Recommended Study Sequence

Approaches to Communications offers a wide range overview of major theories and models in communication and embraces a series of selected case studies of the emergence, impact and social shaping of different communication and media technologies through history and into the future.

This unit introduces students to writing processes in a variety of communication contexts. Through the elaboration of writing apprenticeships, it develops understandings of the position of writer as well as the construction of reader in written texts with emphasis on aspects of creative, rhetorical, and technical communication.

Screen Media is a unit conceived to strengthen preparation for the Media Arts Production major. The Media arts production major intends to impart creative strategies and technical skills as baseline goals. These would be inadequate, however, without the fostering of well founded, fresh ideas that enable media arts production graduates to make relevant and original contributions to culture and industry. This introductory unit takes a wide-ranging theoretical and historical approach to Media Arts Production with an interest in conceptual as well as contemporary issues in society, culture and art. It is also informed by new developments in media technologies that include video, film and computer-based media practices.

In this unit students gain a grounding in the key areas of advertising and the steps in the advertising process, viz. research, strategy, creative (copywriting & art direction), production, account service, media planning and marketing communication. Students are also introduced to the issues surrounding advertising and its role in society.

This unit introduces students to processes of design. It examines how knowledges may be formed through visual design processes and how visual design reveals knowledges. It also introduces students to basic visual literacies, current design applications and production processes.

This unit aims to introduce the underlying rationale of the modern research process in professional communication settings including electronic database searches, critically reviewing research literature, data collection and analysis, writing the research report, and research ethics.

Introduction to public relations: provides students with a broad overview of the socio-political institutions that comprise the public sphere. All aspects of public relations are introduced including media relations, corporate relations, community relations and government relations.

The unit introduces students to the field of journalism, the concept of news, the role of the journalist and the professional skills of news gathering and news writing. The unit also considers the legal and ethical obstacles and obligations faced by journalists.

This unit gives students a thorough understanding of the legal framework in which the communication industries operate and the ethical context of decision-making in the media professions. It covers the basics of contempt and defamation law; copyright; advertising; promotions and public relations; the legal framework for electronic communication using the internet and email; issues in the regulation and control of print, broadcast and electronic media and the professional codes of ethics that apply in all fields of communication practice.

This unit maps contemporary communications media industries, institutions, government regulatory agencies and policy contexts. Through case studies of existing and emerging communications media industry forms and practices, (including cinema, radio, television, the internet and mobile telephony) the unit critically examines the wider communication environment, and its processes of production, distribution and consumption. The unit analyses transformations in contemporary communications, including key trends: digitalisation and new media technologies; industry, product and service, and regulatory convergence; deregulation/marketization, transforming industry structures and global patterns in media ownership.

This unit explores visual thinking in communications and design contexts, including the persuasive and expressive uses of visual design and media images. It draws upon design theory and media analysis to explore visualisation and to build a multimodal view of mediated communications in the light of new converged visual forms of digital media. The unit explores the move for communications from critique to design, from critical scrutiny of media texts to the design tasks of setting future aims and uncovering the means and resources for achieving them. The unit will foster an applied understanding of how multiple representational forms can be combined and remade to generate new forms of meaning.

The study of audiences is the study of people in interaction with media technologies. The term 'audience research' came into vogue at the dawn of the era of broadcasting, when it was used to refer to research designed to reveal the 'invisible' audience clustered by the domestic radio set. This unit tells the ongoing story of our developing understanding of audiences, the research strategies and methods used to reveal their 'hidden' activities, and the part they play in a continuously evolving democratic process. The unit documents the shift from broadcast to interactive media and the new approaches to research that are designed to address audience interactivity in increasingly complex media and urban environments.

For most of the twentieth century it was accepted that the Arts and associated creative practices should be publicly funded while the entertainment and information industries would be commercially funded through sponsorships, bequests or advertising. Since the mid 1970s, however, the assumption that the Arts pursue 'quality' while the commercial media are pitched at the lowest common denominator has been strongly challenged. This unit charts the cultural practices that characterised this division and the impact on them of Creative Industries policies that seek to minimise public investment in the Arts while promoting the benefits of a digital media based knowledge economy. The unit maps the terrain of the creative industries as they adjust to expectations that they maximise collective (as opposed to individual) creative potential though interactivity, networking, customisation and the establishment of collaborative enterprises.

This unit is intended to provide students with an opportunity to reflectively consider a conceptual position for their work, and to articulate this in a professional and contemporary context. Students reflect backwards through a mini exegesis that locates their work in theory and contemporary practice, and reflect forwards through a Exegesis for their future professional conduct.

This unit introduces communication and design students to working professionally and creatively with a 'client' or agency. Various processes and methods of working are explored through workshops, discussions, and project work. Students are introduced to the 'brief' as a tool in project development. Students work with guest clients and professionals, and explore a variety of approaches to developing project outcomes.

Students will develop supervised self-directed project work. Students typically develop their own brief/project from proposal to production over two semesters. Students will work in teams and link up with an external mentor. These teams are intended to provide a supportive peer environment for each student.

This unit introduces communication and design students to working professionally and creatively with a 'client' or agency. Various processes and methods of working are explored through workshops, discussions, and project work. Students are introduced to the 'brief' as a tool in project development. Students work with guest clients and professionals, and explore a variety of approaches to developing project outcomes.

Students will develop supervised self-directed project work. Students typically develop their own brief/project from proposal to production over two semesters. Students will work in teams and link up with an external mentor. These teams are intended to provide a supportive peer environment for each student.

Research in communication arts utilises a range of investigative procedures appropriate to the theory and practice of each creative discipline. This unit will introduce fundamental research languages, methods and outcomes relevant to the communication arts disciplines, and encourage students to develop approaches best suited to their theory and practice. Students will write and defend a research proposal and paper for a research program; the unit will enable students to apply a rigorous research framework to their work. Students will engage with a range of significant and critical texts which address broad implications of practices and theories in creative disciplines.

This unit provides training in practical applications of research in the communication arts. Students delineate project-based research topics in their fields. Students may produce research papers, or focus on projects involving creative practical works with accompanying documentation. Students will work in class and with their supervisor, to propose and create an artistic presentation with comprehensive documentation (including theoretical underpinnings), or propose and submit a research paper. These will include literature surveys or works reviews that demonstrate the students' knowledge of their areas of specialisation. Participation in Research Seminars will give students an opportunity to present work for feedback and critique.

These are major projects undertaken by fourth-year Honours students in the School of Communication Arts. They are substantial projects of individual research, in theoretical and/or practical areas, with topics decided in consultation with Supervisors and the Honours Course Advisor. The major projects provide opportunities for students to undertake research projects under academic supervision. Students develop detailed and sophisticated understandings, knowledge of research skills, writing practices, and analysis through production of original work. Major research projects in Communication Arts take two forms: 1) an academic research paper (thesis), 2) a substantial body of creative practical work with accompanying exegesis and documentation.

This unit is a survey of the marketing process, introducing students to the marketing concept, strategic and marketing planning, marketing research, consumer and customer behaviour, issues of market segmentation, targeting and positioning as well as all the elements of the marketing mix (product/service, pricing, distribution and marketing communication strategies).

Advertising: Strategy is a practice-oriented course designed to teach students how to interrogate clients, brands, products, markets, and audiences, in order to develop effective advertising strategies. Through case studies and project-based work, students will gain an understanding of the importance of brand personality and positioning, 'selling' propositions, and how to write an advertising brief capable of generating successful campaigns. (Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective; priority will be given to Public Relations majors taking 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective, as the unit is relevant to a career in Public Relations. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students).

It is a practice-oriented unit designed to teach students how to conceive and produce original and effective advertising to meet strategic goals. From interpretation of a brief, to creating and evaluating concepts, and presenting campaigns, the course aims to mirror real processes within the advertising industry. Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective: priority will be given to Graphic Design, Media Production and Writing majors taking 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective, as the unit is also relevant to a career in these disciplines. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students.

A focus on the consumer is critical in marketing philosophy. Effective marketing strategies are necessarily formulated as a result of the understanding of basic consumer behaviour. This unit covers assumptions and concepts related to understanding the consumer, including but not limited to cultural and ethnic values, social class and status, personal influence, family and household influences, situational influences, consumer resources, involvement, motivation and knowledge, attitudes, individual differences in behaviour, personality, values and lifestyle, information processing, learning, influencing attitudes, diagnosis of decision process and behaviour, consumer decision-making process and need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase and its outcomes, retailing and consumer trends, market segmentation, diffusion of innovations, global consumer markets, consumerism and social responsibility.

It is a practice-oriented unit designed to teach students how to conceive and produce original and effective advertising to meet strategic goals. From interpretation of a brief, to creating and evaluating concepts, and presenting campaigns, the course aims to mirror real processes within the advertising industry. Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective: priority will be given to Graphic Design, Media Production and Writing majors taking 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective, as the unit is also relevant to a career in these disciplines. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students.

Advertising: Strategy is a practice-oriented course designed to teach students how to interrogate clients, brands, products, markets, and audiences, in order to develop effective advertising strategies. Through case studies and project-based work, students will gain an understanding of the importance of brand personality and positioning, 'selling' propositions, and how to write an advertising brief capable of generating successful campaigns. (Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective; priority will be given to Public Relations majors taking 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective, as the unit is relevant to a career in Public Relations. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students).

This unit introduces each of the key areas of advertising (which includes media). This unit examines media planning in more depth: media terms, media objectives, the pros and cons of different media (advertising and marketing communications), use of consumer insight in planning, measures of performance, buying, creativity in planning, integrating marketing communication with advertising, maximising effectiveness, and media plans.

Writing for the Professions studies various forms of writing that are used extensively in professional contexts and examines how these texts work from the perspective of the reader and the professional context in which they are used. Students will gain knowledge and skills in elements of professional writing style and text production processes including researching, audience analysis and editing. They will also be introduced to a range of complimentary theories and issues of writing such as rhetoric and persuasion, plain English, text layout and design, readability, influence of culture and the impact of various computer technologies on the processes of writing and reading.

In this unit students work together in teams - taking on roles as they would in a real life advertising agency - to research, develop strategy, media & marketing communication plans, and creative concepts for clients. This is the final unit in the advertising major and brings together learning from previous studies. (NB: B Design and B Communication students who have completed the pre-requisites, or equivalent, are also encouraged to take Advertising Campaign. In practice, these disciplines work with advertising agencies to produce advertisements and develop campaigns).

This unit provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they are developing during their studies to tasks within a workplace (the host organisation). The unit is likely to involve substantial contact with the public through workplace placements and, for this reason, it is deemed a professional placement. The unit is restricted to students in their third year of study (or part time equivalent). In addition to the following points, prospective students must submit an application for entry (see below). It is the responsibility of students to nominate suitable workplaces. Students must provide adequate details of the placement they have been able to organise. You will need to do your own canvassing and arrange a suitable workplace on your own behalf. While, on occasion, academic staff may help you find a placement through contacts with employers, as well as offers from employers seeking students, you should not rely on anyone but yourself to arrange a suitable work placement. You will need to: find a suitable placement; discuss your choice with the course coordinator (phone or email); complete the workplace agreement form.

This unit will introduce students to new gathering, research, story construction and new writing for multiple media, ie for newspapers, and the electronic media. It will give students foundation skills which they can then apply in the subsequent electronic and print feature units.

This unit takes students beyond event and reactionary reporting towards an understanding of the proactive process of exploration, interpretation and exposure in journalism. Students learn how to find, filer and file information in a dynamic and constantly changing environment. Given a lot more time to explore issues, students learn to add value to information while keeping the story current, to deadline and in the public sphere.

This unit further develops knowledge skills and abilities achieved in Introduction to Journalism. Magazine Journalism focuses on the professional practice of magazine journalism, including the role of freelancing in Australian magazine journalism.

Investigative Journalism is regarded as the pinnacle of journalism. It is reserved to best and brightest, who have proven themselves in other areas of journalism. It is done by inquisitive journalists and by those who have solid research skills and intellectual abilities. Investigative journalism provokes and enables change on society, by unearthing wrong doing and thus altering the agendas of both the citizenry and the policy makers. Rather than reacting to the breaking news of the day, investigative journlists set a wider agenda. The work of investigative journalists is validated when citizens respond by demanding change from their leaders.

Students studying this unit examine the function of Photojournalism in the process of newsgathering and production and examine the relationship between images and text and their communicative potential. The unit involves a variety of aproaches to Photo Journalism using Black & White and Colour photography and location lighting for social documentary for ultimate use in a range of published forms.

Television Journalism is designed to introduce students to the basics of reporting for television news and information programs. It covers news gathering for television, basic camerawork and editing, writing to pictures, interviewing, narrating and story construction as well as analysis of the social role of television news and information programs.

This unit introduces students to radio journalism, providing both a practical and an analytical understanding of the medium. Students will learn news gathering, writing, interviewing, and production skills and take part in the production of community news bulletin.

Television Journalism is designed to introduce students to the basics of reporting for television news and information programs. It covers news gathering for television, basic camerawork and editing, writing to pictures, interviewing, narrating and story construction as well as analysis of the social role of television news and information programs.

This unit introduces students to radio journalism, providing both a practical and an analytical understanding of the medium. Students will learn news gathering, writing, interviewing, and production skills and take part in the production of community news bulletin.

This unit introduces students to the concept surrounding the editorial team process and the culture of the newsroom across all news media. It explores the social and organisational context of news production in commercial, public or community news organisations. It draws upon theory from communication, sociology, psychology, and management to provide a broad understanding of the principles and practices of effective and creative news teams. It critically analyses the structures, processes and techniques of news gathering to enable quality team outcomes. The unit encourages collaborative working relationships and develops students' own practice as team leaders, managers and members. Students interested in information teams in other communication and media areas, such as publishing or documentary production, will find the content and learning approach of this unit relevant.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they are developing during their studies to tasks within a workplace (the host organisation). The unit is likely to involve substantial contact with the public through workplace placements and, for this reason, it is deemed a professional placement. The unit is restricted to students in their third year of study (or part time equivalent). In addition to the following points, prospective students must submit an application for entry (see below). It is the responsibility of students to nominate suitable workplaces. Students must provide adequate details of the placement they have been able to organise. You will need to do your own canvassing and arrange a suitable workplace on your own behalf. While, on occasion, academic staff may help you find a placement through contacts with employers, as well as offers from employers seeking students, you should not rely on anyone but yourself to arrange a suitable work placement. You will need to: find a suitable placement; discuss your choice with the course coordinator (phone or email); complete the workplace agreement form.

This unit introduces students to the principles of screen and sound media in theory and practice. It has a strong emphasis on digital video and new media, yet it also aims to create an awareness of screen language and its role in the construction of meaning, culture and history by looking at key examples from classic films, to contemporary films, videos, documentaries, animation and video art. It introduces students to the main concepts in media production, filmmaking and sound, such as camera coverage, visual storytelling, genre, narrative, montage, or sound design. It also introduces students to basic editing software.

Introduction to the video camera and the formation of images through techniques in the use of mini DV including composition, lighting, applied uses, location and non-location. Introduction to genres and styles of videography and cinematography.

Introduction to principles of editing for non-linear digital video editing systems including editing purpose, editing functions, aesthetics of continuity, complexity post-production, offline and on-line editing.

Introduction to postproduction sound for applications to video and multi-media production.

The workshop is conducted as a forum for technical demonstrations, workshops, special guest lectures, screenings and group discussions. Students will focus on specific advanced camera/sound/editing problems.

The unit introduces one to digital manipulation of images by learning the basics of programs such as Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. The unit provides a base that students in filmmaking can use in the editing of their films. The unit is designed to enable students to explore and examine the evolving current and future opportunities for post production design using digital video design and effects technologies. Students will design and produce material ready for offset printing and for quicktime format. By doing so, students will examine and critique current styles and trends in digital video; consider the impact of these emerging technologies on the practice of design; and investigate the potential social and cultural context of such formats.

Introduction to broadcast design with an emphasis on the design of program delivery, interaction of broadcast elements, institutional formations in broadcasting and role of broadcast designer in the production team.

Video Project will involve students intensively in the application of digital video techniques within a collective major project as your final assignment. Video Project is the culmination of prior learning in DV Camera techniques, non-linear editing and sound.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they are developing during their studies to tasks within a workplace (the host organisation). The unit is likely to involve substantial contact with the public through workplace placements and, for this reason, it is deemed a professional placement. The unit is restricted to students in their third year of study (or part time equivalent). In addition to the following points, prospective students must submit an application for entry (see below). It is the responsibility of students to nominate suitable workplaces. Students must provide adequate details of the placement they have been able to organise. You will need to do your own canvassing and arrange a suitable workplace on your own behalf. While, on occasion, academic staff may help you find a placement through contacts with employers, as well as offers from employers seeking students, you should not rely on anyone but yourself to arrange a suitable work placement. You will need to: find a suitable placement; discuss your choice with the course coordinator (phone or email); complete the workplace agreement form.

To develop a common vocabulary of scriptwriting; to examine the principles of script structure, characterisation and narrative, and to develop scriptwriting techniques through practical exercises and to learn to write for performance. Weekly topics include story concepts, building the story, characters, dialogue, genres, feature film and documentary script writing, script editing.

This Level 2 unit will help you understand the public sphere as an intermediary between society and politics both as a communication and social system. You will learn to distinguish between various structures, roles and processes of public opinion as a product of communication and competition between social forces and interests powerful enough to set leading agendas, themes, social issues, frames, cultural packages, contents, feelings and other symbolic elements constituting the public opinion. You will be able to analyse critically the public opinion industry and evaluate the currently emerging and transforming public spheres in regard of their democratic virtues and vices.

Writing for the Professions studies various forms of writing that are used extensively in professional contexts and examines how these texts work from the perspective of the reader and the professional context in which they are used. Students will gain knowledge and skills in elements of professional writing style and text production processes including researching, audience analysis and editing. They will also be introduced to a range of complimentary theories and issues of writing such as rhetoric and persuasion, plain English, text layout and design, readability, influence of culture and the impact of various computer technologies on the processes of writing and reading.

This unit develops to a greater extent the theories and practices presented in Public Relations Theory and Practice. It establishes an understanding of the relationship between the client and professional and uses a variety of resources to achieve strategic outcomes.

This unit covers flow and transmission views; theory and research in organisational communication; the major theorists; internal and external factors affecting organisational communication techniques; problems in organisational communication; communication skills in organisations and communication audits.

Politcal Public Relations examines the convergence of public relations, advertising and political consulting in marking a new chapter in the history of political campaigns. The central topic is the ongoing process of professionalisation and internationalisation of electioneering and campaign practices in media-centred democracies. It examines comparatively the diffusion theory of directional convergence processes and the modernist theory of fragmentation of the public sphere and its associated structural change. The study of professional norms and standards of political consultants - the new power elite - is relatively new, requiring us to adopt a historicist perspective in order to evaluate contemporary political public relations.

The study of events promotion has emerged as a distinctive academic focus in response to the worldwide growth of events as a public relations activity. Events represent a unique form of service product development to satisfy diverse publics including consumers (residents and/or tourists), government, community and cultural groups, media and business sponsors or financiers. Accordingly, the study of events promotion is valuable for students of public relations as events increasingly serve a mainstream pubilc relations role for both public and private sector bodies. Students will learn the strategies necessary to host a viable event and learn how important the events are to the practice of public relations.

This unit investigates a range of specialised activities within the public relations discipline exploring this range of specialised public relations functions from the perspective of contemporary public relations theory. A range of perspectives provides thoughtful and challenging approaches to the work of a public relations practitioner.

This unit should only be taken by students studying the Public Relations majors only. Key aspects of the public relations management process are learned from the consulting role adopted by students. This unit provides the opportunity to link and apply theoretical understanding with writing, planning and presentation skills gained during the public relations sequence, in response to a client brief. The real life situation allows students to demonstrate their capacity for problem analysis and to develop appropriate and timely program solutions. Assignments enable students to demonstrate their capacity to develop a public relations campaign and prepare themselves for a public relations position, either in an in-house or consultancy role.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they are developing during their studies to tasks within a workplace (the host organisation). The unit is likely to involve substantial contact with the public through workplace placements and, for this reason, it is deemed a professional placement. The unit is restricted to students in their third year of study (or part time equivalent). In addition to the following points, prospective students must submit an application for entry (see below). It is the responsibility of students to nominate suitable workplaces. Students must provide adequate details of the placement they have been able to organise. You will need to do your own canvassing and arrange a suitable workplace on your own behalf. While, on occasion, academic staff may help you find a placement through contacts with employers, as well as offers from employers seeking students, you should not rely on anyone but yourself to arrange a suitable work placement. You will need to: find a suitable placement; discuss your choice with the course coordinator (phone or email); complete the workplace agreement form.

This unit focuses on movement and performance for animation. It will cover the analysis and understanding of character acting as the basis for creating empathy for a character and to communication of a character’s emotional state and thought through movement and gesture. Contemporary approaches to acting and mime will also be introduced to give animators a sound basis for developing their own approach to acting through a character.

This unit will introduce students to the fundamental principles of animation and to the broad range of different animation styles and techniques. It aims to provide an overview of the field of animation by viewing and analysing a broad range of animated films throughout history combined with related practical exercises and projects.

This unit aims to develop the techniques presetned in Animation 1 expanding into the area of storytelling through film and animation language. The unit will allow students to produce a 30 second animated project covering all stages from script to screen.

This unit explores the possibilities of character animation, connecting sound and image to produce impressions of character and personaility. It develops students' abilities to direct and improvise with actors in order to analyse the voice track in relation to movement, characterization, backgrounds and sound design. It includes analyses and readings of related works of animation.

This unit allows students the freedom to bring together all the skills and ideas developed through the previous three units to produce a major piece of work with an emphasis on creative content and production techniques.

This unit introduces students to the role of the human voice in animation, analysing classic animation scripts to base the development of persona and characterisation. Students will also develop practical skills in voice acting and the direction and recording of voice actors, track reading and dope sheeting for animation.

This unit explores the role of the director in relationship to the creation of work: performance, play, film, screen media, event, or ceremony. The emphasis will be on the directing of performance. The director, alongside the writer in theatre and film, has been a central figure in 20th Century performance practice. The director creates a body of work, refines specific processes to puts philosophies or theories to the test. The director is a communicator, leader and facilitator; working across the creative spectrum with actors, designers, artists, writers, musicians, producers, presenters and audience to meet at the final encounter: the performance.

This unit provides an introduction to the practices of live performance through foundational studies in acting. Development of acting skills through a sense of self in bodily expression, creative imagination and effective communication are part of all live performance. Workshop experience will be augmented by research into acting theories and traditions. This unit draws on practices and concepts of acting formed in the 20th century that circulate in live performance practice in the current Australian and international context.

In this unit students will be introduced to the technology and the skills required to work with video, film and digital media. They will be introduced to discourse surrounding the creation and appraising of performance for screen. They will inquire into values, concepts and forms of screen performance and the relationships between live performance and performance on screen. In addition students will gain insight into mixed media performance styles and their application in a variety of settings. Academic research, practical workshop experience and personal reflection will used to develop the required level of practical understanding.

In this unit students, will be introduced to modes of personality presentation applicable to popular performance forms and media, as well as challenges and limitations involved in the construction of images of public identity or personality for the entertainment, communication and media industry. They will inquire into values, concepts and forms of persona presentation relevant to contemporary social settings. In addition, students will gain insight into media performance styles that employ presentational personae, and their applications in a variety of settings. Academic research, practical workshop experience and personal reflection will be used to develop required levels of practical understanding.