Planning - Moderators Report

 

Brief 4 Advice

1. It is essential to the nature of the music video to maintain editing which keeps consistent to the BPM and pace of the video, lacking this could lead to inconsistencies and an unsuccessful music video. This is integral to the genre explained within the brief as an 'Anthem' as this type of music is renowned for its upbeat tempo and catchy tune.

2. Mise-en-scene featuring school fields / classrooms/ uniform. In several centres, it was hard to see that two social groups were represented. Clear representation of multiple different social groups and the mise-en-scene should be relevant to the songs tempo and rhythm. 

3. The best products demonstrated that candidates had understood the specific requirements of the brief relating to genre, representation and industrial context and clearly researched this before planning their own pieces. There were some very creative and accomplished productions seen which, through strong technical skills, demonstrated a fundamental understanding of the relevant codes and conventions. 

4. Most videos included some element of performance, although some were conceptual or narrative pieces. Some videos demonstrated very well-performed lip-synching, although this was more often a weaker element. Most videos took into account the requirement that there be two social groups featured (some quite inventive approaches were seen to address this) and costumes/ settings often addressed an AB audience. Most videos featured a range of shots and camera movement.

5. Tracks that did not fit the dance genre. Although this is a very broad field, some songs chosen could not be regarded as dance, with a number of pop/ballad tracks, for example (e.g. a low-tempo piano track by Lorde with no drums or bass; several indie rock pieces and at least one 1980s classic which, good though it was, was clearly not ‘dance’)

6. Representation is a named criteria for this specification but lots of work was submitted featuring young people in ‘normal’ clothing, making no attempt to follow conventions and create messages via the costume. An effort should be made to include as many clothing styles within boundaries to ensure a fair representation of all people.

7. Lots of videos this year which shot actors from behind walking away from camera, sometimes holding hands, sometimes not. This is not a convention but seems to be very popular and should be avoided.

8. Camerawork/ camera movement which did not demonstrate the level of skill, finish or excellence required for Level 5 marks to be secured – although this is less important than it was for the legacy specification, the criteria relating to this uses the descriptors ‘sophisticated’ and ‘accomplished’; where shots are out of focus or the camera-operator is reflected in glass, it is difficult to agree that these are appropriate terms to use.