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Course Outline

MUS303 Production 3

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

2024Semester 1

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 advanced music production and audio engineering practices in order to engage in an industry-facing music production output. You will be guided by lecturers and industry practitioners as you engage in the advanced theories and skills of sound, audio engineering, and music production. You will work to produce an original musical sound recording for commercial release. This sound recording will make up part of your industry release strategy as you are given an opportunity to pitch your creative work to major industry partners.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Learning materials – Interactive online learning activities. 1hr Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Scheduled face to face workshops. 2hrs Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

Music producer, Music production, Advanced signal flow techniques, Advanced studio recording techniques, Advanced digital audio manipulation, Advanced mixing approaches, Mastering.

What level is this course?

300 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth 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 Apply 21st Century music vocabulary to creative practice by engaging in critical and original creative work. Creative and critical thinker
2 Apply advanced level music production practices in an industry reflective studio environment. Empowered
3 Apply an advanced knowledge of Digital Audio Workstations and execute the process of recording audio for commercial release in time constrained environments. Engaged
4 Demonstrate an industry level of understanding of the production process including knowledge of mixing, mastering, and commercial release considerations. Empowered
5 Analyse and evaluate approaches to the master recording by reflecting on technical and creative feedback from peer and industry representatives. Sustainability-focussed

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

MUS201 or MUS202

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Students must have an intermediate audio engineering and music production knowledge to be eligible for this course.

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. However, in Week 4 students will received 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 - Professional Individual 20% 
approx. 15 min
 Week 5 In Class
All 2 Artefact - Creative Individual 30% 
DAW session with 2-5 min of musical material.
 Week 11 Online Submission
All 3 Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece Individual 50% 
2-5 min unmastered recording plus 2-5 min mastered recording and 1500 words.
 Exam Period Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1:Advanced Studio Practice
Goal: 
This task will demonstrate your advanced understanding of audio recording and music production techniques in an industry level technical environment.
Product: Artefact - Professional
Format: 
Using an industry reflective studio environment, you will perform a series of advanced technical tasks as set out in the assessment guide. In a time-limited environment, you will complete a series of tasks to examine your advanced knowledge of applied 21st-century musical vocabulary, digital and analogue signal flow, recording studio practice and DAWs.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Applying, setting up and implementing a DAW session in a recording studio environment.
 2
2 
Applying advanced analogue and digital signal flow in an industry reflective environment.
 2
3 
Applying an industry reflective musical vocabulary to communicate in the recording studio and inform production decisions.
 1
4 
Applying advanced technical skills in a time-sensitive environment.
 3
All - Assessment Task 2:Recording Session
Goal: 
This task will demonstrate your progress in developing an industry ready sound recording.
Product: Artefact - Creative
Format: 
In this task, you will deliver a DAW session file that demonstrates your progress towards an industry-ready mixdown of a musical recording. You will demonstrate advanced technical knowledge of audio processing and music production. You will receive written feedback regarding your work from industry practitioners and deploy their advice regarding your creative work in assessment task 3.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Applying and implementing a cohesive recording plan and session management in the recording and production process at an industry-ready level.
 2
2 
Applying advanced knowledge of editing and sequencing practices.
 3
3 
Applying an advanced knowledge of recording and processing approaches in a DAW.
 2
4 
Applying critical and original perspective to capture and develop creative performances.
 1
5 
Applying advanced-level music production practices to work creatively in an industry-level technical facility.
 2
All - Assessment Task 3:Delivery of Master Recording
Goal: 
This task will demonstrate your ability to deliver a mixed and mastered musical recording for commercial release, including an appropriate analysis of the process.
Product: Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece
Format: 
In this task, you will create a final mixdown of your musical recording in response to the feedback provided from assessment 2. You will then use your knowledge of audio mastering to create a sound recording appropriate for commercial release. The unmastered and mastered file submission will be accompanied by a written report. This technical and reflective report will discuss the approaches you used in this process and critically reflect on your music production approach.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Demonstrating an industry level understanding and application of the mastering process to produce appropriate levels of loudness.
 4
2 
Applying an industry level understanding of the mixing process to achieve a commercially viable mix.
 3
3 
Applying industry level technical vocabulary to communicate processes and intentions in the documentation.
 1
4 
Analysing and evaluating on creative practice in response to technical and creative feedback from industry.
 5

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

It is recommended that students have intermediate DAW competency for this course.

In this class, you will require the foundation tools of the music producer. These are:

- 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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