BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – Geography
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Commissioning Brief
GCSE Geography CCEA Revised Specification 2017
Overview
Geography is the study of the earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments – both its
physical features and its political and cultural characteristics. It involves a synthesis of facts, figures,
ideas and perspectives to help us understand and protect the world we live in.
GCSE geography is available to students studying the curriculum with the CCEA exam board. Around
2000 - 2500 students in Northern Ireland will sit the exam in summer 2017. The current CCEA
specification is changing. Students starting GCSE geography in September 2017 will be learning from
the revised specification.
BBC Bitesize currently offers an expanded programme of study for GCSE geography that caters for
the AQA, OCR, Edexel, and WJEC examination boards.
To ensure the resource is relevant and user-friendly for students in Northern Ireland, all written
content currently on Bitesize will be restructured and adapted for CCEA students. New resources are
required to enhance existing content and for new and revised Study Guides relating to the updated
CCEA GCSE geography specification.
BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – Geography
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Summary of deliverables
We require the following content for Geography:
o Video: Approximately 30 minutes of animation across the commission
o Infographics: A minimum of 35 infographics across the commission
Indicative budget: £60,000
Bitesize Brand Values and Tone
Quality learning resources with high production values, tailored to the needs of the audience
Clear, concise delivery of the key educational points in 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 format
Audience
The target audience for this commission is 14-16 year old students studying GCSE Geography.
From our audience research, we have found that students:
79 % of students surveyed use Bitesize for geography revision
The majority of students prefer physical geography topics over human geography
Enjoy revision tools that are short, snappy and precise
Prefer videos and diagrams to text
Prefer bullet pointed text rather than long paragraphs
Enjoy interaction in learning i.e. quizzes and tests
Require case study’s that are specific to Northern Ireland where possible
The Subject CCEA GCSE Geography is comprised of three units of study.
UNIT 1: Physical Geography UNIT 2: Human Geography UNIT 3: Fieldwork
River Environments Population and Migration
Coastal Environments Changing Urban Areas
Our Changing Weather and Climate Contrasts in World Development
The Restless Earth Managing Our Environment
*For a more detailed breakdown, see Appendix Item A: Suggested Content Breakdown.
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Content for Delivery
Bitesize Components
Infographics o These sit within the Revise Chapters.
o Infographics are core to Bitesize and are used to explain and creatively lay out the structures,
theories or other complex topics students must understand
For this commission we estimate that you will produce approximately 35 iGFX.
iGFX must be supplied in the following formats;
Original: Adobe Illustrator file with all layers
Desktop: PNG, 624px wide x up to 624px high, 300dpi
Tablet: PNG, 464px wide x up to 464px high, 300dpi
Mobile: PNG, 304px wide x up to 304px high, 300dpi
App: PNG, three sizes specific to the Bitesize app (to be confirmed in contract)
(All Graphics must adhere to the Bitesize Style Guide, which is available to download from the
commissioning site)
Animation o Age-appropriate animation, delivering clear learning outcomes as detailed in the CCEA
specification
o BBC Digital and Learning will be responsible for clearing and paying for any music sourced
for production by the contracted company. Please note: any copyrighted material –
including clips, images and/or commercial music must be signposted to the BBC Production
Team at the earliest stage to ensure rights clearance. It is at the BBC’s discretion to agree the
use of any copyrighted material. Clearance confirmation will be given based on value for
money
A BBC sourced Education Consultant will advise and offer guidance on the content during each stage
of production.
For this commission we require approximately 30 minutes of animation. Each separate animation
is likely to be between 2-3 minutes in duration and should contextualise or give an overview of the
topic.
*For more detail, see Appendix Item B: Video spec for delivery
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What we’re looking for…
Creative Proposal
Companies are invited to submit a creative proposal. Your proposal should include:
Storyboards/creative approach
For this proposal we expect a storyboard or animatic inclusive of a first draft script for one sample
animation – ‘The Water Cycle and Drainage Basin System’ within The Drainage Basin Study Guide.
Tell us what your overall creative approach will be to this content and you must include reference to
any expert consultants you’ll use.
Production schedule
Please provide a top-level schedule of major milestones/project management approach.
Note: A project management system will be required (i.e. Trello, Slack, Basecamp or other tool) to
manage the production of the content and to allow the BBC to track the project’s progress and
record feedback.
Indicative budget
Within your indicative budget, you will need to make allowances for all production and content costs.
Writer
A writer to draft scripts for the animations. You are free to suggest writers, but they will need to
have approval from the BBC production team before production starts.
User Testing
There should be at least two user-testing sessions during the course of the production. These should
include working with at least two different schools who are teaching Geography.
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Working with the BBC
There will be a minimum of 4 face-to-face meetings during production (this does not include the
project initiation meeting). In addition, we require a weekly content report/update (via phone or
teleconference). The 4 face-to-face meetings will be with the production team in Belfast – so your
travel expenses should be considered within your budgeting.
Project Initiation Meeting – This first meeting will be a chance to meet the production team in
Belfast. We will discuss the editorial scope of the project, confirm the timeline for delivery and hear
content plans and ideas.
Meeting #2 – This meeting will take place at the mid-point of the pre-production process and will
focus on proposed video content (scripts, storyboards, talent, style and tone), and iGFX samples
(looking at approach and style).
o Checks on text style and tone
o Production schedule/milestones
o Formal Input from the Education Consultant and user testing
Meeting #3 – This meeting will be scheduled for the mid-point of the production process and will
assess content produced to date and next steps including:
o Production schedule/milestones
o Formal feedback from the Education Consultant and user testing
Meeting #4 – This final meeting will be scheduled around the end of the production process to focus
on how the content fits together within the Bitesize framework.
o Production schedule/milestones
o Formal feedback from the Education Consultant and user testing
Company and project team profile
We want to hear from companies who are passionate about learning and enthusiastic about creating
content for one of the BBC’s premier online brands.
Audience awareness will also be key; do you know this audience and their needs? Have you
produced content for them before? Can you produce content that will resonate with them?
Please include details on the skills and experience of the key members of your project team.
We would like to see evidence of your capacity to deliver this content.
Links to relevant portfolio examples
Please send links to content you have produced which you think are relevant to this commission.
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Indicative Budget: £60,000
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:
50% on signature of contract
50% upon final delivery
Working together
Who is 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
We will be responsible for:
Sharing project documentation
Collaboration throughout the production and delivery
Enabling access to any relevant BBC archive
Sign-off at milestones on all content, and on final delivery – within an agreed timeframe
Post-production paperwork to be completed in format supplied by BBC (WebasC)
We will be jointly responsible for:
Ensuring the learning outcomes are met
Ensuring that content is best-fit for the Bitesize audience
Quality assurance of content
The BBC Learning team Emma Dunseith - Executive Producer
Peter Matassa – Producer
Gareth Hawthorne – Assistant Producer
Paul McGarvey – Researcher
Schedule/project management
All Bitesize productions follow an iterative development process and we will feed back as
Final delivery and sign off for the project is 10th November 2017
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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
delivery the highest priority.
The pitching process
Shortlisted companies will be invited to Belfast to pitch their proposals.
(An allowance of £250 toward travel costs to Belfast is available if based outside Northern Ireland)
Learning experience is not a prerequisite, but a thorough understanding of the needs of the
Bitesize audience and clear approach to addressing those needs is expected.
Deadline for submissions, pitch deliverables and selection requirements are outlined below:
Commissioning Schedule
Commissioning brief published 26 June 2017
Deadline for creative proposal submission 15 July 2017
Deadline for notification of shortlisted proposals 19 July 2017
Pitch meetings (Belfast) 3 August 2017
Commission decision deadline 4 August 2017
Contract signed 8 August 2017
Project initiation meeting 8 August 2017
Full delivery of commission 10 November 2017
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Proposal Deliverable List
Company Overview, Portfolio and Project Team
Project Overview
Creative proposal for ‘The Water Cycle and Drainage Basin System’ animation
Production Schedule and Project Management approach
Budget Breakdown
Selection
The BBC will use the following standard criteria to evaluate the pitches submitted:
Quality of the idea proposed – 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
Next Steps
All proposals should be submitted via email to [email protected] by 15th July 2017.
Please use Submitted Proposal: GCSE GEOGRAPHY as the subject line.
This is an open brief published on the BBC Learning Commissioning website. Please note that this document is for information purposes only and does not form part of a contractual agreement with the BBC. This is a stand-alone new media commission and the BBC will require all rights in the content, worldwide and on all platforms. 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/technology-online/how-we-work/new-mediarights-framework.shtml
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APPENDIX
Item A: Suggested Content Breakdown
TOPIC 1: Physical Geography
Sub Topic
Study Guide
Notes/Potential Pages
River
Environments
1. The Drainage Basin
The water cycle
Drainage basin system
Characteristics of the drainage system
How a river changes downstream
2. River Processes
Erosion
Transportation
Deposition
3. River Landforms
Waterfalls
Meanders
Floodplains and levees
4. River Map Skills
Interpret aerial photos and OS maps
5. Flood Management
Causes of flooding (Case study)
Impact of flooding
Flood management methods
Sustainable river management strategy (Case study)
Coastal Environments
1. Coastal Processes
Constructive and deconstructive waves
Erosion
Transportation
Deposition
2. Coastal Landforms
Erosional landforms
Depositional landforms
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3. Coastal Map Skills
Interpret aerial photos and OS maps
4. Coastal Management
Reasons for coastal defence
Methods of coastal defence
Sustainable coastal management strategy (Case study)
Weather
and Climate
1. Measuring the weather
Differences between weather and climate
Measuring the elements of the weather
Sources of data for a weather forecast
2. Factors Affecting Climate
Latitude, prevailing winds, distance from the sea and altitude
3. Weather Systems
Air masses affecting the British Isles
Frontal depressions across the British isles
Anticyclones in the British Isles
Synoptic charts and satellite images
4. Extreme Weather
Extreme weather on people and property (Case Study)
The Restless
Earth
1. Plate Tectonics
Structure of the earth
The crust and plates
Convection currents cause plate movement
Formation of landforms at plate margins
2. Rock Types
Formation and characteristics of basic rock types
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3. Earthquakes
Causes and global distribution of earthquakes
Focus and epicentre
Measuring an earthquake
Physical consequences of earthquakes
Causes and impact of earthquakes (Case Study)
4. Volcanoes
Characteristics of volcanoes
Potential global impact of a supervolcano
TOPIC 2: Human Geography
Sub Topic
Study Guide
Notes/Potential Pages
Population and
Migration
1. Population Change
Definitions of population change
The demographic transition model
2. Population Structure
Compare and contrast the population structure of an MEDC with an LEDC
Social and economic implications of aged and youth dependency
3. Migration
Push and pull factors
Barriers to migration
Difference between economic migrants and refugees
Challenges faced by refugees and destination country (Case study)
Changing
Urban Areas
1. Urban Land Use
Characteristics and location of urban zones
2. Settlement map skills
Interpret aerial photos and OS maps
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3. Inner City Issues in MEDCs
Issues facing MEDC inner city areas (Housing, traffic, cultural mix)
4. Urbanisation in MEDCs
Evaluate one MEDC urban planning scheme that aims to regenerate and improve the inner city zone (Case study)
5. Urbanisation in LEDCs
Location, rapid growth and characteristics of shanty town areas (Case Study: LEDC)
Contrasts in
World Development
1. The Development Gap
Use social and economic indicators to identify and describe differences in development
Evaluate the use of social and economic indicators of development
The advantages of using the HDI
Factors that hinder development in LEDCs
2. Sustainable Solutions to Unequal Development
How three Sustainable Development Goals attempt to reduce the development gap
Appropriate technology
Evaluate the success of one appropriate technology product
Fair trade and the advantages it brings to LEDCs
3. Globalisation
What is globalisation
How globalisation helps and hinders development (Case study: a BRICS country)
Managing our Environment
1. Human Impact on the Environment
The Greenhouse effect
Carbon Footprint
Effects of climate change
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2. Managing Resources
Waste hierarchy and the concept of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’
Benefits and disadvantages of one sustainable, renewable energy source
The 2015 International Climate Change Agreement
3. Sustainable Tourism
Positive and negative impacts of mass tourism
Responsible tourism
Ecotourism
How ecotourism can protect the environment (Case study LEDC or an MEDC)
TOPIC 3 – Fieldwork
Study Guide Notes / Potential Pages
Geographical enquiry process
Introduction to Fieldwork
Planning
Planning an enquiry and developing an aim and hypotheses
Fieldwork techniques and methods
Data collection methods and measuring using primary and secondary sources
Processing and presenting data
Using graphs and maps to present ICT information
Analysing and interpreting data
Analyse and interpret fieldwork data
Drawing conclusions and evaluating
Draw conclusions
Evaluate the fieldwork and the conclusions drawn in the fieldwork
Preparing the fieldwork statement and table of data
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Item B: Video Spec for Delivery
VIDEO
Deliver on a hard drive (exFAT) two formats of each video (one compressed and one uncompressed).
Compressed:
Container format: .mp4 or .mov
Maximum file size, 50GB
Video Codec: H.264 / QuickTime
If your system gives you the option to choose between baseline, main and high profile for H264
export, high is preferred.
Frame size: 1920 x 1080
Frames per second: 25 (progressive scan)
Bit rate/ Quality: Constant/100%
Audio
Codec: AAC
Channels: Stereo
Bit rate: 320 kbps
Sample rate: 48 KHz
Sample depth: 16 bit
For online there is no set level – if it is consistent and you can hear the voice over the music mix and
it is not too low or distorted, it is fine.
Uncompressed:
Deliver an uncompressed version on separate channels.
This can be the source files used within the editing system, with Video, Voice, Music, SFX and
Graphics on separate channels.
Graphics must be rendered on separate channel for translation.
Video Codec is AVC Intra Class 100. Premiere and FCP you can use the DPP AS-11 HD export
setting.
If delivering animation, use the uncompressed Animation Codec.
H264 source footage from DSLRs is acceptable.
Please refer to this link for output https://www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk/what-we-
do/technical-standards/programme-delivery-standards/
MUSIC
Commercial music should only be used in the videos if there is an editorial reason to do so and this
needs to be agreed with the BBC prior to inclusion.
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SUBTITLES
To deliver an XML for subtitles for each video (English SDH)
Using a form of XML called TTML EBU-TT-D (Time Text Markup Languages)
Section 26 - http://bbc.github.io/subtitle-guidelines/
For file format please refer to this link http://bbc.github.io/subtitle-guidelines/ from section 23.
There are other useful guides in this file but a basic style guide and example will be supplied later.
DOCUMENTATION
The following Post Production Documentation must be completed on the following templates and
returned as complete within seven days of the delivery date:
Metadata for each video written by a teacher/educational consultant
2 x post production transcript for each piece of video – one timecoded and one without
timecode