BBC Bitesize KS3 English - Video Brief BBC Learning

March 2018

BBC Bitesize: KS3 English Video Brief

March 2018

1

Contents About BBC Bitesize ....................................................................................................................... 2

Who is the BBC Bitesize audience? ..................................................................................................... 2

Style, tone and the Bitesize brand ...................................................................................................... 2

The commission ........................................................................................................................... 3

Look and feel ....................................................................................................................................... 3

The curriculum .................................................................................................................................... 4

Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 5

Outline of work ................................................................................................................................... 5

General points ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Storyboards and scripts ...................................................................................................................... 6

Suggested titles ................................................................................................................................... 6

Education consultant .......................................................................................................................... 6

Deliverables......................................................................................................................................... 7

Sustainable productions ..................................................................................................................... 7

Working together......................................................................................................................... 8

Who’s responsible for what? .............................................................................................................. 8

The BBC Learning team ....................................................................................................................... 8

Schedule/project management .......................................................................................................... 8

The process................................................................................................................................ 10

Proposal ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Proposal deliverable list ................................................................................................................ 10

Selection ............................................................................................................................................ 11

Pitch .................................................................................................................................................. 11

Key dates ........................................................................................................................................... 11

APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................................... I

BBC Bitesize: KS3 English Video Brief

March 2018

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About BBC Bitesize

Who is the BBC Bitesize audience? Bitesize is the BBC’s study support service for students, helping 5-16+ year olds with their

coursework, homework and preparation for tests and exams. Bitesize covers core subjects at

primary, Scottish 1st and 2nd levels, and a much wider range of subjects at secondary, including KS3,

GCSE, Welsh TGAU, Scottish National 4 and 5 and Higher. It also covers Functional Skills Maths and

English in England and equivalent Core Skills qualifications in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Bitesize is used by approximately three-quarters of secondary school students in the UK. It received

an average of 2.5 million unique UK users per week – with weekly traffic peaking at 3.5 million.

Style, tone and the Bitesize brand BBC Bitesize is a highly trusted brand that students know they can turn to for reliable and

trustworthy information that is produced in a high quality and entertaining way.

Bitesize values:

• Quality learning resources with high production values, tailored to the needs of our

audience

• Clear, concise delivery of the key educational points - bite-sized chunks

• Inclusive

• Factually correct, high-quality and curriculum-relevant

• Simple, straightforward language

• Funny, quirky or irreverent tone where appropriate

• Accessible to every level of academic ability

We have a significant KS3 English content online at the moment. Some are in the old study guide

format (eg https://www.bbc.com/education/guides/zxxbr82/revision), and some are in the newer

learner guide format (eg http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zs87dxs). This commission will form part of

our new content, in the learner guide format. As can be seen, the learner guides usually contain a

video along with supporting text, activities, slideshows, infographics and/or photographs. We are

not necessarily looking to mimic the existing video style in this commission. This commission is for

the production of the video portion only.

The video links below - whilst not necessarily being representative of the style we’re looking for from

this specific commission - give an indication of the variety of Bitesize videos currently available:

Exam and revision techniques: Planning your revision

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03ntp1w

KS3 English (poetry) – Redrafting ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ (step 2)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nmq46

GCSE French: Sport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nm39n

KS3 Science: How to make CO2 (step 1)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zw7hdxs

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GCSE Maths: Solving algebraic problems

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02m44z6

KS3 English: Sentences

https://www.bbc.com/education/guides/zxqnfg8/video

Given the videos are being produced for the KS3 Bitesize audience we tend to steer clear of talking

animals and inanimate objects in animations (which can ‘age-down’ content).

The commission This commission is for live action, animation or live action/animation mix content.

We are open to ideas for live video, animation or a mixture depending on best fit for each of the

videos. There may be options for using on-screen text or graphics creatively or other effects to

underline learning points.

The BBC reserves the right to award this contract in the way that provides the best service and value

for money. The budget for this project is £105,000.

For a commission of £105,000 we expect 42 minutes of video (21 films of 2 minutes each).

Delivery of all content is required by the 14th December 2018.

The video content needs to appeal to KS3 students but should not alienate or patronise a wider

audience. Videos should be concise, lively, imaginative and accurate.

Subject specialism is not a prerequisite (although clearly it would be useful) – what we’re looking for

are creative and engaging solutions.

Likewise, learning experience is not a prerequisite. However, a thorough understanding of the needs

of the Bitesize audience and a clear approach to addressing those needs is expected. Companies

should have experience delivering engaging content for young audiences, ideally including short

form content.

Deadline for submissions is 5pm on Monday 16th April 2018.

Look and feel Each video should provide an engaging and succinct explanation of the content and be appropriate

for 11-14 year olds. We are looking for engaging presenters, useful visuals and exciting animation –

dry voiceovers on slideshow presentations or experts straight to camera won’t engage this audience.

We are focussing on areas where students need extra help to understand aspects of the course and

for topics to come alive through a visual stimulus. The videos should aim to simplify complex

concepts.

Humour may work for these films but we must ensure it is aimed at KS3-aged students, and doesn’t

detract from the learning objectives.

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The curriculum A new KS3 English curriculum was introduced in England in 2013. This commission should support

the contents of this curriculum as much as possible.

From the English programmes of study: Key Stage 3:

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language

and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, and to

develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum

for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

read easily, fluently and with good understanding

develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information

acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic

conventions for reading, writing and spoken language

appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage

write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range

of contexts, purposes and audiences

use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their

understanding and ideas

are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations,

demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

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Requirements

Outline of work 21 short-form videos of approximately 2 minutes each, totalling 42 minutes. Within this

total, there may be some flexibility to make some videos shorter and others longer as the

learning requires.

Each video should stand alone in its own right as an engaging piece of content but also should feel part of a connected suite – with no connecting story arc.

Each video should cover a specific set of learning objectives in a way that is easily

comprehensible for our audience, covering the key points of the curriculum, but must also

fit together as a suite of content with built-in progression. Note that the Bitesize team will

make the Explainer itself, and will produce the associated contextual content.

Videos will be published on bbc.com and other channels as appropriate.

Videos should include voiceover, music and sound effects where appropriate.

All video content should use the learning outcomes provided by Bitesize as the basis for their

scripts. Bitesize is open to discussion about the number and breadth of learning outcomes.

A 20-30 second teaser of each of 5 films, specific films to be agreed with BBC Bitesize.

Hero image relating to each film, to feature on the learner guides that the films sit in.

Character sheets for each key character in a variety of different poses and with different

facial expressions, to be delivered before animation work starts.

For live action films, 3 x high-res jpegs.

General points All videos should use the learning outcomes provided by Bitesize as the basis for their

scripts.

The videos should encourage multiple viewings.

Video content typically remains live on Bitesize for at least 4-5 years, so topical references should be avoided to ensure that the content does not date too quickly.

Video content should be engaging and informative. The video content should present the

key points using a practical approach. We are open to all fresh, creative ideas.

We are not necessarily looking for responses featuring established star names for the voice

overs or people on screen – in fact up and coming talent would be preferred.

Films should be linear - interactivity is out of scope for this commission.

Bitesize will require final sign-off on voices and on-screen talent, as well as initial concepts,

scripts, sfx, music, rough drafts/animatics and final versions.

Where used, music should be production/mood music rather than commercial.

The overall tone should be informal, chatty and appealing to the audience. Content should feel confident and assured, but not teacher-like. It should feel friendly and informal, but not like it is ‘trying too hard’.

The delivery should be quite pacey and natural, but not so quick that it loses learners. Clarity

is very important.

It is essential that, where applicable, the characters featured represent the diversity of the

Bitesize audience in terms of gender, gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability,

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socio-economic status and regionality. For example, approximately 25% of school children

today identify themselves as not being White British. BBC Bitesize celebrates diversity in all

its forms: BBC Bitesize has produced a ‘Diversity and Inclusion Commissioning Guidelines’

document to support the attainment of the BBC and BBC Bitesize’s diversity targets.

Please note that although Bitesize currently incorporates video clips for use in class by

teachers, this commission is part of our student-facing content and will sit within our Study

Guides.

Storyboards and scripts The company awarded the contract will produce initial concepts, storyboards and scripts for each of

the videos above.

Bitesize requires full consultation during the scripting process, including the reviewing of drafts to

ensure the scripts hit the learning points, and full sign-off on completed scripts.

Suggested titles The list below shows potential video titles (these are subject to change in consultation with BBC).

More detail on this list can be found in the Appendix:

How to investigate language in fiction texts

How to investigate structure in fiction texts

How to use evidence from a text

How to use language for effect

How to use structure for effect

How to draft your writing

How to engage the reader in the opening paragraph

How to investigate language in non-fiction texts

How to investigate structure in non-fiction texts

How to build an argument

How to write an essay

How to write an introduction to a literature essay

How to write a conclusion to a literature essay

How to persuade a reader

How to write a speech

How to write a formal letter

How to memorise tricky spellings

How to use tenses

How to understand rhythm

How to understand poetic form

How to identify poetic form

Education consultant You will need to contract and work with an educational specialist/consultant who will be involved

throughout the process to ensure all learning objectives are covered and content is accurate and

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relevant to our audience. All content (ie video concepts, initial scripts, final scripts, animatics/rough

cuts, fine cuts/final versions, etc.) will need to be reviewed by the consultant before they are sent to

us.

Deliverables Final videos in electronic format – 21 x HD (a technical specification will be provided), both

compressed and uncompressed. Uncompressed audio provided in multiple editable audio

layers.

A 20-30 second ‘teaser’ for 5 selected films, to be agreed with BBC Bitesize.

Hero image relating to each film, to feature on the learner guides that the films sit in.

Character sheets for each key character in a variety of different poses and with different

facial expressions, to be delivered before animation work starts.

For live action films, 3 x high-res jpegs.

XML transcripts for subtitles (template will be provided).

Post-production paperwork (templates will be provided).

All content should be cleared for all rights in perpetuity. Any exceptions to this must be agreed with

BBC in advance of inclusion. This commission will be based on a framework 2 contract. This link

provides further information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/online/articles/how-we-work#framework

Sustainable productions BBC Learning is working to ensure that all its projects are environmentally sustainable. As part of this,

we ask that any independent supplier we work with has an environmental sustainability policy,

carbon literacy aware staff (free training can be found here - http://wearealbert.org/help/get-

trained) and that all productions, where appropriate, complete an Albert carbon footprint

calculation.

A good way to demonstrate your environmental credentials is to undertake Albert certification.

Please see here for more details http://www.bbc.co.uk/responsibility/environment/albert-plus or

contact Nicholas.Leslie@bbc.co.uk for more information.

More details can be found at http://wearealbert.org/ and

http://www.bbc.co.uk/responsibility/environment/industry-collaboration.

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Working together

Who’s responsible for what? You will be responsible for:

project management and production of deliverables to agreed deadline and budget

chairing regular production meetings and communicating project plans and status

quality assurance of content (in cooperation with the educational consultant)

We will be responsible for:

sharing project documentation from the wider suite of Bitesize KS3 English content if

available

collaboration throughout the production and delivery

sign-off on the following: storylines/initial concepts, look and feel, scripts, storyboards,

essential cast members, voice-casting, music, sounds effects, rough-cuts/animatics and final

delivery – within an agreed timeframe

We will be jointly responsible for:

ensuring the learning outcomes are met

ensuring that content is best-fit for the Bitesize audience

The BBC Learning team Oonagh Jaquest – Editor, Bitesize

Tanya Smith – Assistant Producer, Bitesize

Erin MacTague – Production Manager

Schedule/project management

Although key points such as casting, concepts, script, animatic/rough draft and final delivery

sign-off, etc will be identified in the Editorial Specification, all Bitesize production follows an

iterative development process. We will require accommodation for feedback cycles

(including, but not limited to: initial outlines; scripts – versions 1 and 2; storyboard/animatic

– versions 1 and 2; key talent; music/sound sign off; finished film – rough and fine) in the

schedule. We will feed back ASAP on all editorial decisions, in line with the schedule.

Final delivery for the project is 14th December 2018.

This project is highly dependent on specific delivery dates that will be defined in the contract. As

such we would like you to give particular attention to clause 9 in our standard terms which states

the following:

If you fail or are due to fail to deliver a Deliverable (or any part thereof) due at any stage specified in Schedule 2

for any reason not directly and solely attributable to the BBC, the BBC shall (without prejudice to any other

rights or remedies available to the BBC under this Agreement or at law) be entitled to terminate this

Agreement.

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Should this situation arise and the BBC is forced to terminate, the BBC would only be liable to you for

anything delivered prior to termination. For this reason we would ask that you give timeframes and

delivery the highest priority.

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The process

Proposal Proposals should be provided as either MS Word documents or PDFs. They should be a maximum of

15 pages long. Please submit proposals to Rhia MacKenzie, Production Management Assistant, at

rhia.mackenzie@bbc.co.uk. Proposals that are larger than 7 MB may not be accepted by our email

system. Please let us know, prior to the deadline, if your proposal is 7+ MB and we will agree

another delivery method.

The delivery date for the submission of proposals is 5pm Monday 16th April 2018. Please note that

submissions received after this deadline WILL NOT be considered.

Please use the following two videos to base your proposal on (highlighted in yellow in the appendix):

4. Fiction texts >How to use language for effect

17. SPaG > How to memorise tricky spellings

If there are any general questions about the project, rather than those specific to your own

approach, we will distribute responses to all companies pitching.

To allow you to work up your summary creative solutions in relation to this commission, we have

provided further information (see Appendix) on the videos. For each video, we have provided a

potential title and some learning outcomes - what the students should know after they’ve watched

the videos.

Proposal deliverable list

Company overview

What relevant experience does your company have to deliver this project? We’re interested

in hearing about relevant previous projects, your experience in creating content for young

audiences and your understanding of the challenges of this commission.

Creative approach

Demonstrate what creative approach you would take for this commission in order to cover

learning points described. Please include:

o design ideas or concepts

o an episode summary

Summary creative solutions to the two videos listed above

Resourcing

Please define your project team within your response, including an indication of core staff

members and freelance support. Please outline any talent, including – writer, director,

subject matter experts, etc.

Logistics

How do you intend to deliver the project? Please outline your technical approach, project

management approach and approach to risk management.

Budget

The maximum budget for this commission is £105,000. Please provide a detailed budget

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breakdown to show how you intend to cost the project. Payment schedule to be agreed

upon award of contract. Typical payment might be:

o 15% on signature

o 15% on script sign off

o 15% on first day of principle photography / prod

o 25% on sign off of rough cuts

o 15% on sign off of fine cuts

o 15% on acceptance of full delivery

Schedule

Please include an indication of key milestones and sign-off points for the BBC, as well as any

audience testing.

Selection The BBC will use the following standard criteria to evaluate the proposals submitted:

creative approach – originality / suitability for Bitesize audience

ability to meet editorial requirements, including appropriate consideration of diversity and

inclusion

pricing / value for money

project management / production plan (schedule and budget)

prior experience of company and core staff experience

presentation of response

Any queries on this commission should be emailed to Oonagh Jaquest (oonagh.jaquest@bbc.co.uk).

Pitch Shortlisted companies will be invited to a face-to-face pitch at MediaCityUK, Salford the week of 14th

May 2018.

Key dates

Brief published 19th March 2018

Deadline for questions 28th March 2018

Response to questions 3rd April 2018

Deadline for proposal submission 5pm 16th April 2018

Invitation to pitch notification 2nd May 2018

Face-to-face pitch w/c 14th May 2018

Notification of Contract Award 22nd May 2018

Final delivery 14th December 2018

I

APPENDIX # Topic Title Learning objectives

1 Fiction texts How to investigate language in fiction texts Develop an understanding of how language choices create effects in a fictional text and how this engages the reader.

2 Fiction texts How to investigate structure in fiction texts Develop an understanding of how the structure of a fictional narrative controls the reader’s response.

3 Fiction texts How to use evidence from a text Develop an understanding of how to use evidence to support a point about a fiction text.

4 Fiction texts How to use language for effect Develop an understanding of how to use language effectively to create convincing characters, setting and atmosphere.

5 Fiction texts How to use structure for effect Develop an understanding of how to manipulate the reader through the choice of narrative structure.

6 Fiction texts How to draft your writing Understand the importance of writing as a craft and the role of drafting in shaping an effective narrative.

7 Fiction texts How to engage the reader in the opening paragraph

Develop an understanding of how to engage and intrigue the reader by using different techniques for opening a fictional narrative.

8 Non-fiction texts How to investigate language in non-fiction texts Develop an understanding of how a writer controls the reader’s response through their choice of language.

9 Non-fiction texts How to investigate structure in non-fiction texts Develop an understanding of how structure affects the meaning/purpose of a non-fiction text.

10 Non-fiction texts How to build an argument Understand how to plan and structure a balanced, formal argument.

11 Non-fiction texts How to write an essay Understand how to write a well-structured literature essay that answers the question/title.

12 Non-fiction texts How to write an introduction to a literature essay Understand how to write a clear and effective introduction to a literature essay.

13 Non-fiction texts How to write a conclusion to a literature essay Understand how to write a clear and effective introduction to a literature essay.

14 Non-fiction texts How to persuade a reader Understand how to persuade a reader to agree with your viewpoint.

15 Non-fiction texts How to write a speech Understand how to structure an effective speech that engages the listeners. Understand the key language features of an effective speech.

16 Non-fiction texts How to write a formal letter Understand the correct layout and language for a formal letter.

17 SPaG How to memorise tricky spellings Learn a range of strategies to memorise tricky spellings

18 Understanding poetry How to use tenses Understand how to avoid common mistakes when using tense.

19 Understanding poetry How to understand rhythm Understand how to recognise simple rhythms in poetry and their effect on the reader.

20 Understanding poetry How to understand poetic form Understand what poetic form is, and difference between open and closed poetic forms. Understand how to work out a rhyme scheme, stanza length.

21 Understanding poetry How to identify poetic form Understand that there are a range of poetic forms. Understand the key features of many poetic forms (eg rhyme scheme, stanza lengths like a quatrain, rhyming couplets.)