Cinematography is the key term to describe camerawork: framing, angle and camera movement.
You need to be able to accurately identify camera shots, angles and movement - and most importantly the effect it has on the audience.
Practical task: create a one minute cinematography video that illustrates the main types of camera shot, angle and movement that we learned in the lesson on cinematography.
Complete the following:
1) Get into pairs or work individually. Note: although the planning and filming can be done collectively, all students MUST edit their own video.
2) Plan out the different shots, angles and examples of camera movement you need to include.
3) Film everything you need - as creatively as possible. You can use comedy, narrative or just keep it simple. However, you MUST make sure the framing and media terminology is accurate.
4) Edit your video to approximately one minute, adding music, voiceover, titles, effects and anything else that will make your film visually effective and entertaining for an audience. You can edit in school using Premiere Pro but are welcome to edit at home if you have the software to do it.
5) Export your finished video, upload it to YouTube and post it to your blog along with a 100-word explanation of your work.
Here's an example from last year to give you an idea of what we're after:
And here's an example from a similar task (camerawork and editing) that a student at Lingfield College created:
*Deadline extended due to lack of availability of equipment. New deadline: Wednesday 14 November
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
MIGRAIN: Audience classification
Our next key concept of Media Studies is Audience - a crucial aspect of the subject.
We need to study both how audiences are targeted and also why audiences enjoy or use certain types of media. There are a range of theories we need to learn over the next few lessons alongside important terminology.
Target audience profiling
Media institutions are always looking for more detailed audience profiling – so they can target their product more successfully.
These include VALS (values, attitudes and lifestyles) or Mosaic consumer classification. There's a good PDF explaining the Mosaic consumer classification here.
Advertisers and institutions also use Psychographics.
Psychographics
Young and Rubicam invented a successful psychographic profile known as their 4Cs Marketing Model: Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation. They suggested people fit into one of seven groups:
Resigned
Rigid, strict, authoritarian and chauvinist values, oriented to the past and to Resigned roles. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. (Older)
Strugglers
Alienated, Struggler, disorganised - with few resources apart from physical/mechanical skills (e.g. car repair). Heavy consumers of alcohol, junk food and lotteries, also trainers. Brand choice involves impact and sensation.
Mainstreamers
Domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental, passive, habitual. Part of the mass, favouring big and well-known value for money 'family' brands. Almost invariably the largest 4Cs group.
Aspirers
Materialistic, acquisitive, affiliative, oriented to extrinsics ... image, appearance, charisma, persona and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than quality of contents. (Younger, clerical/sales type occupation)
Succeeders
Strong goal orientation, confidence, work ethic, organisation ... support status quo, stability. Brand choice based on reward, prestige - the very best . Also attracted to 'caring' and protective brands ... stress relief. (Top management)
Explorers
Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers. Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence and instant effect - the first to try new brands. (Younger - student)
Reformers
Freedom from restriction, personal growth, social awareness, value for time, independent judgement, tolerance of complexity, anti-materialistic but intolerant of bad taste. Curious and enquiring, support growth of new product categories. Select brands for intrinsic quality, favouring natural simplicity, small is beautiful. (Higher Education)
Psychographics: pair presentations
In pairs, you are going to investigate one of Young and Rubicam’s Psychographic groups.
You need to put together a presentation in which you create an example couple for that particular psychographic group and suggest what their media consumption might involve.
Note: You need to publish the tasks on each of your blogs individually.
Structure
Who you are working with:
The psychographic group you are researching:
Introduce your example couple that represents your group:
1) Make up their names:
2) Where do they work/study?
3) What do they do in their spare time?
Now suggest their media consumption:
Print: What newspapers/magazines does your group read (if any)? Is this on paper or tablet?
Broadcast: What TV programmes/channels do your group watch? Radio stations? TV package – Freeview or Sky? Films?
Online: What technology do they own? What websites do they visit (if any)? What social media do they use?
Work through the following tasks to complete your introductory work on audience and psychographic profiling:
1) Make sure your psychographics presentation is uploaded on your blog with all details of the couple and their media consumption (it needs to be on everybody's blog individually but can be a duplicate of your partner's post).
We need to study both how audiences are targeted and also why audiences enjoy or use certain types of media. There are a range of theories we need to learn over the next few lessons alongside important terminology.
Target audience profiling
Media institutions are always looking for more detailed audience profiling – so they can target their product more successfully.
These include VALS (values, attitudes and lifestyles) or Mosaic consumer classification. There's a good PDF explaining the Mosaic consumer classification here.
Advertisers and institutions also use Psychographics.
Young and Rubicam invented a successful psychographic profile known as their 4Cs Marketing Model: Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation. They suggested people fit into one of seven groups:
Resigned
Rigid, strict, authoritarian and chauvinist values, oriented to the past and to Resigned roles. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. (Older)
Strugglers
Alienated, Struggler, disorganised - with few resources apart from physical/mechanical skills (e.g. car repair). Heavy consumers of alcohol, junk food and lotteries, also trainers. Brand choice involves impact and sensation.
Mainstreamers
Domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental, passive, habitual. Part of the mass, favouring big and well-known value for money 'family' brands. Almost invariably the largest 4Cs group.
Aspirers
Materialistic, acquisitive, affiliative, oriented to extrinsics ... image, appearance, charisma, persona and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than quality of contents. (Younger, clerical/sales type occupation)
Succeeders
Strong goal orientation, confidence, work ethic, organisation ... support status quo, stability. Brand choice based on reward, prestige - the very best . Also attracted to 'caring' and protective brands ... stress relief. (Top management)
Explorers
Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers. Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence and instant effect - the first to try new brands. (Younger - student)
Reformers
Freedom from restriction, personal growth, social awareness, value for time, independent judgement, tolerance of complexity, anti-materialistic but intolerant of bad taste. Curious and enquiring, support growth of new product categories. Select brands for intrinsic quality, favouring natural simplicity, small is beautiful. (Higher Education)
Psychographics: pair presentations
In pairs, you are going to investigate one of Young and Rubicam’s Psychographic groups.
You need to put together a presentation in which you create an example couple for that particular psychographic group and suggest what their media consumption might involve.
Note: You need to publish the tasks on each of your blogs individually.
Structure
Who you are working with:
The psychographic group you are researching:
Introduce your example couple that represents your group:
1) Make up their names:
2) Where do they work/study?
3) What do they do in their spare time?
Now suggest their media consumption:
Print: What newspapers/magazines does your group read (if any)? Is this on paper or tablet?
Broadcast: What TV programmes/channels do your group watch? Radio stations? TV package – Freeview or Sky? Films?
Online: What technology do they own? What websites do they visit (if any)? What social media do they use?
Homework: Audience classification blog tasks
Work through the following tasks to complete your introductory work on audience and psychographic profiling:
1) Make sure your psychographics presentation is uploaded on your blog with all details of the couple and their media consumption (it needs to be on everybody's blog individually but can be a duplicate of your partner's post).
2) Which psychographic group do you feel best fits your lifestyle and personality? Explain how and why you made your decision and provide evidence justifying this.
Due date: Monday 5 November
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Film & TV Language: index
We are half-way through our Film & TV Language unit and need to create an index to ensure we are up-to-date on all work so far.
1) Film poster analysis
2) Mise-en-scene blog tasks
3) Star persona: video feedback and learner response
4) Lighting blog tasks
5) Sound blog tasks
For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each key concept quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future assessments/exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson. Any missing work MUST be caught up over half-term.
Film & TV Language index
Keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. Not only does this keep the concepts and media terminology fresh in your mind but it will also highlight if you've missed anything through absence or trips. Your index should currently include the following:
1) Film poster analysis
2) Mise-en-scene blog tasks
3) Star persona: video feedback and learner response
4) Lighting blog tasks
5) Sound blog tasks
For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each key concept quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future assessments/exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson. Any missing work MUST be caught up over half-term.
MIGRAIN: index and folder check
We are approaching the halfway point in our MIGRAIN Introduction to Media unit and need to create an index to ensure we are up-to-date on all work so far.
As you will have seen with your recent assessment, it is important we are revising terminology and theory on an ongoing basis and making sure there are no gaps as the course continues.
Keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. Not only does this keep the concepts and media terminology fresh in your mind but it will also highlight if you've missed anything through absence or trips. Your index should currently include the following:
1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions
2) Media consumption audit
3) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses
4) Reception theory
5) Semiotics: icons, indexes and symbols
6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Narrative: Factsheet questions
For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each key concept quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in assessments or exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson and anything missing completed over half-term.
Folder check
An organised folder is absolutely vital when it comes to keeping notes for revision in future. At the beginning of the year you started an A4 ringbinder folder with dividers - now we need to check we have all our notes in chronological order and a space for our marked assessment when it is returned after half-term.
We will be carrying out folder checks in the week after half-term so make sure you have the following with you for Media lessons after the break:
Deadline: After half-term
As you will have seen with your recent assessment, it is important we are revising terminology and theory on an ongoing basis and making sure there are no gaps as the course continues.
MIGRAIN index
Keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. Not only does this keep the concepts and media terminology fresh in your mind but it will also highlight if you've missed anything through absence or trips. Your index should currently include the following:
1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions
2) Media consumption audit
3) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses
4) Reception theory
5) Semiotics: icons, indexes and symbols
6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Narrative: Factsheet questions
For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each key concept quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in assessments or exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson and anything missing completed over half-term.
Folder check
An organised folder is absolutely vital when it comes to keeping notes for revision in future. At the beginning of the year you started an A4 ringbinder folder with dividers - now we need to check we have all our notes in chronological order and a space for our marked assessment when it is returned after half-term.
We will be carrying out folder checks in the week after half-term so make sure you have the following with you for Media lessons after the break:
- A4 ringbinder folder or equivalent
- Dividers
- Notes/Film & TV Language pack for all lessons so far
- Space for your marked assessment
Deadline: After half-term
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Film & TV Language: Sound video feedback and learner response
This is always a great lesson - screening your parallel and contrapuntal sound videos.
When they are done, you'll need to complete the following tasks on your blog:
Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due date specified by your coursework teacher. Don't forget the additional blog tasks for Sound too!
When they are done, you'll need to complete the following tasks on your blog:
Video feedback/learner response
Create a new blogpost called 'Sound video feedback and learner response'.
1) Make sure your video is on YouTube and embedded on your blog.
2) Type up your feedback from your teacher.
3) Type up your feedback from fellow students.
4) Now reflect on your work and write your own comments. Add three WWWs and three EBIs underneath the rest of your feedback.
5) Learner response: compare your own video against your evaluation of the top three videos in the class. Whose did you think was best and why? How could you have improved your own video?
Create a new blogpost called 'Sound video feedback and learner response'.
1) Make sure your video is on YouTube and embedded on your blog.
2) Type up your feedback from your teacher.
3) Type up your feedback from fellow students.
4) Now reflect on your work and write your own comments. Add three WWWs and three EBIs underneath the rest of your feedback.
5) Learner response: compare your own video against your evaluation of the top three videos in the class. Whose did you think was best and why? How could you have improved your own video?
Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due date specified by your coursework teacher. Don't forget the additional blog tasks for Sound too!
Friday, October 12, 2018
MIGRAIN: Narrative
Narrative is a vital concept for A Level Media Studies and underpins the success or failure of most media texts.
We look for narratives - stories - to make sense of media products. Everything from film and television to news and adverts relies on narrative to help audiences understand the message.
There are narrative patterns and three key narrative theories we need to learn as part of our introduction to A Level Media. The notes as a reminder:
We look for narratives - stories - to make sense of media products. Everything from film and television to news and adverts relies on narrative to help audiences understand the message.
There are narrative patterns and three key narrative theories we need to learn as part of our introduction to A Level Media. The notes as a reminder:
Narrative patterns
Linear Pattern: progresses forward towards a resolution - Beginning, Middle and End.
Multi-strand Narrative: popular in broadcast TV (e.g. soaps) and film. Involves more than one narrative running parallel involving different characters and locations.
Documentary narrative: this may revolve round a central theme (e.g. troublesome neighbours) or group of people.
Long-running TV series such as Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad have one major overarching narrative and lots of mini-narratives. The overarching narrative runs over the series, the mini narrative may be resolved within an episode.
Narrative theories
When studying narrative in Media, we need to be able to identify what the story is and how it is being told. There are three key theories we need to learn and apply:
Enigma and Action Codes - Roland Barthes
Barthes suggested that stories have certain codes that audiences understand and respond to.
ENIGMA codes: control how much we know and help hold our interest. It creates mystery during the narrative.
ACTION codes: events or actions in the story that are important in developing the narrative, e.g. a gun being cocked signifies that a violent scene will follow.
Todorov: equilibrium
Tzvetan Todorov proposed a theory of equilibrium:
Equilibrium: An existing state of harmony
Disequilibrium: Equilibrium is disrupted by an unfortunate event or evil character which leads to a chain of events involving conflict
New Equilibrium: The evil forces are defeated, the conflict is resolved and harmony exists once more
Character theory: Propp
Vladimir Propp came up with a list of stock characters in narratives by examining Russian fairytales. He called them the seven spheres of action:
The Villain: Creates a complication in the narrative
The Donor: Gives the hero something that will help in the resolution
The Helper: Helps the hero in restoring the resolution
The Princess: Has to be saved by the hero
The Dispatcher: Sends the hero on a task
The Hero: Central protagonist, saves the day and restores equilibrium
The False Hero: Rare character that appears to be good but is revealed to have been bad all along.
Narrative: blog task
Complete the following questions using the Media Factsheet resource available on the Media Shared drive.
You'll find them in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
Read Media Factsheet 14 - Telling Stories: The Media's Use of Narrative and answer the following questions:
1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.
2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot.
3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.
4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:
You will be given lesson time to work on this but will need to complete for homework - due date specified by your exam class teacher.
You'll find them in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
Read Media Factsheet 14 - Telling Stories: The Media's Use of Narrative and answer the following questions:
1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.
2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot.
3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.
4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?
6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:
- Episodic narrative (the series)
- Overarching narrative (the serial)
- Mixed narrative
- Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)
You will be given lesson time to work on this but will need to complete for homework - due date specified by your exam class teacher.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Film & TV Language: Sound
Our next aspect of film language is crucial: Sound.
A reminder of our notes on Sound:
Sound is incredibly important to our understanding of a film. The music, dialogue and sound effects (SFX) all contribute to the way we appreciate what we are watching on the screen.
Complete this video task in pairs - you only need to create ONE video between the two of you but it must be uploaded to YouTube and posted to BOTH of your blogs.
1) Watch any of the sound clips in the Film Language booklet that we didn't get to in class and write answers to the questions to go with each clip on your blog. E.g. A Clockwork Orange, Life On Mars, Once Upon A Time In The West, Once Upon A Time In America. The clips are all available on the Media Shared drive M: > Resources > A Level > Film Language.
2) Find a film clip on YouTube that uses sound in an interesting way. Analyse the use of sound, making sure you use the key language we have learned about sound in film:
A reminder of our notes on Sound:
Sound is incredibly important to our understanding of a film. The music, dialogue and sound effects (SFX) all contribute to the way we appreciate what we are watching on the screen.
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound
Diegetic sound comes from the world of the film we are watching. This could include dialogue by characters in the scene or music or other sound that comes from a source we would naturally expect that sound to come from, e.g. a radio or TV.
Non-diegetic sound is added during post production, e.g. voice over or music sound track.
Parallel and contrapuntal sound
Parallel sound is music we would normally expect to hear accompanying a scene, e.g. soft romantic music might be played over a love scene.
Contrapuntal sound is music that we don’t normally associate with the scene we are watching, e.g. classical music played over a bloody fight scene.
Sound bridge
Sometimes you will notice that sound from a scene continues even though the visual image has moved to the next scene. Alternatively, the sound of the following scene may begin before the image changes. This is a called a sound bridge and helps create a smooth transition from one scene to the next.
Homework: parallel and contrapuntal sound video
Complete this video task in pairs - you only need to create ONE video between the two of you but it must be uploaded to YouTube and posted to BOTH of your blogs.
1) Choose a 60 second piece of music - ideally from YouTube and not something that is likely to be blocked on copyright grounds.
2) Using editing software (Windows Moviemaker is fine but Adobe Premiere is available on Media PCs) produce a one-minute montage of images and video. Half the images need to be parallel to the music and half need to be contrapuntal. Think carefully about how you can best select images and video to have a significant impact on the audience.
3) Upload the finished video to YouTube and embed it in your own blog with a brief description of what you've created. Note: due to videos being blocked on copyright grounds, please also save the exported video file (e.g. MP4) into your student folder on the M: Media Shared drive.
4) Present your video to the class next lesson, explaining the thinking behind your work.
Deadline: next Wednesday
Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what to produce:
Sound analysis: blog tasks
Deadline: next Wednesday
Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what to produce:
Sound analysis: blog tasks
1) Watch any of the sound clips in the Film Language booklet that we didn't get to in class and write answers to the questions to go with each clip on your blog. E.g. A Clockwork Orange, Life On Mars, Once Upon A Time In The West, Once Upon A Time In America. The clips are all available on the Media Shared drive M: > Resources > A Level > Film Language.
2) Find a film clip on YouTube that uses sound in an interesting way. Analyse the use of sound, making sure you use the key language we have learned about sound in film:
- Diegetic and non-diegetic sound
- Parallel and contrapuntal sound
- Sound bridges
Remember to discuss/analyse all the different types of sound present in the clip:
- Music
- Dialogue
- Voiceover
- Sound effects
You also need to highlight or put in bold any use of media language.
Complete for homework - due date confirmed by your Film Language teacher.
Film & TV Language: Mise-en-scene video feedback and learner response
Your star persona mise-en-scene makeovers were a brilliant introduction to the challenges and creativity demanded by A Level Media.
Video projects take time - as well as comprehensive planning, organisation and execution. The more projects you complete the better prepared you will be for the practical coursework when we come to it in the summer. As a first assignment, it's fantastic to see how many of you have created superbly innovative and technically proficient videos that meet the brief you were given.
Mise-en-scene makeover: Learner response
Create a new blogpost called 'Star persona video feedback and learner response'. Make sure your completed star persona video is embedded in the blogpost.
1) Type up your feedback from your teacher in full.
2) Type up the comments you received from other students in the class. You may wish to do this in bullet point and you do not need to repeat comments if more than one student wrote the same thing about your work.
3) Use the feedback you've been given to write your own self-assessment of your video using WWW (What Went Well) and EBI (Even Better If...)
4) Now reflect on your own work in more detail. How did your star persona mood board planning help clarify and develop your ideas?
5) Thinking technically, how could you improve your work for future videos? (E.g. filming, editing, sound etc.)
6) Finally, what have you learned regarding the importance of mise-en-scene to character, narrative and the creation of star personas in film and television?
You may have some lesson time to do this but will need to finish for homework - due date confirmed by your exam teacher.
Video projects take time - as well as comprehensive planning, organisation and execution. The more projects you complete the better prepared you will be for the practical coursework when we come to it in the summer. As a first assignment, it's fantastic to see how many of you have created superbly innovative and technically proficient videos that meet the brief you were given.
Mise-en-scene makeover: Learner response
Create a new blogpost called 'Star persona video feedback and learner response'. Make sure your completed star persona video is embedded in the blogpost.
1) Type up your feedback from your teacher in full.
2) Type up the comments you received from other students in the class. You may wish to do this in bullet point and you do not need to repeat comments if more than one student wrote the same thing about your work.
3) Use the feedback you've been given to write your own self-assessment of your video using WWW (What Went Well) and EBI (Even Better If...)
4) Now reflect on your own work in more detail. How did your star persona mood board planning help clarify and develop your ideas?
5) Thinking technically, how could you improve your work for future videos? (E.g. filming, editing, sound etc.)
6) Finally, what have you learned regarding the importance of mise-en-scene to character, narrative and the creation of star personas in film and television?
You may have some lesson time to do this but will need to finish for homework - due date confirmed by your exam teacher.
Sunday, October 07, 2018
October update: Textbooks and more
It's been an action-packed start to the year in Media and now is a good time to take stock and go through some key messages and updates.
Media Awards
As we have mentioned in class, this year’s Media Awards has been moved to March as a result of the new specifications in GCSE and A Level Media. The good news is that the March show looks likely to be jam-packed with amazing work including:
Twitter
Don’t forget the Greenford Media department runs a Twitter account that tweets and retweets useful articles, links and questions that A Level Media students should be keeping up with. You don’t need to join Twitter or tweet yourself but follow us @blogmacguffin or simply visit twitter.com/blogmacguffin to look at the account from any web browser.
Bank of England film competition
The Bank of England is once again running a film competition for A Level students. Bank, Camera, Action asks students to make a short film in response to a brief and there are Amazon prizes (plus cash to the school!) for winners. Any medium is acceptable – fiction, documentary, news report, music video… it’s up to you. The brief is simple:
What will money be like in the future?
You can find more details and how to apply here.
Media Awards
As we have mentioned in class, this year’s Media Awards has been moved to March as a result of the new specifications in GCSE and A Level Media. The good news is that the March show looks likely to be jam-packed with amazing work including:
- Last year’s GCSE music videos
- This year’s GCSE science fiction TV drama extracts
- This year’s A Level film trailers
Don’t forget the Greenford Media department runs a Twitter account that tweets and retweets useful articles, links and questions that A Level Media students should be keeping up with. You don’t need to join Twitter or tweet yourself but follow us @blogmacguffin or simply visit twitter.com/blogmacguffin to look at the account from any web browser.
A Level Media Textbooks
After long delays, there are now two textbooks available for the new specification AQA A Level Media Studies course. We would strongly recommend you buy both textbooks as collectively they cover the whole course in terms of subject content and also feature many of the CSPs that will come up in the exams.
Note: the 20% discount doesn't seem to be working on the A Level texts at present. We'll investigate this but the books are available on Amazon for around £23 in the meantime.
The details:
AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YR 1 & AS: STUDENT BOOK
AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YEAR 2: STUDENT BOOK
Creative Mentor Network
The Creative Mentor Network is an incredible opportunity for post-16 students to make connections in the creative and media industries by shadowing a professional for several weeks. We’ve had a number of students complete the project and develop a fantastic range of contacts and experiences that will help them to get a job in the creative industries in future.
You can find more details on the CMN website or watch the video below (featuring our very own Hussein!)
After long delays, there are now two textbooks available for the new specification AQA A Level Media Studies course. We would strongly recommend you buy both textbooks as collectively they cover the whole course in terms of subject content and also feature many of the CSPs that will come up in the exams.
Note: the 20% discount doesn't seem to be working on the A Level texts at present. We'll investigate this but the books are available on Amazon for around £23 in the meantime.
The details:
AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YR 1 & AS: STUDENT BOOK
- NEW SPEC: AQA Media Studies for A Level Yr 1 & AS: Student Book
- AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Hendry, Elspeth Stevenson
- AWARDING BODY: AQA
- LEVEL: A Level Year 1 & AS
- ISBN: 978-1-911208-03-7
- SUBJECT: Media Studies
- PAGES: 272pp
AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YEAR 2: STUDENT BOOK
- AQA Media Studies for A Level Year 2: Student Book
- AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Hendry, Elspeth Stevenson
- AWARDING BODY: AQA
- LEVEL: A Level Year 2
- ISBN: 978-1-911208-09-9
- SUBJECT: Media Studies
Creative Mentor Network
The Creative Mentor Network is an incredible opportunity for post-16 students to make connections in the creative and media industries by shadowing a professional for several weeks. We’ve had a number of students complete the project and develop a fantastic range of contacts and experiences that will help them to get a job in the creative industries in future.
You can find more details on the CMN website or watch the video below (featuring our very own Hussein!)
Bank of England film competition
The Bank of England is once again running a film competition for A Level students. Bank, Camera, Action asks students to make a short film in response to a brief and there are Amazon prizes (plus cash to the school!) for winners. Any medium is acceptable – fiction, documentary, news report, music video… it’s up to you. The brief is simple:
What will money be like in the future?
You can find more details and how to apply here.
Friday, October 05, 2018
MIGRAIN: Genre
Genre is a crucial key concept and underpins our understanding of all media texts.
If you missed the lesson on genre the key notes are here:
Genre: notes
Genres may be identified by the following:
Narrative structures
Plot
Typical situations, characters and relationships
Visual iconography
Mise-en-scene: props, costumes, locations etc.
Cinematography
Ideology and themes
Representations, values and ideologies
Daniel Chandler suggests definitions of genre tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings - iconography) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.
Genre: institution and audience
Tolson (1996) suggests that genre “mediates between industry and audience”.
Abercrombie suggests that “television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... It... makes sound economic sense.”
Abercromie adds: “Genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing programmes within a genre.”
Genres of order and integration
Some theorists (including Schatz) have suggested there are only two genres:
Genres of order: western, gangster, action, sci-fi etc. Identified by hero (dominant; male), setting (contested, unstable), conflict (external; fighting), resolution (death).
Genres of integration: comedies, musicals, rom-coms etc.
Identified by heroes (couple or collective); setting (civilised space); conflict (internal; emotional); resolution (love).
Neale: “Repetition and difference”
Steve Neale declares that “genres are instances of repetition and difference” (Neale 1980). He adds: “Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre” - mere repetition would not attract an audience.
Buckingham (1993) agrees, suggesting contemporary theory sees genre as dynamic: “Genre is not... simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change”.
Schatz develops this idea that genres are dynamic and suggests they go through a cycle:
Innovation: genre codes are established
Classical: conventions are repeated
Parody: codes become clichéd and are mocked
Deconstruction: the genre is experimented with to establish new or different conventions
Genre: blog tasks
Complete the following tasks using the Media Factsheets available on the Media Shared drive.
You'll find them in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
If you missed the lesson on genre the key notes are here:
Genre: notes
Genres may be identified by the following:
Narrative structures
Plot
Typical situations, characters and relationships
Visual iconography
Mise-en-scene: props, costumes, locations etc.
Cinematography
Ideology and themes
Representations, values and ideologies
Genre: institution and audience
Tolson (1996) suggests that genre “mediates between industry and audience”.
Abercrombie suggests that “television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... It... makes sound economic sense.”
Abercromie adds: “Genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing programmes within a genre.”
Genres of order and integration
Some theorists (including Schatz) have suggested there are only two genres:
Genres of order: western, gangster, action, sci-fi etc. Identified by hero (dominant; male), setting (contested, unstable), conflict (external; fighting), resolution (death).
Genres of integration: comedies, musicals, rom-coms etc.
Identified by heroes (couple or collective); setting (civilised space); conflict (internal; emotional); resolution (love).
Neale: “Repetition and difference”
Buckingham (1993) agrees, suggesting contemporary theory sees genre as dynamic: “Genre is not... simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change”.
Innovation: genre codes are established
Classical: conventions are repeated
Parody: codes become clichéd and are mocked
Deconstruction: the genre is experimented with to establish new or different conventions
Genre: blog tasks
Complete the following tasks using the Media Factsheets available on the Media Shared drive.
You'll find them in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
Read Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorising texts and answer the following questions:
1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?
2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?
3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?
4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell?
5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.
6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?
Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:
1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?
Finally, carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions:
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
2) In what context did you encounter it?
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
5) What is your experience of this genre?
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
15) What familiar motifs or images are used?
Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
2) How does the text address you?
3) What sort of person does it assume you are?
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
5) What interests does it assume you have?
Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
3) What key features are shared by these texts?
4) What major differences do you notice between them?
This is a lot of work - but you will have plenty of lesson time to complete it (including Friday's lesson). Anything you don't finish this week complete for homework - due next week. In total, we think this work will take around 2-3 hours so plan accordingly.
5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.
6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?
Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:
1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?
Finally, carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions:
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
2) In what context did you encounter it?
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
5) What is your experience of this genre?
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
15) What familiar motifs or images are used?
Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
2) How does the text address you?
3) What sort of person does it assume you are?
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
5) What interests does it assume you have?
Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
3) What key features are shared by these texts?
4) What major differences do you notice between them?
This is a lot of work - but you will have plenty of lesson time to complete it (including Friday's lesson). Anything you don't finish this week complete for homework - due next week. In total, we think this work will take around 2-3 hours so plan accordingly.
Wednesday, October 03, 2018
Film & TV Language: Lighting
One aspect of mise-en-scène that is particularly important in film and TV is Lighting.
Lighting notes
Traditional studio lighting usually comes from three sources:
Underlighting comes from below the subject leading to a distorted effect. This is often used in horror or science-fiction films.
Top lighting comes from above and can be used to accentuate the features of a character. It is often used to make film stars look more glamorous.
Back lighting is when the source comes from behind the object to create a silhouette.
High-Key and Low-Key Lighting
Low-key lighting is created by using only the key and back lights. This effect produces strong contrasts of light and dark and creates dramatic shadows. The effect is known as chiaroscuro, which comes from the Italian words for light (chiaro) and dark (oscuro).
High-key lighting means that more filler lights are used. The effect appears more realistic and might depict either a sunny day or a more dimly lit scene. The major difference is that, although shadows are still created, the contrast between light and dark is much less pronounced.
You'll need to use the Film Language Powerpoint to work through the Lighting tasks. These will require two separate blog posts:
1) Create a blogpost called 'Lighting: still image analysis'
Look at the still images on slides 33-37 of the Film Language Powerpoint linked above. Copy the images into your blog and answer the following questions for each image:
Lighting notes
Traditional studio lighting usually comes from three sources:
- The key light is the brightest and most influential.
- The back light helps to counteract the effects of the key light making the subject appear more ‘rounded’.
- The filler light helps to soften any shadows created by the other lights. There may be more then one filler light.
Top lighting comes from above and can be used to accentuate the features of a character. It is often used to make film stars look more glamorous.
Back lighting is when the source comes from behind the object to create a silhouette.
High-Key and Low-Key Lighting
Low-key lighting is created by using only the key and back lights. This effect produces strong contrasts of light and dark and creates dramatic shadows. The effect is known as chiaroscuro, which comes from the Italian words for light (chiaro) and dark (oscuro).
High-key lighting means that more filler lights are used. The effect appears more realistic and might depict either a sunny day or a more dimly lit scene. The major difference is that, although shadows are still created, the contrast between light and dark is much less pronounced.
Lighting blog tasks
You'll need to use the Film Language Powerpoint to work through the Lighting tasks. These will require two separate blog posts:
1) Create a blogpost called 'Lighting: still image analysis'
Look at the still images on slides 33-37 of the Film Language Powerpoint linked above. Copy the images into your blog and answer the following questions for each image:
- Identify examples of high and low-key lighting.
- Say which depict top, back or under lighting.
- What effects are created by the lighting in each image?
2) Create a new blogpost called 'Film noir research'.
Research film noir - focusing on the genre’s distinctive lighting style. Make notes on the genre and particularly the use of lighting - bullet points are fine. Finally, find a YouTube clip that fits the film noir genre and embed it alongside your research (this can be classic noir from the 1950s or something more recent - neo-noir). How does the clip fit the noir genre?
Research film noir - focusing on the genre’s distinctive lighting style. Make notes on the genre and particularly the use of lighting - bullet points are fine. Finally, find a YouTube clip that fits the film noir genre and embed it alongside your research (this can be classic noir from the 1950s or something more recent - neo-noir). How does the clip fit the noir genre?
Anything you don't complete in the lesson will be homework, due next week.
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