R093 storyboard exam question: how it's marked

OCR's mark scheme for that question (729172) lists the components of a storyboard it credits:

• Camera angles
• Camera movement
• Camera shots
• Durations
• Equipment used
• Lighting
• Location details
• Movement of scene content
• Scene numbers
• Transitions

It also credits consistency of use in panels and justifications, giving as examples that a change “aids filming”, “clarifies what camera operator needs to do”, and leaving out content the camera operator does not need, because two of the panels were graphics, not filming. It adds: “Improved use of technical elements and justifications are required for this response.”

The level depends mostly on how many storyboard techniques you use consistently, meaning on every panel the user needs, and on whether your annotations explain how each change helps that user. SubjectHub marks its storyboard practice the same way.

1. Use at least three techniques on every needed panel. Shot type, camera angle, camera movement, timing, transition, lighting, location, equipment, movement in the scene and sound all count. Three used on every panel is the start of Level 3; five or more, with good annotations, is what full marks look like. Three on one panel and none on the next is inconsistent, and stays in Level 1 or 2.
2. Number the scenes. Scene numbers are a component in their own right, and the quickest technique to apply consistently. Write them on every panel.
3. Leave out panels the user does not need. A logo, an end card or text on screen is added by the editor; a camera operator has nothing to film. Cross those panels out and annotate why, rather than adding camera details to them.
4. Fix what is wrong, not just what is missing. A shot that cannot be filmed where it is set, or timings that do not fit the length, are faults to correct and annotate.
5. Annotate how each change helps the user. Not “added lighting” but “added lighting so the camera operator knows to bring a reflector for the close-up”. Name the user in your annotations.

The conventions themselves (what a storyboard is, who uses it, scripts and wireframes) are on the storyboards, scripts and wireframes revision page; the camera shots and angles guide shows every shot type you might write.

The scenario: Hope Kennels, a dog rescue charity, is making a 30-second promotional video for social media to encourage people to adopt a dog. A storyboard will be given to the camera operators filming it. Improve the effectiveness of the storyboard for use by the camera operators. [9]

The draft

1. Dog in kennel

2. Girl walks in

3. Close up

4. Girl and staff

5. Logo

6. Adopt today text

What is wrong with it for a camera operator: no scene numbers, no shot types, angles, movement or timings, nothing about where each shot is filmed or how it is lit, and two panels (5 and 6) that are graphics, with nothing to film.

The improved storyboard

1. Scene

   1

   Shot

   long shot

   Angle

   high angle

   Movement

   static

   Timing

   6 seconds

   Location

   kennel block, pen 3

   Lighting

   natural light from window, no flash

   Equipment

   tripod, raised to full height

2. Scene

   2

   Shot

   long shot

   Angle

   eye level

   Movement

   track right with the girl

   Timing

   6 seconds

   Location

   kennel corridor

   Lighting

   natural light, ceiling lights on

   Equipment

   gimbal

3. Scene

   3

   Shot

   close-up

   Angle

   eye level

   Movement

   static

   Timing

   4 seconds

   Location

   kennel corridor, outside pen 3

   Lighting

   natural light, reflector on her face

   Equipment

   tripod, reflector

4. Scene

   4

   Shot

   two-shot

   Angle

   eye level

   Movement

   slow zoom in

   Timing

   6 seconds

   Location

   kennel corridor, by pen 3

   Lighting

   ceiling lights

   Equipment

   tripod

5. Scene 5: crossed out. Not needed by the camera operators: a graphic the editor adds.

6. Scene 6: crossed out. Not needed by the camera operators: a graphic the editor adds.

The annotations

• All panelsI have numbered every scene, so the camera operators can film the scenes out of order on the day and still know which shot is which.
• Scenes 1 to 4Every panel now has the same details in the same place: shot type, angle, movement, timing, location, lighting and equipment. The camera operators can set up each shot without having to ask the director.
• Scene 1A high angle with the tripod at full height makes the dog look small and alone, so the operator knows exactly where to put the camera to get the sad feeling the charity wants at the start.
• Scene 2Tracking right on a gimbal tells the operator to move with the girl and keep her in frame, so the shot stays smooth instead of shaky.
• Scenes 1 to 4Timings tell the operators how long each shot must last, so they record enough footage. The four filmed scenes come to 22 seconds, leaving 8 seconds for the editor's graphics in a 30-second video.
• Scenes 1 to 4Lighting and location tell the operators where each shot is and what light to use, so they can bring a reflector for scene 3 and avoid flash, which would scare the dogs.
• Scenes 5 and 6Crossed out: these are graphics the editor adds, with nothing to film, so leaving them off saves the camera operators time on the shoot.

Why this is Level 3: seven techniques (scene numbers, shot type, angle, movement, timing, location, lighting) plus equipment are used on every panel the camera operators need; the panels they do not need are left out, with a reason; the drawn arrows match the written movement; and every annotation says how the change helps the camera operators do their job. That is a range of improvements, applied consistently, with explanations, which is what the top level describes.

• ⚠Not linking changes to the user. OCR's January 2024 report says candidates who missed the top marks “did not link their suggested improvements to the user of the document”.
• ⚠Stating, not explaining. The January 2025 report, on the same kind of question for a mind map, says many candidates “only stated what they would improve” and did not go “that step further” to explain how it would help the user.
• ⚠Leaving techniques out. On a strong January 2024 answer the examiners still noted that more could have been added, such as scene numbers and lighting, and that the annotations could have been more detailed.
• ⚠Details on some panels only. A shot type on two panels and not the others is not consistent use, and holds the mark down however good those two panels are.
• ⚠Treating every panel the same. Adding camera angles to a logo panel shows you have not thought about who uses the document. Cross it out and say why.
• ⚠Vague reasons. “It's easier” or “it's clearer” on its own explains nothing. Say what the camera operator can now do.