What does the OCR Making Media NEA require, and how do you choose a brief and write the Statement of Intent?
The NEA: the brief and the Statement of Intent. The cross-media production task, choosing one OCR-set brief in two linked forms, the target audience and requirements, and the assessed Statement of Intent (around 500 words).
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to the Making Media NEA brief and Statement of Intent. Covers the cross-media production task, choosing one OCR-set brief in two linked forms, the target audience and requirements, and the assessed Statement of Intent, with how the NEA is set up and marked.
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What this dot point is asking
The Non-Examined Assessment (NEA), Making Media, is 30% of the A-level. It is an individual cross-media production made to one OCR-set brief in two linked forms, introduced by an assessed Statement of Intent. This dot point covers choosing a brief, understanding its requirements, and writing the Statement of Intent. Always work from the current OCR brief for your series.
The answer
What the NEA is
The NEA tests AO3 (practical skill) most heavily, with AO1 and AO2 assessed through the Statement of Intent. It is where you apply the framework you have studied, by making media rather than analysing it.
The cross-media brief
Each brief is a cross-media task: two interrelated products in two different forms (for example a television programme plus a website, a magazine plus a website, or a music video plus a social media or website campaign). The two products must be linked (consistent branding, style and representation).
Each brief specifies:
- A target audience (age and often other characteristics).
- Detailed requirements: the products to make, minimum lengths or numbers of pages, the number of original images or assets, and limits on existing or stock material.
Choosing and interpreting a brief
Choose the brief whose forms, audience and concept you can realise to a high standard with the resources you have. Interpreting the brief means developing a concept that meets every requirement, has clear audience appeal, and lets the two products link convincingly. The choice should be justified by audience and industry understanding, not just personal taste.
The Statement of Intent
Before producing anything, you write a Statement of Intent of around 500 words. It is assessed (it carries the AO1 and AO2 marks) and explains, using the framework, how your production will:
- Use media language to make meaning.
- Construct representations (of groups, places, ideas).
- Follow industry conventions for the chosen forms.
- Address the audience (mode of address, appeal, platforms).
The Statement is a plan grounded in theory, not a description of what you will make.
Examples in context
A strong Statement of Intent shows the framework underpinning every decision, tied to the brief and the audience, rather than simply describing what will be made.
Try this
Q1. Explain what a cross-media production requires in the OCR NEA. [5 marks]
- What the marker wants. Two interrelated products in two different forms, made to one OCR-set brief for a target audience, with consistent branding (AO1).
Q2. Explain what a Statement of Intent must do and how it is assessed. [10 marks]
- Cue. Around 500 words, carrying the AO1 and AO2 marks, explaining how the production will meet the brief and target the audience using the framework (AO1 and AO2).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H409/03 NEA10 marksWrite a Statement of Intent explaining how your cross-media production will meet the chosen brief and target its audience. [10]Show worked answer →
The Statement of Intent is the assessed written element of the NEA (AO1 and AO2), around 500 words. The marker rewards a clear plan that uses the theoretical framework.
Method. State the brief, the two forms and the target audience (demographics and psychographics). Then explain, using the framework, how the products will use media language to make meaning, construct representations, follow industry conventions and address the audience.
Develop. Tie each decision to the brief's requirements and the audience. The top band shows the framework underpinning the plan, not just a description of what will be made.
OCR H409/03 NEA15 marksExplain how you selected and interpreted your OCR brief for the cross-media production. [15]Show worked answer →
A reflective task (AO1 and AO2). The marker rewards a clear rationale tied to the brief and the framework.
Method. Identify the chosen brief, its two linked forms, its target audience and its specific requirements (lengths, numbers of pages or images, originality).
Develop. Explain how you interpreted the brief: the concept, the audience appeal, and how the two products will link. The top band justifies the choices using audience and industry understanding, not just personal preference.
Related dot points
- The NEA: applying the theoretical framework to production. Using media language deliberately, constructing intended representations, following the industry conventions of each form, and targeting the audience through the products themselves.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to applying the theoretical framework in the NEA production. Covers using media language deliberately, constructing intended representations, following the industry conventions of each form, and targeting the audience through the products, with the practical skills the NEA rewards.
- The NEA: cross-media linking and assessment. How the two products connect into a coherent cross-media campaign, the AO3-led marking criteria, the role of the Statement of Intent, and how to maximise the NEA mark.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to cross-media linking and NEA assessment. Covers how the two products connect into a coherent campaign, the AO3-led marking criteria, the role of the Statement of Intent, and how to maximise the NEA mark, with the practical skills the NEA rewards.
- Audiences: targeting, categorising and reaching audiences. Demographics and psychographics, mass and niche audiences, mode of address and positioning, and uses and gratifications as a model of the active audience.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to targeting and categorising audiences. Covers demographics and psychographics, mass and niche audiences, mode of address and positioning, and uses and gratifications, with the application skills the audiences questions reward.
- Media industries: production, distribution and circulation. Vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and the difference between commercial and public service funding models.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to production, distribution and circulation. Covers vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and commercial versus public service funding models, with the application skills the media industries questions reward.
- Representation: Stuart Hall's representation theory. Representation as construction not reflection, selection and mediation, stereotyping and the exercise of power, and the reinforcing or challenging of dominant ideologies.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to representation and Stuart Hall. Covers representation as construction not reflection, selection and mediation, stereotyping as the exercise of power, and how media reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies, with the analysis skills the representation questions reward.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Media Studies (H409) specification — OCR (2023)
- Making Media NEA briefs — OCR (2025)