When do we make an active effort to notice what we're hearing? How often do we encounter sounds that are hard to identify? Given that we tend to focus on meaningful sounds - like the words someone speaks or the noises that machines make to caution you - what happens when we stop shutting out "pure" noise and aural "static"? Are there innovative films and videos that make use of the unconventional sounds we tend to ignore? These are some of the questions this course will consider, with the broader goal of expanding students' audio-visual sensibilities. We will pay particular attention to works in which sound is not relegated to a secondary role, but becomes, instead, as prominent as the visual. We will watch - and listen to - Hollywood movies, experimental films and videos, moving image installations, and a range of less easily classifiable image-sound phenomena. Each week will address a different set of ideas about sound or sound-image relations. For example, we will look at how films make use of "the acousmetre," the voice of a character who is not seen onscreen; we will also consider the many attempts to generate "synaesthesia," a kind of sensory crossover between hearing and seeing. Note: This class introduces concepts and materials related to sound art, music, cinema, and video art, but no prior knowledge of these areas are required or presumed.