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updated July 12, 2005, 12:11am
Summer Session I
MUSIC 80: Sounds of Anime
Tucker Dulin, instructor
Tuesday, Thursday, 11-1:50
Pepper Canyon Hall 106

contact: t <at> alltheseworlds <dot> org  (please include "anime" in subject line)
            emails with large attachments please use soundsofanime <at> gmail <dot> com
website: http://alltheseworlds.org/anime

office hours: TBA and by appointment

This is subject to change as the class sees fit. We will cultivate a seminar/forum atmosphere, and while not completely democratic, this structure will allow the class to take shape in a flexible fashion. To this end, readings and assignments may be adjusted to fit our collective agenda.

original description:
Tracing historical documents in cinematic culture to the present day, focusing on music's role in shaping movie experiences from the experimental tradition to modern anime, acknowledging Japanese influences on mainstream popular movies/television and avant-garde cinema stressing scholarly critical views and strategy for interpreting trends in popular and underground culture.
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Proposed theme: comparing narrative and sonic archetypes in Western cinema and Far Eastern animation.

assignments:
Grades will be based on a creative project to be discussed in class. Each week, students will develop a new facet of their chosen topic, culminating in a short presentation in class (week 5) demonstrating their research and methods. Also, in-class reports of experiences at Anime Expo and Comic Con, or other related activities may be presented for credit. The following outline is a suggestion for students whose project compares Eastern and Western pop culture perspectives on a common theme. (No paper is requiered, but a presentation week 5 is required unless another arrangement is made witht he instructor).

grading:  85% presentation last week of classes
                  15% daily assignments

Tentative Schedule:
week 1: beginnings, context
topic proposal due ASAP: latest Tuesday, July 5 in class or email 

read (for this week): Bordwell/Thompson, "Narrative as a Formal System," p. 68-105 in Film Art
            recommended: http://www.filmsound.org/film-sound-history/
                                    Bordwell/Thompson, "Glossary", p. 501-506 in Film Art.
Napier, "Western Audiences and Japanese Animation," p. 239-256 in Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke.
write (due next tuesday): observe the films! summarize plot, analyze narrative structures and archetypes.

Assignment! due tuesday July 5: compositional anaylsis of Hokusai print  from ArtStor. email or hard copy.
                        check http://libraries.ucsd.edu/proxy for off-campus access


week 2: archetypes, structure |  depiction of Christianity in Anime
read: Bordwell/Thompson, "Sound in the Cinema," p. 347-388 in Film Art. part i ii
         Feit, Jonathon Scott. Sacred Symbols and the Depiction of Religions in Millennial Movies presented the Annual Conference of the                         Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association on November 2, 2002, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
               recommended:  Brand, "Music as Magic," p. 21-32 in Dramatic Notes
                                       Napier, "Why Anime?," p. 3-14 in Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke.
write: analyze sound/music of first film.

Assignment! due tuesday July 12: Hokusai musical assignment as discussed in class.


week 3: sound  | extremes
    7.12.05 2nd-half: optional-attendance meeting on aesthetics of more extreme film: hentai, cyberpunk, horror, noise
read: Chion, "Introduction to Audiovisual Analysis," p. 185-213, (notes: 220) in Audio-Vision.
       Newitz, Annalee. "Magical Girls and Atom Bomb Sperm," p. 2-15 in Film Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Autumn 1995).
                recommended:  http://www.midnighteye.com/
                                        Chion, "Glossary," p.221-224. (included in above download).
                                        Drazen, "Conventions versus Clichés," p. 16-26 in Anime Explosion.
write: analyze sound/music of second film.


week 4: comparisons
    special guest: July 19, John Mark Harris, D.M.A., US comics expert. tentative topic: History of Superhero Teams
read: Altman, "Inventing the Cinema Soundtrack," p. 339-359 in Music and Cinema.
            recommended: Napier, "Anime and Local/Global Identity," p. 15-34 in Anime... (included in Napier "Why Anime" link above) 
write: compare the sonic/musical effects of each film. conclusion. prepare presentation.


week 5: presentations
preference for thursday appointments is given to anime-expo and/or comic-con attendees.

completed papers (or alternate project:) due (at latest)  Friday, July 30, Noon.




off-campus access to reserves: http://reserves.ucsd.edu/ and http://libraries.ucsd.edu/proxy

recommended events:
Anime Expo (July 1-4, Anaheim) http://www.anime-expo.org/
San Diego Record Show (July 16, Hillcrest) http://sandiegorecordshow.com/
Comic Con (July 14-17, SD Convention Center) http://www.comic-con.org/