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VCE VET MUSIC INDUSTRY: SOUND PRODUCTION
Aural and written examination
Friday 16 November 2018 Reading time: 9.00 am to 9.15 am (15 minutes) Writing time: 9.15 am to 10.45 am (1 hour 30 minutes)
QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK
Structure of bookSection Number of
questionsNumber of questions
to be answeredNumber of
marks
A 9 9 25B 13 13 75
Total 100
• Studentsarepermittedtobringintotheexaminationroom:pens,pencils,highlighters,erasers,sharpenersandrulers.
• StudentsareNOTpermittedtobringintotheexaminationroom:blanksheetsofpaperand/orcorrectionfluid/tape.
• Nocalculatorisallowedinthisexamination.
Materials supplied• Questionandanswerbookof15pages• AnaudiocompactdisccontainingmusicalexcerptsforSectionAInstructions• Writeyourstudent numberinthespaceprovidedaboveonthispage.• Youmaywriteatanytimeduringtherunningoftheaudiocompactdiscandafteritstops.• Answerallquestionsinthespacesprovided.• AllwrittenresponsesmustbeinEnglish.
Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room.
© VICTORIANCURRICULUMANDASSESSMENTAUTHORITY2018
SUPERVISOR TO ATTACH PROCESSING LABEL HEREVictorian Certificate of Education 2018
STUDENT NUMBER
Letter
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2018VETMUSICINDUSTRYSPEXAM 2
SECTION A – continued
Question 1(5marks)Thefollowingthreemixexcerptsareintwoparts.Thefirstpartofeachexcerptistheoriginalmix.Thesecondpartofeachexcerptisavariationoftheoriginalmix.
a. WhichaspectofthemixhaschangedinthesecondpartofExcerpt1a? 1mark
b. WhichaspectofthemixhaschangedinthesecondpartofExcerpt1b? 1mark
c. AneffecthasbeenappliedtooneelementofthedrumkitinExcerpt1c.Thesameeffecthasbeenappliedinbothpartsoftheexcerpt.
i. Towhichelementofthedrumkithastheeffectbeenapplied? 1mark
ii. Namethetypeofeffectthathasbeenappliedintheexcerpt. 1mark
iii. Whichparameterhasbeenincreasedinthesecondpartoftheexcerpt? 1mark
Question 2 (2marks)Thefollowingdrumexcerptisintwoparts.Bothpartsarerecordingsofthesameperformancewithoutaddedeffectsorprocessing.
a. OutlinehowthesoundinthesecondpartofExcerpt2differsfromthefirstpart. 1mark
b. Howcanthedifferenceoutlinedinpart a.beachievedwithouteffectsorprocessing? 1mark
SECTION A
Instructions for Section ATheaudiocompactdiscplaysthroughoutSectionA.InQuestions 1–9,audioexcerptsareplayedtwice.Theannouncerexplainshowtheaudioexcerpt(s)foreachquestionwillbeplayed.Answerallquestionsinthespacesprovided.
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SECTION A – continuedTURN OVER
Question 3 (4marks)Thefollowingtomexcerptisofthewaveformsshowninthescreenshotbelow.Theexcerpthasbeenloopedfourtimes.
a. OnlytwotomscanbeheardinExcerpt3.
Usingthetracklabelsinthescreenshotabove,identifythetrackswherethetomscanbeheard. 1mark
b. Whatisthecommonnamefortheunwantedaudioheardfromtheothertracks? 1mark
c. State twosuitablewaystheunwantedaudionamedinpart b.couldbeeliminated. 2marks
Question 4 (2marks)ThefollowingexcerptofaPAsystemlapelmicrophonelinecheckcontainsanaudibleproblem.Themicrophoneandthemixingdeskarefunctioningnormally.
a. IdentifytheaudioprobleminExcerpt4. 1mark
b. Suggestasolutiontoresolvethisproblem. 1mark
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SECTION A – continued
Question 5 (2marks)Thefollowingvocalexcerptisintwoparts.Onlythesecondparthasaneffectapplied.
a. NametheeffectthathasbeenappliedinthesecondpartofExcerpt5. 1mark
b. Namethespecificaspectofthesoundchangedbytheeffectgiveninpart a. 1mark
Question 6 (2marks)Thefollowingrapexcerptisintwoparts.Onlythesecondparthashadprocessingapplied.
a. NamethetypeofprocessingthathasbeenappliedinthesecondpartofExcerpt6. 1mark
b. Howhasthetypeofprocessingnamedinpart a.changedthesoundofthesecondpartof theexcerpt? 1mark
Question 7 (1mark)Thefollowingdistortedguitarexcerptisintwoparts.Onlythesecondparthashadprocessingapplied.
NamethetypeofprocessingappliedinExcerpt7.
Question 8 (4marks)Thefollowingexcerptcontainsa1kHzreferencetonefollowedbyasequenceofthreetones.
a. Identify,inorder,thefrequencyofeachtonebeingplayedafterthereferencetone.Selectfromthislist:125Hz,250Hz,500Hz,1kHz,2kHz,4kHz,8kHz. 3marks
1.
2.
3.
b. HowcouldidentifyingfrequencieshelpanaudioengineerwhentuningaPAsystem? 1mark
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END OF SECTION ATURN OVER
Question 9 (3marks)Thefollowingexcerptisintwoparts.Bothpartsconsistoftypesofnoisecommonlyusedinliveaudioproduction.
a. NamethetypesofnoiseineachpartofExcerpt9. 2marks
Firstpart
Secondpart
b. Provideanexampleofwhenoneofthetypesofnoisenamedinpart a.maybeusedduringaproductionset-up. 1mark
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SECTION B – continued
Question 1 (2marks)Theimagebelowshowsapieceofequipmentholdingamicrophone.
Source:NadiiaNasaduik/Shutterstock.com
Namethepieceofequipmentholdingthemicrophoneandoutlineitsfunction.
SECTION B
Instructions for Section BAnswerallquestionsinthespacesprovided.
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SECTION B – continuedTURN OVER
Question 2 (6marks)Theimagebelowshowssymbolslabelledonamulti-pattern,largediaphragmcondensermicrophone.
80O
–5
Source:JRPStudio/Shutterstock.com
Namethefunctionofeachlabelledsymbolandoutlineanapplicationforeach.
O
80
–5
Question 3 (4marks)Describetwoadvantagesofusingabalancedcableratherthananunbalancedcable.
1.
2.
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SECTION B – continued
Question 4 (4marks)Theimagesbelowshowtwotypesoftweeters:asoftdometweeterandahorntweeter.
Sources:oTTo-supertramp/Shutterstock.com(left);arogant/Shutterstock.com(right)
a. Withreferencetohigh-frequencydispersion,describethedifferencebetweenasoftdometweeterandahorntweeter. 2marks
b. Whichtypeoftweeterismorelikelytobeusedinanear-fieldmonitorinastudiocontrolroom?Justifyyourresponse. 2marks
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SECTION B – continuedTURN OVER
Question 5 (6marks)a. Explainthedifferencebetweenaudiocompressionanddatacompression.Inyourresponse,
refertotheaudibleeffectsofeachtypeofcompression. 4marks
b. Thescreenshotbelowshowstwosetsofstereowaveforms.Onesetistheoriginalandtheothersethasbeenprocessed.
Set 1
Set 2
Identifywhichstereowaveformislikelytohavebeennormalisedandoutlinetheaudiblecharacteristicsofnormalisation. 2marks
Question 6 (3marks)Describewhattheproximityeffectisandhowitchangesthefrequencyresponseofaspecificinputdevice.Includethenameofthespecificinputdeviceinyourresponse.
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2018 VET MUSIC INDUSTRY SP EXAM 10
SECTION B – continued
Question 7 (4 marks)The images below show four types of audio effects processors.
EL8-X
DN370
H910
PCM91
Sources (from top): Empirical Labs, <www.empiricallabs.com>; MUSIC Group, <www.musictri.be>; Eventide, <www.eventideaudio.com>; HARMAN, <https://lexiconpro.com/en>
a. Name the processor shown above that changes the perceived depth of, or space around, a sound. 1 mark
b. Name the processor shown above that changes dynamics when mixing live and describe a vocal issue this processor could correct. 2 marks
c. Name the processor shown above that cuts or boosts frequency bands. 1 mark
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SECTION B – continuedTURN OVER
Question 8 (4marks)a. Identifytwousesofagraphicequaliserwhilemixingaliveperformance. 2marks
b. Duringalivemusicperformance,theaudioengineerhearsabuzzingsoundcomingthroughthechannelofaninstrumentwhiletheinstrumentisnotbeingplayed.
Describehowalivesoundsignalprocessorcouldbeusedtoresolvethisproblem.Includethenameofthespecificprocessorinyourresponse. 2marks
Question 9 (4marks)Anaudioengineerhasbeenaskedtorecordandmixmaterialforabandtheyareunfamiliarwith.Theengineermustcompleteamulti-trackstudiorecordingwithinaneight-hoursession.
Givetwoexamplesofinformationtheaudioengineerwouldneedinordertodevelopa pre-productionrecordingplan.Justifyeachexample.
1.
2.
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SECTION B – continued
Question 10 (8marks)Anaudioengineerhasbeenaskedtorecordandmixanacousticactthatistoperformliveinasmallstudiowithallmusiciansinthesameroomatthesametime.Themusiciansare:• aleadvocalist• achoir• anacousticguitaristwithpick-up• adoublebassplayerwithnopick-up.
Completethetablebelowbyallocatingamicrophoneordirectinput(DI)boxtoeachmusicianandbyjustifyingyourallocation.
Microphone/DI box Musician(s) Justification
stereopairofcardioidsmalldiaphragmcondensers
largediaphragmcardioiddynamic
handheldcardioiddynamic
DIbox
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SECTION B – continuedTURN OVER
Question 11 (4marks)Describethestepsinvolvedinminimisingfeedbackfrequencieswhen‘ringingout’a front-of-housePAsystem.
Step1
Step2
Step3
Step4
Question 12 (2marks)a. Whichcomponentofathree-wayPAspeakercouldbedamagedbyanextremelyloud8kHz
signal? 1mark
b. Whatistherecommendedsafesoundpressurelevel(SPL)foreighthoursofexposure? 1mark
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SECTION B – Question 13 –continued
Question 13 (24marks)Anaudioengineerhasbeenemployedbyamusicfestivalorganisertomixfouractsthatareplayingonanoutdoorstageonawindyday.Eachactisscheduledtoperformfor45minutesandthereisa15-minutebreakbetweenactsforchangeoverandlinecheck.Twohourshavebeenallocatedforstageset-upandsoundcheckbeforetheeventopenstothepublic.Theactscomprisea:• solovocalistusinganacousticguitarwithpick-up• five-piecebandwithvocalist,electricguitar,electricbass,electrickeyboardanddrumkit• DJusingastereolaptop,whodoesnotspeak/sing• three-piecebandwithelectricguitar,electricbassandvocalistusingadrumkit.
Thefive-piecebandhasagreedtolenditsbackline,whichincludesaguitaramp,bassampanddrumkit,totheotheracts.Thekeyboardistdoesnotrequiretheirownamp.Themusicfestivalorganiserhasprovidedthefollowingequipment:• PAsystemwithmixingdesk,threefoldbackmonitorsandallrelatedcablesandpower• twovocalmicrophones,fourinstrumentmicrophones,twomonoDIboxesandsixmicrophone
stands
a. Whichmixingdeskfunctioncouldtheaudioengineerusetoreducewindnoiseinthevocalmicrophones? 1mark
b. Inthecontextofthisscenario,whatisthedifferenceinfunctionbetweenthelinecheckandthesoundcheck? 2marks
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c. Fillinalltheblankboxestocompletetheinputpatchlistbelow.Insertthenameofeachinstrumentoradash(–)ifnoinstrumentisrequired. 10marks
Mixer channel
label
Input type Acts
Solo vocalist Five-piece band
DJ Three-piece band
kick inst.mic – drums(kick)
– drums(kick)
snare inst.mic – drums(snare)
– drums(snare)
drumsOH inst.mic – drums(wholekit)
– drums(wholekit)
guitar inst.mic electricguitar
–
DI1 DI – –
DI2 DI
VOX1 vocalmic singer singer
VOX2 vocalmic – – – singer
d. Drawastageplanthatcanbeusedbyalloftheactswithminimalchangesbetweenbreaks. Yourstageplanmustclearlyshowthelocationofthe:• foldbackmonitors• instrumentmicrophones/DIs• vocalmicrophones. 11marks
PAspeaker
R
PAspeaker
L
stage front
END OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK
