The document outlines the assessment requirements for two units that make up 50% each of the course. Unit 1 involves a coursework portfolio including a music video as the main piece and two ancillary tasks, as well as an evaluation. Unit 2 is an exam involving theoretical evaluation of productions and questions on contemporary media issues. The coursework must include a music video, digipak, and magazine advertisement created using software like Photoshop and Illustrator. The exam contains two sections, one focusing on skills development and analyzing productions, and one on media regulation. Requirements and grading criteria for coursework, evaluations, and exams are provided in detail.

1. Fateh Khaled 13SWA

2. The course consists of two units
1. G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media (Coursework) –
50%
-Research and planning – 20 marks
- Promotion – 60 marks (consists of the final media
product which is worth 40 marks and two ancillary
tasks worth 10 marks each.
- Evaluation – 20 marks (consists of 4 questions)
2. G325: Critical Perspectives
(Exam) – 50% - Consists of two sub-sections

3. Coursework in more detail:
The coursework itself will consist of a promotion
package for the release of an album, to include a
music promo video, together :
• a digipak for the album’s release;
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak.
Students will also be required to use Photoshop and
Adobe Illustrator and In-Design to make the ancillary
tasks.

4. Below the 4 evaluation questions are stated
•In what ways does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
•How effective is the combination of your main
product and ancillary texts?
•What have you learnt from your audience
feedback?
•How did you use new media technologies in the
construction and research, planning and evaluation
stages?

5. The exam in detail:
The duration of the exam is 2 Hours
There are two sections to this paper:
Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of
Production (50 marks)
Section B: Contemporary Media Issues (50
marks)

6. Section A has two compulsory questions:
Question 1a asks you to describe and evaluate your
skills development over the course of all your
production work, from AS to A2.
In the examination, questions will be posed using
one or two of the following categories:
• Digital Technology
• Creativity
• Research and planning
• Post-production
• Using conventions from real media texts

7. Question 1b asks you to select one
production (i.e. either AS or A2
work) and evaluate it in relation to
one of the following media
concepts:
•Genre
•Narrative
•Representation
•Audience
•Media language

8. Section B: Contemporary Media
Regulation
• What is the nature of contemporary media
regulation compared with previous
practices?
• What are the arguments for and against
specific forms of contemporary media
regulation?
• How effective are regulatory practices?
• What are the wider social issues relating to
media regulation?

9. Research and Planning
• Level 4 16–20 marks
• x Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
• x There is excellent research into similar products and a potential
target audience.
• x There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or
storyboarding.
• x There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or
props.
• x Time management is excellent.
• x There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the
presentation.
• x There are excellent communication skills.
• x There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research
and planning.

10. Grading of Film/Video (MAIN TASK)
• Level 4
• The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the
creative use of most of the following
• technical skills:
• x shooting material appropriate to the task set; including
controlled use of the camera, attention to
• framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en
scene
• x editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making
selective and appropriate use of shot
• transitions, captions and other effects
• x recording and editing sound with images appropriately.
• Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent
contribution to construction is evident.

11. Grading of Ancillary Tasks
• Level 4
• The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most
of the following
• technical skills:
• x awareness of conventions of layout and page design
• x awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size
• x accurate use of language and register
• x the appropriate use of ICT for the task set
• x appropriate integration of illustration and text
• x framing a shot, using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
• x shooting material appropriate to the task set; selecting mise-en-scène
including colour, figure,
• lighting, objects and setting
• x manipulating photographs as appropriate, including cropping and resizing.
• Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent contribution to
construction is evident.

12. Evaluation - Grading
• Level 4 16–20 marks
• x There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the
evaluation.
• x There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used
in the productions.
• x There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in
various stages of the
• production.
• x There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product
and ancillary texts.
• x There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience
feedback.
• x There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the
evaluation.
• x There is excellent ability to communicate.

13. Music Video Questions
• Q. How long should music videos be?
• A. The length of the track is the usual convention, but if it is a particularly long track, they could
fade early. Three minutes is the classic pop song.
• For the Digipak is there a template for students to produce all four panes or can they just
complete four CD sized examples?
• A. No template is provided by OCR. All you would need to do would be to identify which bit of
the Digipak belongs where, e.g. front cover, front inside etc. See clarification 6 on the OCR Get
Ahead Media Studies Blog and this post on the OCR Media Studies Get Ahead Blog for more
information.
• Q. Is there room for flexibility in A2 briefs, e.g. swapping 'Digipak' for CD cover as music
video ancillary task?
• A. No there's no flexibility to the briefs as all outcomes must be comparable between centres
and candidates.
• Q. How do we deal with copyright issues in relation to using music for advanced
production?
• A. For the music video, candidates need to show evidence they have sought permission to use
the track - no more than that, e.g. a letter or fax to the artist/label concerned. Other non-original
material may only be used in a limited way.
• Brief