James Watt College: Centre for the Creative Industries Sound Production Graded Unit 1 (F507 34)

Assessment
All Outcomes Please choose one project from the following list:
a. b. c. d. e. A proposal to set up your own recording studio. A proposal to set up a sound production company. A proposal to set up a P.A. hire company. A portfolio of work that will enhance your chance of becoming a live sound engineer. A portfolio of work that will enhance your chance of becoming a peripatetic (travelling) music technology tutor.

Once you have selected an opportunity from the above list you must now plan and prepare to create a portfolio of work that will showcase your ability and reflect the skills learned from the following core subjects from the HNC in Sound Production award:
Unit Creative Industries Infrastructure Working in the Creative Industries Sound Production Theory 1 Materials checklist

Sound Production Practice 1

Digital Audio Workstations 1

Acoustics 1

You have the freedom to decide how to present your portfolio, but it must, at a minimum, display the core elements of the course and as such will:
Involve audio recording and production Involve capture of signals by microphones Act as a showcase of skills in sound production Be presented as a means for professional career development Facilitate progression to Higher Education Demonstrate an understanding of the creative industries Act as a means for employment within the creative industries Show understanding and appreciation of acoustic principles Involve procedures in dealing with contracts Demonstrate due understanding of copyright Demonstrate an understanding of marketing

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James Watt College: Centre for the Creative Industries Sound Production Graded Unit 1 (F507 34)

There are 3 stages to this assessment and each stage must be submitted and agreed upon with your lecturer before moving onto the next. Stage 1 Planning Develop a plan to present a suitable portfolio. The plan must include: 1. Your interpretation of the above brief. This is likely to consist of half to one page of text stating what is required of you when undertaking the project. For example, you may say, I have been given a brief in which I am required to produce a project consisting of a portfolio to be used as a business proposal to gain me employment within the industry or onto a course for further study. I will do this by ... 2. Any information you gather in response to the brief. Company set-up etc... 3. A title for your project. The title of your project must reflect the actual project. 4. A statement of the project issue/solution. You must state what you intend to do for your project and how you are going to do it, a SWOT analysis and a mapping of personal strengths in relation to the project. You must also consider challenges you may encounter when undertaking the project and how you intend addressing them. This is also an opportunity for you to initially consider and identify how knowledge from core Units could or will be integrated. For example, you may propose setting up a PA hire company as a business and, recognise the need for a thorough business plan and method of maintaining financial information. You would, at this stage state that this information will be drawn from the Working in the Creative Industries Unit. It will be necessary for such a business/ to have a high quality engineer. The knowledge/skills for this skill is likely to come from your study of the Sound Production Theory and Practice Units. 5. Aims and objectives of the project. You should have been given clear guidance regarding producing realistic aims and objectives and these should be SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. You will be encouraged to produce three to four aims with no more than four objectives for each aim. This should ensure that these are achievable in the time given. 6. A timescale for conducting the project. This should include both final and intermediate completion dates. 7. Identification and explanation of the sources of information to be used for your project and why each has been selected. This section allows you to state how the knowledge and/or skills from the core Units will be integrated into the project as well as identifying sources such as internet sites and books. 8. Identification of the resources (including time) required for you to carry out the project and how these will be accessed. These can be in the form of time management systems such as Gantt charts, to do lists etc. 9. An explanation of how the project will be conducted with reasons for your choice and of methods used. This is a statement of how you plan to manage the project.

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James Watt College: Centre for the Creative Industries Sound Production Graded Unit 1 (F507 34) Total mark available for this stage is 20 marks Stage 2 Developing (in 2 parts) Part 1: You must create a portfolio. This process will involve you in selecting materials for inclusion in your portfolio and then, to justify why you have included those materials and finally, state how you have integrated (used) knowledge and/or skills from the core Units. The portfolio should contain information and documentation relevant to your plan, eg all aspects of your proposition if a company is chosen, its structure, legal implications and considerations, example contracts if appropriate, financial information and forecasts if appropriate, marketing and promotional materials and press packs if appropriate, agencies that may form a collaborative partnership, health and safety issues and risk assessments, sound recording examples CD and or video/DVD etc, schematic diagrams/designs, lesson plans if appropriate can be included. The portfolio is a tool to showcase your abilities and therefore its contents will be personal to you and relevant to the vocational area or purpose. This part of the assessment of the Graded Unit is concerned with your ability to create and judiciously select appropriate materials for your portfolio and you may include materials generated as assessment evidence for other Units of the course. The criteria for marking what you have included in the portfolio will be based on your justification for their inclusion from your planning in stage 1 through to your evaluation in stage 3. Part 2: You must also maintain and submit a structured logbook of all of the activities for the project. The logbook is a written record of the processes consisting of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. The Action Plan Research evidence of appropriate texts read Explanation and justification of actions Analysis/description of the portfolio preparation process including creative and imaginative interpretation or response to ideas or issues from mentoring.

The Logbook The first section, Action Plan, should contain your plan as approved by your tutor. This will allow you to develop your portfolio; the action plan must be viewed as work in progress and as such will evolve as the project proceeds. The second section, research evidence is where you will make reference to research methods and texts examined as well as how knowledge and/or your skill was integrated. This will help prove that you have been thorough in your work and that you have undertaken your research effectively.

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James Watt College: Centre for the Creative Industries Sound Production Graded Unit 1 (F507 34) The third section, explanation and justification of actions, allows you to explain your actions and will probably be referenced against your research. For example, you may have adopted a particular system when implementing your plan, the reason for which will not be obvious to your tutor. Demonstrating that your system has a basis in research allows you to justify your actions. The fourth section, analysis and/or description of the portfolio preparation process, will allow you to analyse the way you prepared your portfolio, why you selected items and how they will be used during your presentation. It will also, if appropriate allow you to state how the mentoring system assisted you in that process. Since the overall brief is about creativity in your approach and work, this section lets you highlight how you developed the brief to prepare your portfolio. Total mark available for this stage is 60 marks (50 for portfolio & 10 for logbook) Stage 3 Evaluation Provide an evaluation report of up to 750 words relating to the effectiveness of all parts of your project. The evaluation must include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. A brief outline of the practical assignment. A review and update of the Action Plan in light of experience. A summary of any unforeseen events and how you handled them. Identifying any knowledge and skills gained or developed. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the portfolio. Determining to what extent the assignment met the original brief.

Total mark available for this stage is 20 marks Evidence required to complete this assessment is as follows: Stage 1 written. Stage 2 written (logbook ) & portfolio (written / electronic / presentation). Stage 3 written. Submission dates are as follows: Stage 1: Monday 12th March 2012 Stage 2: Monday 21st May 2012 Stage 3: Monday 18th June 2012

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