The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Creative Digital Media Production is equivalent to one A Level.
Do you have a genuine interest in Media? Are you interested in pursuing a career related to Media Production, Advertising or Journalism?
Achievement of this qualification can support you to go on and study in a Higher Education Institution either on relevant Media degrees such as Digital Media, Media Production, Media and Communications, Journalism and Media or Digital Marketing or to support progression on to other degree courses.
The qualification provides a coherent introduction to the study
of creative digital media production at this level. You will develop an understanding of the media industry through analysing media representations and pitching and producing media projects.
How is the course structured?
The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Creative Digital Media Production is run over two years and content is broken down into four units, with two being externally assessed. The size of each unit is determined by how many guided learning hours (GLH) have been set for delivery and to successfully complete the course, you must complete a total of 360 GLH. You must complete the selected four units in order to fulfil the course requirements. Each unit has a specific vocational context in order to allow students to relate their studies to the working environment.
Units studied over the two years:
Unit 1: Media Representations (90 GLH).
Unit 4: Pre-production Portfolio (90 GLH).
Unit 8: Responding to a Commission (120 GLH). Unit 10: Film Production - Fiction (60 GLH).
Assessment
Units 1 and 8 are externally assessed units.
Unit 1: will be a two-hour, on screen exam set and marked by Pearson worth 80 marks with assessment available in January and May/June. In this unit, you will study a range of media from different sectors, such as music videos, short film extracts, animation, news programmes, websites, digital games and print adverts in order to explore how meaning, messages and values are constructed through formal and stylistic elements.
Unit 8: will be a task set and marked by Pearson and completed under supervised conditions. You will be provided with a commission for a media production two weeks before the supervised assessment period. The set task is completed in 6 hours under supervised conditions in a period timetabled by Pearson. Assessment will be available in Dec/Jan and May/June. In this unit, you will understand how to respond to a commission brief with ideas based on the required content, style, audience, purpose and approach proposed by the client. You will work within the requirements and constraints of the client’s specifications and consider your response in terms of ethos, format, budget, platform and duration.
All assessment for units 4 and 10 is made through completion of assignments and coursework. Each of these internally assessed units has a number of assignments to complete in order to fulfil the individual unit requirements. Within assignments, tasks will be completed to PASS, MERIT or DISTINCTION level. Each individual assignment must be completed to at least a pass level in order to pass the whole unit.
Unit 4: You will study the requirements of planning and delivering a digital media product, carrying out essential pre-production tasks and creating a pre-production portfolio.
Unit 10: This unit will focus on the process of producing a short narrative film or film extract that uses generic conventions.
On successful completion of a unit, points are awarded depending upon the level of completion and the size of the unit (GLH). At the end of the course, the points will be added from all four units to make a combined total points score.
Overall PASS - Equivalent to E grade.
Overall MERIT - Equivalent to C grade.
Overall DISTINCTION - Equivalent to A grade.
Overall DISTINCTION* - Equivalent to A* grade.
Is there anything else I should know?
The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Creative Digital Media Production can be studied with a variety of other subjects to suit the needs of the student. It is supported by universities and employers within the media sector. During the UCAS application process; students will need to provide details on attainment/ expected attainment within individual units.
Progression Routes
The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Creative Digital Media Production contains units which provide the breadth of knowledge, understanding and skills to prepare you for further study in this sector. The Level 3 course is excellent preparation
for entering university courses such as Digital Media, Media Production, Media and Communications, Journalism and Media or Digital Marketing. It can also prepare you for employment in the digital media sector in job roles such as digital layout artists, assistant animators, production runners or freelance crew or for a media-related apprenticeship.