Advanced Portfolio - How Is It Assessed?

In order to achieve the highest grade possible for your coursework it is important that you understand how it is marked.

You will receive a total mark out of 100 for your Advanced Portfolio. Grade boundaries work out (roughly) as follows:

A grade = 80+

B grade = 70+

C grade = 60+

D grade = 50+

E grade = 40+

The mark is broken down into 3 areas:

Research and Planning = 20 marks

Construction = 60 marks (Music Video 40, CDD 10, MMA 10)

Evaluation = 20 marks

How to Reach Level 4

Your research and planning has to meet the following criteria to be deemed as level 4.

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed. This means for your main task and your 2 ancillary tasks.
• There is excellent research into similar products. Again, you have to have evidence of carrying out research into existing music videos, CD digipaks, music magazine advertisements or artist websites.
• There is excellent research into a potential target audience. This has to happen after you have chosen your artist but before you start the planning of your products.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, scripting and storyboarding. You will need to have this for all 3 components of your portfolio.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes and props. The quality of your actors 'acting'is not marked but you need to bear in mind that the people you choose need to be comfortable in performing for the camera.
• Time management is excellent. This is seen by the trail of posts on your blog and reinforced the importance of managing your time effectively.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation of research and planning. This links to the idea of making your blog as media-rich as possible.
• There are excellent communication skills. Your blog isn't assessed for the quality of your use of English but real weaknesses in this area can affect your mark.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning. 

To get a level 4 for the construction element of your coursework then bear the following in mind. 

You get a mark out of 40 for your music video's construction and then a mark out of 10 for the construction of each of your ancillary products. 

This actually makes it easier to score highly IF your products are of a high standard. 

Level 4 candidates are expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects
• recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

The evaluation is critical to your success. It is important that you know the questions in advance so that you can relate to these as your production work develops. There are only 4 questions as opposed to the 7 you had to answer for AS. They are:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

In order to reach Level 4 the following criteria have to be met:

• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation.
• There is excellent understanding of the forms and conventions used in the productions.
• There is excellent understanding of the role and use of new media in various stages of the production.
• There is excellent understanding of the combination of main product and ancillary texts.
• There is excellent understanding of the significance of audience feedback.
• There is excellent skill in choice of form in which to present the evaluation.
• There is excellent ability to communicate.

Advanced Portfolio - FAQ's

For your Advanced Portfolio you have to produce a promotional package for a contemporary album of your choice which includes the following 3 media texts:

1. A music video for a song from your chosen album (video : the main task)
2. A CD Digipack design for your chosen album (print : the first ancillary task)
3. A music magazine advertisement for your chosen album (print : the second ancillary task)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I work in a group?

No. You have to work individually.

What does 'contemporary' mean when choosing an album?

For the purposes of this task 'contemporary' means released from June 2011 onwards.

Can I choose any album from June 2011 onwards as the focus for my coursework?

No. You need to choose an album by an artist who is relatively unknown. We will discuss what this means at a later point in time.

What is a CD Digipack?

Don't worry. We will research this in due course.

I have already decided on my album. Is this OK?

No. Undecide quickly! You will not be asked to make a decision regarding your album choice until we have undertaken the research stages of the coursework.

I don't know how to use Adobe Photoshop. Will this mean I am disadvantaged when it comes to producing the two ancillary tasks?

No. You will be shown how to use Adobe Photoshop when this is required. However, all of the PCs and Macs have this programme available for you to use and it would be a good idea to try to learn a little more about how it works independently.

Me As A Consumer Of Music

I like many different types of music which I think is because of influences from family and friends.

Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 where my Father’s favourite artists when I was born and whilst I was growing up. From a young age I have always been surrounded by Michael Jackson songs and I could tell you his catch phrases by the time I was 2. Michael Jackson songs were constantly played in the house and in the car on long journeys, to friend’s houses and even on the way to school. There was always a Michael Jackson song being played. Michael Jackson was also a performer and my Father had also been to many of his concerts. I used to watch the music video of Thriller on repeat when I was allowed on the family computer. It amazed me and I felt as if that could be career for myself. I would practise the dance routine and I knew all the lyrics. I feel this may have influenced me in the way I like to sing and perform songs in front of people. Whenever I hear a Michael Jackson song come on I instantly start to sing and it puts me in a good and thoughtful mood.

Another artist that I enjoy listening to is Taylor Swift. I started listening to her when she used to sing slow, country songs, and I still listening to her pop style songs now. The reason I started listening to her was because of her soft country voice. Her ‘Love Song’ was the first song I sang on a stage in front of people. She started to develop her style of singing and songs to fit the style of music at the time so has been very successful. Her songs are very catchy and up beat now. This makes them easy to listen to and good to sing along to.

I also enjoy listening some styles of rap music. I feel this has only just become an interest to me as it has been introduced to me by my older brother and my boyfriend. Meek mill has worked on a range of types of music. He has rapped in pop style music and has made his own tracks of rapping only. I enjoy listening to these as they have good string beats in the background. I also enjoy listening to the lyrics in rap music as I feel they can be truthful sometimes.

 

  

Research : The UK's Digital Music Landscape

BPI stands for the British Phonographic Industry.

The BPI represents the UK’s recorded music industry, which is one of the most exciting and thriving music sectors in the world. 

British artists account for one in eight albums purchased by fans around the globe.

As a trade body, they champion the interests of their membership which includes more than 300 independent music companies and the UK’s major record companies – Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music. 

Together, BPI’s members account for 85% of all music sold in the UK.
BPI organises the BRIT Awards show and the Classic BRIT Awards show.

The BPI publishes a range of documents in relation to the music industry within the UK.

CLICK HERE to open the BPI's 2013 report titled ' Digital Music Nation'.

You will need to use this document for an activity completed in class as part of your initial research into the music industry in the UK.

Research : Music Experience and Behaviour In Young People

The University of Hertfordshire carried out research into ways in which young people aged 14-24 engaged with music.

Although a little out of date this research still makes interesting reading for you.

• Access the document by CLICKING HERE and take some time to read throughout the findings.

• How do the findings of this research compare to your own 'music experience' as a young person?

Make a post on your new blog with the same title as this post which answers the question above.

The music research doesn't compare to me that much as i still listen to music on my computer and have it playing music around the house. I only listen to music on my phone if its the only thing i can access otherwise i go for another route of listening to my music. Regarding the digital collections i still own CD's but rarely listen to them and if i'm going to purchase an artists CD i have to really like their music making sure i listen to the CD all the time and get my money's worth.