BBC Bitesize Revision and Exam skills - Video Brief - BBC Learning October 2015
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BBC Bitesize Revision and Exam
skills – Video Brief
BBC Learning
October 2015Contents
About BBC Bitesize ....................................................................................................................... 2
Who is the BBC Bitesize audience? ..................................................................................................... 2
Style, tone and the Bitesize brand ...................................................................................................... 2
Revision and exam skills...................................................................................................................... 3
Requirements...................................................................................................................................... 4
Education consultant .......................................................................................................................... 4
Outline of work............................................................................................................................ 5
General points..................................................................................................................................... 5
Storyboards and scripts ...................................................................................................................... 5
About this commission ................................................................................................................. 6
Deliverables......................................................................................................................................... 6
Contracting.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Working together......................................................................................................................... 7
Who’s responsible for what? .............................................................................................................. 7
The BBC Learning team ....................................................................................................................... 7
Schedule/project management .......................................................................................................... 7
The process ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Proposal .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Resourcing....................................................................................................................................... 8
Budget ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Proposal deliverable list .................................................................................................................. 8
Pitch .................................................................................................................................................... 8
Key dates ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Selection.............................................................................................................................................. 9
Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11About BBC Bitesize
Who is the BBC Bitesize audience?
Bitesize is the BBC’s study support service for students, helping 6-16-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.
Bitesize is used by approximately three-quarters of secondary school students in the UK, and traffic
has peaked this year – so far – at just over 3.3m unique UK users per week.
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 produced in a high quality and entertaining way.
Bitesize brand 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
• Accessible to every level of academic ability and learning style
• Factually correct, high-quality and curriculum-relevant
• Simple, straightforward language
• Funny, quirky or irreverent tone where appropriate
• Innovative educational media formats
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:
GCSE English Literature: Great Expectations Plot
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nmq46
GCSE French: Sport
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nm39n
GCSE Maths: Solving graphical problems
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02m42t2
GCSE Computer Science: Introduction to logic gates
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zsbdq6f
Given the videos are being produced for the Bitesize audience we tend to steer clear of talking
animals and inanimate objects in animations (which can ‘age-down’ content).Revision and exam skills
Our research has highlighted that students could benefit from improving their revision and exam
skills. We have seen that students can sometimes struggle to be effective and efficient when revising
independently, and thus can fare less well than expected in their examinations due to their inability
to fully comprehend questions and understand how best to answer them.
We would therefore like to commission a series of short animations to support students in
developing their revision skills, as well as the skills required to successfully understand and respond
to examination questions.
We would like to commission:
9 x 3 minute (approximately) linear, short-form, animated films, each covering a key
learning outcome (see below)
The budget for the commission is £68,000.
These videos should appeal to students in the 14-16 age range working towards GCSEs or other
qualifications.
There should be scope to engage students of any age who are interested in learning, and the videos
shouldn’t alienate students working at a low ability or high ability level. Therefore, all videos need to
cover some basics but also include more advanced elements and ideas. The videos should be concise,
lively and imaginative, and should present the information in a way that is interesting to everyone.
The style and tone of the videos should be pitched beyond the 14-16 age range (ie aged up). The
films must also reflect the diversity of the UK and should aim to appeal to and inspire both boys and
girls.
We’d expect films to be accessible and appealing to students who might want to watch them
independently, but also to be of use as a classroom resource. We are interested in exploring what
Bitesize can offer that is unique to our brand.Look and feel
Each video should provide an engaging and succinct explanation of the content and be appropriate
for 14-16 year olds. We are open to ideas for animation only.
Requirements
9 short-form video animations covering various aspects of revision and exam skills. The videos
should around 3 minutes long. The list below shows potential video titles with suggested content
(please note these are subject to change in consultation with BBC):
1. Planning your time – eg, creating sensible revision plans; revision/life balance and routines
(free time); exam admin: establishing date, time and location of exams, working out travel
arrangements, etc.
2. Summarising information – eg, techniques and tools for summarising content (such as
highlighting, spider diagrams, tables), prioritising content
3. Using memory techniques – eg, mnemonics; associations, diagrams, mind maps, mind
palaces, narratives, colours, places, toilet postcards(!). Active vs passive techniques and
testing yourself
4. Handling exam day – eg, calming nerves; best practice: reading through the entire paper
first – including back cover; considering timings for each question; noting and dismissing
questions that you can’t answer – coming back to them; checking answers once finished.
5. Understanding your paper – eg, working out: how many questions do I need to answer;
from which sections; which are compulsory; how many points each; how does this impact on
timings.
6. Handling individual questions – eg read each question 2-3 times, highlight important bits;
consider precisely what is being asked, brainstorm everything you know, organise, plan,
write, conclude, check.
7. Exam question terminology – ie, what do exam ‘verbs’ mean, eg identify, describe, explain,
discuss, compare etc.
8. Question types and how to respond – eg, multiple choice questions, one and two mark
questions, extended responses.
9. Structuring extended responses –eg, how to plan and organise content, organising
paragraphs, using PEA (or similar techniques) to ensure maximum points are achieved.
Education consultant
You will need to work with and contract an educational specialist/consultant who will be involved
throughout the process to ensure that the content suggested above is appropriate and relevant, and
is expanded on as required to ensure greatest value to our audience. All content (ie video concept,
initial script, final script, rough cut stages, fine cut etc.) will need to be reviewed by the consultant
before it is sent to us.Outline of work
9 short-form video animations of lengths of approximately 3 minutes (27 minutes in total)
[see ‘Requirements’] to be published on bbc.co.uk and on the Bitesize App.
Videos should be linear - interactivity is out of scope for this commission.
Videos should include voiceover where appropriate.
Videos should deliver a variety of revision and exam skills content in a way that is easily
comprehensible for our audience.
Video content should be funny (if appropriate), engaging and informative. Students should
enjoy the content without thinking ‘this is learning content’. The video content should
present the key points of the content using a practical approach. We are open to all fresh,
creative ideas.
General points
All video content should use the content outlines [see ‘Requirements’] provided by Bitesize
as the basis for their scripts.
The videos should encourage multiple viewings and sharing with friends.
Each video should stand alone in its own right as an engaging piece of content but also
should feel part of a connected suite.
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.
We are not looking for responses featuring established star names for the voice overs - up
and coming talent would be preferred.
Bitesize will require final sign-off on voices.
Rights should be secured in perpetuity. Any exceptions to this must be agreed with BBC in
advance of inclusion.
Where used, music should be production/mood music rather than commercial.
Storyboards and scripts
The company awarded the contract will produce initial concepts, storyboards and scripts for each of
the videos.
Bitesize requires full consultation during the scripting process, including the viewing of drafts, and
full signoff on completed scripts.About this commission
The overall tone should be informal, chatty and appealing to the audience.
It is vital that the content feels part of the students’ world – the subject area can seem
daunting so using easily-accessible examples should pique their interest.
Content should feel confident and assured, but not teacher-like. It should feel friendly and
informal, but should not ‘try too hard’.
The delivery should be quite pacey and natural, but not so quick that it loses learners. Clarity
is very important.
The video content should represent the diversity of the Bitesize audience (approximately
25% of school children today identify themselves as not being White British).
Deliverables
Final videos in electronic format 9 x HD (a technical specification will be provided), both
compressed and uncompressed. Uncompressed audio provided in multiple channels.
XML transcripts for subtitles (template will be provided).
Post-production paperwork (template will be provided).
Contracting
This is a stand-alone new media commission and the BBC will require all rights in the content,
worldwide and on all platforms, in perpetuity. Any exceptions to this must be agreed with BBC in
advance of inclusion. The commission will be contracted using the BBC’s New Media Rights
Framework 2 agreement. Further information on the BBC New Media Frameworks can be found
here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/online/articles/pitch-technology-ideas#read-new-
media-rights-frameworkWorking 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:
collaboration throughout the production and delivery
sign-off on the following: storylines/initial concepts, look and feel, scripts, voice-casting,
rough-cuts 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
Mark Elkins – Editor, Bitesize
Muriel Amaechi – Producer, Bitesize
Claire Jones – Assistant Producer, Bitesize
Sandra Budin – Production Manager
Schedule/project management
Although key points such as voice casting, script sign-off points etc will be identified on the
Editorial Specification, all Bitesize production follows an iterative development process and
we will feed back ASAP on all editorial decisions.
Final delivery for the project is 18th March 2016.
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
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
deliver the highest priority.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 Muriel Amaechi, Producer, Bitesize at
muriel.amaechi@bbc.co.uk.
Please use the following two videos to base your proposal on:
i) Using memory techniques
ii) Structuring extended responses
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.
Revision/exam skills experience is not a prerequisite (although clearly would be useful) –
what we’re looking for are creative and engaging solutions to bridging knowledge gaps.
Learning experience is not a prerequisite, but a thorough understanding of the needs of the
Bitesize audience and a clear approach to addressing those needs are expected.
Companies should have experience delivering engaging content for teens, ideally including
short-form content.
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/consultants etc.
Budget
The budget for this content is £68,000. Please provide a budget breakdown to show how you intend
to cost the project. Payment schedule to be agreed upon award of contract. Typical payment might
be:
30% on signature of contract
30% divided upon completion of defined production milestones
40% upon acceptance of final delivery
Proposal deliverable list
Company overview
Project overview/storyline
Creative solutions to the two videos listed
Resourcing
Technical / production / project management approach
Budget
Schedule
Pitch
Shortlisted companies will be invited to a face-to-face pitch at MediaCityUK Salford the week of 23rd
November 2015.Key dates
Brief published 6th October 2015
Deadline for questions 23rd October 2015
Response to questions 28th October 2015
Deadline for proposal submission 1st November 2015 (23:59 on Sunday)
Deadline for notification for shortlisted proposals 6th November 2015
Face-to-face pitch w/c 23rd November 2015
Notification of Contract Award 1st December 2015
Final delivery 18th March 2015
Selection
The BBC will use the following standard criteria to evaluate the pitches submitted:
quality of the idea proposed – originality / suitability for Bitesize audience
prior experience of company
ability to meet editorial requirements
core staff experience
project management / production plan
pricing / value for money
presentation of response
Any queries on this commission should be emailed to Muriel Amaechi (muriel.amaechi@bbc.co.uk).You can also read
