Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services
Quick facts
Student type:
Quick facts
-
Duration
Full-time 1 year -
Location
Melbourne City -
Fees
See fee finder
Next intake
February
Entry score
Not applicable
Duration
Not applicable Location
Not applicable Fees
Not applicable
Next intake
Not applicable
Overview
The Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services is the second program in a two-year vocational education sequence.
Year one
You will start your journey in the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services, where you’ll learn a range of practical technician skills under instruction, including the set-up, operation and maintenance of lighting, sound, vision and presentation equipment.
Year two
In the second year of this sequence you will transition into the Diploma, where you’ll learn to work at senior technician and management level in the live event and audio-visual industries.
The Diploma of Live Production & Technical Services will enable you to adapt to a wide variety of live production environments and employment opportunities both locally and internationally. Our graduates work for large and small-scale festivals, live music venues, theatres and production studios, as well as in AV support for education and sales.
Students of this program ‘learn by doing’ and are taught in purpose-built studios using world-class, industry standard software and equipment. They learn not only technical skills, but important managerial skills like budgeting, inventory management, scheduling and equipment repair and maintenance.
Training is industry-driven, with content delivered by practising professionals and guest tutors from the entertainment arts industry.
Our teaching staff have all had many years of professional experience and have helped our students obtain internships with productions and organisations such as:
- Melbourne International Comedy Festival
- Melbourne Fringe Festival
- Melbourne Writers Festival
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- White Night
- ABC TV
- Network 10
The program incorporates site visits to iconic Melbourne venues such as Hamer Hall and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to explore how large-scale entertainment venues operate behind the scenes.
Students will work on diverse and exciting events such as ‘Collide’, a series of live music productions performed and recorded in RMIT’s new Media Precinct. This is an award-winning, cross-disciplinary project involving staff and students from sound production, screen & media, writing & editing, interactive media and photo imaging working together with industry partners over a number of days. Throughout the production, students coordinate and operate everything from lighting, sound and camera to the post-production of videos for the participating musicians.
Details
This program is delivered as part of a sequence, beginning with the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services.
Successful completion of the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services guarantees entry into the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services.
You may be eligible to begin your studies at the Diploma level if you already hold a Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services or have the relevant knowledge and skills.
You must apply for the Certificate IV and will then be assessed for entry into the Diploma.
To apply for this program sequence, visit the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services program information.
In addition to the many international opportunities that exist for Live Production technicians, there are many national events that require the same expertise, such as Darwin Festival in the N.T., Adelaide Fringe Festival in South Australia, Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland and Vivid Sydney to name just a few.
In semester one you will learn to shoot a range of screen content, manage media assets, implement and operate vision and lighting systems, as well as manage teams, workplace safety and effectiveness and how to perform bump-in and bump-out.
You will explore complex event technology design for sound, lighting and vision systems, as well as projection mapping on different surfaces like building facades.
Semester two will focus on building your knowledge of legal compliance requirements in the entertainment industry, accounting skills like managing a budgeting, and specialist technical skills like sound balancing.
You will apply this knowledge in the Work integrated learning (WIL) component of the program, which forms an integral part of your studies. The skills you develop throughout the year will be put to use and assessed in a workplace context.
The WIL nominated course for this program focuses on operating and constructing complex lighting environments. Through this experience you will gain exposure to a range of advanced processes, lighting hardware and interconnectivity standards. You will work on an industry-based project with entertainment professionals, gaining invaluable experience, contacts and feedback.
Career
Skilled technicians and event managers are in high demand both nationally and internationally. Our graduates are highly regarded by industry and often gain paid employment with the same organisations they intern with.
Graduates of the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services also have the opportunity to gain a six-month paid internship with MCEC.
Career outcomes
- AV and event designer and producer
- AV and event technician
- AV and event project manager
- Data wrangler
- Studio operator
- Sound Mixer
- Theatre technician
- Radio production roles
- Broadcast television technical support roles
- Lighting desk operator
- Lighting designer
- Live event equipment hire, staging and operational roles
- AV systems design and installation roles
- Video and film production technical support roles
Admissions
Successful completion of the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services guarantees entry into the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services.
You may be eligible to begin your studies at the Diploma level if you already hold a Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services or have the relevant knowledge and skills. You must apply for the Certificate IV and will then be assessed for entry into the Diploma.
Pathways
Fees
The tuition fees you will pay for this program will depend on whether you are offered a Victorian Government subsidised place or a full-fee place.
To find out if you are eligible for a government subsidised place, follow the steps at ‘How to check if you are eligible’**.
2019 Fees
- 2019 government subsidised place: AU$7,750* per annum
- 2019 full-fee place: AU$17,000* per annum
*Fees shown are indicative only and subject to change given individual circumstances at the time of enrolment.
Use our fee finder to get an estimate of your fees for this program.
The student tuition fees as displayed by the fee finder are indicative only and subject to change given individual circumstances at enrolment. Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide. Learn more about fees for vocational study.
- 2018 full-fee place: AU$13750* per annum
- Maximum VET Student Loan for program: AU$5000**
*Fees shown are indicative only and subject to change given individual circumstances at the time of enrolment.
**The maximum loan amount for a program is indexed annually on 1 January, and the maximum loan amount denoted above is correct at the time of publication.
Eligibility criteria waver
**The Victorian Government is currently waiving two (2) eligibility criteria around prior qualifications. This means that more people who want to study a vocational education program at RMIT, and already have a qualification, will be able to access a government subsidised place in a program. Find out how to check your eligibility.
VET Student Loans
The Australian Government provides financial assistance via the VET Student Loans scheme (VSL), which allows eligible students in eligible programs to defer payment of their tuition fees, up to the maximum loan amount for their program.
How does a VET Student Loan work?
If your VSL application is successful, the Australian Government will pay RMIT your tuition fees on your behalf, up to the maximum loan amount for your program.
If your program is eligible for the VSL scheme and has a loan cap that doesn’t cover the total amount of the tuition fees for your program, then you’ll need to pay RMIT the difference once you exceed the cap.
Your VET Student Loan becomes part of your Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt. You will start repaying your accumulated HELP debt to the Australian Government once you earn above the minimum income threshold for repayment, which is adjusted each year (this also applies if you are still studying).
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will calculate your compulsory repayment for the year and include this on your income tax notice.
For more information see VET Student Loans or Study Assist.
In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF), which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student.
The SSAF is calculated based on your enrolment load and the maximum fee for 2019 is $303.
For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.
You may also be required to purchase other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment. These additional fees and expenses vary from program to program.
In addition to tuition fees you also need to pay for:
- Student services and amenities fee (SSAF) in each calendar year.
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) - Student visa holders must have cover for the total duration of their visa.
- Some programs incur additional expenses.
You also need to account for your living expenses. Estimate the cost of living in Melbourne.