This document provides an overview and guidelines for the G324 Advanced Media Portfolio coursework. It outlines three briefs - for a music promotion, film promotion, and TV documentary. It details the requirements and marks allocated for research/planning, construction of main pieces, ancillary pieces, and evaluation. Students must plan, construct media products, apply research and knowledge to evaluate their work. The document provides advice on planning, gaining permissions, conducting audience and subject research, and achieving high marks. It emphasizes thorough pre-production and use of blogs to evidence planning and evaluation.

1. G324 – Advanced Media Portfolio
Overview of the Coursework
Planning
KR

2. Objectives
 To understand the requirements of the
coursework unit G324
 To explore some examples of pupil’s
work and identify strong features
KR

3. Production Briefs
 Music Promotion – for a new
album:
 A music video (V)
 A website homepage (W)
 A cover (P)
 A magazine advertisement (P)
 Film Promotion - for a new film:
 A teaser trailer (V)
 A website homepage (W)
 A film magazine front cover (P)
 A poster (P)
 TV documentary:
 An extract from a
documentary (V)
 A radio trailer (A)
 A double-page spread from a
listings magazine (P)
 A newspaper advertisement (P)

4. The Marks
 Research and Planning – 20 marks
 Construction Main – 40 marks
 Construction Ancillary – 10 marks each
 Evaluation – 20 marks
 Total = 100 marks

5. Media Coursework
The board are looking for you to:
 Plan and construct media products using appropriate
technical and creative skills (AO3)
 Apply knowledge and understanding in evaluating your
own work, showing how meanings and responses are
created (AO2)
 Undertake, apply and present appropriate research
(AO4).
G325 Exam - Link
 You will also need to reflect on your work and analyse it in
detail in Section A of the G325 exam.
 Your blog is for the planning & evaluation but also your
revision and work towards this section of the exam.

6. Remember
 All material for all tasks is to be
produced by you with the exception of
non-original sound.
 For documentary and film trailers this
MUST be from a copy right free source.
Alternatively, produce your own on
Garageband (Apple computers next
door)
K

7. Remember
 For music video, permission should be sought from the
artist for the use of the audio track.
 Send a letter or e-mail the record company. Blog a copy of
this as evidence.
 All music choices will need to be approved by AWi
Copyright free options available for Music Video:
 Approach local bands and get permission to use their material
 Approach unsigned bands on ‘My Space’ etc. and get
permission to use their material.
 Collaborate with music department/students in your centre on
the project
 Create your own music or sound track

8. Pre-Production Phase
1. Forms & Conventions
 Genre conventions
 In-depth similar text analysis
 Conclusions drawn
2. Target Audience Research
 Minimum of 10 questionnaires with analysis & conclusions drawn.
 Target audience research and audience theory
 Contemporary media landscape
3. Subject Matter Research
 Research into the artist, genre etc. with conclusions drawn.
 Research into ideas / mise-en-scene, shooting & editing styles, fonts etc. you will be using.
4. Representation issues
 Research into Ideology, Representation, Star Image & Power & Conclusions drawn using
Goodwin’s Analysis
5. Institutional Context & Professional Practice
 Indie / major record label interests, professional job roles, film company
Worth 20% of your
marks.
Your blog will be
the main evidence
of this phase, as
well as your class
work next year

9. Research and Planning Level 4

10. Media Coursework Timeline
June-Sept
 Research and planning
 Detailed pre-production work
 (You may film over the Summer holiday if you have
fully planned and storyboarded)
Sept-Dec
 Shooting and editing main production
 Finish main piece
 Finalising planning for print/web pieces
Dec-Jan
 Print and web pieces produced
 Finish ancillary pieces
 Feedback on products
 Evaluation preparation
Feb
 Evaluation Presentations
 Filmed Evaluations loaded to Blog
All complete by half term
= 8 school months
There will be a
series of interim
deadlines
throughout this
time.

11. Profiling your target audience
 You need to understand the demographic or audience
profile for your music video/documentary/trailer.
 Who might “consume” your product:
 age
 sex
 income level
 education
 tastes in film genres
 tastes in music
 class
 considering technological convergence, the platform they would
most likely watch your film
 where in the media, including WEB 2.0, they might find out about
your film. This would include social networking sites, like Face
Book, etc

12. Primary and Secondary Research
Primary Research
 Distribute a questionnaire to a specific target audience.
 Use a variety of open and closed questions.
 Use a focus group to discuss ideas and give feedback at
different stages.
 Analyze your findings to identify what should be included
in your final products
Secondary Research
 Analyze a variety of related media texts.
 Use a variety of sources i.e. websites, journals, media
products.
 Cite research sources accurately i.e. name and date of
websites accessed, name and publication year date of
journals used.

13. The Best Candidates:
(From Examiner’s report)
 “Had a broad range of research and identified target audiences
early on in the project.
 Planning of the final product and ancillary tasks was also best when
a broad range of appropriate planning methods had been used
such as call sheets, story boards, scripts, animatics, shot lists etc.
Other vital planning elements included risk assessments; letters
requesting permission for the use of music tracks; ‘contact sheets’
of images and subsequent drafts showing the development of the
use of some of those images into print-based work.
 Blogs, when updated regularly and creatively used, tended to gain
the higher levels.
 All sorts of methods for evidencing were employed, links to
YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo, embedded PPT movies, or using other
web 2.0 like Issuu, Prezzi and Slideshare to show PowerPoints.
Most of the artefacts were also embedded in the Candidates’
blogs.”

14. Group Task
Your starting point is the mark scheme.
 You are going to produce a detailed mind
map identifying what information and skills
you will need to achieve a Level 4:
What skills do you require?
What can you build on from last year?
What equipment might you need?
What permissions should you request?
What are the possible media theories relating to
the brief?
Who are the potential audience?
 http://www.nataliewernham.blogspot.co.uk A Grade
example

15. Possible Areas to Cover
KR

16. Task
 Look at these examples of coursework
and planning from previous years.
 Make notes on elements that you would
like to use in your own work