Course Title: Major Project and Production

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Major Project and Production

Credit Points: 36.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COMM2187

City Campus

Undergraduate

345H Media and Communication

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2006,
Sem 2 2006,
Sem 1 2007,
Sem 2 2007,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 1 2010,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 2 2014

Course Coordinator: Dr Stephen Gaunson / Dr Ed Montano (Music Industry)

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 9553 / 2190

Course Coordinator Email: stephen.gaunson@rmit.edu.au / ed.montano@rmit.edu.au


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

For students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) you should have satisifactorily completed the prerequisite course Concept Development.

For students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (Music Industry) you should have satisfactorily completed all core Music Industry courses.

Note it is a condition of enrolment at RMIT that you accept responsibility for ensuring that you have completed the prerequisites before enrolling in a course.


Course Description

This core course will enable you to further develop your understanding of the process of producing a polished product for your area of creative practice and to practice and refine conceptual, management and creative skills acquired through prior study, in an applied manner to solve specific project requirements.

A portfolio is an essential pre-requisite for employment within the industry so this course gives you the opportunity to produce an original project of a high-standard as a prime indicator of your abilities and creative talent. The challenge of this significant requirement will develop graduates with the experience necessary to be potential leaders within the industry.

You will develop your project based on the concept proposal that you wrote in Concept Development. To do this you will either: further develop the proposed project; continue unchanged with the proposal previously written; OR write and propose a new concept. If you do want to present a new proposal you will need to have all the required documentation approved as a new project by the course coordinator.

You are expected to use your ability to analyse and evaluate the requirements of your project, by drawing on the knowledge acquired in the  pre-requisite courses and through reflective practice with reference to a critical understanding of  your field and good practice principles, apply creative approaches to address the project ’s design, content, structural, production and communication challenges.

NB. This is a nominated Work Integrated Learning (WIL) course. This course includes a work integrated learning experience in which your knowledge and skills will be applied and assessed in a real or simulated workplace context and where feedback from industry and/or community is integral to your experience.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

In this course you will develop the following program capabilities:
- critically read and analyse a wide range of texts
- respond to and communicate ideas as a creative practitioner
- reflect on your own and others’ creative projects
- manage the creative process from planning to presentation to entry level professional standard
- solve problems effectively and creatively
- create a creative work that reflects intention and ideas
- edit and draft to develop your creative work
- develop your leadership ability through constructive collaboration and teamwork as well as in the originality and quality of your work
- interact effectively in professional contexts such as networking and ’pitching’ your work to industry


Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- demonstrate conceptual abilities by designing or further developing an original project proposal.
- refine concepts and develop creative approaches to presenting information.
- analyse and identify problems/challenges associated with specific projects .
- be aware of the devices that can be used to engage a target audience with content.
- plan and schedule the steps necessary to complete the project within a given time-frame.
- complete a major folio work. 


Overview of Learning Activities

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.

An intensive period of individual consultation, workshops and peer review at the beginning of this course will assist you develop project ideas.

Advice and guidance will be available to you on a formal and informal basis throughout this course. You will arrange consultations with individual lecturers at appointed times.

Supervising lecturers will refer you to examples of relevant published work that may serve to inspire or illustrate solutions to problems as relevant to your discipline.

The student-centred approach to learning and flexible design of this course (via choice of project, area of specialisation and negotiated outcomes), helps you to identify and target appropriate roles for yourself within the industry based on your own individual goals and aspirations and a personal assessment of your strengths and abilities.


Overview of Learning Resources

You should make use of wider university resources such as libraries, print and audio-visual collections and, if appropriate, the University’s Learning Skills Unit.

Many of the resources you will be expected to use are computer-based or computer peripherals and these resources will be provided in the school’s computer laboratories.

You may need to use digital content acquisition tools such as cameras and sound recording equipment: these will be available for student loan from the school’s equipment store.


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program capabilities.

Throughout this course, you are expected to have an enthusiastic and mature attitude to your studies by showing commitment to your chosen project and by meeting agreed deadlines. You will be required to report regularly on the progress of your project to both your peers and supervising lecturers. You are encouraged to use the Internet as a tool or another suitable mechanism to facilitate this supervision through the establishment of a web site ’production diary’ or ’project journal’.

The proposed project is negotiated between you and staff on the basis of its feasibility in terms of scale, practicality, available time and resources, and on a realistic assessment of  your own abilities. Specific learning objectives and assessment criteria may also form part of the negotiated outcomes.

Animation and Interactive Media students only: In addition, you are encouraged to gain specialist expertise in one or two areas of production that builds on your choice of specialisation stream. Based on the knowledge gained in the ‘Studio’ and ‘Elective Series’ courses, or from experience in previous music industry tertiary studies you are expected to implement strategies to manage your time as well as technical and artistic processes, and are required to devise a production schedule time-line that includes the completion dates of various stages. This schedule is agreed on and approved by the lecturer as part of your contract.

For Creative Writing students only: Your project will consist of both a creative work (or excerpt from a longer creative work) based on your choice of ’studio’ specialisation, and a supporting theoretical exegesis.

An expert panel of supervising lecturers will monitor your progress and advise you on particular aspects of your project. Where appropriate, industry mentors will be used to provide specialist input.
Your final project is worth 100% of the final mark for this course.

Feedback will be given on all assessments.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program director or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies and procedures.