Media BTEC

BTEC Creative Digital Media Production

Extended Certificate

Exam board: Edexcel

Welcome to Media:

Media Studies is an empowering subject that enables students to understand and appreciate the constantly changing world they will live in – and succeed in it.

The aim of this Media Studies course is to enhance students’ enjoyment and appreciation of the media and its role in their daily lives; develop critical understanding of the media through engagement with media products and concepts and through the creative application of practical skills; explore production processes, technologies and contexts; and become independent in research skills and their application.

Units: 

In year 12, students complete two of four units. The first, unit 1, concerns media representations. Here we learn about the way ideas or characters are represented, based on camera, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing.  Students critically analyse and deconstruct media representations in an audio-visual media extract, magazine, or print advertisement, working to a set of questions.

In unit 4 students create a preproduction portfolio for a brief, which will involve researching the magazine industry, including audiences, learning about demographics and psychographics; health and safety, risk assessments, and regulations; and layout drafts for multiple media platforms..

In year 13 we finish the course with the final two units. Unit 8: Responding to a Commission sees students developing a rationale, pitch, proposal and treatment of for a media product from a stimulus package given to them by the board.

Finally, Unit 14: Digital Magazine Production allows students to study a range of different magazines, before making their own front cover and double page spread of a new fashion magazine. This will combine their own journalism, photography and layout design.

How will I be assessed: 

Assessment is equally weighted at 50% internal coursework and 50% external examination. Units 1 and 8 are formal examinations that are marked externally by the exam board, while units 4 and 14 are coursework assignments and marked by the teacher internally.

 

Future course and possible careers:

 

Journalism, social media, computer games programming and design, working in film, television or broadcasting, working as a photographer, stylist, graphic designer, script writer, director, camera operator, sound recording artist, as well as many other possible career paths.

There are more than 1300 university degree courses dedicated to different aspects of the media, including film studies, broadcasting, video editing, social media, marketing, communication studies. Degree courses in the media might be practical or theoretical. Media graduates are often highly skilled in lots of different disciplines including meeting deadlines, multi-tasking, working independently, and being expert communicators