QCE Film, Television and New Media exam 2026Exam: Wed 4 Nov · QCAA timetable
Your QCE Film, Television and New Media exam:
When and how long
- Film, Television & New MediaMorning session2 h plus 20 min perusal or planning time
QCAA's timetable sets the day and the morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) session, not a start time: your school tells you when to arrive. Durations are working time plus perusal or planning time.
Source: QCAA external assessment timetable 2026 (QCAA), checked Wednesday 23 September 2026. Where a start time, reading time or duration isn't shown, the timetable doesn't publish it: check your personal timetable and the front of your paper.
What the exam covers
We don't have past-paper frequency data for this exam, so here is the course, module by module. Make sure every module is covered.
Night-before and exam-morning checklists
The night before
- QCAA's timetable fixes the day and the AM or PM session only: confirm the start time and venue with your school.[2]
- Check your calculator is on QCAA's approved list for the subject.[1]
- Pack a clear plastic container or zip-lock bag: black or blue pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, a highlighter.[1]
- An ordinary watch only if you want one (no smart watch or fitness tracker); it goes on the desk.[1]
- Pack a water bottle (it stays on the floor).[1]
Exam morning
- Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start.[1]
- Switch your phone off and leave it in your bag outside the room.[1]
- More than 40 minutes late needs permission, and you lose perusal and planning time.[1]
- During perusal and planning time, don't write in the response book or touch your calculator.[1]
- You can't leave in the first 40 minutes or the last 10 minutes.[1]
Exam-week survival kit: The last 7 days · The night before and exam morning · What to bring, and what's banned · How to use reading time · If you're sick or something goes wrong · Handling exam-week stress.
Last-week revision
QCE Film, Television and New Media cram sheet
Key formulas, definitions and facts copied from our Film, Television and New Media syllabus pages. One page when printed.
Unit 3: Participation
Convergence is the merging of technologies, industries and cultures, and transmedia storytelling spreads one story across platforms so audiences participate by piecing it together. Examiners reward the distinction between transmedia (new story per platform) and cross-platform repetition.
The context of production (how and why a product is made) and the context of use (how and where it is received) frame the five key concepts and shape meaning. Examiners reward responses that analyse features within these contexts rather than treating products as context-free.
Critique is the responding media practice that combines analysis (how a product works) with evaluation (how effectively), using the five key concepts as lenses, and it underpins the IA1 and the external exam. Examiners reward evidence-based judgement over description.
Participation is built into the language of a product through codes such as direct address, calls to action, interface design and cliffhanger editing. Examiners reward responses that explain how a specific code triggers or maintains participation, not merely what it means.
Unit 4: Artistry
The external assessment is an extended-response examination on Unit 4, applying the five key concepts to analyse and evaluate. Examiners reward a clear evaluative argument supported by specific evidence, with audience positioning analysed rather than merely described.
Languages are organised into technical, symbolic, audio and written codes, combined according to conventions. Examiners reward responses that analyse specific code choices and evaluate the precise meaning and style they create, rather than listing codes.
In Unit 4, institutions (funders, production houses, festivals, platforms) both enable artistry through resources and freedom and constrain it through briefs, branding and specs. Examiners reward responses that analyse how an institution shaped a maker's style.
In Unit 4, technology choices (camera, lens, frame rate, lighting, grade) are aesthetic decisions that realise a deliberate style. Examiners reward responses that connect a specific technology choice to the stylistic intention it serves, not just that a tool was used.