Unit Synopsis
In this unit, you will explore composition and production techniques for professional film and game audio in the creation of an original score for visual media. You will analyse the composition and sound design techniques of a range of visual media from film to game audio and learn a range of techniques that underpin these styles. You will further explore advanced recording, synthesis and sampling techniques in composing for visual media. In the major portfolio assessment, you will be required to plan for and create an original score and sound design elements for a piece of visual media.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| 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 72 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 2 - 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 Postgraduate 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 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 33.33% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 42.86% 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: Student Feedback
Students indicated a need for clearer unit and assessment instructions, highlighting uncertainty around expectations and task requirements.
Review and refine all unit documentation, including weekly instructions, assessment briefs, and example resources. Provide more explicit guidance in class and through Moodle, and introduce step-by-step breakdowns of assessment tasks to support clarity and consistency for future cohorts.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse a range of professional music composition techniques and their relationship to visual media
- Prepare and pitch a concept document and project plan for the sound design and music composition elements for synchronisation with visual media
- Create an original music score and sound design elements for visual media using a digital audio workstation.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | ||
| 2 - Presentation | • | ||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | |
| 4 - Research | • | • | |
| 5 - Self-management | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | |
| 7 - Leadership | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |