Coursework: Summer Project 2025

 

Your AQA coursework brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 6. 

Summer project tasks

Complete the following tasks on a blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Summer Project: coursework planning': 

1) Research: TikTok videos

You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX TikTok videos that will inform your production work. The TikTok videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).  

TikTok videos

TikTok Video 1: Narrative

In this video the artist 'EFÉ', an indie artist, is promoting her new song Truth(star)Truth. The video follows the main artist on a football field as the referee, three cheerleaders and a janitor and their shenanigans on the field.  The video follows Todorov's equilibrium theory as it starts in a calm tone, with the cheerleaders whispering between themselves until the referee comes up telling them to put their cards up; here there is a sense of equilibrium as everyone is doing the jobs that they are meant to. However disequilibrium occurs when the referee screams into the megaphone she is holding, this creates a domino effect of chaos causing them to run around the field recklessly and they even rope the janitor into this behaviour. In the end there is no new equilibrium as it ends with only the referee on the pitch by herself, sitting aimlessly and twiddling her feet and therefore still not doing her job as a referee. This chaos makes the audience want to listen to the song as they may resonate with this carefree attitude of music. 

TikTok Video 2: Camerawork (shots, angles, movement) 

In this band rehearsal video they use a very cinematic approach. The camera movement is minimal, focusing on the members of the band and there instruments. The camera is most likely on a stand which results in a slow, steady moving action to capture the member and then their instrument as they are playing. The shots comprise of medium close ups, wide shots of the room and close ups of the instruments.  

TikTok Video 3: Mise-en-scene

‘Precious’ song promotion: 
Costume - The singer is wearing all black, chunky platform boots, a metal spike lined belt, a corset and long black trousers. All aspects of her outfit fall in the category of the traditional punk rock aesthetic.
 
Makeup - ‘Precious’ has a grey smokey eye paired with dark lipstick, her hair is in box braids, with the front pieces consisting of a dark blue colour and the rest are jet black. Creating subtle differences with experimental hairstyles that align with the punk aesthetic is common with the alt black community, which falls in line with the genre of music.

Props- The props used are the instruments that are used in the video, which are also used to make the music for the song they are performing. The props consist of two drums(one full set and a singular one), an acoustic guitar and a microphone. 

Setting - The video is filmed in a church on the stage of an altar, this falls in line with the song’s theme of Christianity as well as punk rock’s opposing views to the status quo and all religion. 

TikTok  Video 4: Editing

South Arcade’s song promotion: 
The video is quite fast paced which aligns with the pace of the song, the same can also be said for the transitions within the video. There are 4 different types of shots: one medium shot of the singer and the band in the background, one shot of the guitarist playing in an alt-like background consisting of a metal sheet with large holes in it, this same background is also used just for the singer, a close up with a fisheye lens is also used for the singer allowing the audience to get up close and personal to her. There is also an over the head shot of the drums and lastly a highly edited shot of the singer using her blacked out silhouette and various colourful backgrounds. With the use of the fast paced editing and transitions between each shot the audience is enthralled in the video. Their eyes never wandering, which keeps them entertained and therefore glued to the video, bringing a sense of entertainment as well as escapism for the audience. 


TikTok  Video 5: Music Video Conventions

In this video the band "South Arcade" replicates the conventions of 2000s pop punk and alternative rock. They use the fish eye angle/shot, wired/ hanging microphones as well as the extreme saturation of colour that was found during that era. With the loud guitar, fashion style of the members and the sets they follow Godwin's genre conventions. The band also follows other aspects of his music theory conventions, such as the relationship between music and visuals. Where the videos pace and structure correlate with the song's tempo and rhythm, directly representing the music's sound. Goodwin also mentions the "star image" which helps the video create and reinforce the artists public persona, overtime showcasing their personality and appeal through recurring visual motifs. 

TikTok 6: Visual effects, intertextuality or product placement

In this video the artist 'Precious' promotes her song 'Eve', which is about her friend being gay in the church. The song was released during pride month, a very fitting time. It was also filmed in a church, with the alter right behind them and the lyrics of the song which use the words "deliverance", "angel and "devil". All of this are intertextual references towards religion, including the name of the song which is named after a character in the Bible. 

You can start adding TikTok links to this shared document that should help with research and, of course, or you are free to select videos of your choice. You may wish to write more about one video than another but as long as you have 800+ words of TikTok video research in total you will be fine. Feel free to use bullet points if this is helpful.

2) Planning: THREE TikTok video treatments

A treatment is like a script for a TikTok video - it tells the band or artist exactly what will happen in the video and the kind of style or effect the video will have. You'll need choose what songs you are going to use at this point - remember, you can use an existing artist's work but it needs to be appropriate for the brief. 

For this aspect of your summer project, write a basic treatment that gives your reader a good idea of what each of your three TikTok video will look like. The most important thing is to keep in mind the brief - the TikTok video can feature any of the following:
  • interviews/AMAs with band members 
  • content created by band members 
  • performances, live shows or personal appearances 
  • band members taking on a TikTok challenge 
  • the band interacting with fans • fan-made content 
  • merchandise or promotion of the band’s music 
  • any other content or combination of content you think would be appealing to the audience and promote the band effectively.
Start each of your THREE treatments with the following key details: 

First TikTok:
 
1) Artist/band and song(s) you will use for video.

On My Mama- Victoria Monèt

Song promotion video: mini music vid

Kitchen- “put that on my own mama”
Outside- “On my hood”
Park(Northala) -“I look fly, I look good”
At end of vid - “On my Mama, June 16th 2025”


2) Original name for artist/band you have created - MUST be completely original

Extraterrestrial

Second TikTok:

1) Artist/band and song(s) you will use for video.

Hate on me- Glee Cast 

Tiny Desk concert

Script:

Main singer(Cianna) - “Hi we are Extraterrestrial! We’ve got Willow on the piano, Rose on the guitar and me Cianna as the main vocalist! We hope you enjoy our out of this world sound. 

Piano - Willow
Guitar - Rose

Third TikTok:

1) Artist/band and song(s) you will use for video.

Consideration- Rihanna plays in the background 

Hot wings challenge

Script: 
Wing 1 - “That’s nice and sweet”

Wing 2 - “Mhmm that’s nice and crispy”

Wing 3 - “Man this is too easy”

Wing 4 - “Yeah this is a set up I can tell already” 

Wing 5 - “Ooo that definitely creeps up on you, cuz I thought it was good until it wasn’t” 

Wing 6 -  “I refuse to cry right now - straight face

Wing 7 - “I think I was right to be scared”

Wing 8 (da bomb)- “I’m really trying to care about what your saying right now but I just don’t” 

Wing 9 - “I feel super exposed after that”

Wing 10 (The last dab) - “ Best till last right(takes a bite) delicious”

3) Statement of Intent

Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.

For my three TikTok videos I will showcase my all-female band Extraterrestrial through a live performance, a promotional music video snippet and an entertainment based interview challenge. The strategy I have chosen illustrates various TikTok conventions such as self-portrait content to build parasocial relationships with audiences and promote band identity. 


The first video will be a live performance of ‘Hate on me’( Glee Cast). The sequence begins with a tracking shot of the band entering through a fan crowd, reinforcing fandom culture and illustrating the audience’s parasocial engagement.  The sense includes fans holding signs and interacting with the performers, enhancing authenticity and portraying the fandom culture in the music industry. Performance coverage will feature close-ups and medium close-ups of each member, with diegetic sound consisting of live vocals, instrumental performance, and introductions. Props include microphones, piano, and guitar; lighting will be fluorescent studio rigging. Costumes will differentiate band identity, with the lead vocalist styled in white denim, a brown hat, and gold jewellery, while other members wear casual attire to emphasise relatability. 


The second video is a promotional snippet for 'On My Mama' (Victoria Monét). Drawing on music video conventions, it uses match-on-action pans to transition between locations (kitchen, car). The vertical self-portrait frame reinforces TikTok conventions. The second video will be a music video promotion that includes a snippet of the music video for the song ‘On My Mama’ by Victoria Monet.  Non-diegetic sound will be limited to the soundtrack only with consistent medium/medium close ups to ensure visual continuity. Props feature: a car, kitchen setting, a cameo appearance of my mother and 90s hip-hop inspired costume styling, aligning with intertextual references and genre specific iconography. 


The third video portrays an entertainment style format:  a hot wings challenge with the band members. Soundtracked by Rihanna’s ‘Consideration’, using fast paced editing and comedic reaction shots( close ups) I will highlight the group's dynamics, creating opportunities for personal identification. The main location will be of the studio and the other will be of the members walking into the studio from outside, each member will be dressed casually and the lighting will be fluorescent studio lighting to spotlight the members. 


In addition to the TikTok videos I will extend the band's media presence through  my billboard documentary project: Eras of Pop, to be distributed on Amazon Prime UK(21st September).   

This three-part series explores female pop bands across decades: Velvet Voltage (alternative pop, 2010s), TTYL (recession pop, early 2000s), and Prejudice (late-90s Britpop). Costume and set design will authentically reconstruct each cultural era, highlighting how industry, socio-economic context, and audience expectations shaped each band’s representation.  


This cross platform approach consolidates Extraterrestrial’s star image with music promotion, fan engagement and entertainment. By utilising the TikTok platform to reach a wide ranging audience and extending these efforts of representation in documentary form my project illustrates the convergence of media platforms to cultivate fandom, reinforce genre conventions and build long term audience investment.




4) Ignite presentation

Prepare a 5-minute, 20-slide presentation using the Ignite format in which you present your coursework project. In effect, this is your statement of intent in presentation format. You must cover:
  • Your TikTok videos and billboard posters concept: your new original artist, genre, song and TikTok video treatments. Then, your print brief: documentary title, artists / bands featured, eras covered, etc.
  • Media language: how you will use TikTok video conventions and billboard advertising conventions - e.g. camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene to create meanings for your audience. 
  • Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes in your TikTok video and music documentary adverts; applications of representation theory; social and cultural contexts - how your coursework will reflect contemporary media culture and society.
  • Media audiences: your target audience demographics and psychographics; audience pleasures - why they would enjoy your TikTok video and magazine; audience theory if relevant.
  • Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; the streaming service for your music documentary; the brand identity for your artist; how fans would engage with your products etc.
Ignite presentations have very specific rules: you must create exactly 20 slides with each slide set to 15-second auto-advance. This means your presentation will be exactly five minutes followed by questions and comments from the class. You will deliver your presentation on your coursework planning in the first week back in September.

Your Ignite presentation will be marked out of 30 on the following criteria (each worth a possible 5 marks):

1) Research (through the presentation AND your blog - make sure it is posted before you present) 
2) Coursework concept
3) Language: terminology and theory
4) Representations / social and cultural contexts
5) Audience and Industry / digital convergence
6) Presentation delivery

You can find more information about Ignite presentations - including examples - in this Ignite presentation blogpost here. 



Summer project deadline: all tasks above due in second lesson back in September


Summer project: optional extensions

Pre-production tasks

Some students in previous years expressed an interest in filming their video production over the summer break. This makes a huge amount of sense - far more availability of actors, much more time to schedule filming etc. If you do want to film over the summer, make sure you complete the following pre-production tasks here:

TikTok video planning and treatment
This is effectively your script for your TikTok video. There is guidance/links above on how to write a great TikTok video treatment.

Storyboard 
Sketch out a selection of critical shots from your TikTok video, take a photo of the storyboard and upload it to your blogpost. What visual style are you trying to create? Storyboard sheets can be downloaded from here.

Shot list
Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film for the TikTok video AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word to set out your shot list - you can find a film example here. It makes sense to organise your shot list by scene or location rather than a huge list of every shot in the TikTok video in chronological order. 

Mise-en-scene
What iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre you are working in? Plan your cast, costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting. This can be simply completed using your blog or Microsoft Word - the key aspect is to have planned all the critical details. 

Shooting schedule 
Plan a shooting schedule for your filming over the summer. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location. Again, this can be on Word or Excel or you could simply use your blog. The most important thing is that you've planned it! 

Non-assessed participants
You will need to provide a written record of all non-assessed participants in your production work (both video and print). Keep a record of everyone involved - actors, camerawork, sound etc. You will also need a keep a record of any non-original sound and note it on the Candidate Record Form - so this means the song for your music video. Keep these on your blog for easy reference when submitting your work in Year 13.

Production: Filming and photography

Once you have completed your pre-production tasks, you can film or carry out photoshoots as you wish.

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