Our Lady's Abingdon - BTEC Media Production: One-Year Course

BTEC Media Production: One-Year Course

BTEC Media Production is a practical course that allows students to study media without the pressure of a single, final examination. The course is the equivalent of one A-Level meaning that students can complete a single A-level in a year.

Awarding Body: Pearson Edexcel

Specification: 603/1147/2

The OLA Media Production course allows students to learn about media whilst also applying their knowledge and understanding practically. The course contains a mixture of assessment methods and works very well for students who favour coursework portfolios over exam assessments. Students are given an insight into the film and television industry and OLA has links with a number of key employers. Students will meet a number of industry experts and attend a variety of trips associated with this subject.

This course prepares candidates very well for undergraduate study in a number of disciplines. The mixture of academic and practical skills means that candidates have a breadth of options and students are well prepared for degrees in theory or practice. The creative arts are one of the most significant contributors to the UK economy and talented, creative people are in high-demand. This course allows you to develop and apply these skills whilst also creating a portfolio that you can use to progress to either university or employment.

Requirements:

There are no formal entry requirements to study BTEC Media Production. However, students would benefit from having a grade 5 or above in English Literature or Language. Students will also benefit from having studied GCSE Film or Media Studies but this is not essential.

Course structure

A vocational course differs from A-Level, as it allows for continuous assessment. Students studying this course will undertake their first key assessment in January. This assessment will count towards their final grade. The course is comprised of three core units and one optional unit, which students can choose from a list of options. The three core units are:

  • Unit 1: Media Representations
  • Unit 4: Pre-Production
  • Unit 8: Responding to a Commission

Assessment:

Unit 1 is assessed via an online examination in January. Unit 4 and the optional unit are internally assessed by OLA and moderated through the exam board, Pearson Edexcel. Unit 8 is externally assessed but is a controlled assessment, meaning that students complete a practical task under timed conditions and are supervised, much like an examination.

Subject combinations:

Media Production works very well with other subjects that contain practical elements, such as A-Level Art, Textiles and Design Technology. Students would be expected to study two A-Level subjects alongside this course. Media Production is well suited to students studying essay-based subjects, such as English, History and Psychology. Media Production also compliments A-Level Film Studies very well.

Preparing for BTEC Media Production:

Students would benefit from starting to learn software related to their chosen optional unit, such as Adobe Premiere or InDesign and you can find many useful
tutorials on YouTube. However, this is not essential. Students would also benefit from looking at diversity in media representations by reading newspapers and
journals, such as Media Magazine or The Guardian. Watching behind the scenes videos and looking at how films and television programmes are made would also
prove useful.