Examiners Reports (information about what students do well and what they don't - worth reading before you start your practical)
Information from Specification
The purpose of this unit is firstly to assess candidates’ ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills (AO3); secondly to assess candidates’ application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating their own work, showing how meanings and responses are created (AO2); and finally to assess candidates’ ability to undertake, apply and present appropriate research (AO4). The unit requires candidates to engage with contemporary media technologies, giving them the opportunity for development of skills in these technologies.
This is a coursework unit, internally assessed and externally moderated. Candidates produce a media artefact in response to briefs set by OCR plus some appropriate evidence of research and planning. The task provides progression from a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully realised piece in the same medium. This offers the opportunity for skills development to be assessed, as well as a final finished piece.
Suggested resources
Centres should be wary of embarking upon offering this specification without adequate equipment, software and staff training. Candidates entering production coursework for this specification will be at a serious disadvantage if teachers are unable to provide training for them in the use of the particular software and technology. They will be at a further disadvantage if there is insufficient technology for them to use. The minimum resourcing requirements for the delivery of the AS media portfolio unit are suggested as being:
Digital technology suitable for the construction of media texts within the briefs set.
Suitable Internet access for research and where necessary presentation of student work.
Brief
When centres choose briefs to offer to candidates, they should be guided by their strengths in terms of resources and expertise. Centres should also bear in mind the key areas: forms and conventions, production contexts, the role of technologies, audiences/users and representations.
The set is as follows:
Video
- Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.
- Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.
Evaluation
Each candidate will evaluate and reflect upon the creative process and their experience of it. Candidates will evaluate their work electronically, this evaluation being guided by the set of key questions below. This evaluation may be done collectively for a group production or individually. Examples of suitable formats for the evaluation are:
- A podcast
- DVD extras
- A blog
- A powerpoint
In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:
- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
- Who would be the audience for your media product?
- How did you attract/address your audience?
- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
G321 is marked and internally standardised by the centre and marks are submitted to OCR by a specified date, a sample is then selected for external moderation. The unit is marked out of a total of 100 marks: 20 marks for the presentation of the planning and research; 60 marks for the construction; 20 marks for the evaluation.
Marking of work
The centre will be expected to allocate marks according to four levels for each of three categories:
- Research and Planning
- Construction
- Evaluation
In centres where there is more than one teacher involved in the marking, there MUST be evidence that internal standardisation has taken place to ensure a consistent rank order.
Assistance with projects
It is expected that teachers will train students in the use of technology for their coursework and that schools and colleges will provide the necessary equipment for students to produce their media texts.
As acting is not a skill that is assessed in Media Studies, but the quality of finished work is quite clearly affected by the quality of acting, groups may use personnel external to the group to appear in their productions in photos, video or audio.
Q. What is match-on-action?
A. Action in one shot, is continued into the next e.g. in this task an exterior shot of the
character opening the door moving to an interior shot of them entering the room.
Q. What is shot/reverse shot?
A. In this case most people would do the shot/reverse shot with one character sitting down
looking at the other character who is off screen, with the shot then switching to them
looking back at the original character. It's how most conversations on TV and film are
shown, often over-the shoulder of each character in turn.
Q. What's best practise for keeping track of, or authenticating candidates work when they are out filming with no supervision?
A. There isn't one answer to this as it is what best suits the centre and candidates but
keeping a log of who has done what immediately after each piece of filming would be
useful. You have to take candidates’ word for it when they are off site and unsupervised
but if they are logging the work immediately afterwards and bringing it to the next
classroom activity you should soon get a feel for which students are contributing more than
others.
Q. Are there any websites or links I can point my candidates towards for copyright free audio?
A. There are numerous websites that offer copyright free audio and music but you need to
bear in mind that even though the music/audio is copyright free to use there can be a
charge to download or purchase but you can buy libraries of music/audio that you could
use in your centre for two or three years before feeling the need to update them again.
Group Work
Q. What is the maximum group size for G321?
A. Four.
Q. Can candidates work individually?
A. Yes.
Q. Can candidates swap groups between preliminary and main task?
A. Yes, but it will be easier for centres to track work if they stay in the same groups.
Research and Planning
Q. Does research and planning have to be submitted as hard copy or electronic format?
A. Research and planning evidence may be presented in electronic format OR work may be
handed in as scrapbook or folder. This applies to G321 at AS Level only.
Evaluation
Q. What is the word limit?
A. There is no word limit. The evaluation needs to address the seven key questions posed on page 13 of the specification. Visual evidence is encouraged
Q. Does the evaluation need to be submitted in electronic format?
A. Yes, the evaluation needs to be submitted electronically in one or a combination of the four specified formats at the top of page 13 of the specification.
Q. If using blogging or PowerPoints does the evaluation have to be in continuous prose?
A. No, definitely not. As long as the questions in the specification are answered candidates could answer in bullet point style if necessary, specifically answering each question. For DVDs and Podcasts candidates can answer the questions aurally.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts / PowerPoints / DVD extras
Q. How do we submit blogs to OCR for moderation?
A. Blogs must be available online for the duration of the moderation period. The URL (web address) must be supplied to the moderator. This can be added to the CW coversheet.
Producing Work
Q. Can candidates use found work?
A. No, all work must be original, with the exception of audio and music, this doesn’t have to be original but must be from a copyright free source.
Q. What are the best methods of presenting PowerPoint work?
A. The following methods are examples that could be used:
- Each candidate to present individually to the class
- Groups to present to the class
- Groups to present to other groups
- Individuals to present to groups
- Individuals to present to teachers etc
either further endorse the mark for the teacher or make them add to or deduct from it, which they would then explain in their marking in much the same way as they currently do for research and planning.
So overall, the aim is to support a centre's marks provided their evidence is robust; the aim of the presentation by students is to give it a real context (they have to talk about and answer questions on their work) rather than just hand in a PowerPoint viewed only by teacher and moderator.
Submission of Work
- Video work must be in DVD format and playable on standard domestic DVD players
- Audio work must be in CD format
- If print items are submitted in hardcopy they need to be no larger than A3. If electronic they need to be a PDF.
- Web pages must be accessible online to the moderator for the duration of the moderation period and also copied as files and burnt to CD for the moderator. No hard copy printouts of online materials will be accepted.
Marking Criteria for the presentation of the research and planning
Research and Planning may be presented in electronic format, but can take the form of a folder or scrapbook at this level. Where candidates have worked as a group, this may be presented collectively, but teachers are asked to differentiate the contributions of individuals within the group in arriving at a mark and justifying individual marks on the assessment sheet. As part of the moderation sample, the moderator will expect to see research/planning evidence.
Level 4 marks for Research and Planning (
16–20 marks)
- There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.
- There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
- There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
- There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning
- Time management is excellent.
Marking Criteria for Practical Work
Level 4 marks for practical projects (48–60 marks)
There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
- holding a shot steady, where appropriate;
- framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
- using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;
- shooting material appropriate to the task set;
- selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;
- editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer;
- using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set;
- using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set;
- using titles appropriately
Marking Criteria for Evaluations
Candidates will evaluate their work electronically. This MUST contain an element of audience feedback and may be either integrated with the presentation of the research and planning material or may be presented separately. Where candidates have worked in a group, the evaluation may be presented individually or collectively but the teacher must allocate a mark according the contribution/level of understanding demonstrated by the individual candidate.
The questions that must be addressed in the evaluation are:
- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
- Who would be the audience for your media product?
- How did you attract/address your audience?
- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Level 4 marks for evaluations (16-20 marks)
- Excellent understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production.
- Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes.
- Excellent understanding of their development from preliminary to full task.
- Excellent ability to communicate.
- Excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation
