This is an example video for Performing Arts students (high school and college level), demonstrating what their recorded rehearsal evidence should look like. Here you see my second full practice session, from start to finish, completely unedited.
I filmed this guidance for my own year 10 BTEC Music students, but the same principles can be applied to Dance, Drama, and any other vocational Performing Arts subject (RSL, SQA, other similar international qualification), whether working alone or as part of a group.
A few tips to students about filming your rehearsals…
- Start the camera rolling IMMEDIATELY when you begin your work, and just forget it's even there whilst you practice. This video should be anything from 5-10 minutes to an hour in length, showing you hard at work throughout.
- Your assessors want to see you go through the practice process - how you focus on details of the performance, concentrate, manage your time, and all other aspects of rehearsal discipline. They’ll expect mistakes (and you’ll see loads of those in this vid), breaks, mishaps, and everything from cheerful banter to explosive arguments between performers. They DON'T want to see just a finished product.
- No idea how to support your phone/tablet whilst you're recording? Spend 5 minutes making a stand for it! Some excellent ideas at [ Ссылка ] - personally I love the DIY 3D audio contraption towards the bottom of the list.
- At a loose end once you've finished school or college work for the day? Bored over the weekend? Need a break from Snapchat or the Xbox? Then try filming another rehearsal session to pass the time - there’s REALLY no such thing as ‘too much practice’.
- To answer my own students most common FAQ; Whoever is assessing the video WILL want to see your face! But don’t worry - it’s incredibly unlikely that anyone other than your teacher or the external assessor will EVER see your footage.
Most vocational Performing Arts courses also require written rehearsal diaries to be submitted along with the recorded evidence. A few more tips to students about completing these…
- Write down your ‘Targets for this rehearsal session' BEFORE you start rehearsing. Aim for at least 3 for each rehearsal, although your first could be as simple as "choosing what to perform".
- Make the 'Diary of progress' section as detailed as possible, with reference to what you achieved during the rehearsal - both the good stuff AND the bad…
- Think carefully about what work is needed to improve next time, and use these to write your 'Targets for next rehearsal session'. Aim for at least 3 again. These can then copied and pasted straight into the 'Targets for this rehearsal session' on your next rehearsal diary, making your life easier (and your evidence more consistent).
I completed an example rehearsal diary to accompany this recording - you can view it here…..
[ Ссылка ]
And a final tip; don’t worry if you think your filmed rehearsal has been a disaster - whether in terms of performance standard, discipline, any technical mishaps, etc etc. I’ve genuinely seen submitted videos that variously involved tears, hysterical laughter, physical accidents, borderline fist-fights between students, and (on one memorable occasion) a cat being sick in front of the camera. But so long as your series of recorded evidence shows development and improvement, you’ve done the job right.
Teachers, students, and anyone else who found this video useful; please feel free to share it with friends and colleagues. Any likes or subscriptions would naturally be appreciated!
All the bestest,
Mr D
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Anyone interested in the marvellous bass backing tracks for John Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps’ used in this video (created by the amazing Visual Real Book YouTube Channel - [ Ссылка ]) can view them here…
Giant Steps (Fast Version) - Bass Backing Track [ Ссылка ]
Giant Steps (Slow Version) - Bass Backing Track [ Ссылка ]
