Mastering / Synthesis & Sound Design

Section 1: Mastering & Restoration + Reports

Part A: Mastering & Restoration + Reports

Master the four provided pieces of music to a professional standard, ensuring they are mastered appropriately to each genre, compare favourably with similar examples of commercially available music and translate well across a typical set of listening systems.

Some tracks will require restoration of some kind.

One track will be provided as a set of stems for stem-mastering, allowing you to dig deeper into solving any audio problems.

For each master, provide a 200-word, illustrated mastering report of your process, omitting the mundane and including a maximum of 5 labelled screen-grabs of notable processes: in addition to the quality of your masters, these reports are how you demonstrate your skills and thought processes.

Part B: DDP & Apple Digital Masters

1. Create a DDP data package ready for CD duplication that includes your four mastered tracks. Ensure your DDP package includes a PQ Sheet and evidence of a successful MD5 checksum verification. To pass this element of the assignment, your DDP package must open cleanly without missing files and display and play your mastered tracks along with appropriate track data. Please check your DDP opens correctly before you submit.

2. Master the same four provided pieces of music to a standard that adheres to the Apple Digital Masters submission format. Apple's submission specifications are very clearly stated in the official Apple documentation: [login to view URL]

Section 2: Synthesis & Sound Design

Part A

Using a range of software or hardware-based synthesis techniques to create your source sounds, produce a twelve-part(sample-based) drum playback instrument. It may be hosted in the software sampler/playback engine of your choice (Kontakt, EXS-24 etc.)

- Mapping should ensure some degree of GM drum map compatibility for core sounds.

- At least six of the sounds should be created from 'analogue-style' subtractive synthesis methods, and using only simple audio waveform (sine, triangle, saw or square + white noise) as their starting point.

- You should also attempt to explore other synthesis methods (such as FM, Granular and Wavetable, Additive etc).

Your submission should include a screen capture video demonstrating the instrument, audio examples of each drum part and a short (500-words max) development report on the creation process. The report should make good use of screengrabs/photos to illustrate the development stages of each sound.

Part B

Create a set of 1-4 bar audio loops in the genre of your choosing. These may originate from recorded and/or synthesized sources and employ as much additional processing as required.

Key and tempo should be consistent for all loops.

The sample pack should contain -

5 basslines.

5 chord/harmonic parts.

5 leads.

5 drum/percussion.

5 sound effects.

Each should be provided as a loopable 44.1kHz, 24-bit WAV.

You should also include user documentation for the pack (of no more than 500 words) providing some background on their creation and possible use.

Part C

Using the audio drum instrument and assets created in Parts A and B, create a sonic backdrop to the provided 30s advert.

You may use these in any way you wish. Editing, processing and parameter automation may also be employed.

Music Sound Design Audio Production Animation

Project ID: #37847265

About the project