Year
2021Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
MEDA200 Making Track: an Introduction to Audio Production
Teaching organisation
3 hours per week for twelve weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials, workshops/online or on campus.Unit rationale, description and aim
Commercial radio remains a one billion dollar-a-year industry in Australia and a viable employer for graduates with a media major. MEDA206 speaks directly to the broadcast radio industry, but in doing so it acknowledges that ACU graduates may well find themselves embedded elsewhere in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors in roles that require them to record and edit podcasts to promote their employer’s activities, drawing upon essentially the same skills in aural storytelling that are required daily in the radio industry.
The aim of MEDA206 is to facilitate a capstone experience where you may develop a substantial radio output that synthesizes all that you have learned in the audio sequence of units at ACU, and also demonstrates your skills to a prospective employer.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LO1 - Contextualise and analyse a wide range of radio broadcast formats (GA4, GA5, GA8)
LO2 - Critically examine style, selection and scripting in a range of radio broadcasting genre (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10)
LO3 - Produce radio productions for radio broadcast (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10)
LO4 - Use sound creatively to entertain and inform (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10)
Graduate attributes
GA4 - think critically and reflectively
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media
GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively
Content
Students will be exposed to a range of examples of radio broadcasts. These will be examined in terms of aesthetics, production values and the creation of meaning. Informed by these examples, students will produce a radio broadcast program that demonstrates a mastery of a range of recording, production and research techniques such as voice production, research methods, scripting for radio, the use of music and effects, interview and presentation techniques.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
MEDA206 is realised via 3-hour workshops that are based upon authentic (Ashford-Rowe et.al. 2014, p207) production practices in the contemporary radio industry. The flexibility of the 3-hour workshop format means that where a lecture-style is appropriate, this can be accommodated, but so can practical demonstrations and exercises in the TV studio, radio studios and editing suites.
One point of difference between this unit and MEDA200/MEDA207 is the industry focus: you will be asked to work with standardised equipment (i.e. radio consoles and specialised radio scheduling software) that is known within the radio industry, and should therefore be able to use the successful completion of this unit as evidence to a prospective employer of practical radio skills.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In MEDA206, students will be asked to demonstrate an engagement with audio production suitable for broadcast or streamed radio at an advanced level.
Assessment tasks will mimic, as closely as is practical, the linear production narrative commonly found in the radio industry. However, care is taken to scaffold the tasks with increasing degrees of complexity and difficulty, something not always found in a strict industry-based model of assessment. You will be invited to research and plan a major creative output for radio, and develop pre-recorded elements before finalising any live studio-based components.
In order to pass this unit, you are required to achieve a final grade of 50% or better as an aggregate of all points from assessment tasks completed in this unit.
A range of assessment procedures will be used that combine to meet the learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit, consistent with University assessment requirements.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Analytical task: Analytic and/or descriptive writing tasks related to the practical work undertaken This formative task will encourage a critical engagement with published scholarly research into the various engagements that exist between audiences, producers and texts.
| 10% | LO1, LO2 | GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10 |
Production schedule: Organisation of schedules and production paperwork for broadcast Students will develop a framework that will guide all subsequent work in MEDA206. The task also encourages students to view their own work within an industry context. | 40% | LO3, LO4 | GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Pre-recorded radio package: The scripting and recording of radio productions in a range of genres This task mimics radio industry workflows, which ensures that pre-recorded aspects of the programme are completed well in advance of ‘live’ studio interviews. | 50% | LO2, LO3, LO4 | GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Representative texts and references
Adams, S 2009, Interviewing for Journalists, (Media Skills), Routledge, London.
Alten, S 2014, Audio in Media, 10th edn, Wadsworth, Boston.
Boyd, A, Stewart, P & Alexander, R 2008, Broadcast Journalism, Techniques of Radio and Television News, 6th edn, Focal Press, London.
Connelly, S 2017, Digital Radio Production, Waveland Press, Long Grove.
Hausman, C, Messere, F, Benoit, P & O’Donnell, L 2016, Modern Radio Production: Production, Programming, and Performance, 10th edn., Cengage Learning, Boston.
Hilliard, R 2015, Writing for television, radio and new media, Cengage Learning, Stamford.
Morris, T, Tomasi, C & Terra, E 2008, Podcasting for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken New Jersey.
Sauls, S & Stark, C 2013, Audio Production Worktext: Concepts, Techniques, and Equipment, 7th edn, Focal Press, Burlington.
Wilcox, J 2014,Voiceovers: Techniques and Tactics for Success, 2nd edn, Skyhorse Publishing.