AQA MEST2 Brief: Initial thoughts

AQA MEST2 brief:

You work for Silver Lining Productions, a multi-media production company that has had recent television success with fly on the wall documentaries, structured reality programming and fiction products.  They have also developed supporting media for their broadcast productions in print, audio and e-media. 

The company is known for its work in pushing the boundaries of existing formats and so is willing to consider original and creative approaches to existing formats. 

You have been given an opportunity to prepare a pitch for development funding and so will need to present sample production work.  The programme will have a target audience similar to E4’s demographic (15–35) and will be suitable for pre-watershed broadcasting.  You are free to work in any format you wish.


Tasks - you must complete both (a) and (b)

(a) Broadcasting - group task

Produce the opening few scenes of your TV programme establishing narrative themes, 
characters and location.  You could include a title sequence and your finished product 
should be approximately two minutes long.

(b) Print - individual task


As part of the promotion for the TV programme, create a teaser ad campaign that will 
be published before broadcast which aims to generate discussion amongst your target 
audience.  Your print based campaign may make reference to advertising materials on 
other platforms.

OR 

Create a front cover and two further pages from a specialist souvenir magazine that will 
be produced to promote the broadcast production at the time of broadcast.

Initial task
Today you need to confirm who you are working with for the actual coursework project and what kind of TV programme you intend to make. This will then inform your research and planning - the first stage of the project.

Once you have confirmed who you are working with, create a detailed brainstorm/spider diagram of all the potential programmes you could make.

Write this up in a blog post called 'MEST2 Initial thoughts'

Ill Manors: Music Video

For 12D (for Mon 3/12 p3/4)...

• Embed the Ill Manors music video on your blog;
• Research the Ill Manors track and soundtrack album - Record companies? Sales? Music reviewers' response? Post the research on your blog.
• Read/answer (on your blog) the Ill Manors MEST 1 Section A style outline/questions. Spend a minimum of twenty minutes on each one. Highlight media terminology.

12D - Preliminary exercise evaluation

I have been incredibly impressed watching you work on your Preliminary Exercises - excellent dedication to filmmaking. I'm also pleased that you've learned so much, a lot of which you simply can't pick up until you start shooting and editing. Continuity editing, the importance of close-ups and the 180 degree rule were just some of the key learning points of the last fortnight.

We will be screening our preliminary exercises in class. Following that, you need to write a detailed evaluation of your group's Preliminary Exercise, focusing on the following:

• Clear reference to the brief, your planning process, how your storyboard and shot list helped create the final product and what you would do differently next time in terms of pre-production
• Detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your film
• Confident use of media language, particularly film language, showing clear understanding of the key concepts of Media Studies

Your evaluation should be an absolute minimum of 500 words and be posted to your blog no later than Thursday 6 December.

12E Media Theory Assessment (Tues 27th Nov)

You will pitch an idea for your own new teen drama under exam conditions, providing an outline of the opening episode.

You will analyse and justify your choices of narrative, setting and character to show how and why this appeals to the target audience (teens).

You will be expected to apply and analyse the theories we have studied:

Narrative 
Todorov – 3 Part Structure
Barthes – Action and Enigma Codes
Levi Strauss – Binary Opposites
Propp – Character Types

Representation
Stereotypes – Written, Symbolic and Technical Codes
Amplification – Construction & Contrast
Theories – Reflective, Intentional, Constructionist

Audience
Socio-economic audience demographics
Psychographics and the 4 C's
Interpellation
See the pg 62 in the AQA text book for specific info on teen audiences.

This assessment will test how much theory you have learned and whether you can apply it effectively. You should prepare for this assessment and it will count towards your overall interim.

12D Psychographics HW

Look at the 4Cs Summary.

Find an advert on YouTube that targets each of the seven categories and embed on your blog. Explain WHY you think it would appeal to that psychographic group, using some of the descriptive words from the PowerPoint and linking to specific details in the text.

Then, write a description of yourself and your psychographic profile.  Write down TEN brands that appeal to you and say how they fit into that category.

Intro to Representation and Skins (12E)

Binary Opposites and True Blood (12E)

Intro to Narrative Theories (12E)

12D 13.11.12 p1

How could these products be gendered through advertising? Find one print and one moving image advert from each category and upload onto your blog. Explain which gender is being targeted/associated with the product and why you think this is the case…

• ·         a sports car?
• ·         a diving watch?
• ·         bottled beer?
• ·         toilet paper?
• ·         deodorant?
• ·         cigarettes?
• ·         a hi-fi system?
•        a domestic cleaning product
• ·         trainers?
• ·         a games console ?
• ·         an airline?

How might you represent these products in a different/alternative way that would appeal to the other gender?

Pitch an idea for each one, arguing how you think it would be successful. Complete for homework (Monday 19/11).

Storyboard Sheets/Practical Exercise

Use these storyboard sheets for the preliminary exercise (you may need to print out several in DF06). 

For 12E they need to be worked on in the lesson on 13.11.12 p1 and completed for homework (for Monday 19.11.12).

Here are the details of the task...

Preliminary practical exercise: continuity task

Your preliminary exercise involves filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue.

This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 

You are advised to work in the group that you will work in for your MEST2 coursework project.