Dear Moderator

Please access the individual candidate blogs on the right-hand side, under the headings 12C and 12E individual blogs. The candidates have written you a post on their blog to explain how to easily navigate around their individual and group blogs.
Best wishes
Nikki Blackborow
Latymer Media

PROJECT GUIDANCE

Project guidance
All the guidance you need to successfully complete your project is now on the blog. There are posts on the topics listed below. There will not be time in lessons to read through everything with you so it is important you do this yourselves. So please make sure you go through the guidance and ask questions if you have any - if you don't ask, we will assume you have read the guidance and know what to do.

Blog posts/ guidance:

• Important dates and deadlines until the end of term
• How the project will be assessed
• How to prepare your blogs for assessment
• The Evaluation
• The Portfolio (research, planning and production)
• How to arrange an audience feedback session
• Possible questions to ask your target audience

What's happening in Media before the end of term

Week beginning 21st March

• Lessons - going over the evaluation questions and preparing your answers
• Homework - preparing your evaluation draft answers and getting ready for your audience feedback session
• Please make sure you have your Foundation Coursework folders with you every day from now on
• Mrs Dymioti and I are at a conference on Friday - the dept will still be open and you will need to attend your lessons (Chris will register you). You can use the time to answer do your evalaution responses and prepare for your audience feedback sessions

Week beginning 28th March

• Lessons - draft answers checks and exam revision sessions
• Homework - continuing with evaluation and portfolio

Week beginning 4th April - final week of term

• Lessons - final project sign-off
• Homework - exam revision
• No school on Friday, so no 12C and 12E double lessons that day
• Thurs P6 12C - lesson cancelled assuming all projects successfully signed off beforehand

IMPORTANT DATES + DEADLINES

1. Draft evaluation answers
MONDAY 28th MARCH

2. Final project (portfolio and evalaution)
TUESDAY 5TH APRIL
Sign-off will be done during the double lessons in the morning 

Please note Ms Blackborow will be using the following lessons to discuss exam revision:
12C Tues 29th March P6+7
12E Weds 30th March P2+3
Please bring your Film industry folder to these lessons

Mrs Dymioti will let you know which lessons she will be using for discussion of TV drama revision

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK SESSION

Demographics - sample questions
Age:
Male or Female
Film likes/dislikes
Regular cinema goer?
Film fan?

Responses - sample questions:
1. What is the film’s title?
2. What genre do you think it is? What made you think this?
3. Is it supposed to be a mainstream blockbuster type of film, or a smaller independent production?
4. What type of cinema would you expect it to be shown in (big multiplex like ‘Vue’ or ‘Cineworld’, or an independent one off like ‘Screen on the Green’, or ‘The Phoenix’)?
5. Who do you think it’s suitable for/ targeted at (age, gender, tastes etc)?
6. Can you identify the characters you have seen (who they are, the role they play, the relationship between them)
7. Please describe what happens in the sequence
8. What do you think this film is actually about? (themes eg revenge, stalking, gang violence etc)
9. Do you think the opening sequence works (does it introduce the film successfully, the characters, the genre, the narrative)?
10. What, in your opinion, works particularly well in this sequence?
11. What, in your opinion, could be improved?
12. Would you want to watch the rest of the film, based on what you’ve seen so far?
13. Can you rate this opening sequence out of 10?

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HOLDING AUDIENCE FEEDBACK SESSIONS?
There are many reasons for gathering audience feedback on your finished sequence
1. It will help you understand the relationship between the text and the audience better
2. It will help you explore whether your film makes sense to the audience or not
3. It will help you understand whether your film actually appeals to your target audience and if so how
4. It will be useful to observe the audience reacting to your film
5. The responses will provide you with some useful research evidence
6. The responses will help you answer the 2 audience questions in the evaluation

QUESTION: WHO SHOULD WE ASK?
Firstly, anyone who is a member of the target audience you were aiming to appeal to. Secondly, anyone who you think might be able to give you some useful opinions on your film.

QUESTION: HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT THIS?
The best ways to do this are:
1. Plan a screening in school organised by your group
2. Plan a screening at home organised individually
3. Post your work online and see if you get any comments that way
It may be a good idea to do all 3, if it gives you a better range of audiences and opinions. Obviously, you will need a copy of your film, some quiet space and some questions or maybe even a questionnaire

QUESTION: HOW AND WHEN CAN WE ORGANISE A SCREENING IN SCHOOL?
There are some standard guidelines to follow in this respect, in order to ensure your screening is professional and goes smoothly :
1. Screenings can be organised in the week of March 28th Tues to Fri at 12.45pm.
2. To book, you will need to see Ms Blackborow. We can hold a maximum of 2 screenings each day
3. You will need to publicise your screening
4. You will need to photocopy your questionaires well in advance of the session
5. You will need to liaise with Chris in advance to make sure the video clip is on the M drive in the right place, and that it is the correct version.You should check in advance that you know how to turn the projector on, and how to control the sound levels, and have a tech run-through to ensure all goes smoothly
6. You will all need to turn up at 12.30 on the day to prepare the room and get the technology ready
7. You would be advised to delegate the jobs that will need to be done during the session - a door greeter, handing out questionnaires, welcoming the audeince and explaining what is going to happen, actually playing the film, collecting in the feedback etc
7. You will be expected to be responsible for your guests and to manage the sessions sensibly
8. The room will need to be left tidy and back in its original order by 1.30 each day - no overruns allowed
10. Bear in mind there will be other activities going on in the Media Dept that day - please be sensitive to this

QUESTION: WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD WE ASK OUR AUDIENCE?
ANSWER: any questions whose answers would help you explore your film better in your evaluation. We have a sample list of questions that you may want to use as a guideline - see the relevant post on this

COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT

QUESTION: HOW IS OUR COURSEWORK ASSESSED?
ANSWER: SEE BELOW
This is directly lifted from the syllabus:

"Where candidates have worked in a group (maximum group size is four candidates) the evidence for assessment may be presented collectively but centres will still assess candidates on an individual basis for their contribution to aspects of the work, from planning, research and production to evaluation."

So your teachers will mark your work, and will be required to fill in a cover sheet that breaks down the marks and explains why you were awarded the marks you were given for each of the assessment criteria, which are:
1. Research and planning
2. Construction
3. Evaluation
You will be given a copy of the cover sheet to keep, so you can see how you did and read the comments.

QUESTION: HOW MANY MARKS CAN WE GAIN AND HOW ARE THESE BROKEN DOWN?
ANSWER: The unit is marked out of a total of 100 marks:

20 marks for the presentation of the planning and research;

60 marks for the construction;
20 marks for the evaluation

• For planning and research, you are marked on your contributions to the group process (10 marks) as well as on your individual blog (10 marks).
• For production, you are marked on the finished piece (40 marks) as well as your individual contributions to the production process (20 marks)
• For the evaluation, you are marked individually out of 20

QUESTION: HOW MANY MARKS DO WE NEED TO SCORE FOR AN A?
ANSWER:
90% is the equivalent to an A*
80% to an A and so on.

But we will actually mark you according to levels, not grades. The number mark you receive will then be converted into a grade. See your foundation folder for the full details on levels, marks and grades.