1. Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production
Question 1(a)
requires you to describe and evaluate your skills
development over the course of your production work, from
Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. It will require you
to adapt this to one or two specific areas from the following:
• Digital Technology
• Research and planning
• Post-production
• Using conventions from real media texts
• Creativity
2. Digital Technology
Digital technology refers to hardware, software and online
technology, so the digital cameras, the computers, the
packages you used and the programs online that you have
worked with.
HD Flip Cams
responses D SLR (A2)blogs.
Canon 550 on your
iMacs Tip: Your AS and A2
iPads (A2)
Macbooks coursework evaluations
iMovie required you to consider
Final Cut Express
Soundtrack how you used digital
LiveType technology so look back
Adobe Photoshop (A2)
Adobe Illustrator (A2)
at these evaluation tasks
Loads of online applications!
3. Research and Planning
Research refers to looking at real media and also audiences to inform
your thinking about a media production. This can be broken down
into the following areas:
1. Research into conventions of real media texts (textual analysis)
• Institutional conventions, e.g. what you would expect a media product from a
certain type of organisation to be like/include.
• Format conventions, e.g. duration, and what you would expect a film opening,
teaser trailer, poster or magazine cover to be like/include
• Genre conventions, e.g. what kind of narrative, characters, setting and location,
iconography and style (camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing and sound) you would
expect from a product in that genre.
2. Audience research (before you made your products & after you finished for feedback)
• Secondary research of target audiences (Pearl and Dean data, IMDB info, etc.)
• Primary research of target audience (questionnaires, vox pops)
Continued over…
4. Research and Planning
Technical research, for example:
• How to achieve a particular camera shot
• How to create a particular lighting set up
• How to use features in the software to achieve a particular effect
(many of you found YouTube video tutorials to find out how to do
something in Final Cut Express or Adobe Photoshop)
Logistical research, for example:
• recce shots of your locations
• sourcing suitable costumes, props and actors
5. Research and Planning
Planning refers to all the creative and logistical thinking and all the
organisation and record keeping that goes on in putting the
production together so that everything works. For example,
• writing a synopsis
• creating shot lists
• drafting shots/storyboards
• creating animatics
• compiling filming schedules (includes organisation of
equipment, costumes, props, actors, crew)
• carrying out risk assessments
Also, don't forget everything you planned as part of the above to
achieve continuity!
6. Post-production
Post-production is about everything you do after filming to
complete your media product, for example,
- Image manipulation
- Video editing (from cutting the shots and placing them on the
timeline to special effects)
- Creating and editing titles and graphics
- Sound production
- Sound & Video mixing
(So, post-production skills could include isolating a character image from the
background in Photoshop using magic eraser tool, organising clips on the
timeline in FCE, using the razor blade, adding transitions, using particular
effects, adjusting sound levels, looping/layering sound clips, etc. - Be as
specific as possible to describe the tools you used during post-production)
7. Using Conventions of Real Media Texts
Use of real media conventions involves consideration of other texts
that you looked at and how skilfully you were able to weave their
conventions into your work or ways in which you might have
challenged them. You could consider:
• Institutional conventions, e.g. what you would expect a media
product from a certain type of organisation to be like/include.
• Format conventions, e.g. what elements you would expect a film
opening, teaser trailer, poster or magazine cover to include
• Genre conventions, e.g. what kind of narrative, characters, setting
and location, iconography, style (camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing
and sound) you would expect from a product in that genre.
8. Using Conventions of Real Media Texts
Advice on this section from the Chief Examiner:
‘You need to do more than just say ‘I looked on YouTube’ for
conventions of real media, but actually name specific videos
you looked at, what you gained from them and how they
influenced your work.’
Tip: Your AS and A2 coursework evaluations required you to
consider if you reinforced or challenged conventions of real
media, so look back at these to help you.
9. Creativity
Creativity includes:
• The process of coming up with ideas for your
product.
• The creative/ inventive use of technical
elements such as camerawork, editing, sound,
and mise-en-scene.
• How you used creativity to solve problems.
• The effectiveness of your creative choices.
10. Q1(a) - What does the Chief Examiner
say this question is about?
12. How to structure your answer
Paragraph 1 should be an introduction which explains which projects you did.
It can be quite short.
Paragraph 2 should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something
about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how
were these illustrated. Use an example.
Paragraph 3 should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and
what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be
examples to support all that you say.
Paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later
projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this
represents moves forward for you from your early position and how the
development of these skills enabled you to be more creative.
Paragraph 5 short conclusion
