Practical Project and Portfolio
What the domain tests
This domain assesses whether you can plan, document and present a finished media project. Examiners look for a clear brief, evidence of process and an honest account of your own role.
Core rules and concepts
- Project cycle: brief → research → plan → production → post → delivery → review. Each stage leaves a document trail.
- Documents: project brief, schedule, budget, risk register, call sheets, consent/release forms, credits list and reflection.
- File discipline: consistent naming such as
project_scene_shot_take_date, version numbers, and 3-2-1 backup - three copies, two media, one off-site. - Showreel: 60–90 seconds, strongest shot first, label your role, keep music licensed, and avoid clips you cannot credit.
- Case study: context, your role, constraints, process decisions, outcome and what you would change.
Worked example
A student must submit a 90-second showreel. Reasoning: open with the strongest 5 seconds, group clips by craft (camera, edit, sound), label roles in lower thirds, keep each clip long enough to read, and use licensed music. A 4-minute reel with slow opening titles loses the examiner before the best work appears.
Traps that cost marks
- Presenting group work as solely your own without stating your role.
- Submitting a showreel with unlicensed music or uncredited footage.
- No consent forms for identifiable participants.
- Keeping a single copy of project files on one laptop.