Course Guide As 10 11
Course Guide As 10 11
Course Guide As 10 11
AS MEDIA STUDIES
COURSE GUIDE
2010/11
Exam board:
Introduction
You may be very familiar with broadcast drama, but have you
thought about how editing contributes to storytelling in subtle, often
“invisible”, ways? Similarly, have you ever considered how social
groupings, such as age, gender and ethnicity are represented through
these dramas? How are the media texts you consume, such as the
videogames you play, the films you see at the cinema or the magazines
you buy, produced, funded, marketed and distributed? These are the
kinds of question that the course will encourage you to consider.
On this course, you will analyse media texts in depth and to find out more about how
they are produced. This year you will focus particularly on Video Production for your
coursework portfolio, then you will study TV drama and the film industry. You will be
encouraged to “read” media texts in analytical and creative ways.
So…
Expectations
• You should have high expectations of yourself, of your learning, of the
teaching, of the course.
• You must do your best to engage with the subject, and participate in the
activities. Some you will enjoy, and others you may find challenging, because
they don’t suit the way you prefer to learn. Do your best. Additionally, AS
Media Studies involves a fair amount of reading and research and it is
expected that you will complete all of it, largely in your own study time.
• You must meet all deadlines. If you miss a deadline we will write home and
inform your parents/guardians, and you will be expected to attend a meeting
with either of us after school. Meeting deadlines is important for the purposes
of on-going assessment and the completion of coursework (including
intermediate deadlines for different stages of the Portfolio). If work is not
submitted, you will trigger a Negative Referral which will be logged on your
personal file and used when the school completes your UCAS reference. You
must also understand that feedback can only be given on completed work
and is essential for your progression.
• You must complete at least 5 hours work outside the lessons each
week. Some of this time will be taken up by tasks we set for your home
study. However, you will have independent study time. You are expected to
use this, and we will want to see evidence of your independent study each
week. Look at the suggestions on how to make effective use of your study
time later on in the booklet and we will suggest wider reading over the
course.
• You are expected to attend every lesson. You should not book
appointments during lesson time unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
If you miss a lesson due to illness then you must catch up the work you have
missed, by the next lesson if possible. To be eligible for the A2 course, you
must attend all the summer sessions (post-exam) as we will start looking at,
planning and researching for the Advanced Portfolio (music video production
at A2); you will also need to have achieved a D minimum at AS Level.
enhance candidates enjoyment and appreciation of the media and its role in
their daily lives;
develop critical understanding of the media through engagement with media
products and concepts and through the creative application of practical skills;
explore production processes, technologies and contexts;
become independent in research skills and their application.
Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two
minutes (We focus on Thriller openings)
All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with
the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
Assessment Objectives:
• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
• How did you attract/address your audience?
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this
product?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?
An ‘unseen’ extract from a TV Drama with one compulsory question dealing with
textual analysis of various technical aspects of the languages and conventions of
moving image media.
Candidates will be asked to link this analysis with a discussion of some aspect of
representation within the sequence. Learners need to demonstrate textual analysis
of all of the following technical areas of moving image language and conventions in
relation to the unseen extract.
Below is a list of what students should learn and also provides as the source of the
questions in the examination papers.
Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide
shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and
variations of these.
Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse
zoom.
Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus,
focus pulls.
Editing
Sound
Mise-en-Scène
Through specific case studies of the film industry, candidates must demonstrate
understanding of contemporary institutional processes of production,
distribution, marketing and exchange/exhibition at a local, national or
international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption.
This will require you to research, make notes and LEARN some hard facts about the
industry, based on some contrasting case studies.
Assessment Objectives:
Assessment Objectives
Candidates are expected to demonstrate the following in the context of the content
described:
AO1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical
debates, using terminology appropriately and with accurate and coherent written
expression.
AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding to show how meanings are created when
analysing media products and evaluating their own practical work.
AO3 Demonstrate the ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate
technical and creative skills.
AO % of Advanced GCE
weightings in
Advanced AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4 Total
GCE Units
AS G321:
Foundation
0 5 15 5 25%
Portfolio in
Media
AS G322:
Key Media
15 10 0 0 25%
Concepts
(TV Drama)
A2 G324:
Advanced
0 5 15 5 25%
Portfolio in
Media
A2 G325:
Critical
15 10 0 0 25%
Perspectives
in Media
30% 30% 30% 10% 100%
Candidates will:
- ensure that text is legible and that spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate so that
meaning is clear;
- select and use a form and style of writing appropriate to purpose and to complex subject
matter;
- organise information clearly and coherently, using specialist vocabulary when appropriate.
*****************************************************************
The Advanced GCE is made up of the two mandatory units at AS and two further units at
A2.
*****************************************************************
You will have two AS teachers sharing the delivery of the course in 2010/11:
Mr R. Molloy rmolloy.310@parkhighstanmore.org.uk
What do I do outside of
lessons?
In addition to the home learning tasks set by your teachers, you will need to do
independent study. It is for you to decide how best to spend your time and how you
can learn most effectively. To get you started there are some suggestions below:
• Read through your notes and write down key words for each study/unit. Put your
notes away and try and explain why you chose each word.
• Watch the recommended films, possibly in groups, and discuss how they use or
subvert the conventions of the genre. Discuss which films you’ve enjoyed and why.
Keep track of your viewings on your blog.
• Find out details about how the films you watch, at home or at the cinema, have been
produced and distributed. Keep notes.
• Use the recommended websites and search them for more information about your
subject. Make good use of all the links on the Media blogs.
• Create a mind map. Use different starting points each time e.g. title of the unit,
strengths/weaknesses, key word/themes/ concepts, case study. How much can you do
without your notes? How much can you add once you have your notes in front of you?
• Go to the library (or come to us) and read a recommended book, or relevant
chapters of a book. Look in the index and find relevant pages.
• Write down five questions you could ask the authors / directors / scriptwriters /
producers etc.
• Write down five things you want to know more about from what you have read. Find
the answers.
• Find images to represent key points/units/studies. It is essential that your blog should
use a range of media rather than being overwhelmingly solid text. You need to engage
with the technologies mentioned on the course.
.
• Plan a lesson on a particular subject. How would you teach it to someone else?
• Create mnemonics – where the first letter of each word makes a word, or a sentence
e.g. Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain tells you the order of the colours of the rainbow
(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
• Practise answering exam questions. Use the exam board website or the blog. Do the
exam questions with your notes. Do them without your notes and then check your
answers.
• Organise your file- make sure there is nothing missing. Update your blog weekly to
keep to deadlines. You will need to purchase a lever arch file or 3 ring binders.
• Practise analysing media texts at home. Become more critical when watching
different programmes or films. Write down some key observations about representation
and share with the class.
• Do any or all of the above with a friend. Test yourself, and test each other.
www.ocr.org.uk
Useful Resources
The library is your friend. We also have a range of relevant books
you may borrow from us.. You will use it to study in, and you will also find
resources in there to help you. You will need to read books or simply relevant
chapters. Start small and work up. Reading and
making notes is a skill you need to develop.
Practise now!
Useful websites:
OCR:
http://www.ocr.org.uk/Data/publications/key_documents/AS_ALevel_GCE_
Media_Studies_Specification.pdf
for a full version of your specifications
Media UK
www.mediauk.com
Useful for any media research related to UK institutions. Includes useful articles
such as ‘An introduction to UK television’.
BFI EDUCATION
www.bfi.org.uk/education
The British Film Institute’s education resources – very useful for moving image
analysis.
BBC ONLINE
www.bbconline.org.uk
Archives and daily news – essential site
FILM EDUCATION
www.filmeducation.org.uk
Great film study resources
MEDIA WEEK
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/
Check through their podcasts particularly, and their analysis of media news.
BRITMOVIE
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/
Find details about any British film, director or actor. You can also watch film trailers.
MEDIA GUARDIAN
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/mediaguardian
Online version of the Monday supplement. Essential for studying institutions and audiences.
UK FILM COUNCIL
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ and in particular http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ukfilms
Essential for statistics, information on piracy and fantastic articles for your film Industry unit.
OFCOM
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/
Regulatory body for broadcast media and telecommunications. Great for studying
institutions.
NEW MEDIA
http://www.newmediastudies.com/
Useful for up-to-date facts and figures on the ne media and great resources for your
understanding of key concepts.
Recommended books:
As part of your coursework, you will have to complete an electronic portfolio, in the
form of a blog, providing evidence of research, planning, production and evaluation.
You will receive training and guidance from your teachers, and the blogs will be
launched at the beginning of the Autumn term. Your students’ blogs will be linked to
a central “Media Studies” blog from which you will also be able to access resources,
instructions, links and important documents. You will be reading and evaluating
each others’ blogs in lessons as well, for example as part of the starter activity of a
lesson.
Consequently, there are some important guidelines which you MUST follow to
ensure that blog content is appropriate and adopts a “professional” mode of address
as this is a “work area” rather than a personal blog and will be seen by external
moderators.
BLOGGING GUIDELINES
You must use appropriate language, grammar and punctuation. You will not
use ‘txt’ speak and adopt an appropriate register. Remember that the blog is
a showcase into your production process and part of your coursework.
You must use an appropriate title for your blog; this means you MUST
choose an appropriate nickname as well.
You will not add any unnecessary widgets and gadgets on your blog.
You will check carefully any link which you include on your blog. Do not add
unnecessary links.
Of course you cannot see them all but you'll be expected to have seen at least 10 by the
end of the first half-term, then keep watching throughout the coursework unit.
Arrange viewings between yourselves and keep a record of what you have watched with
some review notes. Discuss what makes these films good thrillers or at least iconic ones.
You should develop a better understanding of thriller conventions and sub-genres, and of
course get much inspiration for your own project.
Some of these films can be borrowed from the Department. However some of the films from
the list are 18-certificates so you will need to have that discussion with your parents /
guardians; you also need to consider your own feelings.
http://parksmediagateway.blogspot.com/
http://msinduction.blogspot.com/
(Add these links as favourites; you will need to refer to the blogs for information, advice and
home learning tasks throughout the course)