Outline

Overview

This unit is an introductory survey of the history and aesthetics of film music from the late 1890s to the present day. Topics for discussion will include the dramatic function of music as an element of cinematic narrative, the codification of musical iconography in cinematic genres, the symbolic use of pre-existing music, and the evolving musical styles of film composers.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Analysis, History and Cultural Studies
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Andrew Callaghan, andrew.callaghan@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 31 March 2026

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Written work	Final project Discuss film music using analytical and critical perspectives. See Canvas.	30%	Formal exam period Due date: 08 Jun 2026 at 23:59	1500 written words or 10-12 minute video	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Practical skill	Cue observation sheet Observe and interpret musical cues in a film. See Canvas.	25%	Multiple weeks	1200 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	In-class discussions Give a short presentation on a film to the class. See Canvas for details.	20%	Multiple weeks	10 minutes.	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Out-of-class quiz	EFT Quiz: concepts and skills Online quiz to check understanding and ability to complete the subject #earlyfeedbacktask	10%	Week 03 Due date: 12 Mar 2026 at 23:59	30 minutes	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Creative work	Track placement Propose a pre-recorded track for a film scene, justifying your choice. See Canvas.	15%	Week 07 Due date: 16 Apr 2026 at 23:59	500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= early feedback task ?

Early feedback task

This unit includes an early feedback task, designed to give you feedback prior to the census date for this unit. Details are provided in the Canvas site and your result will be recorded in your Marks page. It is important that you actively engage with this task so that the University can support you to be successful in this unit.

Assessment summary

Faculty policy will apply

Assessment criteria

Canvas will include rubrics tailored for each assessment based on these general descriptors:

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars.
Fail	0 - 49	The learning outcomes of the unit of study have not been met to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Faculty policy will apply

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction & Silent Film	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 01	Welcome & introduction to the assessments. Focus on the first assessments: journal entries and class participation. Beginning film music analysis.	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 02	“You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet!” The advent of the talkies and early musicals.	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	“Bad Habits” and new challenges in the sound era. Early developments in the film musical Film music analysis: identifying musical functions Overview of the upcoming quiz.	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Animation & Leitmotifs	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Leitmotifs, characters and story development. Musical descriptions.	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Melodrama & Film Noir	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Music and character psychology. Reading against the grain: critiquing the classical Hollywood style.	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Mid-Century Innovations: "World" and "art" cinemas, documentaries. Creating screening notes.	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Discussions: Music and the "real"; "World" cinema; "Art" vs "Entertainment"	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Popular Music, Popular Songs and the Soundtrack (1950s-)	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Synergies and the resistant soundtrack	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	The Roadshow Era: Epics, Westerns, & Spectacle; Mid-Century Musicals	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	The evolving film industry Musically Enhanced Reality Mode	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Classical music in film, exploring the "fantastical gap".	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	Music and Narrative Levels	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Music in "post-classical" Hollywood	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Coding music with meaning;	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Toward the Digital Era: Pop composers, eclecticism & sound design	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	The postmodern music score: anything goes?	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror; Late 20th & Early 21st-Century Animation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Reflexivity and irony; music and sensation.	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Music, realism, & recreation; course review	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Ethics and film music; Review of concepts.	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90% of timetabled activities for a unit of study, unless granted exemption by the Dean, Head of School, Program Leader, or relevant Unit of Study Coordinator. The Dean, Head of School, Program Leader or relevant Unit of Study Coordinator may determine that a student fails a unit of study because of inadequate attendance. Alternatively, at their discretion, they may set additional assessment items where attendance is lower than 90%. This applies to both Lectures and Tutorials, beginning at WK3.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Readings will appear in the reading list in Canvas - approximately 2 book chapters per week (or equivalent).

No texts need to be purchased for this subject.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Relate screen music to broader historical, technological or artistic trends.
LO2. Analyse film music, identifying narrative functions and effects on the audience.
LO3. Interpret cinematic music through critical perspectives.
LO4. Compare and contrast approaches to creating screen music.
LO5. Explain how commercial demands or business structures affected film music & musicians.
LO6. Compare the dominant ‘Hollywood’ paradigm to that of ‘art, ‘independent’, and ‘world’ cinemas.
LO7. Identify examples of film scoring techniques.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Dear SoFM students, Thanks so much for your feedback on the unit. As I mentioned in one of the lectures, the subject was partly shaped by previous results, and your thoughts will help me tweak the course so future students will benefit. Thanks for paying it forward! Given this was my first time teaching this subject at uSyd, I was very happy with your feedback overall—I’m glad to hear you found the content engaging and rewarding. The one issue that appeared consistently was about the assessment design toward the end of the semester. Some of you expressed concerns about the group assignment, and some suggested that a peer review may be a helpful addition. The other concern was that the final weeks of content did not have an explicit assessment attached. The intention was for students to respond to ideas from the readings in the final weeks during their presentations, and the final lecture was intended to offer a summary/overview of the course (and film music history). However, I agree that a more explicit assessment will improve engagement in those final weeks. One of my challenges last year was adapting assessments to fit the new AI era. AI has begun to undermine the use of writing (such as essays) to demonstrate and assess knowledge. While this was the traditional way to assess survey subjects, I always doubted its ability to show knowledge so much as to demonstrate an ability to write. This concern—and the new assessment policies addressing AI—is why I designed the assignments to focus on in-class presentations, allowing you to show rather than write your thoughts and understanding. In the near term, this mode (in-class assessments) will remain essential to courses like this. Balancing this need with time demands (especially given survey subjects are very content-heavy) is tricky. I also believe that having you all speak to one another about ideas is one of the best ways to teach! So, next time I teach this unit, I will (1) review the readings; (2) rebalance assessments to cover the final weeks better; and (3) seek and develop an alternative to the group work assignment. For my part, it was a pleasure to share this subject with you—thanks for your engagement, questions and the playfulness you brought to the classes. I hope you keep exploring the enormous world of film music and use the ideas we discussed to think about other music for the screen (games, reels, etc.). We are in the middle of interesting times—watch this space! Thanks again, and all the best in your future endeavours! Andrew Callaghan

Disclaimer

Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

MUSC2663: Survey of Film Music

Semester 1, 2026 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Early feedback task

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links