Post-16 Easter sessions

We have managed to arrange two sessions for post-16 Media students in the Easter holidays. In addition, Media is open for the whole of Raising Achievement Day on Friday 27 March (when normal lessons are suspended). Therefore, you have the following opportunities to complete Media work:

Friday 27 March (Raising Achievement Day) 8.30am - 4pm

Tuesday 31 March 9am - 3pm (with Mr Halsey)

Tuesday 7 April 9am - 3pm (with Mr Bush)

This gives you over 19 hours to complete work - easily enough time if you are organised and make the most of these opportunities.

As you know, your coursework deadline is the week after Easter so these are your last chances to work on Premiere Pro or Photoshop in school and receive feedback on your production work or evaluation.

Good luck!

MEST2 Evaluation: third brief exemplar

You should now be making good progress with your 1,500 word MEST2 evaluation.

The original blogpost with guidance is here.

This paragraph may be useful as an exemplar for the section on the third brief (e-media). Remember, you MUST NOT use this exactly (think how obvious your plagiarism would be) but it does give you an idea of the areas you need to cover:

The third brief required us to make an E-Media campaign. This would contain a website promoting Insincere along with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. An E-Media campaign would successfully help me target my 15-35 audience as that is the primary age group using the internet and social networking sites and more awareness of Insincere would be created. I could have used an Insincere website to launch the official two minute opening scene to the production or even small snippets put together as a ‘teaser trailer’. Also, the website would include exclusive backstage footage, pictures, character blogs, competition chances and more. The Insincere opening scene could also be launched on Youtube which is viral and reaches audiences immediately, as well as social networking sites, BBC iPlayer and the BBC website. Vines could also be created showing a 5-6 second video of the opening scene, again creating awareness of Insincere. All of these forms of social media are helpful as they will gain fans and feedback as audiences have the opportunity to leave comments. Also, by fans following the Twitter and Facebook pages along with the Youtube channel, audiences can interact and attract a larger audience. I could have created synergy between my final production and E-Media campaign by including the hashtag ‘#insincere’. Although I included this on the cover of my magazine, immediately when a hashtag is shown audiences associate it with social network. 

Good luck! 

Y12/13 Media work - Friday 20 March

Both myself and Mr Bush will be taking 27 Year 12 students to Sky Academy on Friday. This means that for Year 12 students not on the trip and all Year 13 students, you have the double lesson to get on with your coursework.

For Year 12, this means completing the video and print work for MEST2 and writing the first draft of your evaluation.

For Year 13, this means editing your linked production and making final changes to your critical investigations.

Mr Qureshi will be on hand to register you as present and help with any technical queries.

Make the most of the time and we look forward to seeing your work next week.

Y12 Sky Academy trip

Well done to everyone who got their reply slips in for the Sky Academy trip on Friday 20 March.

This is the briefing sheet you need in case you're unsure of the meeting place.

You must be there by 9am so we can walk to Sky and arrive on time.

Lunch is provided and dress code is smart - don't let us down!

See you in Brentford and call the school mobile if you've got any problems.

MEST2 Evaluation

Deadlines are fast approaching and you now need to be working on your MEST2 Evaluation. This is worth 20 marks and will make or break your overall coursework grade.

You can find the evaluation guidance here. You don't have to follow it exactly but you DO need to address each aspect in some way if you want to achieve a top mark.

The original MEST2 briefs are here. Remember, we have done Brief 1 (Silver Lining Productions) and within that Broadcasting (task i) and Print (task ii). You must make this clear in your introduction. Remember your evaluation also needs to address the third brief, e-media. I recommend focusing on what you would have done for e-media task ii (e-media marketing campaign) and offer some detailed, creative ideas for how you could use social media and new technology to promote your TV show.

Make sure you have a draft of your evaluation written for your last double lesson before Easter - otherwise, you won't be able to get any feedback and may miss out on crucial marks. For 12C - that's next Monday so needs to be a homework priority THIS week.

MEST1 Section B: Independent case study

You've now studied your main case study, Ill Manors, in great detail and have A Field In England to offer a second case study on arthouse cinema and film distribution. You need one more film case study for the exam and this one has to be independent - that means you choose the film and research it across broadcast, print, e-media and more.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Choose one of the following five big-budget British films:

Skyfall ($200m budget)


Paddington ($55m budget)


The Inbetweeners Movie (£3.5m budget)


The King’s Speech ($15m budget)


Belle ($11m budget)


Case study research tasks

The basics

1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars?

2) When was it released?

3) What genre is the film? What are the generic conventions that tell you the film belongs to this genre?

4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?


Broadcast

1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.

2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?



Print

1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.

2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.

3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.

4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?



E-media

1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film?

2) Analyse the official website for the film. How does it use the film’s brand? What examples of synergy can you find with the other platforms?

3) Did the film run any kind of e-media based campaign to generate interest in the film?

4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?



Audience

1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.

2) How does the cross-media promotional campaign target this audience?

3) What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.

4) What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.



Institution

1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

2) Which company distributed the film in the UK? What other films have they distributed? 

3) Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?

4)What was the budget for the film?

5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was?

6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is?

7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?



Representation

1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?

2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?

3) How does the representation of Britain differ to Ill Manors? 

4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.) 


Case study comparison

1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.

MEST1 Section B: index

Now we are reaching the end of our work preparing for MEST3 Section B, we need to put together an index so we can easily access our work for revision. Remember, you'll be answering ONE question in an extended essay on the film industry and need to refer to all THREE platforms and at least THREE film texts in the essay. Your index should contain the following:

1) Ill Manors: film review
2) Ill Manors: trailer analysis
3) Ill Manors: TEDx lecture
4) Ill Manors: music video
5) Ill Manors: broadcast platform concluded
6) Ill Manors: print platform (newspaper interviews)
7) Ill Manors: print branding
8) Ill Manors: e-media Tag London campaign
9) Ill Manors: e-media social networking research
10) Ill Manors: official website analysis
11) Ill Manors: institution research
12) A Field In England: reading, research and questions

Remember, your index should link to YOUR blogpost for each of these tasks.

This is a significant amount of work and should prepare you well for MEST1 Section B. Remember, you'll have a full mock exam after Easter.

Next week: MEST1 Section B British film independent case study.

Index: complete in lesson but if missing anything make sure EVERYTHING is in order by next Friday.

MEST1 Section B: A Field In England

A Field In England is a low-budget arthouse film by award-winning director Ben Wheatley. It was released on 5th July 2013 across cinema, DVD/Blu-ray, TV and VoD.

It is described as a psychedelic trip into Civil War era rural England and attracted attention due to both the director and the highly creative release and distribution method.

A Field In England is an excellent second case study because the official website contains a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and its remarkable release strategy.

The more you read, the more confidently you will be able to use the film in your exam answer, comparing it to Ill Manors’ release and target audience.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

First, read the Media Magazine article on A Field In England in Issue 47 and write a 100 word summary of the article on your blog. You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive - click on MM47 and go to page 19.

Now read the following pages on the official website that provide explanations of the unique release strategy that the institutions behind the film chose:

Industrial Evolution: Producer Andy Starke on the music industry influences informing A Field In England’s release strategy.  
Screening/radical release: Commissioning Executive Anna Higgs on the groundbreaking release plans for A Field In England.
Audience: Anna Higgs discusses where A Field In England sits within British cinema and how it will reach its intended audience for the film.

Finally, answer the following questions on your blog:

1. How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases?
2. What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?
3. What are the disadvantages to this approach?
4. What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Demographics and Psychographics.
5. Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future?

Extension work: read the rest of the official website's digital masterclass – there is a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and release.

Homework: Ensure the reading, summary and five questions are completed and on your blog by next week.

MEST1 mock exam: learner response

Hopefully you are developing your confidence and technique on MEST1 Section A and this is reflected in your results. There were some fantastic responses with really thoughtful analysis and excellent use of media language and theory. There were also a few that fell below the GHS minimum target grade and therefore will have to be re-taken after school.

Most of you will have a learner response task to re-write your weakest answer on your blog. This is designed to give you the opportunity to write a stunning, 12/12 perfect answer. To help you, the original question paper is here and the markscheme with suggested responses is here. Use these resources to see what the examiner is looking for and the kind of answers that will take you to the top level.

Complete the learner response for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due next week.

As ever, if you have any questions regarding the exam speak to your teacher and make sure you keep revising for the full mock exam (including Section B) after Easter.

Ill Manors: institution research

To finish our Ill Manors case study, we need to research the institutions behind the film and know exactly what organisations and companies contributed to the production of the film. 

Create one blogpost for all of these tasks. Make sure you find enough time to complete this - there is a lot to research and it will take you several hours.

Distribution research

1. Research film distribution using this guide from the UK Film Distributors' Association. It's called Launching Film and takes you through the whole process of distributing a movie.
2. Read the whole step-by-step guide (warning: this is LONG and will take you around an hour)
3. Summarise the 10 steps of film distribution in a list using your own words.

Ill Manors: Funding and production budget

1. What was the estimated budget for Ill Manors?
2. Where did the money come from? List the different organisations and companies that contributed funding to Ill Manors.
3. How did the Ill Manors budget compare to a Hollywood blockbuster such as Skyfall?

Film London and Microwave Film

1. What is Film London and why does it exist?
2. What is the purpose of Microwave Film?
3. List three other films funded by Microwave Film and embed their trailers in your blog.
4. Choose one film funded by Microwave film and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences)

Distributor: Revolver Entertainment

1. When was Revolver Entertainment created?
2. Revolver Entertainment enjoyed a lot of success with the UK urban drama genre. Find three Revolver films that fit that genre, embed the trailers from YouTube and write about why they were successful.
3. Choose one film distributed by Revolver Entertainment and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences).
4. Why did Revolver Entertainment go out of business in 2013?
5. How is new technology changing the way films are being distributed?

Gunslinger

1. Visit the Gunslinger website and list the three films currently in development (click on the Slate tab).
2. Research the Gunslinger/Revolver film Shank. Embed the trailer in your blog and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences).
3. List other Gunslinger films that fit the UK urban drama genre. Why does Gunslinger focus on this genre in particular?
4. Research the British social realism genre. How do Gunslinger films fit into the social realism genre?
5. Why does the UK urban drama genre appeal to an audience?

Certification

One final aspect of institution is the certificate the film was awarded for exhibition. This is decided by the British Board of Film Classification.

1. How does the certification process work at the BBFC?
2. Think about the certificate of Ill Manors (18 certificate). What is deemed acceptable for an 18 certificate? What is the difference between a 15 certificate and an 18 certificate?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages for a film in being given an 18 certificate?

You will have lesson time to work on these tasks but you will need to complete this for homework. Due date: confirmed by your teacher.