Sample wording for the Talent release form
OCR A2 ADVANCED PORTFOLIO EXEMPLAR
The briefs which we will need to choose between for the your Advanced Portfolio.
TALENT RELEASE
I understand there is a videotape being taken of me on this date_______I hereby assign and
authorize the producer_____________________the right (All Rights) in and to such
videotape. I also authorize said producer, without limitation, the right to reproduce, copy,
exhibit-publish or distribute any such videotape, and waive all rights or claims I may have
against your organization and/or any of its Affiliates, Subsidiaries, or Assignees other
than as stated in this agreement.
___________________ __________________________ Signature of Talent Signature of Producer(s)
____________________ Date
than as stated in this agreement.
___________________ __________________________ Signature of Talent Signature of Producer(s)
____________________ Date
OCR A2 ADVANCED PORTFOLIO EXEMPLAR
The briefs which we will need to choose between for the your Advanced Portfolio.
Please note that the pre-requisit of this unit is that you complete research and planning, three production tasks (one major and two ancillary) and an evaluation. All this MUST be presented digitally but in an improved way to the Foundation Portfolio.
The AP (Advanced Portfolio) is a step up from the FP (Foundation Portfolio) and the expectations are higher in terms of professional practice and outcomes. In order to succeed at the highest level, you will need to ensure that you are conforming to industry standards. For example: Digipaks MUST be accurate in terms of sizes, layout, crediting etc and this requires detailed research into this even though the Digipak is only an ancillary task NOT the main task.
Copyright for MUSIC VIDEOS and FILMS.
Another vital issue for those considering a music video is copyright and the advice on this is clear. Seek permissions to use the music in advance and ensure that you have therefore secured the rights before you make the video and distribute it via e-Media. You have a number of possible routes to do this; approach unsigned bands via my-space, approach signed bands via their management/record labels etc. use a known school band/team up with a music department to commission music for your video.
The decision about which brief you will be following should be made before the end of the Summer term 2012 giving you time during the summer to research and prepare for the tasks in the autumn. All production work will need to be finished by the end of the Autumn term to allow for comprehensive preparation for the exams in June 2013.
The portfolio must be submitted electronically (though a back-up will be sent in hard copy form).
Notes from Examiner 2011
All the best research was focused, relevant and analytical, rather than descriptive, and looked closely at a range of similar products which then informed the candidate’s planning of all of their own products. It proved vital that candidates researched and planned all three of their products carefully, the main task and the two ancillaries. Audience research was done well in those centres that did more than just questionnaires and graphs. Social networking sites were used to good effect by some candidates undertaking both audience research and audience feedback. Others used online survey sites. The most detailed audience research produced more effective productions, in terms of being genre products, and were more appropriate for their selected target audience. Drafting is essential for all productions, not just because the assessment criteria says it needs to be there – but also because it produces the best constructions; magazine draft layouts and page plans, website layouts designs, storyboards or animatics all help identify potential problems before production starts. This can also help in more effective deployment of the Centre’s resources – less time will be needed re-filming, for example, if an animatic shows early on that there is a gap in a narrative that needs to be filled. Storyboards completed after filming have no use. All three tasks benefit from careful research and planning. Stronger candidates also included shooting schedules and call sheets. Risk assessments were undertaken by a small proportion of centres. Several centres demonstrated very worrying health and safety issues that must be addressed in future sessions. The best blogs were also well labelled, tagged and titled so that the moderator could easily identify each of the relevant entries.
The music promotion, film promotion and short film briefs (briefs 1, 2 and 10) were the most commonly presented tasks, followed by the documentary extract (brief 7), although there were also more newspapers this session (brief 8) and a few TV advertisement campaigns (brief 3), There were a few radio submissions (brief 13) and a couple of Children’s TV opening sequences (brief 6). Print was the most popular format for the ancillary tasks. There were a number of very strong submissions for all three of the most popular briefs. The best responses demonstrated real cohesion between the three construction tasks. Video was the most popular medium for Centres and the most successful work clearly resulted from careful training in the technical capabilities of the cameras, consideration of sound, lighting and the use of a tripod. Weaker work was marked by frequent unsteady panning and zooming. In the Music Promotion brief this session, there was an increase in the proportion of lip-synched performance over a purely narrative approach. This development is to be encouraged, as the narrative videos look more like short films and tend to lose function as a promotional tool for the artist. Some of these responses, as in previous sessions, have shown real flair and imagination combined with technical control; more candidates seemed to show more of the visual aesthetic with some excellent shot choices and mise en scene. A greater number of candidates submitted the required number of panes to be a digipak (ie at least four) and had clearly been taught the technical skills to be able to manipulate their images and combine effectively with text, although a surprising number did not include basic institutional elements such as a barcode and copyright information. The magazine advertisements and web pages were generally less successful. Many web pages were not online with working urls but were just jpegs of a design for a site. This is not acceptable under this Specification. Not all candidates evidenced the requirement to ask the rights holders of the music track for permission to use it in their video.
Short films that ran to the recommended length of five minutes tended to work better than those that were over long. The best had interesting narratives, often featuring an older cast of family members and friends from outside the peer group. The stronger ones also showed effective understanding of film grammar using multiple camera set ups and a range of shot sizes taken of the same scene and then demonstrated excellent continuity editing. Some candidates took a documentary approach to this brief and produced interesting responses. Verité-style work rarely resulted in successful outcomes at this level.
The best film trailers were short, well-paced, had a non-linear narrative structure, used a range of techniques to intrigue the audience and had been produced by candidates who had closely studied the conventions of the form and of the genre in which they were working. They also had a clear sense of the whole story of the film they were ‘teasing’. Most relied on intertitles; few included voiceovers. Some submissions read as the opening of a film, being wholly linear in narrative, and so were uncomfortably close to the Foundation Portfolio video brief.
Briefs
(those in bold are the ones which the department is best able to support. See examiner notes which identify how success was achieved last year across the country. I have starred the most successful on the supported choices)
1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options: ****
- a website homepage for the band
- a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
- a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).
Examiner notes: It was the music option that probably worked the best for Candidates - music videos seem to allow Candidates to demonstrate a combination of skill and creativity. The majority of the high quality productions were music videos. At the top there was some very professional work that showcased a firm understanding of the form. Lots of videos focused on the interplay between performance and narrative. This appears to be a good framework to hand the production on as it allowed Candidates to be creative within certain beneficial constraints. The majority had some attempt at performance sections in them, which were generally well executed, although very few had synched drumming. Other examples saw Candidates striving to achieve a spectacle, something indefinable and quirky, a tricky task to keep up for the duration of a four-minute song. When done properly, this can elevate the production. Using unknown bands sourced through MySpace for example, was often a good option and the bands were often pleased to have the video and give feedback. It was noted that on too many occasions, Centres were allowing Candidates to film in locations that were unsuitable and showed little regard for the construction of mise en scene. Classrooms are fine so long as the narrative or song demands a classroom. Lighting is another stumbling block that is near impossible to put right in the editing stages. Many productions evidenced no thought in terms of something so vital. This was most obvious when even the slightest, meaningful decision regarding light, paid dividends. Moderators saw plenty of examples where Candidates had not shot enough footage and were forced to re-use large chunks throughout the promo.
Lots to think about in these notes but music video maybe a good choice.
2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options: *
- a website homepage for the film
- a film magazine front cover featuring the film
- a poster for the film
Examiner notes: The film trailers were often less well executed and didn’t seem comparable in terms of the amount of effort involved in them with the other video pieces. Although many of them followed an appropriate non-linear narrative structure, many were slow and over dependent on intertitles, instead of voice-over and diegetic sound. They frequently used non-original music which was also problematic. Some Centres limited Candidates by not only dictating the genre but the title (although dictating the genre sometimes meant that Candidates were secure in the codes and conventions and this actually often led to better work). Horror and ‘Urban Youth’ were popular genres but were rarely executed well.
The risk is that you repeat in some way what you have done this year. Not a choice I am in favour of particularly.
3. An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with two of the following three options:
- a radio advertisement
- a TV programme sponsorship sequence
- a web pop-up
4. A promotion package for a new computer/video game, to include two TV advertisements, together with two of the following three options:
- the cover of the game’s package
- two hyperlinked pages from the game’s website
- a magazine advertisement for the game.
5. A promotion package for a new soap opera, to include a TV trailer, together with two of the following three options: ***
- a listings magazine front cover featuring the new soap
- two hyperlinked webpages (with video extract) for the soap’s website
- a poster for the soap
Not commented on by the examiner but has potential if well researched. As with all brief, clear understanding of the genre and mature use of the conventions is needed as well as technical skills website and magazine design.
6. A selection of materials related to an original children’s TV drama, to include the title sequence to the TV programme, together with two of the following three options: **
- the front cover to a magazine for the series
- a DVD cover for the series
- a radio advertisement for the magazine
Not commented on by examiner but supportable. Title sequences do tend to be graphics heavy for Kids Shows which is a challenge but can be very rewarding if you are can cope with it creatively and technically.
7. An extract from a new documentary TV programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options: ***
- a radio trailer for the documentary
- a double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary
- a newspaper advertisement for the documentary
Examiners notes: More documentaries were ‘real’ in terms of topic and interviewees, and this raised their level of success, but many still over-relied on captions and intertitles, which is a rather crude method of shaping the narrative. The documentaries also suffered due to a limited range of camera shot and movement as well as limited editing techniques.
Documentary as a form is not one we have yet covered but again can be rewarding as it allows you the chance to really focus on a subject which you care about and research in detail - A level students doing the AQA spec have completed docs with some success in the past though technical issues with sound recording open seem to slip them up. Ensuring that you are well planned for a doc is just as vital as for a drama.
8. The first two pages of a new local newspaper, together with two of the following three options:
- a poster for the newspaper
- a radio advertisement for the newspaper
- two hyperlinked pages from the paper’s website
9. A website for a new TV channel (to include a minimum of three hyperlinked pages with original images, audio and video extract), together with two of the following three options:
- a newspaper advertisement for the channel
- a double page spread for a listings magazine, focused on the channel’s launch
- an animated ident sequence for the channel
10. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options: ****
- a poster for the film
- a radio trailer for the film
- a film magazine review page featuring the film
Examiner notes: There were some highly effective short films – especially when the Candidates cast roles from outside their peers or class members. The control of the narratives was often impressive, and some of the twists were genuinely surprising.
A really good choice for the creatively inclined. The ancilliary tasks are straightforward and achievable and the film itself can be truly individual and effective if the technical elements of sound, lighting, mise en scene are well controlled. Innovative story telling, clever use of acting and good understanding of short films is easy to research.
11. The first level of a new computer/video game, together with two of the following three options:
- the cover for the game’s package
- a magazine advertisement for the game
- a radio advertisement for the game
12. An extract/package from a local TV news programme, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options:
- two hyperlinked pages from the programme’s website
- a generic radio trailer for the programme
- a short title sequence for the programme
13. An extract from a radio play, lasting approximately five minutes, together with two of the following three options:
- a newspaper advertisement for the play
- a double-page listings magazine feature about the play
- a page from the radio station’s website promoting the play
All material for all tasks to be produced by the candidates with the exception of acknowledged non-original sound or image material used in a limited way in video/radio work.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CONSIDER WHICH BRIEF YOU WANT TO CHOOSE BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE TRACK ONCE YOU HAVE MADE THAT CHOICE. DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE BRIEFS WILL BEGIN AFTER THE EXAM AT WHICH POINT WE WILL LOOK AT SOME EXEMPLAR.
