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Course Outline

MUS103 Production 1

Course Coordinator:Lachlan Goold (lgoold@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries

2024Semester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

 Blended learning Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online.

Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

In this course, you will study the foundations of Digital Audio Workstations and sound recording in an industry reflective studio environment. Lecturers and industry practitioners will guide you as you engage in the basic theories and skills of sound, audio engineering, and music production. You will apply that knowledge in a number of music production tasks, including recording, overdubbing, audio processing, editing, and mixing. These tasks will culminate in a mixed and produced original sound recording of a musical work as part of your creative portfolio.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Learning materials – Asynchronous online delivery of learning material. 1hr Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Synchronous and scheduled face to face workshops. 2hrs Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) 12 times

Course Topics

  • Sound theory
  • Shared musical vocabulary
  • Signal flow in the studio
  • Analogue and digital recording techniques
  • Recording drums
  • Recording harmonic and melodic instruments
  • Recording vocals
  • DAW editing
  • Mixing audio.

What level is this course?

100 Level (Introductory)

Engaging with discipline knowledge and skills at foundational level, broad application of knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and with support. Limited or no prerequisites. Normally, associated with the first full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming...
1 Develop and implement modern concepts of music theory in a music and sound production environment. Knowledgeable
2 Demonstrate knowledge of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) to apply critical and creative approaches to music creation and sound recording. Empowered
3 Apply a diverse range of sound theory and audio engineering principles based on industry concepts and instructional literature. Knowledgeable
4 Analyse and evaluate the recording process including knowledge of microphones, and other digital and analogue technologies. Empowered
5 Develop and implement a demonstration recording for communicating musical concepts and ideas. Engaged

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Not applicable

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

An opportunity exists in every workshop to produce and perform creative pieces individually and/or in small peer groups and in Week 4 students will receive individual feedback from tutors.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group Weighting % What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Artefact - Technical and Scientific Individual 30% 
approx 10 min
 Week 5 Online Submission
All 2 Artefact - Creative Individual 30% 
DAW session with 2-5 min of music.
 Week 11 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 3 Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece Individual 40% 
2-5 min plus 500 words.
 Exam Period Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1:Studio Signal Flow
Goal: 
This assessment aims to demonstrate your understanding of the basic elements of signal flow in a recording studio environment.
Product: Artefact - Technical and Scientific
Format: 
Using an industry-reflective studio environment, you will perform a number of technical tasks as set out in the assessment guide provided to you in the semester. You will be given 10 minutes to complete a series of tasks to reflect your foundational knowledge of analogue & digital signal flow, DAWs, and their associated workflow.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Developing and implementing an analogue recording environment and associated DAW session.
 1
2 
Analysing and evaluating signal flow and other technologies according to best studio practice.
 4
3 
Demonstrating knowledge of the DAW and associated plugin and signal flow tasks.
 2
4 
Applying a diverse range of sound theory and audio engineering principles in a time-sensitive environment.
 3
All - Assessment Task 2:DAW Demo Session
Goal: 
This assessment aims to demonstrate your ability to use analogue and digital recording technology to produce sound recordings that communicate musical ideas.
Product: Artefact - Creative
Format: 
In this task, you will use the facilities to produce a demonstration recording. Using your knowledge of analogue and digital recording and music production, you will provide a DAW session demonstrating production ideas before mixdown. This DAW session will present several foundation audio engineering principles as outlined in the assessment guide provided in the learning materials.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Developing and implementing foundational audio engineering concepts.
 1
2 
Demonstrating knowledge of the DAW with appropriate gain staging practices.
 2
3 
Applying a diverse range of sound theory displaying both digital and analogue audio processing techniques.
 3
4 
Analysing and evaluating recording processes to create an intended outcome.
 4
All - Assessment Task 3:Final Report and Mixdown
Goal: 
This assessment aims to demonstrate your ability to work in the technical frameworks provided to achieve an informed and aesthetically appropriate demonstration mixdown of a musical work.
Product: Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece
Format: 
In this task, you will deliver a final mixdown of the musical work from assessment 2. This final mixdown will demonstrate your technical and creative work in displaying several recording and music production techniques. In addition, you will deliver a written report of the approaches you used in this process and critically reflect on how you might improve upon your process and recorded outcome.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Developing and implementing an iteration of the recording process.
 1
2 
Demonstrating application of technical processes for creative outcomes.
 2
3 
Applying a diverse range of audio engineering principles appropriately to create an intended outcome.
 3
4 
Developing and implementing a demonstration recording that communicates musical concepts and enhances meaning making.
 5
5 
Analysing and evaluating the recording and mixing process.
 4

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

There are no required/recommended resources for this course.

Specific requirements

In this class, you will require the foundation tools of the music producer. These are:
•	a Hard Drive with 100Gb of free memory 
•	a set of stereo headphones for music production

Students are expected to make themselves available for autonomous recording sessions. Students must therefore consider their availability on evenings and weekends as well as normal working hours.

How are risks managed in this course?

Risk assessments have been performed for all studio and laboratory classes and a low level of health and safety risk exists. Some risk concerns may include equipment, instruments, and tools; as well as manual handling items within the laboratory. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation.  It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline.  This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person.  You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin.  This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:

The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%
The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct

Assessment: Submission penalties

Late submission of assessment tasks will be penalised at the following maximum rate:

5% (of the assessment task’s identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task
10% (of the assessment task’s identified value) for the third day
20% (of the assessment task’s identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task
A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task.
Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late.

To request an extension, you must contact your Course Coordinator and supply the required documentation to negotiate an outcome.

SafeUniSC

UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.

The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.

Study help

For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.

If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.

Wellbeing Services

Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.

AccessAbility Services

Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.

To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

  • In person:
    • UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
    • UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
    • UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
    • UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
    • UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
    • UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
  • Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
  • Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au
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