INCLUDED ON THE

Moderators’ report KS4 PERFORMANCE TABLES

OCR Level 1/Level 2

Cambridge National in

Creative iMedia
J834
For first teaching in 2022 | Version 1

R094-R099 Summer 2023 series

[Link]/cambridgenationals
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Unit R094 General overview ....................................................................................................................... 5
Comments by Task ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Task 1 – Develop a visual identity and plan digital graphics for products .................................................. 6
Task 2 – Plan digital graphics for products and create visual identity and digital graphics ........................ 7
Unit R095 General overview ....................................................................................................................... 8
Comments by Task ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Task 1 – Plan characters and comics ......................................................................................................... 8
Task 2 – Plan and create characters and comics ....................................................................................... 8
Task 3 – Plan and review characters and comics ...................................................................................... 9
Unit R096 General overview ..................................................................................................................... 10
Comments by Task ................................................................................................................................... 10
Task 1 – Planning animation with audio ................................................................................................... 10
Task 2 – Planning and creating animation with audio .............................................................................. 10
Task 3 – Planning and reviewing animation with audio ............................................................................ 11
Unit R097 General overview ..................................................................................................................... 12
Comments by Task ................................................................................................................................... 12
Task 1 – Planning interactive digital media .............................................................................................. 12
Task 2 – Planning and creating interactive digital media ......................................................................... 12
Task 3 – Planning and reviewing interactive digital media ....................................................................... 13
Unit R098 General overview ..................................................................................................................... 14
Comments by Task ................................................................................................................................... 14
Task 1 – Planning visual imaging portfolios ............................................................................................. 14
Task 2 – Planning and creating visual imaging portfolios ......................................................................... 14
Task 3 – Planning and reviewing visual imaging portfolios ...................................................................... 14
Unit R099 General overview ..................................................................................................................... 15
Comments by Task ................................................................................................................................... 15
Task 1 – Planning digital games ............................................................................................................... 15
Task 2 – Planning and creating digital games .......................................................................................... 15
Task 3 – Planning and Reviewing digital games ...................................................................................... 16

2 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Introduction
Our Lead Moderators’ reports are produced to offer constructive feedback on centres’ assessment of
moderated work, based on what has been observed by the moderation team. These reports include a
general commentary of accuracy of internal assessment judgements; identify good practice in relation to
evidence collation and presentation and comments on the quality of centre assessment decisions
against individual Learning Objectives. This report also highlights areas where requirements have been
misinterpreted and provides guidance to centre assessors on requirements for accessing higher mark
bands. Where appropriate, the report will also signpost to other sources of information that centre
assessors will find helpful.

OCR completes moderation of centre-assessed work in order to quality assure the internal assessment
judgements made by assessors within a centre. Where OCR cannot confirm the centre’s marks, we may
adjust them in order to align them to the national standard. Any adjustments to centre marks are detailed
on the Moderation Adjustments report, which can be downloaded from Interchange when results are
issued. Centres should also refer to their individual centre report provided after moderation has been
completed. In combination, these centre-specific documents and this overall report should help to
support centres’ internal assessment and moderation practice for future series.

Please note, the content for this report is based on candidate work submitted in the June 2023 series
and does not include work from the extraordinary autumn submission opportunity. It is possible that not
all units are covered within the report, however candidate style work is available for all internally
assessed units on Teach Cambridge and candidate exemplars from the 2023 series will be available
from the autumn.

Online courses
We have created online courses to build your confidence in delivering, marking and administering
internal assessment for our qualifications. Courses are available for Cambridge Nationals, GCSE, A
Level and Cambridge Technicals (2016).

Cambridge Nationals
All teachers delivering our redeveloped Cambridge Nationals suite from September 2022 are asked to
complete the Essentials for the NEA course, which describes how to guide and support your students.
You'll receive a certificate which you should retain.

Following this you can also complete a subject-specific Focus on Internal Assessment course for your
individual Cambridge Nationals qualification, covering marking and delivery.

Please note, the content for this report is based on candidate work submitted in the June 2023 series
and does not include work from the extraordinary autumn submission opportunity. It is possible that not
all units are covered within the report, however candidate style work is available for all internally-
assessed units on Teach Cambridge and candidate exemplars from the 2023 series will be available
from the autumn.

GCSE, A Level and Cambridge Technicals (2016)

We recommend all teachers complete the introductory module Building your Confidence in Internal
Assessment, which covers key internal assessment and standardisation principles.

Following this you will find a subject-specific course for your individual qualification, covering marking
criteria with examples and commentary, along with interactive marking practice.

3 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Accessing our online courses

You can access all our online courses from our teacher support website Teach Cambridge.

You will find links relevant to your subject under Assessment, NEA/Coursework and then Online Courses
from the left hand menu on your Subject page.

If you have any queries, please contact our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998 or email
support@[Link].

Would you prefer a Word version?

Did you know that you can save this PDF as a Word file using Acrobat Professional?
Simply click on File > Export to and select Microsoft Word
(If you have opened this PDF in your browser you will need to save it first. Simply right click anywhere on
the page and select Save as . . . to save the PDF. Then open the PDF in Acrobat Professional.)
If you do not have access to Acrobat Professional there are a number of free applications available that
will also convert PDF to Word (search for PDF to Word converter).

4 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R094 General overview

The extent to which the report below focuses on each unit is a reflection of the entries this series. Where
a limited number of entries were received the commentary has been reduced to reflect the lack of data
on which to comment on patterns and trends in the submissions.

There have been a wide range of creative and high-quality submissions for the Metamoda set
assignment, with some innovative visual identities and good demonstration of conventions in the
advertisement designs. Some less successful submissions were hampered by structure and content of
work which was much more suited to the legacy assignments than those of the new specification. Due to
the differences in content and marking criteria this can impact on the success of submissions such as
these. It is important that the centres take care to deliver the content of the new specification which will
more appropriately prepare candidate for a successful submission of the new assignments. When
assessing the work centres need to take care to review the marking criteria carefully when it comes to
allocation marks aspects that relate to the visual identity and those that link to the digital graphic product;
where these areas were confused there was some misapplication of the marking criteria.

This series has seen evidence of a number of administrative errors which create challenges for the
moderation process. In a change to the legacy specification, the new specification requires all centres to
submit work digitally; this can be via the Repository or Submit for Assessment or by sending a USB stick
in the post: we are no longer able to accept submission on paper or CD. This aligns with another key
aspect which is sometimes misunderstood: a key piece of evidence to support marks in this unit is the
visual identity and the final product in final format; this should be submitted for moderation as part of the
digital submission.

We saw a number of instances where work was submitted with file and folder names which were difficult
to link to a specific candidate, all work submitted along with the URS should be clearly labelled with the
candidate number, for the avoidance of doubt in terms of the creator of work. The URS should also
provide the page number and file reference for the location of evidence. We continue to see
underutilisation of the administration tab for storing URS documentation on the Repository, the process
for which is outlined in the specification.

It was pleasing to see that most centres submitted evidence in suitable format which are outlined in the
specification. It is worth noting here that there were a few instances where centres submitted evidence in
files formats which were not PC compatible which is a requirement of the specification also.

OCR support

The J834 specification (page 121 Section 6) provides details on the requirements when
submitting your sample for moderation.

5 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Develop a visual identity and plan digital graphics for products
At the start of this task it was often observed that centres applied an approach more suited to the legacy
specification where candidates completed an interpretation of the client brief before beginning the tasks
in the assessment. While this is not bad practice, it should be noted that in this unit, this task does not
support marks.

There were some good quality submissions for the first strand of this task which required a design
concept for the visual identity. However, there were some cases where there was some confusion
surrounding the difference between the visual identity and the final digital graphic product. One
misconception that was frequently seen was that a logo and a visual identity are one and the same.
While a logo can be part of a visual identity there are other aspects covered in the teaching content
which can also be included as part of the design concept for the visual identity.

There were more variable levels of success in the second strand of this task where justifications were
mistaken for the annotations of the concept sketches or even merely implied from the sketches
themselves. Supporting marks here depends on the demonstration of the ability to justify the fitness for
purpose of the design concept for the visual identity that will be created. The level of understanding of
the requirements of a justification rather than a description of the chosen design was a weaker area of
this strand.

The third strand requires the planning of the digital graphic product. The evidence provided for this
strand was variable. There was a misconception, demonstrated by a number of centres, that planning for
the visual identity supports marks in this strand but this is not the case. In most cases the planning was
attempted by candidates but often the level of detail demonstrated did not support marks in the top mark
band. In some cases, the approach to planning contained significant justification of the rationale for the
chosen planning documentation; this is not a requirement of the marking criteria and does not support
marks.

Misconception

The planning for the digital graphic product is often misunderstood in the third strand. The
planning to support marks here does not include planning for the visual identity as this is
assessed elsewhere.

6 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Task 2 – Plan digital graphics for products and create visual identity and digital
graphics
The first strand of this task is all about the skills used to create the visual identity and also the properties
and format of the visual identity. This was one of the more significant areas where there was some drift
towards the legacy approach to assessment and marking. The marking criteria for this strand is
qualitative and focused on effectiveness; it is not about either ranking skills in terms of difficulty or
counting skills. The second aspect of this strand links the properties and format of the final visual
identity; the appropriateness here links to the requirements of the brief in terms of how it will be used.
This often focused solely on file type or properties and often neglected to consider both aspects
together, when looking to make good choices in terms of effectiveness. In many cases there appeared to
be limited understanding of properties and formats demonstrated in this element, which links back to the
teaching content of this unit, but also the prior knowledge gained from R093. There were also a number
of centres where the visual identity was not submitted as a separate file/s in its own right which is not in
line with the assessment criteria.

The second strand here relates to assets which are prepared for use in the digital graphic; this is one of
the few aspects where we are considering quantity, with the terms ‘few’, ‘some’ and ‘all’. The second
element returns to the qualitative aspects of the assessment, again linking to the technical skills used to
prepare the assets. This was one of the weaker areas of most submissions, particularly where the
evidence for this strand was implied from the final product, in the form of an assets folder or listed as part
of an assets source table.

The third strand is the significant aspect here in terms of marks and as such contains 3 aspects of
marking criteria. The first element is looking at the tools and techniques that are used in terms of their
effectiveness. There was some misconception around assessment of this element, where there were
comments which reflected the number of tools used or looking for advanced and standard tools which is
similar to the legacy specification but not relevant to the new specification. The second element of this
strand focuses on the application of knowledge surrounding design concept and layout conventions; this
is demonstrated in the final product. This was generally one of the stronger aspects of the submissions.

The penultimate element of this strand is focused on the suitability of the final product for the client
requirements. This aspect of the assessment looks at the final product and how well it meets the client
brief. The final product in its final format is vital for assessing this aspect, as a number of centres did not
provide this in their initial submission. This strand does not look at properties and formats of the final
product as this is covered in the final element of this strand.

The final element of this second task focuses solely on the properties and formats of the final product.
There are a number of aspects to consider for this part of the assessment and the evidence seen was
not as strong as that relating to the earlier aspects of this task. In many cases candidates had
considered either the file format or the properties such as resolution and size but not both. In other
cases, there was consideration of the properties and format for one use of the final product but not the
other, thus not supporting marks in the top mark band particularly well.

7 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R095 General overview

For comments on the more general administration of the submissions which apply similarly to each unit,
please see the introductory section in R094. This unit combines the skills of character design as the
component and comic book design as the final product. There were a range of creative approaches to
this unit and some great final products, it was pleasing to see to see good creativity from the candidates.

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Plan characters and comics

The work for the first element of the first strand demonstrated some good understanding of the skills
needed to effectively interpret the client brief. The second element of the strand, which required the
candidates to create an explanation of why the product meets the client brief was less well done. In a
number of cases, the justifications were limited in the demonstration of how the needs of the audience
and the requirements of the brief would be met by their interpretation; as such they did not meet the
requirements for the descriptor of ‘comprehensive’.

The second strand saw varying levels of success in terms of the evidence provided. Most candidates
provided some evidence to support aspects of the final product creation here. It was often the case that
that the content and storyline of the comic was planned in good detail but plans for the character and
other aspects of comics, such as layout, were not planned as well to support the higher marks. When
planning the character, we didn’t see as much consideration of suitability for the brief or understanding of
the design principles covered in the teaching content as might be desirable. Most characters that were
created were not original, having been either sourced and lightly edited or traced from elsewhere; this is
not good practice in terms of a vocational qualification and does not show the depth of understanding or
creativity that we would expect, to support marks in the higher mark bands.

The third element in this strand looked at assets and how they contribute to the effectiveness of the final
product. Here we saw many centres applying an approach more suited to the legacy specification when
assessing this element. This element is not about quantity of assets nor does it focus heavily on
legislation. The criteria for this element is about showing understanding of how the assets contribute to
the effectiveness of the final product, the how and why. An assets source table with the correct level of
detail to demonstrate the effectiveness can be used here, but it is not the only method that could be used
to support marks; there were some other creative methods which fulfilled this requirement as well.

Task 2 – Plan and create characters and comics

There was significant variance in the quality of the work produced for this task. The first strand, which
covers the creation of the component parts was generally one that was less well done. The focus of this
strand is on candidates applying the skills they have learnt along with their knowledge of conventions
and some creativity to create their character and also other aspects that they need to make their comic.
This is a large proportion of the marks, but the evidence suggested it was not a priority in many
portfolios, for example where all components were premade by the comic software and used as they
were or with very limited editing, this did not support marks for creation of components well.

8 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

There was some good creativity in the evidence for the second strand of this task. There were some
areas which were less successful such as applying conventions to the creation of comics, such as the
use of speech bubbles and onomatopoeia, in a lot of cases, the story telling relied on large caption
boxes creating a storyboard-like appearance. At the lower end of the mark range there were a lot of
single page comics or comics which were made multipage by increasing the size of the panels without
consideration for story flow. To support marks in the higher mark bands, application of the learning
points around panel size, shape and placement could be demonstrated. In some cases, this purpose of
the comic got lost within the story telling; to make sure a product is fully for purpose, the purpose should
be key to the design and making the of the comic.

The final strand of the task was generally well done. Care should be taken when applying these criteria
from an assessment perspective as the marks are given for the format of the components, but for format
and properties of the final product.

Task 3 – Plan and review characters and comics

This was the least well evidenced task of the unit. In a change to the approach seen in the legacy
specification there are now 4 distinct elements to cover of the 2 strands of the task and the combined
marks for this task are not insignificant. In most cases the evidence produced did not reflect the mark
weighting for this task.

This first strand looks at testing/checking, which focuses on the technical properties of the final product.,
plus reviewing which looks at the effectiveness of the product for the brief and target audience. The
teaching content of the unit will support candidates with the skills and knowledge they need to select and
apply a suitable method of testing/checking for this comic and character unit. The criteria focuses of the
effectiveness of that testing and checking to support marks. The review element of this strand has a
different focus in that it looks at the effectiveness of the final product for the client and the target
audience. It was often the case that this element was done in a narrative style which talked about what
the candidate had done to create the product; this doesn’t show the critical reflection and consideration
of how the product meets the brief that would be needed to support marks.

The final strand of this task focuses solely on the improvements and developments that could be made
to the final product. To support marks in this strand the recommendations made here are considered in
terms of how they would make the final product better, which we would expect to link to the brief and the
needs of the audience. While most candidates could outline some ideas for this element, the second
element of explaining the recommendations and their rationale was not well evidenced to support marks
in the higher mark bands.

9 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R096 General overview

For comments on the more general administration of the submissions which apply similarly to each unit,
please see the introductory section in R094. This unit focuses on animation and audio; in most cases the
candidates created the audio as a component part, which then featured as part of the animation as the
final product. There was excellent evidence of candidates really engaging with the brief and showing
great creativity in this unit.

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Planning animation with audio

The first element of this first strand was generally well done. The second element, requiring the
candidates to create an explanation of why the product meets the client brief, was not evidenced as well:
the justifications were often limited in terms of demonstrating how the needs of the audience and the
requirements of the brief would be met by their interpretation.

The second strand of this task requires candidates to produce pre-production documents to plan their
final product. The planning documents selected by some candidates were not always suitable for
planning animation with audio. When delivering this unit, it is key that candidates are taught the range of
pre-production planning tools and understand their purposes so that they can effectively select and use
those documents to plan their work.

The third element in this strand looks at assets and how they contribute to the effectiveness of the final
product. Here were saw many centres applying an approach more suited to the legacy specification
when assessing this element. This element is not about quantity of assets nor does it focus heavily on
legislation. This criteria is about showing understanding of how the assets contribute to the effectiveness
of the final product; the how and why. It is sometimes a misconception that assets only refer to items
such as graphics; however, in a unit such as this one, to demonstrate assets which fully support the
creation on the final product, the scope would likely be wider than this.

Task 2 – Planning and creating animation with audio

For most candidates, the first strand of this task focused on the technical skill used to create component
parts such as graphical and audio elements for the animation. The demonstration of technical skill to
create and to make sure that all component parts were effective was underdeveloped in a lot of cases.

It was pleasing to see some variety in the type and software choices used to creation the animation in
the second strand of this task, with which some very creative outcomes. There tended to be a lack of
technical consideration regarding things such as frame rate or animation techniques. To prepare for this
unit, candidates need to be familiar with and able to use the key animation techniques outlined in the
specification, in order to successfully demonstrate skills in this strand. There was some evidence of
understanding of conventions of animation in the final products which supported marks in the second
element of the strand. The products seen in this unit, tended to have a good link back to the purpose
outlined in the brief which was a stronger aspect of the submissions.

The final strand regarding saving and exporting was completed with varying success. In most cases the
format of the components was appropriate to support the creation of the final product. When completing
the final product candidates need to consider both the brief and the accessibility of file formats to allow
their work to be viewed as intended.

10 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Task 3 – Planning and reviewing animation with audio

As with all the optional units, this was the least well evidenced task of the unit. There are 2 distinct
strands which each have 2 separate elements to cover and the combined marks for this task are not
insignificant; the work submitted did not always reflect the significance of this strand. To successfully
complete this task, candidates need to be aware of the different testing and checking methods, and to
understand the difference between technical properties and reviewing which is linked to the audience
requirements and the client brief. Where candidates tried to tackle these two aspects together rather
than as discrete elements, they were often less successful.

Most candidates were able to outline some improvements and developments that could be applied to the
animation product; the weaker aspect of this strand was in providing an explanation as to why this
recommendation was made. To support work in this area, section 3 of the specification should be
covered in full before completing the assessment.

11 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R097 General overview

For comments on the more general administration of the submissions which apply similarly to each unit,
please see the introductory section in R094. The focus of this unit is the interactive digital media product
and the component parts used to make the final product. There were some creative interpretations of the
brief and a range of different creation methods to create the final product.

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Planning interactive digital media

The first strand of this task looks at the interpretation of the client brief and the explanation of how the
interpretation of the brief meets the client brief and the needs of the target audience. This strand was
one of the stronger parts of the submissions we have seen in the series. The interpretation element was
the most well done, with candidates showing an ability to pick out the key elements of the brief. The
second element, where the explanation of the interpretation was required, was less strong. Often the
explanation of the interpretation was more of a description of their intentions rather than focusing on how
the ideas would meet the client brief and appeal to the target audience.

The second strand of this task focuses on pre-production planning. There were varying levels of success
in the approach to this strand. The planning documentation created here should reflect the plan for the
final product but also the component parts which will contribute to the final product. It was the latter
which was often neglected which impacted on the marks in this element.

The final strand of this task was of the weaker aspects of most submissions, as we have seen across the
optional units. This element is intended to allow the evidence to demonstrate the candidates’
understanding of how their assets will contribute to the effectiveness of the final product. It was often the
case that an assets source table was the main evidence here, but with the understanding of the purpose
of the assets and their contribution to the final product neglected.

Task 2 – Planning and creating interactive digital media

The first strand of this task focuses on the creation of the component parts of the interactive digital media
product. There is a lot of scope for candidates to support marks in this aspect, due to the variety of skills
and different components that the candidate could be creating to support the creation of their final
product. The marking criteria focuses on creating component parts which are effective, fit for purpose
and support the creation of the final product. There is a common misconception when assessing this
strand which is that the mark bands are meant to be supported by the number or level of skills such as
advanced, basic, etc. as was the case in the legacy specification.

The second strand of the task is in a similar vein but is focused on the creation of the final product. Again
the focus is not on the number or perceived difficulty of the skill but on the effectiveness of the skills in
creating the final product. The creativity and conventions in the product creation was generally
reasonably well evidenced; however, the fitness for purpose was where the evidence was often lacking.
There were a range of requirements of the client brief such as the sections and information which was
required. In contrast some candidates made good quality products but tried make a much more
extensive product than the brief required which results in the product being either of a lesser quality or
unfinished due to time constraints. Using the brief and meeting the requirements is key to effectively
supporting marks in this task.

12 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

The final element of this strand required a final product to be presented in a suitable format to meet the
client brief. In most cases this was sufficiently evidenced, where the evidence was less successful the
final products were generally not in a suitable format for the brief such as native or proprietary formats.

Misconception

There is a common misconception when assessing this strand which is that the mark bands
are meant to be supported by the number or level of skills such as advanced, basic, etc. as
was the case in the legacy specification.

Task 3 – Planning and reviewing interactive digital media

As with all the optional units, this was the least well evidenced task of the unit. There are 2 distinct
strands which each have 2 separate elements to cover and the combined marks for this task are not
insignificant. However, the work submitted for this task did not always reflect the significance of this
strand. To successfully complete this task, candidates need to be aware of the different testing and
checking methods, and to understand the difference between technical properties and reviewing which is
linked to the audience requirements and the client brief. It would also aid candidates’ responses in the
review section if they have a good understanding of how to critically review product against a brief and
how this differs from a narrative or description. Where candidates tried to tackle these two aspects
together rather than as discrete elements, they were often less successful.

Most candidate were able to outline some improvements and developments that could be applied to the
interactive digital media product. The weaker aspect of this strand was in providing an explanation as to
why this recommendation was made. To support work in this area, section 3 of the specification should
be covered in full, before completing the assessment.

13 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R098 General overview

For comments on the more general administration of the submissions which apply similarly to each unit,
please see the introductory section in R094. There were some creative approaches to this unit, which
tied in with the brief to a certain degree. In some cases, the work only had a limited link back to the brief
and the purpose of the product became a little lost. This unit differs slightly from the other optional units
in that the component parts are intended to comprise of video and photograph and the final product also
has a video and photograph component. When submitting this unit consider which video and image
items need to be included to support the marks; this will help with file size for uploading. For example,
each video and image item which is not chosen by the candidate to contribute to their final products
would not be necessary to include.

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Planning visual imaging portfolios

There were some good examples of candidates using a range of pre-production planning documents
effectively to plan for this unit. There are a range of templates provided by OCR which can be used in
this unit, even though they are not compulsory and candidates will not be penalised for not doing so. In
the third strand of this task there is ample opportunity to show understanding of assets and how they will
support in the fulfilment of the brief; as with other optional units this was often underdeveloped, leading
to a mismatch of assets created and product planned.

Task 2 – Planning and creating visual imaging portfolios

To support marks in this strand there should be evidence of the technical skills used to create the
component photographs and videos, and as well as to constructure the final portfolio. This was not one
of the stronger aspects of the unit, with candidates failing to display knowledge of skills and techniques
in taking photographs and videos. To support candidates, centres should make sure that these skills
have been taught while in the teaching phase of this unit. Knowledge and application of these skills is
vital to supporting marks in this task. The impact of purpose on the content and structure of images and
video is also a key teaching point to support marks in this unit.

Task 3 – Planning and reviewing visual imaging portfolios

Candidates were able to show some reflection skills in terms of reviewing their work for this task.
However, as with other units testing/checking technical properties was less well done. This links back to
the understanding of the theoretical concepts at the heart of this unit. Without an understanding of the
requirements in terms of technical properties, candidates find it difficult to know what they are
testing/checking for.

14 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Unit R099 General overview

For comments on the more general administration of the submissions which apply similarly to each unit,
please see the introductory section in R094. This unit focuses on the planning and creation of digital
games. There were a range of different approaches taken to this unit, which used a variety of different
software. There were some challenges in terms of accessing the final products submitted for this unit; it
is important that the centre notes the requirements to make sure that their chosen software exports
games in a format which can be accessed on a standalone machine. Where this means exporting as
.exe files and the centre must make sure these can be generated within the centre setup and user
permissions. Games that require the moderator to play the game online do not meet the requirements for
the NEA to be submitted as a standalone product.

Comments by Task

Task 1 – Planning digital games

In line with the other optional units, the interpretation of the brief was generally well evidenced. The
explanations of how the interpretation was suitable for the client brief and target audience was not as
well developed, in order to demonstrate understanding of how their planned approach would meet the
requirements of the brief and the needs of the audience. There is a wide range of planning
documentation covered in the specification and to support marks in this task candidates need to be able
to select the appropriate documents which allow for effective planning of all the aspects of the digital
game.

Task 2 – Planning and creating digital games

Generally, the game design document was a weaker area compared with the programming of the game.
A number of candidates seem neglected the requirement for the game design document to be a discrete
piece of evidence which was needed to support the first strand of this task; this was particularly common
at the lower mark bands. To support marks in this element of the task, candidates need to be outlining
areas such as the appearance and functionality of the game.

There was some great creativity in the games created, where candidates had really engaged with the
idea of collaborative and co-operative game play where the game could not be won unless both players
worked together. There were some challenges in accessing and viewing work, to make sure all aspects
are accessible; centres may also choose to supply evidence that the game functions, such as screen
capture or brief video showing the game in action. Centres may also choose to supply the games in
native software file formats so that the programming can be viewed during moderation.

Misconception

In this unit the component parts are not the elements of the game. Although assets for use
within the game may contribute to the mark for the first part of Task 2, the game design
document is the main component part.

15 © OCR 2023
Level 1/Level 2 Cambridge National in Creative iMedia - R094-R099 - Summer 2023 Moderators’ report

Task 3 – Planning and Reviewing digital games

Candidates generally preformed more strongly in the second element of the first strand, where reflection
about the final product and its suitability to the brief with the main focus. The first element of the strand
which involved testing and checking with a focus on the technical properties of the final product was
weaker, with limited understanding of what methods could be used to check and test, or what technical
properties might refer to.

In the second strand most candidates were able to identify some potential improvements and
developments, but the explanations for those recommendations were less well developed. Centres
should make sure that the content of Topic Area 3 is covered in full before completing the assessment.

16 © OCR 2023
Supporting you
Teach Make sure you visit our secure website Teach Cambridge to find the full
range of resources and support for the subjects you teach. This includes
Cambridge secure materials such as set assignments and exemplars, online and
on-demand training.
Don’t have access? If your school or college teaches any OCR
qualifications, please contact your exams officer. You can forward them
this link to help get you started.

Reviews of If any of your students’ results are not as expected, you may wish to
consider one of our post-results services. For full information about the
marking options available visit the OCR website.

Access to For the June 2023 series, Exams Officers will be able to download
copies of your candidates' completed papers or 'scripts' for all of our
Scripts General Qualifications including Entry Level, GCSE and AS/A Level.
Your centre can use these scripts to decide whether to request a review
of marking and to support teaching and learning.
Our free, on-demand service, Access to Scripts is available via our
single sign-on service, My Cambridge. Step-by-step instructions are on
our website.

Keep up-to-date We send a monthly bulletin to tell you about important updates. You can
also sign up for your subject specific updates. If you haven’t already,
sign up here.

OCR Attend one of our popular CPD courses to hear directly from a senior
assessor or drop in to a Q&A session. Most of our courses are delivered live
Professional via an online platform, so you can attend from any location.
Development Please find details for all our courses for your subject on Teach
Cambridge. You'll also find links to our online courses on NEA marking
and support.

Signed up for ExamBuilder is the question builder platform for a range of our GCSE,
A Level, Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals qualifications.
ExamBuilder? Find out more.
ExamBuilder is free for all OCR centres with an Interchange account
and gives you unlimited users per centre. We need an Interchange
username to validate the identity of your centre’s first user account for
ExamBuilder.
If you do not have an Interchange account please contact your centre
administrator (usually the Exams Officer) to request a username, or
nominate an existing Interchange user in your department.

Active Results Review students’ exam performance with our free online results analysis
tool. It is available for all GCSEs, AS and A Levels and Cambridge
Nationals.
Find out more.
Need to get in touch? We really value your feedback
If you ever have any questions about OCR Click to send us an autogenerated email about
qualifications or services (including administration, this resource. Add comments if you want to.
logistics and teaching) please feel free to get in touch Let us know how we can improve this resource or
with our customer support centre. what else you need. Your email address will not be
used or shared for any marketing purposes.
Call us on
01223 553998 I like this I dislike this
Alternatively, you can email us on
support@[Link] I dislike this

For more information visit

Please note – web links are correct at date
[Link]/qualifications/resource-finder
of publication but other websites may
[Link]
change over time. If you have any problems
[Link]/ocrexams
with a link you may want to navigate to that
[Link]/ocrexams
organisation’s website for a direct search.
[Link]/ocrexaminations
[Link]/company/ocr
[Link]/ocrexams

OCR is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a department of the University of Cambridge.
For staff training purposes and as part of our quality assurance programme your call may be recorded or monitored. © OCR 2023 Oxford Cambridge and
RSA Examinations is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered office The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8EA.
Registered company number 3484466. OCR is an exempt charity.
OCR operates academic and vocational qualifications regulated by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales and CCEA as listed in their qualifications registers including A Levels,
GCSEs, Cambridge Technicals and Cambridge Nationals.
OCR provides resources to help you deliver our qualifications. These resources do not represent any particular teaching method we expect you to use. We update
our resources regularly and aim to make sure content is accurate but please check the OCR website so that you have the most up to date version. OCR cannot be
held responsible for any errors or omissions in these resources.
Though we make every effort to check our resources, there may be contradictions between published support and the specification, so it is important that you
always use information in the latest specification. We indicate any specification changes within the document itself, change the version number and provide a
summary of the changes. If you do notice a discrepancy between the specification and a resource, please contact us.
You can copy and distribute this resource freely if you keep the OCR logo and this small print intact and you acknowledge OCR as the originator of the resource.
OCR acknowledges the use of the following content: N/A
Whether you already offer OCR qualifications, are new to OCR or are thinking about switching, you can request more information using our Expression of Interest form.
Please get in touch if you want to discuss the accessibility of resources we offer to support you in delivering our qualifications.