(38) Checkpoint 1 (Research and Planning Mark Scheme)

Comparing My Blog 
In order to understand whereabouts on the mark scheme my research and planning work falls, I am going to compare my blog to others. Furthermore, by being able to mark a blog appropriately, it allows me to understand exactly what the mark scheme wants of me. It means I am able to identify an example of level 4 work so that I can integrate it into my own coursework. I will be measuring the blogs I visit according to the mark scheme and what exactly the exam board wants. This is the mark scheme:

Level 3 12–15 marks

• Planning and research evidence will be complete.
• There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience.
• There is proficient work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There is proficient organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• Time management is good.
• There is proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
• There are proficient communication skills.
• There is a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

Level 4 16-20 marks

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
• There is excellent research into similar products and a potential target audience.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• Time management is excellent.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
• There are excellent communication skills.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

Emily's Blog

I have chosen to measure Emily's blog, as I know that she is a dedicated student who completes high-quality work. This makes her an excellent person to compare my own work to, as her outstanding quality of work will tell me what I'm doing good and whereabouts I need to improve. 

Emily's blog, in general, is well formatted and easy to read. This makes navigating through the blog a breeze, which will make marking it a lot easier. Similarly, her blog proves to have a lot of completed work in an appropriate amount of time, showing that she clearly manages her time well. 

Specific Post: '(Post 30) - Planning - Props'

I selected a post to compare my blog work to. The reason I chose this post is that this represents the general standard of work Emily produces and represents her blog as a whole: 

The first thing I noticed that Emily did well is her use of technical knowledge. Emily effectively integrates other ideas surrounding filmmaking into this post to concrete her understanding. For example, she mentions the effect props may have on the narrative or editing and so on, proving her extensive knowledge acquired during her research stage and can use it for her own benefit. This shows that she can integrate everything she's learnt during research into planning, which will better her circumstances during the production stage. 

Another thing I noticed is that Emily demonstrates excellent detail in her writing, while also remaining concise. She includes information that is significant and relevant, such as only mentioning the particular props that mean something to her story: 'using one particularly important prop'. This shows that she understands what is relevant to her work and what is not. The level of detail is impressive as she is clearly very invested in her work. Including little details, such as the cost of the props or how many items she bought etc., is effective because it gives the reader true insight into her planning process. The reader can clearly see how she's slowly bringing everything together. She also talks extensively about where, how and why she uses certain props in the story ('props in the past', 'props in the present'), showing she has a definitive plan/direction for her music video. 

Emily also demonstrates an excellent understanding of the technical elements of the course: 'act as a green screen so that I can paste them over the top in editing'. She efficiently thought through her props and how she can best use them to ease her editing stage. Her choice to purchase green photographs shows her excellent research and planning skills because she knew to think ahead about how her props will affect other areas, such as editing, and researched how to put herself at an advantage when it came to this area. 

The structure of this post is excellent too in that the content is ordered by relevance; each paragraph is linked but ordered by what they contain. This makes it far more fluid to read, and her good formatting shows that she has a good understanding of digital technology (blogging). Likewise, the language Emily uses is effective because, while she demonstrates a clear understanding of filmmaking jargon by integrating technical terminology (eg. 'mise en scene') into her writing, she also writes in a casual (though not too casual) tone. This makes it easy to understand and less daunting to read, making it easier to mark. 

Emily also demonstrates excellent time management. This is because she has ordered her props well in advance of filming, showing she is organised and thorough. She also uses a range of media, for example, the use of text and photographs gives the reader a better insight into what she's talking about through visual representation.

In conclusion, areas in which Emily is definitely hitting level four in this particular post include:

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• Time management is excellent.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
• There are excellent communication skills.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

Compared to my Blog

I have chosen to compare my post regarding props to Emily's, to see whereabouts mine stands in the mark scheme. By doing so, I can use what Emily has done well to improve my own work. 

My post is different from Emily's in several ways. While I include a lot of detail about the props I intend to use (for example, when/where it is used in the story, the meaning it applies and how I will source it), I show no evidence at all. Emily included photographs, pricing and details about her order that prove she has organised her props as well as planned them in terms of the narrative, whereas I have only done the latter. To improve my post, I will add images and detail as to how, when and where I will source my props from. I have decided to add images as evidence and improve the formatting of the post to make it easier to read.

Overall, these are the objectives I believe I hit:

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There are excellent communication skills.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

These are the objectives I feel I need to hit more, after reading Emily's blog: 

• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• Time management is excellent.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

Megan's Blog

The second student I have chosen to review is Megan's. The reason I have chosen to mark Megan's blog is that she spends a lot of time on her work and always completes it on time and to an excellent standard. Megan is definitely a level 4 student and, therefore, is an appropriate person to measure myself against to see where I need to improve and what I do well. 

Megan's blog, in general, is very well formatted. Her colour scheme, simple layout and choice of fonts etc. is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to read and navigate. She clearly shows a good knowledge of digital blogging and ICT. Megan also has a lot of completed work and is entirely up-to-date on all of her posts as well as producing extra posts, showing she has good time management skills and dedicates time and effort into her research and planning work, something that will really benefit her when she reaches the production stage. 

Specific Post: 'Post 32 - Planning - Sound'

I have chosen to analyse this post because it represents the general standard of work found on Megan's work and gives a good representation of her blog as a whole. 

The first thing I noticed about Megan's post is the fact that she proves to the reader that she has a clear understanding of the different technical aspects that encompass filmmaking, in this case, sound design. She does this by appropriately using terminology (eg. 'foley' 'diegetic') as well as providing examples and definitions of these terms, to really cement her understanding. She has clearly taken what she has learnt during her research stage and applied it to her planning in order to benefit herself in the future during the production stage, which, to me, is clearly level 4 skills. 

Another thing Megan has done well is she has provided evidence regarding the music and sound she is using, as well as embedded videos rather than just using text. This makes her post varied in media, more interesting to read and shows she can use a range of technologies with good ICT skills. 

Something else I noticed was the amount of detail Megan includes. She gives very detailed and clear descriptions which allow the reader to really understand what she's talking about. Similarly, she shows excellent communication skills in her use of terminology and fluent language. She also orders the post by content, as well. By having a clear structure it makes it easier to read and her point is expressed coherently. 

Megan also demonstrates good ICT skills as she formats her post well. Her use of bold font, paragraphs and so on make it both aesthetically pleasing and easy to read. She clearly takes time on the presentation of her work.

Something Megan does exceptionally is her planning. She explains exactly where and when she'll incorporate certain sound techniques in her music video, detailing small things such as exactly what lyrics will be lip synced and so on. This shows she has a clear direction with her video and has demonstrated outstanding planning skills, even down to the most minute details. She is clearly very passionate about this project. 

In conclusion, these are the objectives I feel Megan has definitely hit level 4 in:

• Planning and research evidence will be complete and detailed.
• There is excellent work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting or storyboarding.
• There is excellent organisation of actors, locations, costumes or props.
• Time management is excellent.
• There is excellent skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation.
• There are excellent communication skills.
• There is an excellent level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.

What Have You Learnt?

Overall, both these blogs demonstrate excellent skills that qualify them as level 4 students. From analysing these blogs I have realised where I need to change my own posts and style to reach the higher grades. Things I realise I should do is condense my work into multimedia platforms, such as slideshows, videos, photographs and perhaps even interactive platforms. This will make my blog more diverse as well as demonstrate skills in ICT and presentation.