Curriculum overview for BTEC Level 3 Creative Digital Media Production

Curriculum intent – the knowledge, understanding and skills that students will learn
The qualification is designed for Key Stage 5 students who want to study media related degree courses in Higher Education or go on to working in industry. Students gain knowledge and understanding of creative digital media production and develop an understanding of how to work within the media industries. Students apply learning that brings together knowledge and understanding (the cognitive domain) with practical and technical skills (the psychomotor domain). This is achieved through performing vocational tasks that encourage the development of appropriate vocational behaviours (the affective domain) and transferable skills. This approach provides rigour and balance and promotes the ability to apply learning immediately in new contexts. As part of their study, students are expected to: write up the findings of their own research; use case studies to explore complex or unfamiliar situations; carry out projects for which they have choice over the direction and outcomes; demonstrate practical and technical skills in the completion of practical work. Students will investigate, critically analyse, and evaluate existing media products from multiple platforms, including magazines, film and television, print and audio/visual advertising, music videos, and video games in terms of their codes and conventions, the inherent representations that are being communicated, and how different audiences might engage with the product, as well as applying academic theory relating to audience theories, industry standard practices for developing creative content, logistics, health and safety, regulation, and the professional presentation of research and creative products.

Curriculum implementation – teaching, learning and assessment strategies
Students complete both internally assessed coursework and externally assessed examinations (50% of the course for each). This requires a lot of independent and autonomous working outside of the class on the part of the student, especially for coursework elements. Students engage with industry standard practice via research into existing products. These are both teacher set case studies, as well as the students’ own, relating to their individual interests to allow students more agency over their learning. Much focus is made on formal, timed writing practice, to prepare for the examinations, as well as the professional manner of presenting coursework. Sequencing of the course begins with foundational knowledge of professional industry standards when creating media products, giving the students a better knowledge of the creation process of products they have, up until now, largely taken for granted. This then develops into analysis media academic theories and audience theories, allowing students to engage with the polysemic nature of media products and messages, and the concept of multiple audiences (primary, secondary, tertiary, mainstream and niche) for individual products.

Curriculum impact – intended outcomes for students 
By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate skills of enquiry, critical thinking, decision-making and analysis; demonstrate a critical approach to media issues; demonstrate appreciation and critical understanding of the media and their role both historically and currently in society, culture, politics and the economy; develop an understanding of the dynamic and changing relationships between media forms, products, industries and audiences. They will be able to apply theoretical knowledge and specialist subject specific terminology to analyse and compare media products and the contexts in which they are produced and consumed; make informed arguments, reach substantiated judgements, and draw conclusions about media issues; engage in critical debate about academic theories used in media studies; appreciate how theoretical understanding supports practice and practice supports theoretical understanding. Students will be able to demonstrate sophisticated practical skills by providing opportunities for creative media production.

Course overview for BTEC Level 3 Creative Digital Media Production
Exam board: Pearson https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/btec-nationals/creative-digital-media-production-2016.html
Coursework: Yes – 50%

Unit 1: Media Representations – Examination (25% of the qualification)
•    Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media terminology, semiotics, theories, concepts and messages
•    Apply knowledge and understanding of media concepts, semiotics, theories and formal techniques to constructed representations
•    Analyse media texts to deconstruct representations and decode messages and evaluate their effectiveness and impact
•    Make connections between polysemic messages underpinning media representations and their related values and effects on wider society

Unit 4: Pre-Production Requirements – Coursework (25% of the qualification)
•    Understand the requirements of pre-production of a digital media product
•    Carry out pre-production for a digital media product
•    Produce a pre-production portfolio for a creative media production
•    Review pre-production of a digital media product

Unit 8: Responding to a Commission – Examination (25% of the qualification)
•    Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media production processes and related considerations when responding to a brief
•    Apply knowledge and understanding of media production processes in context, demonstrating how constraints affect decisions and the ability to adapt to changes in requirements
•    Analyse and interpret information related to purpose, technical and logistical requirements of the brief and evaluate solutions for implementation with appropriate justification
•    Be able to respond creatively to a brief demonstrating the ability to synthesise a range of ideas

Unit 14: Digital Magazine Production – Coursework (25% of the qualification)
•    A Understand the considerations, codes and conventions of a specific genre of magazine for print and digital platforms
•    B Develop materials for magazine production
•    C Produce magazine layouts in the codes and conventions of a genre