Mark schemes - CCEA GCSE Moving Image Arts

Here you can find CCEA information and resources for GCSE Moving Image Arts. Use the links below to download mark schemes (which contain indicative content and explain how marks are awarded).

The CCEA Moving Image Arts GCSE has three components, with all assessments being taken at the end of the course.

Component 1: Critical Understanding of Creative and Technical Moving Image Production is assessed by an online examination. The exam is 1 hour 30 minutes long and is worth 40% of your overall mark. It will contain questions on film language, practices, techniques and contexts; scenario-based questions that assess your creative and production management skills; and questions that assess your ability to analyse and evaluate film language, audience and purpose.

Component 2: Acquisition of Skills in Moving Image Production is a controlled assessment task, worth 20% of your overall mark. Your submission should demonstrate the application of core skills in storyboarding, camera and editing, postproduction sound and animation.

Component 3: Planning and Making a Moving Image Product is a controlled assessment task, worth 40% of your overall mark. Your submission will be a live-action or animated film portfolio, consisting of research analysis, preproduction material, a completed moving image product and an evaluation.

CCEA past papers and mark schemes are the intellectual property of CCEA and are copyright © CCEA. All CCEA material is linked to with their permission.

Critical Understanding of Creative and Technical Moving Image Production

Due to copyright restrictions, CCEA are unable to make past papers for previous online Moving Image Arts examinations available. You can, though, still get a lot of information from the mark schemes.

Details of the questions set and stimulus material used can be found there including, crucially, a full list of film sequence references with time codes on the final page.

Summer 2023 - Mark scheme
Summer 2022 - Mark scheme
Sumer 2021 - Mark scheme

Mark schemes for 2024 and 2025 are not yet available, but links will be added to this page as soon as possible.

Ask your teacher for further advice on using mark schemes and accessing past papers. Additional support materials can be found on the CCEA Moving Image Arts GCSE site.

Acquisition of Skills in Moving Image Production

This component is a controlled assessment. Five core skills are assessed in four tasks:

• Storyboarding
• Camera and editing
• Postproduction sounds
• Animation

Ask your teacher for advice on your controlled assessments. Further support materials can be found on the CCEA Moving Image Arts GCSE site.

Planning and Making a Moving Image Product

This component is a controlled assessment. Your submission will be a live-action or animated film portfolio, consisting of four parts:

• Research analysis
• Preproduction material
• A complete narrative short film
• An evaluation

Ask your teacher for advice on your controlled assessments. Further support materials can be found on the CCEA Moving Image Arts GCSE site.

You can find more Moving Image Arts mark schemes on the CCEA website.

Mark schemes going back as far as 2014 are available there, in both standard and modified versions.

1. Revise Key Film Language Terms
Ensure that you know and understand the key film terms used in Moving Image Arts. These include:

• Camera shots – close-up (CU), medium shot (MS), long shot (LS), establishing shot (ES), two shot (2S), point of view shot (POV), extreme close-up (ECU) etc.
• Camera movement – pan, tilt, tracking, zoom
• Camera angles – low angle, high angle
• Editing – cuts, transitions, pace
• Mise-en-scène – costume, hair and make-up; lighting, setting, lighting, props
• Sound – diegetic, non-diegetic, asynchronous, sound bridge, music, silence

Watch a range of short film or television clips and try to identify these different techniques.

2. Study a range of past papers
The format of the exam does not change from year to year so familiarise yourself with the layout of the paper. The most recent ones are available on this page, along with the mark schemes – which tell you exactly what the examiners are looking for in answers.

3. Practice analysing film clips
In the exam you will be expected to analyse what you see, not simply ‘describe’. Practice by watching short scenes. Ask yourself: “Why did the director use this shot/angle/setting/music etc.?” “What meaning is the director trying to achieve?”

For example, if the director has used an extreme close up shot (technique) of the lady’s eyes to convey her fear (feeling/mood), then you wouldn't just name the techniques when talking about that in an answer, you would also explain their effect. Try to follow this idea:

• Technique + Example = Effect on audience

To put that into practice with reference to the example above, you would say: “The low angle shot of the giant, seen through the girl’s point of view shot, makes the giant appear threatening and intimidating which results in the audience feeling fear for the little girl.”

4. Revise Film Genre Conventions
Clips and shots that you will be shown in the exam will come from one or more of the six genres:

1. Horror
2. Western
3. Action/Adventure
4. Romantic Comedy
5. Science Fiction
6. Crime

For each genre you should be familiar with the following elements:

• Iconography
• Setting
• Narrative
• Characters
• Style
• Theme

5. Fact Files are key!
Revisit your Fact Files (available on the support section of the CCEA website if you do not have your own copy.) For each section, ensure you can answer, ‘Yes’, to the statements below:

1. Film Narrative

• I can explain what narrative means in film
• I know the difference between protagonist and antagonist
• I understand conflict and resolution
• I can describe a simple beginning–middle–end structure

2. Professional Roles in Film

• I know the role of a director
• I know what a producer does
• I can explain the job of a cinematographer
• I understand the role of an editor
• I know what a production designer does

3. Production Process

• I know the three stages of filmmaking:
  1. Pre-production
  2. Production
  3. Post-production
• I understand what a storyboard is
• I understand what a shot list is
• I know why planning is important

4. Film Industry

• I understand what film funding means
• I understand the difference between independent films and Hollywood Studios
• I know how films are distributed
• I know what exhibition means (how audiences watch films)
• I can name examples of places people watch films (cinema, streaming, TV)

5. Animation

• I know what animation is
• I can name at least two types of animation
• I understand the idea of frame-by-frame movements

6. Health and Safety

• I understand why health and safety is important on a film set
• I can give examples of possible risks (equipment, cables, locations) and which precautions to take
• I know what a risk assessment is

1. Read, read and re-read!
It may sound obvious, but take time to read all questions carefully. For example, students often ‘misread’ questions or do not answer all parts of a question. For example, one past exam question asked students to analyse a clip, focusing on “camera movement and one other film language element”. Many students wrote about a different camera technique and the examiners did not award marks for this. Try to show the examiner the wealth of knowledge that you have.

2. Manage your time
Check how many marks each question is worth. A question which has more marks requires a longer answer. Likewise, do not spend a long period of time on questions which are only worth one or two marks. Sometimes students cover the low mark questions in too much detail and then lack time to answer the higher mark questions in sufficient detail.

3. Compare and Contrast
There will generally always be a question which asks you to ‘compare and contrast’. This requires you to examine two film clips, focusing on two film areas to create a particular effect. For example: “Compare and contrast how the directors of these two film sequences use camera and editing to create mood and atmosphere.”

Ensure that you address and answer all parts equally – and that you actually make comparisons between the two films.

4. More is More!
When analysing the film clips, students often miss out shot sizes, only stating a camera angle or movement. To gain the highest marks you must analyse the shot size, camera angles and camera movement. An area which is often overlooked is editing – be prepared to discuss a range of editing techniques.

5. Hit submit
Finally, as all of the exams in your CCEA Moving Image Arts GCSE are online exams, remember to hit submit when you have finished the exam.

If working through past papers has highlighted an area you need to work on, there’s plenty of extra support available.

You can head straight to the most relevant BBC Bitesize study guides for CCEA GCSE Moving Image Arts to help refresh your knowledge and skills.

The course content is fully covered, including understanding film language, narrative, representation and audience, and exploring films from a range of genres and contexts. You can also revisit key moving image techniques, including animation, and build confidence in analysing and evaluating creative work.

There is also support to help you develop the practical skills needed for the course, such as planning ideas, managing resources and creating your own moving image product.

Follow the links to the topics or guidance you need. You’ll find clear revision materials written in an easy‑to‑understand way, with videos, diagrams and short activities to help you build confidence and prepare for your assessments.

Film theory

Genre | Narrative | Representation

The film industry

Roles and responsibilities | Production and distribution

Film language and techniques

Camera | Sound | Lighting | Editing | Mise-en-scène

Production skills

Planning and organising | Equipment | Camera | Sound | Lighting | Editing | Production design | Animation

Explore more Moving Image Arts resources with the full range of assistance available from Bitesize.