Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will expand upon the fundamentals of audio recording and mixing to develop skills in the application of sound design techniques in the production of a podcast in response to a brief. You will conduct research in the area of podcast sound design and use these findings to inform the planning stage of your podcast project. Once you define the scope of your podcast project, you will pitch this to your peers. Your project planning will culminate in the creation of a short podcast that contains original sound design elements such as dialogue, music, sound effects and atmospheric layers.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 2 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Pre-requisite: Completion of 36 credit points in CG51. Students outside of CG51 may seek approval from the CG51 Head of Course to undertake this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 30% |
| 2. Presentation | 20% |
| 3. Portfolio | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 62.5% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Staff reflection
Adjust the unit to reduce the focus on sound design and increase attention to fundamental music production skills.
Reshape the unit content and assessment focus more on music production than on sound effects.
The unit was revised to integrate music production and sound design throughout the term, ensuring that sound effects were embedded within broader music-making tasks. This approach maintained the creative exploration of sound while placing stronger emphasis on music production, providing students with a more cohesive and industry-relevant learning experience.
Source: Staff reflection
Incorporate AI tools and techniques into the unit content.
Future deliveries of the unit will introduce students to emerging AI technologies in music production and sound design. Content will include demonstrations of AI-assisted composition, sound generation, and mixing tools, alongside critical discussion of their creative and ethical implications. This will ensure students are engaging with current industry trends and developing skills relevant to contemporary practice.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe music technology fundamentals associated with sampling and signal processing as applicable for the production of a podcast
- Prepare and pitch a concept document and sound design plan in response to a brief for a podcast
- Produce a podcast which demonstrates competent use of music technology fundamentals in recording, sampling, signal processing and sound design.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | ||
| 2 - Presentation | • | ||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | |
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |