environments and played on different equipment
  16. the importance of audibility of dialogue especially with regards to the impaired hearing of an ageing population
  17. how music can affect the clarity of other sound
  18. capabilities of and procedures for using sound recording equipment
  19. statutory regulation and viewing standards that apply to content delivery
  20. national and international best practice for content delivery across different platforms
  21. what copyright laws and conventions apply, how to get releases or licences and the impact that these will have on budget
  22. documentation and labelling requirements
  23. legal and organisational requirements for storage, back up and security of files and other materials