Just like last year, this is the place where you can find all the things that you will need to complete the course successfully. If you can think of any ways in which your learning blog experience can be improved, let me know. So, good luck, work hard and enjoy the course.
There are a few changes you need to be aware of though. Firstly, we have upgraded to the latest version of Final Cut, FCP X, which looks very different to the version you used last year. I have been using it over the Summer break and I really like it, but there are some changes to the normal workflow that you will have to learn.
You'll also be using new cameras this year; the Canon EOS 600D DSLR. This means that you will have to give much greater consideration to getting the right exposure and focus for each shot than you did last year. There are a couple of useful tutorials on the Production Tutorials page in the sidebar already and, if you use the cameras correctly, the final products will have a much more professional, cinematic look.
As if all that wasn't enough, we've also updated QuarkXpress to the latest version (Version 10) but the changes are less radical than in Final Cut; more evolution than revolution and I think you will adapt quickly to this new version.
Finally, we've reformatted the iMacs and updated the memory and operating system (now running Mavericks). They should run faster than last year and there shouldn't be as many technical issues. However, that does mean that all work from last year has been wiped from the hard drives (I hope you completed and blogged the draft magazine review page before we finished for the Summer?).
We now have 38 Year 10 GCSE students using the Media Suite too, as well as a bigger 'AS' Level class, so the careful management of your own folders and media on the iMacs is vital (including backing up important work). I'll cover more on this in the first lesson.
You can get a week by week overview of the course by looking at the Learning Schedule in the sidebar. Use the Learning Schedule to monitor your progress against published expectations. As last year, we will use the Monitoring Blog Progress Sheet (see sidebar) to communicate on the quality of evidence on your blog; identifying where improvements can be made. New for this year though is the Lesson Targets For Individuals page. Each week, at the start of each lesson, you will review the lesson objectives identified in the weekly lesson post and set yourself a target for the lesson. This target will be reviewed halfway through the lesson and again at the end of the lesson. Interventions, consequential homework and feedback from peers or your teacher will also be recorded on this document. Your progress within a lesson will be assessed against the agreed targets.
Right...let's get started.
