OCR Creative iMedia J834 · Unit R093

R093 revision: Creative iMedia in the media industry

Free revision for the R093 exam: notes, key terms and exam-style questions with mark schemes for all 16 topics, a free mini-mock in the real paper's shape, and a plain guide to how the paper is marked. 100 questions in all, from the bank SubjectHub schools use.

Try the free mini-mock How R093 is marked

What is the R093 exam?

R093, Creative iMedia in the media industry, is the exam unit of OCR's Cambridge National in Creative iMedia (J834). It is a 1 hour 30 minute written paper worth 70 marks and 40% of the qualification. Section A has 10 marks of short questions; Section B has 60 marks on one client scenario that develops through the paper.

written exam: 1h 30mwritten exam
marks: 70marks
of J834: 40%of J834
Section A + B: 10 + 60Section A + B

The paper always includes questions that need analysis and evaluation, and Section B rewards answers that use the scenario: the client, its audience and its purpose. Three of the Section B questions are extended answers, marked in levels. On every paper we have analysed, the two nine-mark questions asked candidates to discuss or improve a pre-production document, usually for a named user such as a camera operator or graphic designer, which is why the planning documents get so much space on these pages.

The four topic areas

The specification splits R093 into four topic areas. The marks each was worth come from our tally of OCR's sample paper and the January 2024, June 2024 and January 2025 papers. Pick a topic to revise: each page has notes, key terms, common mistakes and free questions with answers.

TA1: The media industry (10 to 13 marks a paper)

The sectors of the media industry, the products they make, and the job roles that make them.

Lesson 1 · spec 1.1Media sectors and productsTraditional and new media sectors, the products each makes, and how the industry is changing.Lesson 2 · spec 1.2Job rolesThe creative, technical and senior roles OCR lists, their responsibilities, and the production phases.

TA2: Factors influencing product design (13 to 24 marks a paper)

Purpose, client briefs, target audiences, research and the media codes that create meaning.

Lesson 3 · spec 2.3Target audiencesThe eight segmentation categories and how the target audience shapes a product's design.Lesson 4 · spec 2.2Client briefsClient requirements, the six brief formats, and how a brief constrains planning and production.Lesson 5 · spec 2.4Research methodsPrimary methods, secondary sources, qualitative and quantitative data, with the pros and cons of each.Lesson 6 · spec 2.5Media codesTechnical, symbolic and written codes, and how they create meaning, impact and engagement.Lesson 7 · spec 2.1Style, content and layoutThe five purposes of media products and how style, content and layout are chosen to meet them.

TA3: Pre-production planning (27 to 39 marks a paper)

Work plans, the pre-production documents, and the legal and safety issues every production plans for. The biggest topic area.

Lesson 8 · spec 3.4.2Copyright and IPCopyright, trademarks and patents, and how producers use other people's work legally.Lesson 9 · spec 3.4.1, 3.4.3Privacy, data and regulationPrivacy and permissions, defamation, data protection, and the regulators and age ratings.Lesson 10 · spec 3.4.4Health and safetyHazards and risks in every phase, control measures, risk assessments and location recces.Lesson 11 · spec 3.2, 3.3Mood boards, mind maps and visualisation diagramsPurpose, conventions, users and tools of the ideas documents, and how to improve them for a user.Lesson 12 · spec 3.3Storyboards, scripts and wireframesConventions, users and purpose of storyboards, scripts and wireframes, and improving a storyboard.Lesson 13 · spec 3.1, 3.3Work plans, flow charts and asset logsWork plan components and how to build one from a brief, flow chart symbols, and asset logs.

TA4: Distribution considerations (1 to 10 marks a paper)

How products reach their audience, and the file formats, properties and compression each platform needs.

Lesson 14 · spec 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3File formatsRaster and vector images, and the image, audio and video formats to choose for each use.Lesson 15 · spec 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4Compression and file propertiesLossy and lossless compression, and the properties of image, audio and video files.Lesson 16 · spec 4.1Distribution platformsOnline and physical platforms, physical media, and how the platform shapes the file format.

Free practice

Mini-mockFree R093 exam questionsA Section A and a Section B scenario with a nine-mark question, in the real paper's shape. Read it free; sign in to answer and have it marked.MarkingHow R093 is markedPoint-marked questions, the six- and nine-mark levels, and how storyboards, mind maps and other documents are judged.

R093 on SubjectHub

The questions on these pages come from SubjectHub's R093 bank, written to the specification in the style of the real paper. In school, the same bank becomes homework, five-a-day starters, topic mastery, scenario practice and practice papers. Short answers and nine-mark discussions are marked in seconds, and the pre-production questions are built in the browser: students make and improve real storyboards, mind maps, mood boards, visualisation diagrams, wireframes and work plans, and get a mark and feedback against the conventions examiners credit.

See everything SubjectHub does for Creative iMedia, including the studios for the R094 and R095 coursework.

R093 questions people ask

How long is the R093 exam and how many marks is it worth?

R093 is a 1 hour 30 minute written exam worth 70 marks. It is the exam unit of OCR's Cambridge National in Creative iMedia (J834) and makes up 40% of the qualification; the other 60% is two coursework (NEA) units, R094 and one optional unit from R095 to R099.

What is in Section A and Section B?

Section A is worth 10 marks: between 7 and 10 short questions (multiple choice, closed and short answers) that recall knowledge, with at least one from each topic area. Section B is worth 60 marks and is built on one scenario that develops through the paper, with short questions and three extended answers.

Is Creative iMedia a GCSE?

No. It is a Cambridge National, a Level 1/Level 2 Technical Award for 14 to 16 year olds, usually taken alongside GCSEs. It has its own grades: Level 1 Pass, Merit and Distinction, and Level 2 Pass, Merit, Distinction and Distinction*.

When is R093 sat, and can it be resat?

There are exam series in January and June. Because of OCR's terminal assessment rule, the exam must be taken in the final series before the qualification is certificated. Students can resit, but the resit result counts towards the final grade, not the best result.

Which R093 topics are worth the most marks?

Pre-production planning (topic area 3). In the four papers we analysed it was worth 27 to 39 of the 70 marks, and on every one of them both nine-mark questions asked candidates to discuss or improve a pre-production document, such as a storyboard, mind map or wireframe.