Pearson

Higher Nationals in
Creative Media Production
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
UNI 1 Individual Project (Pearson-set)
T:
For use with the Higher National Certificate and
Higher National Diploma in Creative Media Production
First teaching from September 2018

Issue 1

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 2

 Higher National Certificate in
Creative Media Production (Moving Image)
Assignment Brief
Student Name/ID Number

Unit Number and Title

UNIT: 1 Individual Project (Pearson-set)
Academic Year 2019/20

Unit Tutor Kevin Ward

Assignment Title Unit 1: Individual Project (Pearson-set)

The democratisation of media

Issue Date 09/9/2020

Submission Date 30/4/2021

IV Name & Date Suzanne Rodgers

Submission Format
This should be written in a concise, formal style. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and
subsections as appropriate.

You are encouraged to use images, graphics, charts and other material to support your work. Any material that is
derived from other sources must be suitably referenced using a standard form of citation. Provide a bibliography
using the Harvard referencing system. This should be presented as a pdf document. Links to any separate video
files should be included within the pdf.

Part 1 – Report
Part 2 – Digital Portfolio
Part 3 – A Portfolio and Presentation.
Part 4 - Performance Review

Unit Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the specialisms within creative media production, based on research into historic and contemporary
precedents
2. Develop individual creative solutions in response to a given brief
3. Present a resolved proposition to an identified audience
4. Evaluate a resolved proposition in response to audience feedback and personal reflection.

Pearson Set Theme and Topic

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 3

Theme: The democratisation of media
Topic: How new technologies have enabled media democratization.

Scenario and Aims & Objectives

This brief will link up with Unit 7 Film Practices & Unit 26 Film & Video Editing. You will devise a media content
distribution strategy appropriate to your client/audience needs and expectations.

The democratisation of media

The often-mentioned trope of the music album that was produced “in the artist’s bedroom” is now not just a
reality it is increasingly achievable. The availability of low- cost hardware and specialist software has made it
possible to produce high-quality content in ways that were, even a few years ago, beyond the reach of the general
public.

Similarly, the increasing capability of mobile phones (to record audio, video and photographs) has created new
‘channels’ for news and information to become available. While these can be utilised by professional journalists, it
is their use by the public that has had the most profound effect on news media.

Where media production and distribution were, previously, in the control of networks and corporations we have
entered a period in which media has been democratised. The implications of this are profound – in both positive
and (potentially) negative ways.

This unit will enable students to explore ways in which their work, in Creative Media Production, recognises and
responds to issues related to media distribution. Central to this is the question of impact. How do changing models
of media distribution change the way that we may develop media content? How does the distribution model
change the consumers’ expectations for access and content? Through the extensive research and practical
application to the democratisation of media and the topic of how new technologies have enabled media
democratization. Students will consider methodologies, processes and outcomes that address this fundamental
feature of contemporary media.

Assignment Guidance

• Research what the project brief is asking. How can you approach the problem, opportunity, hypothesis and
requirements being posed?

• Apply a range of secondary research sources to plan/scope and support the project and its findings.
Secondary research sources may include textbooks, journal articles, newspapers and magazine articles (not
factual accounts).

• Develop a project plan based on the deliverables of the project, the constraints of the project and the
assumptions made. This must include a brief/contract agreed with your live client, a production Schedule
and a weekly completed project logbook.

• Conduct your project according to your stated project plan and meet with your tutor to receive a sign-off
at each stage of the project process.

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 4

 • Primary research sources may include original first-hand accounts, legal and historical documents, results
of experiments and market research data collection. Apply both qualitative and quantitative research
methods to evaluate data collected from primary research.

• Keep notes of your progress throughout the project in your logbook. This is an important record of your
work and must be used to record the development of your ideas and your progress through the project.
The logbook should include:

o A record of what you did, when and what you were thinking

o A record of where things went wrong and what you did to overcome any unexpected results.

• You will be asked to reflect on the success of your project and your own performance in a personal
performance review at the end of the project.

Project Brief

You are employed by HOTHOUZE MEDIA, who specialises in the creative media production in Print, Web and
Screen-Based Media. The company has numerous clients who wish to develop a digital video content strategy for
new technologies. HOTHOUZE MEDIA has tasked you create their first video for social media. However, to
complete this brief you need to be knowledgeable about the democratisation of media and the topic of how new
.
technologies have enabled media democratization Consider how this has impacted the ability to produce and
distribute media, outside of traditional/mainstream channels and how that has changed our relationship with the
product. HOTHOUZE MEDIA have asked you to show additional evidence and knowledge and understanding by
completing all parts of the brief below.

1 – Project Logbook (P1, P2, M1, D1) Keep notes of your progress throughout the project in your logbook. This is
an important record of your work and must be used to record the development of your ideas and your progress
through the project. The logbook should include:

a. Agree your creative intentions with your tutor through a design brief.

b. An overall project schedule to use an agile working methodology.

c. A record of what you did, when and what you were thinking throughout the project. At end of each
sprint .cycle

d. A record of where things went wrong and what you did to overcome any unexpected results. At end of
each sprint cycle

2 – Investigate and plan (P1, P2, M1, D1)

Conduct research to generate knowledge and understanding of the theme of the democratisation of media and
the topic of how new technologies have enabled media democratization. Look at historical, current and futures
technologies and trends with an emphasis on media producer/production companies. Present this in an informal

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 5

Visual/Video Diary/Video Essay/Prezi with a voice recording, of information, images (support all images with
supportive notes), key facts which had the most significant influence in your ideas and work.

3 – Design and Create (P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, M2, M3, D1, D2)
Develop a media distribution content strategy for video content that
a. considers the democratization of media and the topic of how new technologies have enabled media
democratization.
b. is appropriate to the expected market/audience and user by creating an audience/user profile (e.g. Age,
Gender, Sexual orientation, Socio-economic status, Demographic, Psychographics, Geo-demographics,
Market; Mainstream, alternative, niche).
c. show evidence of development and consideration to the aesthetic/visual strategy within the digital content
that captures the ethos of the client and will appeal to their market. This will also form part of Unit 7 and
Unit 26. Include ideas rejected
d. Identify and justify appropriate a digital content system(s) that could be utilized or developed for your live
client.

4 – Presentation. (P5, P6, P7,P8, M4, D2)

Present your live clients ‘a digital video content strategy’ in a 10 - 15-minute verbal presentation.

5- Performance Review (P5, P6, P7,P8, M4, D2)

Complete a performance review that addresses the success of the project and its effectiveness in addressing the
issues identified in the theme of the democratisation of media and the topic of how new technologies have
enabled media democratization. Performance Review template is available on teams.

Note: All information sources and resources, including websites used to complete this assignment, must be stated and correctly
referenced. No credit will be given for wholesale copying from information sources and checks for plagiarism may be made on
your submitted report.

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 6

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
Pass Merit Distinction
LO1 Explain the specialisms within creative media production, based on
research into historic and contemporary precedents
P1 Research historical and M1 Evaluate research to inform LO1 LO2
contemporary creative media creative media production D1 Plan and manage an independent
production related to own area of experimentation project, informed by historical and
specialism contemporary contexts, through
experimentation
P2 Analyse research findings to
reach coherent conclusions
LO2 Develop individual creative solutions in response to a given brief
P3 Evaluate a brief to identify areas M2 Assess alternative solutions in
for exploration order to develop a final proposition
P4 Develop alternative solutions,
through experimentation and
testing, in response to a given
theme and topic
LO3 Present a resolved proposition to an identified audience

P5 Present a resolved project M3 Justify creative media LO3 LO4

outcome to an audience
P6 Use industry-standard
presentation software
LO4 Evaluate a resolved proposition in response to audience feedback
and personal reflection
P7 Explore how own work relates
to historical and contemporary
precedents
P8 Evaluate audience feedback in
relation to own reflection
production outcomes through D2 Reflect upon own performance in
discourse and debate managing a project, highlighting areas
of good practice and for improvement
M4 Analyse the relationship
between own techniques and
processes and those of precedents

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 7

Support materials

Further Guidance

Textbooks
BASSOT, B. (2017) The Reflective Journal . 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

DAVIES, R. (2013) Introducing the Creative Industries: From Theory to Practice . London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
ESS, C. (2015) Digital Media Ethics . 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

HANSEN, A. (2013) Media and Communication Research Methods . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

GAUNTLETT, D. (2015) Making Media Studies: The Creativity Turn in Media and Communications Studies . New York: Peter Lang.

BROUGHTON, P. (2013) Life's a Pitch . London: Portfolio Penguin.

ROBERTS-BRESLIN, J. (2012) Making Media: Foundations of Sound and Image Production . New York: Focal Press.

Report
Online Content Study: Changes in the distribution, discovery and consumption of lawful and unauthorised online
content - http://bit.ly/2T6W147

Article
In the digital distribution landscape, the consumer is calling the shots - http://bit.ly/2T9B098
Audiences no longer care about platforms. The content creator is ‘king.’ - http://bit.ly/2T5JvlG

Blog
Podcasts Are Different from Radio Shows…and It Matters - http://bit.ly/2T7x3Sf
How Video Game Subscription Models Will Change The Industry (If At All) - http://bit.ly/2T7xPi7
The rise of the subscription model in the app economy - http://bit.ly/2TaeRY8
The PC Revolution: Streaming and subscription services are going to change the industry forever -
http://bit.ly/2T6UtqX

HNC/HND Creative Media Production 8