Why Study Digital Media and Design
This qualification opens a number of doors in creative
industries such as film & television, photography, the
wider arts (with a keen interest in technology), web
development and video games. The course’s emphasis is
on creativity and design: 100% of the course is production
based and you will be assessed on your creativity,
production values and ability to demonstrate skills – not
memorise facts. This is not Media Studies or Film
Studies, but a course that o ers the best opportunities to
develop and prove yourself in creative and technical
skills, not write endless essays about others’ work.
Entry requirements
No prior learning is expected to undertake this course.
Course outline
The course isered by Cambridge Assessment
International Education (CAIE) who o er worldwide gold
standard courses. There are three areas strands within
the course (not all may be o ered at the start) from which
you can pick one or more to study.
The course is 100% coursework, assessed externally with
no exams.
AS Year
In the first year, we look at the various areas of common
theory that span the three strands, such as visual
language; form, shape and space; ethics and copyright;
constraints such as technology, budget, accessibility;
technological innovations, etc.
From this theory, each strand will delve deeper into
technical understanding. For example, if you chose the
Moving Image strand, you would look at researching
locations; communicating ideas visually; working with
talent such as crew and actors; producing scripts and
character development; learning to use cameras and
editing, etc. Digital Photography would investigate using
lighting, shadow, balance and texture; using photo editing
software such as Lightroom and Photoshop,
understanding shutter, exposure, depth of field, etc.
There are two pieces of coursework in the first year that
forms 100% of the AS or 50% of the A Level:
A2 Year
The second year will dive deeper into the theoretical
aspects of your chosen strand working towards the
final project, worth 50% of the A Level. This is a
personal investigation and along with an evidence
portfolio of your creative journey, you will write an
analysis between 1000-1500 words. As a personal
journey, you will reflect your individual skills and
interests. It could take any form from a short film,
digital animation, computer game, digital installation,
etc.
Course Delivery
The course, being creative in nature, is delivered in a
flexible way and shapes around the individual skills
required for each of the strands. This is a course where
individual responses are more important that the
memorization of facts and figures. Your portfolio
should show a journey from your initial ideas, changes
and mistakes along to your final output (whatever that
might be). The teaching will support this journey, while
also pushing you into new areas you may not have
thought to explore. Self-reflection is an essential skill
that will be developed as the course progresses.
While there is a high level of creativity, this is a digital
course and you will need to master appropriate
technologies as part of your learning journey, such as
editing software, use of cameras, etc. Even something
as seemingly simple as stop-frame animation requires a
mastering of a camera to capture the perfect sequence
of shots.
Higher education and career opportunities
This course combines well with Art and Design;
Computer Science; Design and Technology; Drama and
Theatre Studies and Information and Communications
Technology. The course will suit any pupil that wants to
supplement these other subjects to go on to study or
work within any of the creative industries.
