LCME Digital Recorded Exams: recording guidelines

Recorded exams guidelines +

Live Online exams guidelines +

General & ID

All work submitted must be the candidate’s own. The entire recording, both audio and video, must be of the same performance, performed by the candidate who is entered for the exam. Impersonation by another performer or use of a recording not made by the candidate will result in the examination entry being disallowed and may lead to further sanctions. Where our examiners doubt the authenticity of candidate work submitted for assessment, this will be investigated, and appropriate action taken.
The Candidate ID must be uploaded with the video files. If the candidate does not have photo ID a responsible adult may verify the candidate by uploading their own ID.

Music published with an accompaniment must be performed with the accompaniment. This may be provided live with a pianist or with a backing track. External speakers, rather than a laptop or phone, will be required for audio output so that the correct balance is achievable between candidate and backing track.
The accompanist does not need to be in shot during the filming of the performance.
You do not need to submit scores of any music selected from the lists published in LCME syllabuses.
You must upload copies of the printed music of free choice items and lyrics of pop vocals songs. If we do not receive this, it may result in your examination being referred and the issue of the result being delayed.

Each piece must be recorded in a single, uninterrupted and unedited take.
All technical work must be recorded and uploaded in one single, uninterrupted take, with each item being identified orally before playing. For example, "C major scale", "A harmonic minor scale". Please do not submit each scale and arpeggio as a separate video file.
Candidates must remove from their visibility any books or sheet music containing technical work notation before they begin this component. They may refer to a list of requirements as published in the relevant Technical Work document.
Discussion questions must be answered in one uninterrupted take. Somebody may be present to ask the questions, but prompting is not allowed.
The use of a click track or metronome is not allowed for any component of the exam.
Digital pianos must use the acoustic piano setting with no reverb added.

Ensure your filming room is quiet, free from interruptions and devices are on silent mode (including the one you are using to film).
Ensure that the filming device has been checked for sufficient battery and storage capacity before filming begins.
A smartphone or tablet is sufficient for recording quality. We recommend you set your video camera resolution to 720p. The camera can be in portrait or landscape view.
Performances must be recorded using a static camera and a single microphone; multiple microphone setups are not permitted. Audio and video must not be edited in any way (e.g. cuts, splices, EQ/reverb, compression, pitch/timing correction, tonal effects)
The recording must be of sufficient quality to allow assessment of all aspects of the performance, including tone quality and dynamic range. Audio and video must be accurately synchronised.

The candidate must be in shot all the time, and their face, hands and whole instrument (piano keyboard only) must be clearly visible. Where a vocal microphone is used in Pop Vocals exams, the mic must not obscure the candidate’s face.
Piano and Drum Kit exams should be filmed from the side to allow an uninterrupted view of the whole performance.
Light levels and direction should be tested before recording to ensure that the candidate is clearly visible on screen, and not in silhouette. The recording device should be positioned to ensure a good sound balance between the candidate and the accompanist or backing track (if applicable).

In-room technical support may be offered from a responsible adult when the candidate is recording their examination material, for example for operating backing tracks or turning pages. Any influence made to the examination process such as cueing or prompting is not allowed.
We suggest making a short test recording first to ensure the audio signal is clear, not distorting or clipping, and the video image is clear and the balance is correct (if accompaniment/backing track is present).
Your uploaded files must be in avi, flv, WMV, .mov or mp4 format. The maximum file size is 750MB.
Each file should be labelled with title, component and composer. For example: "Rock Lullaby, List C, Marcus Wong".
To submit the examination files, login and upload them to the booking area of the account, following the Submission Guidelines.