Key points from 2019 Moderators' report

Brief 4 - music videos tips

• The strongest work had clearly been supported by focused research, detailed planning, attention to detail and a strong, sustained central concept based solidly on the requirements and details of the brief.
• For a mark in the highest band, candidates are required to make sure there is an excellent level of convergence and synergy across both products.
• The very best statements of intent made clear links between the two main products and explained how digital convergence would connect the two.
• Music videos were the second most popular brief and it generated some genuinely creative work. 
• The best work emphasised the performance aspect, filming the artist performing the track a number of times in different locations with different mise-en-scene and utilising a variety of camera shots and movement; which was then effectively edited with accurate lip-synching throughout.
• In general, less successful music either missed key elements from the brief or did not adhere to the codes and conventions of the form, such as:
• 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. 
• Failure to mention the name of the band/ artist/ track at the start or end of the video 
• Editing which did not match the pace/ BPM of the track 
• Things to avoid:
• shots of actors from behind walking away from camera, sometimes holding hands, sometimes not. This is not a convention but seems to be very popular. 
• Vertical mobile phone footage 
• Lots of shots of people talking but we can’t hear what they are saying; again, not conventional
• 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
• Something to watch for: across all four briefs, the websites were the most problematic element of the assessment since the content/ quality was so variable. Websites were often either exceptionally detailed, demonstrating a great deal of commitment from candidates, or were lacking in content and seemingly created in a short amount of time.
• The two main barriers to candidates reaching a pass level were: (a) not addressing all the requirements of the chosen brief, together with the stipulated production detail; and (b) not demonstrating sufficient understanding of the relevant aspects of the theoretical framework.