1. Year 12 Media Coursework
Tips & Evaluation
On the opening slide you should put down the
following:
Unit G321 – Foundation Production and brief title, in
this case: “The titles and opening sequence of a new
fictional film.”
Full name and candidate number
Attach any images of the film to use in the background
if you like, make it stand out and look nice.
www.alevelmedia.co.uk

2. Use no more text than this
for each slide
 Throughout the presentation, try to keep the style and
theme of the slides interesting but not too busy.
 Don’t cram too much into one slide, just use an extra
slide.
 You should really use a PowerPoint as an aide memoir,
which means you have a series of points or statements
that you can talk about or link to in more detail.

3. Presentation methods
 The following is related to using powerpoint, but you
can also embed responses to some of the seven
questions using this method on slideshare or
authorstream.

4. Word Documents
 Unless asked specifically, avoid large pieces of text.
 Embed documents on your blog or link from PowerPoint
to sites like scribd.

5. Video
 Please attempt video blogs (vlogging) where you see most fit.
 Upload your work onto a YouYube account or Vimeo.
 Create a director’s commentary using VoiceThread

6. Avatars
 Don’t like to be on camera? Use an avatar
 Narrate or use text to speech conversion tools at either Voki or
readthewords.com
 A fun way to liven up your presentation or blog – use animation scenes.

7. Blogs and websites
 If you’re presenting on a blog, read the presentation and then see
 You could host your presentation on a website that’s easy to create and
looks professional. Great for maintaining a theme

8. Introduce yourself to the class and
teachers/examiner
 The whole presentation should be filmed for the
purpose of moderation and allow Q & A from
peers and teachers – allowing you to pick up
marks if you’ve omitted certain details
 Show your completed 2 minute film sequence by
introducing the title and genre of your film.
 You can insert a link to play the movie directly if
you like or have it embedded on your blog.

9. Putting your production on the web is the
first step towards global distribution

10. The evaluation has seven questions.
 Each one should be addressed using a different presentation
method or technique to demonstrate creativity and skill through
implementing use of ICT.
 For other specifications, use screenshots and web links to
support your written evaluation.

11. 1 - In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
 Devote at least 1-3 detailed slides to this.
 This is your chance to summarise your genre research,
including: what you found out; what types of codes and
conventions were common in your chosen genre.
 Make sure you cover the key concepts and use media
terminology accurately at all times.
 What opening sequences did you look at to help you –
why were they useful? You can insert links to YouTube
or other websites for specific references.
 Reference all sources, and don’t plagiarise!

12. Question 1 continued…
 Explain how you developed your sequence to match that of real movies of
the same genre (techniques, camera shots, editing, sound, mise en scene).
 Have you tried anything different that challenges the genre or gives it new
life?
 Break your opening down into 9 key moments, like they do at
www.artofthetitle.com

13. 2 - How does your media
product represent particular
social groups to your audience?
 2 – 3 slides
 How have you represented the characters in your films?
 Is it positive or negative representation?
 Did you use stereotypes?
 How did you position the audience?

14.  What were you trying to create, i.e., a new Bruce Willis or Halle
Berry?
 What technical skills helped you construct representation of your
character?
 Attach a screen grab or digital picture of your main character and
talk about your choice of costume/make up/persona.

15. 3 - What kind of institution might distribute
your media product & why?
 2 – 3 slides.
 What research did you do into Institutions (the companies that make the
films)?
 Why did you chose a particular company, what’s their ideology?

16.  Mention and list the type of research sources you used, i.e.,
www.imdb.com
 Did you use the institution logo at the start of the film or create
your own?
 You should talk about production, distribution and exhibition if you
can.

17. 4 – Who would be the audience
for your media product?
 2-3 Slides
 This is an opportunity for you to detail any audience research you have
conducted.
 Think about age rating and the BBFC, use their criteria to help you.

18.  Give a profile of the type of person who would enjoy your film;
similar films they like and would pay to see.
 Did you conduct any questionnaires about type of films your audience
like?
 This is a chance to discuss any uses and gratifications and
psychographic profile of your target audience.

19. 5 – How did you attract/address
your audience?
 What was within your media product that appealed to them?
 Relate this back to genre and conventions, will the audience be
satisfied?
 What other techniques made your film appealing?

20.  Did you show your film to an audience for feedback? Put a link to
YouTube here that attaches directly to a focus group or series of
vox pops about your film and evaluate the type of feedback you
have received.
 What could be improved?

21. 6 – What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing the product?
 2-4 slides detailing everything you have learnt
from using technology.
 List any technical difficulties you encountered.
 What software and hardware did you use?
 Did you realise so much work went into creating
similar media products?

22.  Assess your technical skills: are there any shots or edits you are
really proud of?
 What would you do differently to improve or alter your product?
 Were there any limitations to your creativity?

23. 7 – Looking back at your prelim task, what
have you learnt in the progression from that
to the final product?
 1-3 Slides
 Insert a link to your original preliminary exercise,
perhaps use voicethread or show screenshots.
 Comment on how you found the preliminary exercise
and describe what the hardest thing was to overcome?
 Were you happy with it? Be totally honest and pick
apart the good and bad elements of it. This is an
evaluation.

24.  How does your final 2 minute film opening demonstrate a
progression in the standards of filming compared to your
preliminary.
 Again, you can use screen grabs to illustrate specific points or
make a comparable.
 Lastly, what do you think you have learnt from completing the
coursework overall?

25. Thank the class and teachers
for listening to your
presentation
 Invite them to ask any questions and be
prepared to respond to questions about your
coursework.
 Give yourself a pat on the back, you have
completed 50% of your A level.

26. Include all references
 Comprising websites you used to help with research and
planning
 Voicethread, YouTube, Scribd, Wix, Slideshare links must
be checked.
 Include any other information or media that you feel is
relevant to your project at the end, including
acknowledgements and thanks linked to the project.

27. If you’re blogging
 Make sure you embed each question as a separate post
 Use a different presentation method for each question
(looks better).
 Be creative, include images, hyperlinks and accurate
references.