FIT2026 Sound and video - Semester 1 , 2007 unit guide

Chief Examiner

Lecturers

Outline

FIT2026Sound and Video Credit Points: 6
Semester 1, 2006
Campus: Berwick Campus
Mode:On-campus study
Workload:On campus : 1 hour lecture, 3 hours studio, 8 hours self-directed reading, preparation and research.

This unit, like all Monash units, is built on the assumption that you will spend twelve hours a week attending lectures and tutorials, working your way through unit study material and completing assignments.

The principal focus of this unit will be on the authoring tools used to create motion based digital audiovisual content applied in areas such as education, corporate profiling, documentary and animation as used in video, CD ROM and DVD production, and the management and control of the multimedia development process. Students will undertake a mixture of formal lectures tutorials and studio work.
They will be required to undertake project and research development work, both by themselves and in groups. The projects will aim to provide practice in identifying multimedia opportunities and specifying product and system requirements, and in building multimedia products and system components. Project work will be carried out under the supervision of a member of the academic staff, and wherever possible the projects will be drawn from real life clients.

Objectives

At the completion of this unit students will have a theoretical and conceptual understanding of:

• the nature of the multimedia system development process, and the tasks and management processes associated with it;
• the characteristics of computer hardware and software which are used in the development of multimedia systems related to sound and video content;
• the working environment in which multimedia systems are developed and the tools and techniques which are used to manage the development process;
• the need for management and control of the multimedia development process and the contribution which management tools and techniques can make to this process;
• the nature of the interaction between multimedia systems developers and their clients, and the responsibilities of the systems developer towards their client.

At the completion of this unit students will have developed attitudes that enable them to:

• demonstrate a positive approach to teamwork, allowing them to work as part of a project team.

At the completion of this unit students will have the skills to:

• prepare a project plan for carrying out the development and implementation of a sound/video based multimedia system;
• effectively make use of sound recording hardware and sound editing software;
• effectively make use of digital camera techniques and appropriate lighting;
• edit digital video in post production;
• author a DVD based multimedia product based on a group created movie of 5 - 10 mins.

At the completion of this unit students will have developed the teamwork skills needed to:

• manage the group nature of this unit develops student communication skills, teamwork skills, leadership and management skills;
• demonstrate through liaison with external clients and students, the development of business and negotiating skills.

Prerequisites

FIT2026 Sound and Video requires that you have already completed VCM1002. This prerequisite is necessary in order to provide a basic knowledge of appropriate multimedia applications which will be extended upon within this unit.

You should have a Basic knowledge of digital video editing software and techniques as well as basic knowledge of production planning and storyboarding.

Unit relationships

FIT2026 is a core unit in the Multimedia stream of the Bachelor of Information Technology and Systems. It is a prerequisite for FIT3008 Digital Video Post Production. Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed VCM1002 , or equivalent. 

You may not study this unit and VSA3020, MMS2407, MMS2410 in your degree.

Texts and software

Required text(s)

There is no required textbook for this subject but it is expected that you utilise the library resources such as books, video, CDs, DVDs and undertake your own research.

Textbook availability

There are a large number of books on both software and video techniques held at Berwick library.

Software requirements

Software relating to this subject may be accessed from several of the on-campus student PC labs.

Software may be:

• purchased at academic price at good software retailers

Hardware requirements

Students may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to 6 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Recommended reading

There are no required texts. Individuals may need to purchase texts relating to thier specific project

Library access

Study resources

Study resources for FIT2026 are:

The FIT2026 web site on MUSO where lecture slides, assignment specifications will be posted

The computer resources are available from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. each day. After hours access and Saturdays are only available if you apply for it through Technical Services. Approval to gain access takes two weeks to complete

Unit website

Structure and organisation

Timetable

Assessment

Assessment weighting

Group assignments will contribute 60% toward your final result. Individual assignments will contribute 40% towards your overall grade.

Broken down as follows:

Group Assessment 1
Concept Outline for a DVD-based Authoring Project
Group documentation outlining a database and/or CD-based Authoring concept for the semester.

20% Due 5PM, week 4

Group Assessment 2
Major DVD Authoring Project,
Development of a major multimedia database and/or CD-based authoring project.

30%
Due 5 PM week 12

Group Assessment 3
A Group presentation to the class demonstrating the major DVD-based authoring project and discussing any changes to the initial concept.

10%
Due Week 13, Presentation times to be advised


Individual Assessment 1
Individual Process Diary including roles, tasks and hours undertaken by each student and a report detailing research on a specific technical issue or production process or aspect of theory related to the project.

20%
Due 5PM week 7

Individual Assessment 2
Individual process diary recording ongoing research into external sources and referencing of relevant material, and roles, tasks and hours undertaken including research, coding, content creation, media manipulation, media optimisation, etc.

20%
Due 5PM week 12

A full description of assignment specifications and marking criteria can be found on the FIT2026 site on MUSO

Assessment Policy

To pass this unit you must:

To be eligible to pass and maintain your enrolment in FIT2026 you must attend 80% of your studio sessions. If you are absent for more than two studio sessions you must supply a medical certificate or other appropriate documentation otherwise you will be excluded from the unit. If you are finding problems with this requirement please ensure you speak to your unit adviser as early as possible.

Due to the nature of group work in Studio, it is expected that all students will attend 100% of classes.

Responsibility for student work

Students should note that they are, at all times, responsible for their work. All relevant material should be backed up on a regular basis to CD, DVD or Flash disks. The university has CD & DVD burners in the computer labs and blank CDs/DVDs may be purchased through the on campus bookstore. Loss of assignment work due to hardware failure, virus or theft will not be accepted as reasons for late or non-submission of work. Students must hold an exact copy of all work which they submit for assessment, this copy should be held until your final result for the unit is released.

Assessment proceedures for a non – performing team member
If the unit assessor, or one or more team members, becomes concerned regarding the contribution of one or more members of a group then the unit assessor will determine ,using the project documentation ,examination of Visual Process diaries and discussion with the students concerned whether the student or students are making an equitable contribution to the work of the group.

If it is determined that the student or students are not making an equitable Contribution to the work of the groupthey may be deemed to be a non-performing team member.

In the event of this determination being made the group component of their assessment will be multiplied by a factor of up to 0.5 to arrive at a raw score

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

The final grade will be achieved by adding all the individual components

General

This subject will be graded using a Norm Referencing system. Normally I
would expect approximately 5% to 10% of the class to reach the highest
standards and be awarded a High Distinction and approximately 10% to 20%
to be awarded a Distinction. Detailed assessment criteria are given to
guide your activities and to indicate where your assignment work could
be improved. Meeting the criteria to a basic level will be considered a
Pass grade. Only assignments that excel in all criteria will be awarded
Distinctions or High Distinctions. The average grade for the class will
normally be in the Pass to Credit range and will indicate that you have
met the basic requirements of the assessment task.

Assessment Feedback – Raw Scores

In assessment feedback you will be allocated a raw score that will
indicate your general level of performance against the criteria supplied
and will be used to determine the rank order of students. You will also
be given a short comment that may assist you in the completion of future
assignments by discussing the aspects of the assessment response that
were completed to a high standard and areas that may be improved.


Scaling of Raw Scores

When raw scores for all assessment tasks are combined the total raw
score may be scaled. The scaling of raw scores will not effect your rank
order in relation to other students. Scaling of raw scores is intended
to provide consistency of assessment outcomes across units within the
degree and across courses within the university

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available on the unit's MUSO site..

Assignment Submission

Assignments will be submitted by electronic submission to the FIT2026 Muso site

Group assignments will be handed in with the appropriate cover sheet correctly filled out and attached

Presentations will pe made in person at the designated times

Extensions and late submissions

Late submission of assignments

Assignments must be submitted by the due date. Details of the assignments submission procedure will be supplied via the unit on-line pages.

Where assignments are submitted in person (eg. hard copy or disk) an Berwick FIT 'Assignment Cover Sheet' (available on VISTA) with appropriate identification and signatures must be attached. All work must be presented in an A4 plastic cover. If multiple written pages, must be stapled or bound.

It is your responsibility to keep track of and manage your assignment due dates

Penalties are incurred from the due date at the rate of a 10 % reduction in grade for each day (including weekends) the assignment is late.

If you are having difficulty with assignment submission, please advise your Unit Adviser immediately so that any problems can be addressed.

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. 

Requests for extensions must be made by using the standard Berwick FIT 'Extension Request',
(available from student services) at least two days before the due date.

You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission.Students will be provided with a reply slip documenting the extension, a copy of which should be submitted with the assignment.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

Assignment return

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

Feedback

Feedback to you

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

Feedback from you

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

And if you are having problems

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Plagiarism and cheating

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Communication

Communication methods

Each week a teacher will your meet with your group or to discuss any individual concerns. Please ensure that you do not leave a Studio session without having seen your allocated Lecturer. This system provides a variety of opinions, contributions and help with your projects and is an important element in ensuring that all students are seen throughout the session. Allocated times cannot be given due to the nature of the discussion requirements varying between individuals and groups. If your group plans to work anywhere other than the Studios please advise via email to save time in trying to find you. If you need to leave the Studio session early, please advise your Lecturer before doing so.

Notices

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Notices Newsgroup in the Unit Website. Check this regularly. Failure to read the Notices newsgroup is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

Monday 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

Mr Mark Power
Assistant Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 47123

Mrs Lucie Joschko
Postgraduate Student
Phone +61 3 990 47169

All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.