Creative Digital Media (BTEC) 

Exam Board: Edexcel

Course overview:

This is a creative practical course designed to give students the skills required for the digital workplace.  It is a course that involves using digital technology to create media products such as: podcasts, posters, film openings, industry presentations, computer game characters. Students will use a range of media equipment, industry standard software, and ICT applications during the completion of the course for both research purposes and the completion of project work.

The aims of this qualification are to enable students to:

• Analyse a range of media products and to explore how meaning and understanding are communicated to the audience. 

• Produce production proposals in response to the client brief to show an understanding of style, audience and purpose. 

• Understand how to produce a media product from initial idea to completion

• See relationships between different media texts and the wider world

• Produce a digital media product displaying a full understanding of the preproduction, production and post production practices required to make a successful product. 

The Academy is committed to investing in Creative Industry pathways through the support of the Stationers’ Company.  Students studying this course will have access to a fully resourced, state-of-the-art, Digital Media Centre.  Access to the Digital Media Centre provides students with the opportunity to work within a purpose built facility to develop career specific skills and creativity.  Projects could take the form of radio drama, podcasting, radio documentary, a series of webpages, a film poster, the opening of a film, portraiture and stills photography.

Creative Digital Media aims to give all students both the practical skills and the critical judgement to tell the real from the influencer, the facts from the fake and use these skills in their further study of the media or apply them in whatever career path they choose.

Course Content:

The course has two internally assessed components and one externally assessed unit:

1: Exploring Media Products (30%)

Part one: Investigate how media products are created to engage audiences

Part two: Explore how media products are created to provide meaning

2: Developing  Digital Media  Production skills (30%)

Research and plan, make a media product and review the production process, in this case the three minute opening of a coming of age film

3: Create a Media Product  in a Response  to a Brief (40%)

Create a media product for a particular audience: Pitch, Research and plan, make a media product for a particular audience

Extra Curricular Opportunities:

Students will be required to work outside of lessons in order to shoot, record and upload digital content for a variety of purposes. There is also the chance to contribute to the school podcast, the school soap opera and the media crew.

Career Prospects and Transferable Skills:

During the course, students will develop a skill set that will complement any chosen area of study, ranging from science and engineering to art. In addition to communication and digital skills, students will master the art of self-reflection, communication, teamwork and problem solving; these are some of the sought after skills for the competitive jobs market of tomorrow.

Further Information: David Milliken (Teacher of Creative Digital Media) - email: david.milliken@scwa.org.uk