OFFICE OF STUDY COURSE

Cornelia Pawletta
room 3209
Phone: +49(0)331.6202-307
Fax:      +49(0)331.6202-319 
c.pawletta@hff-potsdam.de

MASTER'S DEGREE COURSE IN FILM MUSIC

The course in Film Music provides young musicians with a well-established level of training for future employment in a variety of areas involving composition and music production based on moving images.  Its main focus is on music for feature films and animation films with the corresponding intended career as a film music composer for film and television.

Our course is aimed at young musicians with a Bachelor’s degree or German diploma, normally in Music, from an art or music University. These musicians should already have a good technique, creative attitude and a certain range of stylistic skills in the area of music composition.

Concept

Nowadays, composing music for films involves taking on three roles at once, working as a composter, film technician and music producer. 

The content of this course corresponds to these roles:

• –  The project work on HFF film production together with students studying Directing, Montage, Animation, Sound, etc.

• –  Media theory, dramaturgy, film history, contemporary cinema.

• –  The further development of compositional skills in a variety of stylistic directions. Our co-operations with, for example, the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg, with which we regularly produce recordings, form an interesting aspect of the orchestration lessons.

• –  Film music dramaturgy and the analysis of and practical exercises involving stylistic devices typical of film music.

• –  The field of audio engineering/music production:Recording and mixing, using music sequencers, sound synthesis/sound design and similar techniques.

• –  Legal and corporate issues. 

Course Profile

This course is offered as a combination of full-time and part-time study: After a year of full-time study, the second and third years only contain half of the workload, namely 15 credit points per semester, leading to a course duration of three years, which differs from a normal Master’s course.

This model offers a variety of advantages: On the one hand, it gives students a better opportunity to combine their studies with already existing musical careers and the implementation of external projects. On the other hand, the part-time model adds flexibility to the production process for music for student films from the University. The students spend three years at the HFF, giving them the opportunity to develop stable partnerships, which are essential for a career in the world of media, a field which depends on such partnerships more than most other industries.

Completion of the course requires 120 credit points. 

The degree Master of Music (M.Mus.) will be awarded upon successful completion of this course.