# Signal at Dawn composition brief: media-pack production guide

## Purpose

Produce a standardized, rights-cleared pack that lets every student complete the same guided workflows while retaining creative choices in the capstone. Large media is distributed by the institution; this repository contains the brief, manifest, checks, and assessment materials only.

## Required content

Narrative brief, reference mood words, timing map, optional field recordings, percussion one-shots, motif cards, delivery specification, and rights record.

Expected storage: Approximately 3 GB including optional audio resources and rendered stems.

## Production requirements

- Create all source media specifically for teaching or secure a license permitting classroom redistribution and student portfolio use.
- Retain contributor releases, music and sample licenses, location permissions, and creator credits in 01_ADMIN/rights.
- Preserve authentic metadata, timecode, sample rate, channel layout, slates, reports, and filenames required by the taught workflow.
- Provide untouched source media, a checksum manifest, an instructor reference project, and a verified reference output.
- Keep faults intentional, reversible, documented in an instructor-only key, and absent from the untouched originals.
- Test all media and projects on a clean institution lab account with network access disabled after download.
- Do not include private personal information, real confidential production data, or assets whose license depends on a student-owned account.

## Intentional fault fixtures

- M1-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Playback continues beyond the intended duration". Instructor resolution evidence: Set and verify the project end marker, cycle region, and any trailing regions or automation.
- M1-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "A region changes when tempo changes". Instructor resolution evidence: Identify whether it is MIDI, Apple Loop, Flex-enabled audio, or absolute-time material and choose the intended behavior.
- M1-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The palette becomes unmanageably large". Instructor resolution evidence: Return to role-based tracks and replace rather than accumulate similar sounds.
- M2-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The groove feels late rather than relaxed". Instructor resolution evidence: Identify which anchor should remain stable and move only supporting subdivisions or adjust swing amount.
- M2-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Kick and bass lose impact together". Instructor resolution evidence: Inspect timing, note length, register, phase if audio is layered, and arrangement density before adding processing.
- M2-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Fills sound pasted on". Instructor resolution evidence: Derive their rhythm or timbre from existing material and make them lead into a formal event.
- M3-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Chord changes sound disconnected". Instructor resolution evidence: Reduce voice movement, sustain common tones, reconsider bass leaps, and align harmonic rhythm with phrase structure.
- M3-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Melody follows every chord too literally". Instructor resolution evidence: Preserve motif identity across harmony and use target notes rather than arpeggiating each chord.
- M3-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The bass masks harmony". Instructor resolution evidence: Simplify duration or register, coordinate with kick, and leave space for chord attacks.
- M4-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The piece sounds like repeated loops". Instructor resolution evidence: Change internal events, phrase endings, texture, harmony, and transition logic rather than only muting whole tracks.
- M4-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The climax arrives too early". Instructor resolution evidence: Control register, density, loudness, harmonic tension, and strongest timbres across the whole arc.
- M4-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Transitions feel like effects pasted on top". Instructor resolution evidence: Connect them to existing rhythmic, melodic, or timbral material and the exact next-section entrance.
- M5-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "MIDI feels uneven after quantization". Instructor resolution evidence: Inspect note length, velocity, articulation, controller data, and interaction with other parts instead of increasing quantize strength.
- M5-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Automation jumps at region boundaries". Instructor resolution evidence: Check breakpoint values immediately before and after the boundary and whether region and track automation are both active.
- M5-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Recording latency affects performance". Instructor resolution evidence: Reduce buffer and monitoring load, use direct or low-latency monitoring where available, and verify compensation after recording.
- M6-F1: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "Stems sound different from the full mix". Instructor resolution evidence: Check bus processing, sidechains, shared effects, master processing, automation, and whether returns were included consistently.
- M6-F2: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The master clips after bounce". Instructor resolution evidence: Inspect overs, true peak, inter-sample behavior, normalization settings, and sample-rate conversion; preserve headroom.
- M6-F3: Create a reversible fixture demonstrating "The mix is clear but emotionally flat". Instructor resolution evidence: Return to dynamics, orchestration, phrase, and sectional contrast before adding broad mastering processing.

## Release checklist

- [ ] Rights and releases permit the intended distribution and student output.
- [ ] Manifest names, sizes, checksums, formats, and metadata match the distributed files.
- [ ] Starter project opens without missing media or third-party dependencies.
- [ ] Every module can be completed from the supplied pack and documented lab configuration.
- [ ] Reference outputs are clearly separated from student starter material.
- [ ] Instructor-only fault keys are not included in the student download.
- [ ] Accessibility alternatives exist for any task that depends on hearing, vision, fine-motor input, or timed performance.