BTEC Level 3 Creative Media Production

Subject Leader: Miss L Harris

Exam Board: Pearson 

Curriculum Map  

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Creative Media Production  

Students completing their BTEC Nationals in Creative Digital Media Production will be aiming to go on to employment within the media industry, often via the stepping stone of higher education. The qualification provides a coherent introduction to the study of creative digital media production at this level. Learners develop an understanding of the media industry through analysing media representations and pitching and producing media projects. The course is made up of mandatory and optional units which provide a balance of breadth and depth, while retaining a degree of choice for individual learners to study content relevant to their own interests and progression choices. Those who study the course develop transferable knowledge and skills for higher education. These include the ability to learn individually, to research actively and methodically and to confidently present and be active within a group environment. Students also acquire audio- visual literacy skills, effective writing skills, cinematography and advanced editing skills and analytical skills.   

The size and structure of the course is as follows: 

• Equivalent in size to one A Level.

• 4 units of which 3 are mandatory and 2 are external.
• Mandatory content (83%). External assessment (58%).

BTEC Level 3 Creative Media Production

Course Structure:

Mandatory units: There are three mandatory units, one internal and two external. Learners must complete and achieve at Near Pass grade or above in all mandatory external units and achieve a Pass or above in all mandatory internal units.

Unit 1: Media Representations (2 hour onscreen external exam) Learners complete an exam onscreen where they will watch and control audio-visual media products and analyse in terms of media messages. Learners will draw on their skills and understanding of media production and consumption from across the qualification to analyse the products and their associated meanings.

Unit 4: Pre- Production portfolio (internally assessed) Learners study the requirements of planning and delivering a digital media product, carrying out essential pre-production tasks and creating a pre-production portfolio. You will gain an understanding of the requirements of the planning stage, from finance and logistics to regulations. Your investigations will help you develop the pre-production skills and experience needed to carry out your own tasks and to produce a digital media product. You will create a portfolio and manage the pre-production for your own creative media production.

Unit 8: Responding to a Commission (learners are provided with a commission for a media production 6 hours external assessment). In this unit, you will understand how to respond to a commission brief with ideas based on the required content, style, audience, purpose and approach proposed by the client. You will work within the requirements and constraints of the client’s specifications and consider your response in terms of ethos, format, budget, platform and duration.

Optional units: Learners must complete at least one optional unit.

• Unit 10: Film Production
• Unit 11: Radio Production
• Unit 12: Website Production
• Unit 13: Digital Games Production
• Unit 14: Digital Magazine Production

Proposed 2 Year Plan

*Unit 1 Assessment June 2021*- Unit: 31668H Creative Digital Media Production - Unit 1: Media Representations. Supervised period = 08.06.2021 – 11.06.2021 

*This material is released to allow centres to organise computer access. It must not be released to learners until the supervised period begins.(release date = 18.05.2021)

Supervised 2 hour ONLINE EXAM

External Assessment summaries: 

Unit 1: Media Representations

Level: 3
Unit type: External

Guided learning hours: 90 

This unit is assessed through an examination onscreen set and marked by Pearson. The examination will last two hours and will consist of short- and long-answer questions. It will be taken under supervised conditions. Learners will have access to the unseen media product(s) or extracts during the examination and will be able to engage independently with onscreen material. Learners will use an electronic template to input their written responses. The number of marks for the paper is 80.

Proposed entry for exam January 2022

Unit 8: Responding to a Commission

Level: 3
Unit type: External
Guided learning hours: 120

This unit is assessed through a task set and marked by Pearson, learners will receive a commission for a media production. It will be released two weeks before a supervised assessment in order to carry out research activities into the subject. The supervised assessment period will be a maximum of six hours. The number of marks for this task is 72.

Proposed entry for exam May/ June 2022