Music Video ProductionLesson 1

What were we doing before half term?

This weekWe are going to look at how your assignments are marked, and identify common mistakes people make when writing their reports.

By the end of today, you • MUST understand the difference between

describing and explaining

• SHOULD be able to assess where a peer has described or explained in their assignment work.

• COULD identify how to improve your assignment by creating a specific assignment plan.

What makes a good report?

Is it how long the report is? Don’t chase a high word count. Just

because you’ve written a lot doesn’t mean you’ve written it well.

The best reports focus on the content they’ve been asked to explain in the brief, not other areas of interest to the writer.

Don’t be too brief, don’t be too long.

Should it be an in depth explanation of everything you can think of? Stay focused on what the

brief asks you to explain. These should be clearly bullet pointed in the brief.

Stay focused on what’s being asked of you…. All the text marked in

red was ‘extra’ content the learner wrote about, none of which was relevant to the assignment.

Did they get any marks for any of this?

So what’s the main difference between a pass level report, and a higher grade?

Describe Explain

The main difference is how in depth you explain it…

Do you….

DescribeExplainEvaluate

What does the word describe mean? Cover the main points only We say ‘what’ something is. We use basic language to give a basic

outline on a subject

If I asked you to describe the purpose of music videos you might say:

“The purpose of music videos is to advertise a song.”

What does the word explain mean? Give an in depth account of the subject

We say ‘what’ something is, then explain why we do it, how we do it, justifying our arguments with examples.

We use explanatory language to build an in-depth persuasive argument about a subject, using phrases like ‘because’, ‘for example’, ‘although’, ‘this shows’ to prove your points.

If I asked you to explain the purpose of music videos you might say:

What does the word explain mean?

“The main purpose of a music video is to advertise a single for a music artist or band because video is a great medium for record

labels to reach a wider audience than traditional radio plays, especially since the advent of mobile & broadband video. Although the main aim of the video is to convert views, either online or via DTV, to sales of the single music videos also help provide greater exposure for the artist, which could lead to increased album and merchandising sales as well. For example, Katy Perry is a prolific

recording artist whose music videos are often seen as events themselves, helping her to build and reach a wide fan base. Her

music videos have over 11 million views and she has 12 number 1 singles. This shows her music videos have helped promote her to a

wide audience, and therefore helped her career and sales.

“The main purpose of a music video is to advertise a single for a music artist or band because video is a great medium for record

labels to reach a wider audience than traditional radio plays, especially since the advent of mobile & broadband video. Although the main aim of the video is to convert views, either online or via DTV, to sales of the single music videos also help provide greater exposure for the artist, which could lead to increased album and merchandising sales as well. For example, Katy Perry is a prolific

recording artist whose music videos are often seen as events themselves, helping her to build and reach a wide fan base. Her

music videos have over 11 million views and she has 12 number 1 singles. This shows her music videos have helped promote her to a

wide audience, and therefore helped her career and sales.

What does the word evaluate mean? Investigating the strengths and

weaknesses of something Having a reasoned argument with

yourself, and drawing conclusions at the end.

Using examples to prove your points.

If I asked you to evaluate the purpose of music videos you might say:

What does the word evaluate mean?

“…..Whilst music videos are a good way to promote an artist visually to an audience, they rely on the quality of the film-maker

as much as the quality of the recording artists single. A good video director can make a bad song into an interesting visual experience for the viewer, but likewise a bad director can ruin a good singles chances of success by creating a video which does not work well with the music. It could be argued that music videos are only as

strong as their weakest component; be it the video or the song. In fact recent studies by Nielson have shown that there is little chance of someone buying a single if they dislike the music; therefore the video itself can only build upon the potential success of a single, it

cannot make it into a good song.

Today You are going to peer assess one of your classmates music video theory assignment.

I want you to read their report and clearly mark up all the areas where: they have described it They have explained it They have evaluated it Where they have used examples Where they have used examples to prove their points

Use the grading sheet I have given you as a guide, filling it in.

Task 2Hand your feedback and the assignment to me.

Task 3Read through your feedback – what has the assessor said?

If you think the feedback is harsh I want you to remember – whoever is grading you will be fair but sometimes it can be spirit crushing getting disappointing feedback.

Task 4 Make a plan of action; write down how

you need to improve your work.

Task 5 Begin to redraft your work taking into

account all the feedback you have received.

Use this as an opportunity to improve it to get the grades you want.

Peer assessment can help you to solve a lot of problems before its too late.