BTEC CREATIVE MEDIA EXAMS

2017 Key Dates and

instructions

24th April you will receive your exam Commission it will

follow the same format as the practice one we are
completing at the moment. Once it is received, no teaching
on this exam is allowed
We have six teaching weeks before Easter, to prepare you
for this exam
After Easter, you have one week before we receive the
commission
You will sit the exam across five hours on Monday / Tuesday
8th and 9th May
You have two weeks to prepare the commission before the
five-hour exam.
Your four pages of notes will follow the same format as the
guidance given on the trial exam (Action on Self harm.)
An online tracker will be set up when you come back after
half term. This will help you to track your progress on each
of the steps for each of the four exam tasks. Parents will be
encouraged to follow your progress
Your second exam Unit 1 Media Representations is released
on Monday the 5th June remember this is an on screen 2hr
test

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO NOW, IS COMPLETE ALL FOUR SECTIONS
OF THE SAMPLE PRATICE EXAM. FOLLOW ALL THE ADVICE SO THAT YOU ARE CONFIDENT
WHEN YOU HAVE TO DO THE REAL THING YOURSELF. DONT LEAVE ANY GAPS GET HELP
WHEN YOU NEED IT.
 Unit 8 Responding to a commission
Responding to a commission Task 1

My rationale in response to the

Action on Self Harm Commission

IF and When you struggle with one of the points do not leave it out get
help make sure there are no gaps!

1. Outline your final idea

2. Within your specific idea what themes or subjects did you wish to explore?
3. What process did you go through selecting / deselecting ideas, so you truly
arrived at the best idea?
4. What was the message you wanted to communicate? How are you intending to
create real impact with your idea?
5. How did you arrive at the Final idea - how did you develop and adapt ideas How
did you make changes to improve your idea make reference to specific
examples. Explain how you used primary research e.g. questionnaires focus
groups and interviews to generate relevant findings. Have a minimum of five
points to discuss from your primary research
6. How did you select this idea from a range of others?
7. How was your final idea informed by research AND statistics into the client? You
need to refer to at least five existing charities or organisations providing clear
and relevant statistics
8. Outline your sources of information about the target audience / a range of data
analysis How did this inform your final idea? You can use the brief as a starting
point make direct reference to the data in the brief but you also need to
provide a minimum of five other sources which provide you with relevant
information about your target audience (in this case teenagers and young
people age range 5-20) The information you gather should be useful when
thinking about creating a promotional video for them on the theme of self-
harm / mental health issues etc.

9. Explain in detail how your final idea is an appropriate response for your target
audience? How is your idea ideal for the platform of promotional video? Think
about how you have used camerawork, lighting, editing, sound to its maximum
advantage?
10. What aspects of the brief and the supported data have had an impact on
your ideas?
11. Outline how your ideas are suitable for winning this commission? What
makes them truly competitive ideas? This needs to be genuinely well thought
through why is it a strong idea that will compete well against others?
12. How do your ideas fit the purpose of the commission, the ethos and
reputation of the client? For this you need to research the core values of at least
three other similar organizations. What they say about their values will be
similar to the core values of this fictional organization.
 13. What do you know about the funding and finances of the client company
and what impact has this had on the budget for your proposed production? Go
through Sources of finance: private, public, joint financing. You need to show
evidence of how much money is involved in the business of running this
organisation.
14. Requirements of finance: for equipment, crew, transport, materials,
clearances, talent, facility hire. You will need to provide a breakdown of major
costs by researching similar examples
15. Time: deadlines, availability of equipment, availability of personnel,
timescales. Imagine you are working to a four-month schedule break down
what is happening and when working through all of the initial research stages,
casting, hiring, scripting, storyboarding, shooting, re shooting, editing
16. Facilities: What are you using and how much are you spending on the
following facilities; production equipment, post-production equipment, facility
houses, prop houses, sourcing and costs of facilities. Locations: identification;
recces; limitations and risks, e.g. distance, access, cost, weather. Personnel:
technical crew, actors, extras, contributors, e.g. experts, specialists. Materials:
type, e.g. original materials, archive and library materials, photo-library
materials, sound library materials, internet, assets, audio, script, animatics, (if
you are using animation in your idea even in a small way at the end with a
logo / graphic etc...) graphics, interviews, costumes, properties, recorded music,
sources; costs; clearances.
17. How have you considered links with third parties?
18. How will this product offer a good alternative to the chosen competitors
within the same industry (campaigning for better mental health / self-harm
awareness etc.)
19. What limitations have you had to consider, including geographically and
demographically
20. What regulatory restrictions might you have had to consider? Adherence
to codes of practice and regulation. Clearances, e.g. Mechanical-Copyright
Protection Society (MCPS). Be specific make specific reference to the rules as
they are laid out in the ASA, the CAP code OFCOM regulator
Charity regulators like the Charity Commission
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Commission_for_England_and_Wales
https://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/~/media/Files/CAP/Codes%20CAP
%20pdf/The%20CAP%20Code.ashx
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code

Make clear what Legal considerations have you had to consider, e.g. copyright, health
and safety. Regulations, e.g. Ofcom, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO),
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Trade unions and professional bodies,

The rationale will be marked out of 15

Focus on creating a

Structured argument with

Clear communication

If you do not complete all 20 sections, you will automatically begin to lose
marks. Also this research feeds into the other three areas of your exam.
Getting the foundations right here will enable you to fully succeed in all areas
of the exam.
How should I set out my rationale and how long should it be?

It should read like a formal essay with clearly marked out paragraphs. Each
paragraph should start with a sentence introducing the focus of that paragraph.
Word length is less important than ensuring you really have completed every
one of the 20 points properly. Start with 4 sides of A4 with highly specific quality
ideas throughout. It is very easy to write 4 sides and still say very little. It all
starts with detailed, thorough and relevant research.

I suggest the following:

Paragraph one

THE IDEA (incorporating your key ideas and knowledge on points 1- 6 above)

Paragraph two

THE RESEARCH (incorporating your key ideas and knowledge on points 7- 8

above)

Paragraph three

A WINNING IDEA (incorporating your key ideas and knowledge on points 9- 12)
above)

Paragraph four

FINANCE AND LOGISTICS (incorporating your key ideas and knowledge on points
13- 16) above)

Paragraph five

COMPETITION AND REGULATION (incorporating your key ideas and knowledge

on points 17 - 20) above)