COURSE OVERVIEW

If you’re keen to compose and produce music for the thriving television, film and games industries, this specialist hands-on one-year course will provide you with a thorough overview.

Whether you have a particular passion for games, TV or film – or all three – you’ll discover a variety of production and audio composition opportunities on this one-year CertHE programme. With a focus on real-world briefs and weekly tasks drawn directly from industry, you’ll gain the necessary creative and technical skills to develop engaging music and sound of professional quality.

Working with the very best music technology and software, this progressive course will teach you key production techniques such as programming, sampling, synthesis and using plugins.

Covering the foundations of both production and theory, the course takes you through composition, arrangement and musical language. You’ll put what you learn into practice, confidently exercising your creativity across composition design for a variety of media, such as TV series and documentaries, TV commercials, games, film trailers and more. The course provides an impressive overview of the music and wider creative industries, exposing you to the realities of revenue streams, networking, rights, royalties, distribution and entrepreneurship, among many other key topics – all from the point of view of the composer–producer.

On campus at ICMP, you’ll study in our cutting-edge Mac labs and teaching spaces, all of which are fitted out with the highest quality production kit. Professional-standard instruments, controllers, effects units, vocal processors, loop stations, PAs and microphones are all at your disposal.

You won’t be limited to using our equipment during class time either – you can book all ICMP’s facilities free of charge, seven days a week for use outside of timetabled hours. Collaboration with music production students and those from other ICMP programmes is highly encouraged, too. You’ll further solidify your learning with regular ICMP events, such as guest lectures, gigs, masterclasses, careers days, songwriting circles and industry conferences.

Upon completion of the CertHE Music Production for Film, TV and Games, you’ll have developed a professional standard of technical expertise in production and composing – enough to begin a career as a sound designer, composer or producer. If you decide to progress to further study, the CertHE offers direct pathways to ICMP’s bachelors degrees in music production for film, TV and games, creative musicianship, creative music production and audio engineering and production.

FEES & FUNDING

Studying music at ICMP in London is great value, as well as great fun, with fees for our music courses the same as those at many traditional universities.

Course Fees: UK Students

Student Finance: Please visit our Fees page for information on accessing to Student Loans. UK students eligible for Loans are able to borrow the full course fee.

Course Fees | Programme Specification | Programme Handbook

Click to view the full terms and conditions of applying to study at ICMP.

ICMP Music School Logo

Successful completion of the CertHE Music Production for Film, TV and Games course leads to the award of Certificate of Higher Education by The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

 

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Key facts

  • A highly practical one-year course with the opportunity to enter the second year of a BA programme.
  • Prepare for a career in the music industry as a music producer, sound designer or composer in the games, television or film industries.
  • Grow your skills as a music producer as you evolve your own unique sound.
  • Gain a strong working knowledge of digital audio workstations (DAWs) and a range of industry-standard plugins.
  • Explore modern TV, games and film industry concepts.
  • Engage in weekly real-world tasks, projects and industry briefs.
  • Connect to a wide network of London music industry contacts, ICMP student artists and composer–producer peers.
  • Access ICMP’s professional in-house studios and production facilities outside of class hours.
  • Gain a thorough understanding of how the music industry works within the specific context of film, TV and games, and use it to promote your work in the future.
  • Apply Now
Course Ambassador
scott-marshall_0_0

Scott Marshall

Sound designer and award winner Scott Marshall is the ambassador for this course.

 

Scott is a sound supervisor, re-recording mixer, sound designer and immersive sound artist. With over 18 years of experience in sound post-production, his work can be found across many industry genres including film, commercials, TV, and immersive ‘XR’.

 

Scott is also an immersive audio creative specialising in immersive spatial design for XR incorporating Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Binaural and Spatial Music (Spotify) and also ‘futures' production for cutting edge installations and experiences.

 

Among his career highlights, Scott founded his Post-Production Sound Company Bamsound Creative, won the Best Sound Design ‘Silver Arrow’ at the British Arrows Awards, and has worked on the Spatial Sound Artist for the Immersive installation ‘Sonzai’ at the V&A Museum in London (summer 2021).

COURSE DETAILS

COURSE MODULES

Across the one-year CertHE Music Production for Film, TV and Games, you’ll gain a solid understanding of the theoretical, technical and creative skills needed for a music production career in the film, TV or games industries. From learning about acoustics and audio theory, to getting creative in ICMP’s industry-standard music production environments, you’ll develop a professional understanding of the way the music industry works and the most effective tools and equipment used by music production practitioners. 

MUSIC FOR THE MOVING IMAGE

This module will introduce you to the world of music composition for different moving image media formats – from film, mobile apps and library music to TV ads, movie trailers, TV episodes and video games. You’ll explore the many ways music can impact and enhance the viewers’ experience of a moving image. You’ll learn arrangement and composition techniques that explore rhythm, melody and harmony, while developing an impressive grounding in music theory. You’ll get to grips with concepts specific to composing for the moving image, like time codes and synchronisation points, and develop an original composition and production video showreel as you create music from real-world briefs and director’s notes.

  • Relationships between image and sound
  • Arrangement techniques
  • Film and media composition workflow techniques
  • Thematic development
  • Exploring melody, harmony and rhythm in film context
  • How to interpret briefs 
  • Genre analysis 
  • Time signatures
  • Bespoke composition
  • Loops for video games

DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS

In this module, you’ll discover Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) – professional-standard music technologies and software tools that you can use to enhance your musical and cinematic vision. Through hands-on exploration and study of industry techniques, you’ll develop skills in audio editing, synthesis, sampling and sequencing. You’ll build confidence in giving and receiving feedback on original work as you collaborate with peers, before implementing tutor-provided insights to advance your own compositions. You’ll also experiment with digital notation software to create scores your fellow ICMP musicians can perform, and learn how sample libraries can help you create authentic-sounding performances.

  • MIDI programming 
  • Understanding virtual instruments (samplers and synths)
  • Sample-based composition 
  • VSTs and hardware sound-making tools 
  • Managing your session files and workflow 
  • Audio processing/time and pitch manipulation 
  • Making cinematic sounding music on a budget 
  • Automation and modulations 
  • Templates 

DIGITAL MUSIC PRODUCTION

In a fast-paced studio environment, you’ll learn how to work swiftly and efficiently to meet the needs of the contemporary digital music production industry. You’ll discover the methods and techniques used by well-known sound engineers and established composers to attain industry-standard production skill levels. Using more advanced DAW techniques, practices and workflows, you’ll push your digital music production skills to the next level in this studio-based, hands-on module.

  • Managing DAW video files
  • Advanced templates and routing 
  • Advanced tempo and time signature mapping 
  • Advanced programming for a range of instruments 
  • Collaborating with mix engineers 
  • MIDI and audio connection with external gear
  • Advanced audio editing and processing 
  • Bus processing
  • Multi-channel audio 
  • Balancing 
  • Audio restoration 

CREATIVE SYNTHESIS

This module combines creative techniques with technical exploration and practice, as you begin to design your own synthesiser patches to use across media. You’ll develop an understanding of the vital role of sound designers in creating soundscapes in film, TV and game development, while exploring the different types of synthesis – such as wavetable, FM, subtractive and additive – and synthesiser components like envelopes, oscillators and filters. Get creative with your fellow students as you develop imaginative sound concepts – taking a production portfolio of sound design concepts with you at the end of the course.

  • Subtractive, FM, additive, wavetable, PWM and granular synthesis
  • Creative sound design 
  • Modular synthesis 
  • Creative sampling techniques 
  • Resampling 
  • Layering 
  • Audio FX 
  • Spatialisation  
  • DSP processing 
  • Procedural audio 
  • Dynamics processing 
  • Time manipulation and editing 

MUSIC BUSINESS FOR PRODUCERS

As you prepare for a successful portfolio career in the music industry, it’s important to understand how each area of the industry works and the supporting roles that professional organisations, collection societies and trade bodies play within it. This module explores the core structures and functions of today’s media industries and the current processes, models and practices that surround them. Through seminars, case studies and discussions, you’ll explore business concepts like revenue flow, music industry management and copyright, and start to consider how best to promote yourself as a composer–producer.

  • The role of the composer in media productions 
  • Publishing and recorded music in the modern music industry 
  • Trade bodies and professional membership organisations 
  • The role of collection societies  
  • Media and advertising sectors 
  • Sales, distribution, music rights and royalties 
  • The role of management 
  • Industry transformation and future developments 
  • TV and documentaries 
  • Trailers (film advertising) 
  • Library music 

Teaching and Learning

You will be taught from our campuses in Kilburn and Queen's Park, utilising our live rooms, tech suites and in-house music studio facilities as well as classrooms and lecture rooms. You will have access to use these facilities outside of class time while you are a student at ICMP in order to rehearse and record your music. 

You will be taught through a variety of teaching and learning methods including lectures, small group tutorials and music technology workshops. 

You will have access to the Student Services Department for support and advice concerning welfare, finance, personal development, safeguarding and more. You'll also have access to our Professional Development team ‘The Hub', who provide bespoke music industry careers advice and access to unique industry opportunities.

Teaching and Learning

On the CertHE Music Production for Film, TV and Games programme you will be taught through a variety of lectures, seminar, workshops and demonstrations.

When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you'll be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, and preparing coursework assignments.Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including our Learning Resource Centre, our many performance and practice rooms, and well-equipped tech suites.

Throughout your year of study, you'll be in timetabled teaching activities, such as lectures, seminars, practical classes and workshops, for typically 10-12 hours a week. You’ll also have personalised one-to-one tutorials scheduled throughout the year.

ASSESSMENT

Your knowledge and thinking will be assessed through reports, workbooks, presentations, essays, examinations and recordings. Your practical skills will be assessed through recordings, performance, composition and practical examinations, and your skills for life and work will be assessed through project pitches, coursework and presentations.

The assessment breakdown of this programme is:

17% Written | 33% Practical | 50% Coursework

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Applicants will typically have A levels, BTEC Diploma or Extended Diploma, International Baccalaureate equivalent to 48 UCAS points, or an ICMP Higher Diploma.

In addition, you should hold a GCSE Grade C or 4 or above in English, or suitable equivalent, such as Level 2 Key Skills, Functional Skills or Adult Literacy/Numeracy.

We also welcome applications from mature applicants who may have no formal qualifications but can demonstrate their suitability for study through appropriate skills and experience.

Please note: International students, who require a visa to study in the UK, are not eligible to study on this course. Instead we encourage you to apply for either our three-year BA(Hons)  Music Production for Film, TV and Games degree.

All applicants will be invited to attend an audition.

UCAS code CHFGUni code i25

HOW TO APPLY

 Please apply via the "APPLY NOW" link below.

At any time during the application process if you need help or further advice just contact our Admissions team who will be happy to assist you. 



By phone:
020 7328 0222

By email:
enquiries@icmp.ac.uk

or

Apply Now