Being the examiner

Hi guys, ok so we recently had a lesson on being the examiner, obviously I am an amateur at this but I thought id give it a go.. with a little help. So, I was given a mark scheme for the level 4 (grade A) which needs 48-60 marks in order to achieve this top band mark. After thoroughly looking at the mark scheme we were able to see how professional examiners marked specific areas of the media videos and what techniques deserved specific marks. The task I was given was to watch some AS thriller openings, and mark them accordingly with what band mark I thought they deserved. Obviously when I first heard of the task role I was about to take on, I didn't think much of it and thought it was going to be pretty easy.. I thought wrong! In actual fact I was a much harsher marker than what the thriller openings were actually awarded.


The level 4 mark scheme which I was focussing on was (Grade A) involved:

The first thriller opening I was told to watch was 'Leah Reid's' production:



I awarded this opening a level 4, grade A, with 50 marks. This is due to the amazing and creative editing skills used by the film maker, in my opinion the material was task appropriate and audience appropriate. However the actual marker awarded this clip 52/50 which is secure level A. When thinking back to the clip compared with the mark scheme I can see that the film producer actually achieved 4/5 bullet points for 'Level 4' which were; using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions; using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task; shooting material appropriate for the task set including controlled use of camera, attention to framing, variety of shot distance and close attention to mise en scene. Which is clear to me now why the higher mark was achieved.



Another thriller opening I viewed was 'Peek-a-boo'


In my opinion this was the least enhancing clip out of the ones watched, due to the clip seeming more like a trailer than a film opening which is defeating the object of the task set. Therefore I only placed this opening in 'Level 3', in my opinion it was a low level 3, giving it 37 marks so it only just achieved a C. The clip started well however the thought and planning that went into this was quite clearly not up to scratch as it was clear the setting was supposed to have that night time, spooky feel to it, however the shots were taken in the day time! The actual marker however gave 44/47 for this opening, as it seemed to tick most of the boxes for the level 3 mark band.


Below is the markers annotation of the level 3 mark band for this opening:

In my opinion this task was helpful as it helped with the realisation of what I need to include in my thriller opening, and specific things I should be extra cautious of, for example the timing shots are taken compared with what I am trying to create.