It seems grimly appropriate that we end this hugely disrupted year back in isolation and remote learning.
I hope you are all keeping well and for the majority the isolation is just a precaution. The good news is that for Media students all the work is already up on the blog and we know what we're doing. For Friday's lessons you can simply get on with the work we've set you:
Magazine final index: post your final index for the Magazines unit and make sure all the tasks for Magazines are finished and posted to your blog.
Radio final index: post your final index for the Radio unit and make sure all the tasks for Radio are finished and posted to your blog.
Summer project 2021: this is the start of our coursework - we launched it in the lesson on Monday. Even if you missed that lesson, everything you need is on that blogpost including the AQA brief, the guidance document we've put together and all the tasks for your blog that you need to complete over the summer.
Alongside the main Summer project blogpost, you can find additional clips, links and suggestions in these posts:
The summer project is a vital element of your coursework - an opportunity to plan an outstanding TV documentary concept and then present it to class in September. Your summer project contains compulsory and optional elements; everybody will be researching TV documentaries, choosing a TV documentary subject or topic, writing a first draft Statement of Intent and presenting this to class as an Ignite presentation in September. However, if you wish to also plan and film elements of your production over the summer while you have time we would 100% support you in this approach as long as you have parental permission and it is safe to do so. Summer project tasks Complete the following tasks on a blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Summer Project: coursework planning': 1) Research: TV documentaries You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of five (or more!) TV documentaries. For each documentary, focus on a different aspect of media language, and embed or link to each one on your blog: TV documentary 1: Topic / subject matter How is the topic or subject of the documentary introduced and what techniques do the producers use to make the audience want to keep watching? Can you apply any narrative theories when analysing how the documentary draws the audience in? (E.g. enigma and action codes; binary opposition; character types etc.) TV documentary 2:Mise-en-scene Choose a documentary to research that uses mise-en-scene in an interesting or creative way. For example, look at the locations used for interviews or the cosume/props used when people are on screen. Use CLAMPS to help you here and think in particular about how mise-en-scene is used to communicate the genre of the TV documentary. TV documentary 3:Camerawork Here you are looking for particular camera shots and movement. It's important that TV documentaries are visually interesting and many opening sequences deliberately use powerful close-ups or other aspects of camerawork to create a connection with the audience. TV documentary 4:Editing Montage editing is an absolutely critical TV documentary convention and you'll often see this used in opening sequences. Analyse pace, transitions and juxtapositions. How is editing used to create meanings for the audience and introduce the topic or subject matter? TV documentary 5: Opening / title sequence You may well want to particularly focus on the opening sequences of ALL the TV documentaries you research but here focus intently on the opening three minutes. This is what you will need to create and look particularly at how a title sequence, hashtags/social media and TV channel branding are built into the sequence alongside introducing the main subject matter and characters. You can find a range of TV documentary examples in this blogpost or you are free to select TV documentaries of your choice. You may wish to write more about one video than another but as long as you have 750+ words of research in total you will be fine. It's almost certain that A/A* students will watch a lot more than five TV documentaries as part of this process - even if that simply means watching the opening three minutes of a range of different examples. 2) Planning: TV documentary topic/subject matter In order to produce a successful TV documentary opening sequence, you will need a compelling and engaging topic for the documentary. What are you going to investigate? What current debates or issues in society are you passionate about? What makes you angry or happy? Is there a niche topic that you happen to be an expert in? We'll be coming up with a range of ideas in class and your research will also help you think of potential topics.
For this section of your summer project, come up with a shortlist of FIVE potential topics for your TV documentary and then which you have chosen and why. This will be crucial for your Ignite presentation to class. You can simply write these on your blog.
If you're struggling to come up with ideas, this BBC article on nurturing new documentary directors has a lot of examples of successful BBC documentaries and what they are looking for in new talent. 3) Statement of Intent Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available. Guidance is provided by AQA in their NEA Student Booklet but we strongly recommend you also look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to open these documents). 4) Ignite presentation Prepare a 5-minute, 20-slide presentation using the Ignite format in which you present your coursework project. In effect, this is your statement of intent in presentation format. You must cover:
Your TV documentary concept: title, topic/subject matter etc.
Media language: how you will use TV documentary conventions, camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene to create meanings for your audience. Remember the key word: connotations.
Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes in your TV documentary; applications of representation theory.
Media audiences: how you will target the specified audience - mainstream family audience (prime-time, pre-watershed). Audience pleasures - why they would enjoy your documentary; audience theory.
Media industries and digital convergence: the TV channel that would broadcast your documentary; how the audience could watch it; how you will use social media and the print posters to promote the documentary and encourage audience sharing and involvement.
Ignite presentations have very specific rules: you must create exactly 20 slides with each slide set to 15-second auto-advance. This means your presentation will be exactly five minutes followed by questions and comments from the class. You will deliver your presentation on your coursework planning in the first week back in September. Your Ignite presentation will be marked out of 30 on the following criteria (each worth a possible 5 marks): 1) Research (through the presentation AND your blog) 2) TV documentary concept 3) Language: terminology and theory 4) Representations 5) Audience and Industry 6) Delivery You can find more information about Ignite presentations - including examples - in this Ignite presentation blogpost here. Summer project deadline: all tasks above due in first week back in September
Summer project: optional extensions Pre-production tasks Some students in previous years expressed an interest in filming their video production over the summer break. This makes a huge amount of sense - far more availability of actors/interviewees, much more time to schedule filming etc. If you do want to film over the summer, make sure you complete the following pre-production tasks here: TV documentary script This is essential to plan every second for your TV documentary opening. A TV script includes both presenter introduction/voiceover AND a full description of what can be seen on screen. However, you may not be able to include everything before you shoot - for example, you don't yet know what the people you interview are going to say! This is a great online guide to planning and writing your documentary script. Storyboard Sketch out a selection of critical shots from your TV documentary opening, take a photo of the storyboard and upload it to your blogpost. What visual style are you trying to create? Storyboard sheets can be downloaded from here. Shot list Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film for the TV documentary - and think particularly about creative ways you can visually represent your subject matter. Remember also that interviews are often filmed creatively in documentaries (e.g. from multiple angles, mixing colour and black and white etc.) As with any shot list, plan a range of additional shots to create flexibility when editing. These additional shots are often close-ups, cutaways, alternative angles or similar. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word to set out your shot list - you can find a short film example here. It makes sense to organise your shot list by scene or location rather than a huge list of every shot in the documentary in chronological order. Mise-en-scene What iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre you are working in? Plan the people who will appear in your documentary - think about costume, make-up, props, lighting and setting. This can be simply completed using your blog or Microsoft Word - the key aspect is to have planned all the critical details. Shooting schedule Plan a shooting schedule for your filming over the summer. Include when, where, who is required and what shots you will complete at each time/location. Again, this can be on Word or Excel or you could simply use your blog. The most important thing is that you've planned it! In the current circumstance, we also recommend including an additional section regarding safety and social distancing. Non-assessed participants You will need to provide a written record of all non-assessed participants in your production work (both video and print). Keep a record of everyone involved - actors, camerawork, sound etc. You will also need a keep a record of any non-original sound or video and note it on the Candidate Record Form - so this means any archive footage or music/SFX. Keep these on your blog for easy reference when submitting your work in Year 13. Production: Filming and photography Once you have completed your pre-production tasks, you can film or carry out photoshoots as you wish. Good luck!
Learning the conventions, tone and style of TV documentaries will be essential to achieving a top grade in your coursework. The following TV documentaries are all examples of how you could interpret the brief. Remember, you need to come up with an appropriate subject or topic for your documentary, ensure it is appropriate for a mainstream family audience and can be shown on a broadcast channel pre-watershed. UK doctor switches to 80% ULTRA-processed food diet for 30 days
This is a perfect example of a subject that would be entirely appropriate for a mainstream family audience that can be shown pre-watershed. It has a nice mix of 'selfie'-style pieces to camera alongside more traditional documentary conventions and interviews.
Facing The Consequences Of Catfishing
This uses a different style with an interview between presenter and guest - it's slightly different but effective. This is also useful for its opening scene - edited to immediately intrigue the audience and draw them in. It also has a short title sequence so meets quite a few requirements of our brief.
BBC3 Presents Tough Young Teachers - Episode 2
This is another topic appropriate for the mainstream family audience. It's also an excellent example of how the opening three minutes can draw in the audience, introduce key themes and characters while also including social media hashtags and other industry elements our coursework brief requires (see 0.41). Also look out for classic documentary conventions such as the montage sequence in the first 10 seconds and the characters staring at the camera to allow the audience to make a connection (0.21 - 0.23).
J. Cole - Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary
This one is likely to be blocked in school but is an example of a classic sub-genre of TV documentary - the music documentary. This would not meet the brief in terms of pre-watershed family audience but there is no doubt a more mainstream music documentary could meet the coursework brief we've been given. If you're potentially interested in the music genre, this Vulture article detailing the 50 Best Music Documentaries is worth a read.
Other documentary examples
There are many other examples of BBC documentaries and beyond - remember to research topics that YOU find interesting or that are linked to your idea. Here are more examples:
This BBC3 documentary looks at climate change and the impact of the electricity used by the internet worldwide. This uses greenscreen and presenting to camera in a really creative way and may have conventions you want to use in your coursework.
This takes a different approach - putting people around a table to discuss an issue. It's particularly worth watching in terms of an opening sequence - cold opening with a quote, introducing the topic, short title sequence, hard-hitting close-up shots to introduce the contributors, use of sound etc.
This is interesting for the way it uses documentary conventions - text on screen, no voiceover and all driven by interviews. It's a current topic and while this particular programme would be inappropriate pre-watershed due to the language the topic of racism could certainly meet the brief.
This looks at the beauty industry's reliance on palm oil and uses a range of documentary conventions such as voiceover, non-diegetic music and creative camerawork. This is also great for the print aspect of the brief as some of the promotional photography that went with this is excellent:
Researching a creative documentary topic
This website feature on creative short film documentaries might help you find a quirky or creative topic for your coursework. This doesn't exactly fit our brief (we are making the first three minutes of a TV documentary) but some of the ideas here are brilliant. You may also be inspired by some of the technical construction of these documentaries with some using black and white, montage sequences and sound in really creative ways.
We have now completed our second in-depth CSP topic - print magazines. You now need to create a final index of all the tasks we have completed for Men's Health and Oh Comely. Hopefully we all know by now that keeping an up-to-date index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. It keeps the vital CSP information fresh in your mind and also highlights if you've missed anything over this strange Covid-19 period. This is also important because you'll have a baseline assessment when we come back in September. This will be on radio and magazines (the two topics from the summer term) and will be an opportunity to improve your UCAS predicted grade for your university applications if you need it.
Remember, for your index it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work and revision notes quickly and easily.
Extra study sessions for those behind on the blog
We'll be running compulsory extra study sessions for Year 12 Media students who are behind on blog work on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 July (after the Year 12 final day). Make sure you catch up with any missing blog work in the next week to avoid being called in!
Your summer project will involve researching and planning your coursework. You will then present this work to the class in the first week of September in the form of an Ignite presentation. This will be a hugely valuable exercise as it will allow you to test your idea in front of a potential audience - and make sure the topic and style of your TV documentary is communicated clearly. The Ignite presentation format offers a particular challenge and will force you to carefully consider how to pitch your project to the class. The Ignite tagline is simple: “Enlighten us, but make it quick.” Ignite talks are a popular presentation format online. The rules are simple:
20 slides
15 second auto-advance
5 minutes
1 topic
Here's a good Ignite talk about giving an Ignite talk:
Here are some media-related examples:
And here's another Media-related example that shows you why PRACTICE is so important - the speaker never keeps up with his slides and therefore the whole presentation is rushed:
Summer project: Ignite presentation Your Ignite presentation will be on your coursework plan - effectively a presentation version of your Statement of Intent. This means telling your audience the genre, title, narrative, media language choices, representations, audience and industry factors in just 20 slides and 5 minutes. Good luck!
We have now finished our work on the latest targeted close-study products - Radio. Next we're on to coursework! Before we start the coursework, we need to complete a short Radio index to ensure we've completed the three tasks for this unit.
As ever, this will highlight if you've missed anything and allow you to catch up if you have fallen behind with anything in the last three weeks.
Your Radio index should include the following three tasks: 1) Radio: Introduction to Radio 2) Radio: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat 3) Radio: War of the Worlds For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each aspect of the case study quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can catch up with the work and notes and won't underperform in future exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Extra study sessions for those behind on the blog
We'll be running compulsory extra study sessions for Year 12 Media students who are behind on blog work on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 July (after the Year 12 final day). Make sure you catch up with any missing blog work in the next week to avoid being called in! Note: there will be a baseline assessment at the start of Year 13 testing your latest CSP units on Magazines and Radio.
Our final concept for Oh Comely magazine is Industries. This is crucial concept because Oh Comely is a small, niche independent magazine - completely different from the global brand that is Men's Health. We need to explore the surprising rise in independent publishing in recent years and why small print magazines seem to be surviving and thriving in the digital age.
Lesson notes The independent print magazine is characterised as: “…published without the financial support of a large corporation or institution in which the makers control publication and distribution…'independent' in spirit due to a maverick editor or publisher who leads the magazine in an exploratory, noncommercial direction” (Thomas 2007).
Despite the renaissance of print through independent magazines, there are still huge challenges:
Distribution: finding distributor, risk of unsold stock
Lack of advertising revenue: meaning high cover price (all over £5, many around £10 or more)
Audience: finding and targeting a viable audience
Ironically, the internet has proved an unlikely saviour for independent magazines – it facilitates direct sales and subscriptions and allows magazines to find niche communities, crowdfunding and contributors.
Iceberg Press: an independent publisher
Iceberg Press is completely different to Hearst UK – the publisher of Men’s Health and subsidiary of global conglomerate Hearst.
It publishes just two magazines: Oh Comely and The Simple Things.
Oh Comely Industries case study - blog tasks Work through the following tasks to complete your work on the Oh Comely magazine CSP. There are plenty of questions here but you will find the reading gives you a brilliant insight into a vital aspect of media - the power of independent institutions. Iceberg Press Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions: 1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up? 2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements). 3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes? 4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely (now simply called Oh)? 5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press? Writer's Edit journal article Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions: 1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine? 2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age? 3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely? 4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling? 5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal. 6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences? 7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine? 8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines? 9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age? 10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine? Irish Times feature Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions: 1) Why are independent magazines so popular? 2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates? 3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine? 4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors? 5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give? TCO interview with Ruth Jamieson Finally, read this excellent interview on the TCO London website with Ruth Jamieson, who has written a book on the renaissance of the independent magazine sector. Answer the following questions: 1) Why does Ruth Jamieson suggest there's a renaissance in independent publishing? 2) What are the common themes for successful independent magazines? 3) How many of these aspects can you find in Oh Comely? Make specific reference to the CSP pages where possible. 4) How does Jamieson see the future for the magazine industry? 5) How might this future impact Oh Comely? Do you think Oh Comely will survive the next five years - and why? Due date on Google Classroom
Our second CSP for radio is the 1938 CBS broadcast of War of the Worlds. This is a famous broadcast of Orson Welles's radio play - an adaptation of HG Wells's science-fiction novel of the same name. It is a text of historical significance due to a long-running debate over the effect the broadcast had over audiences at the time.
Narrative and background War of the Worlds, a science-fiction novel by author HG Wells, was first published in 1898. It is a story of alien invasion and war between mankind and an extra-terrestrial race from Mars. The original 1938 Orson Welles broadcast is available here:
In particular, focus on the following extracts: Opening: 0.00 – 4.00 Development: 10.00 – 13.00 Emergence of alien: 17.00 – 19.00 Middle section: 39.00 – 41.00 Ending: 57.00 – end Think about these questions while you listen:
How does the radio play seek to engage the audience?
What effect do you think this may have had on radio audiences in 1938?
Hybrid genre
Orson Welles was initially reluctant to adapt War of the Worlds, describing it as 'boring'. He was persuaded by the prospect of using recent developments in radio news reporting to create a hybrid-form radio play designed to sound like a real breaking news story. The broadcast begins with a music performance that is increasingly interrupted by breaking news of martians invading New Jersey. Historical context
In 1938, the world was on edge as Germany mobilised to invade Europe and populations feared gas attacks from another world war. In the weeks leading up to the 1938 broadcast, American radio stations had increasingly cut into scheduled programming to bring news updates from Europe on the chances of war. This meant Welles's use of radio news conventions had more of an impact on listeners who were unaware that it was a fictional radio play.
Media effects theories The War of the Worlds radio play has become a much-studied text with regards to media effects theories. The initial reported reaction from audiences provided evidence for the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory - that suggests people believe whatever they see or hear in the media. However, later studies suggest the audience reaction was exaggerated by the newspaper industry (under threat from radio at the time) and that audiences are more sophisticated consumers of media than first thought. You can also apply Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, the two-step flow model and Stuart Hall's Reception Theory to Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast.
Radiolab podcast on War of the Worlds The American podcast Radiolab looked back on the significance of the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds and later attempts to recreate the effect. It's a brilliant summary of the context and reaction from the audience alongside clips from the broadcast and transcripts from interviews at the time. You can listen to the Radiolab podcast here.
War of the Worlds: Blog tasks
Media Factsheet Read Media Factsheet #176: CSP Radio - War of the Worlds. You'll need your Greenford Google login to download it. Then answer the following questions: 1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds? 2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience? 3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day? 4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction? 5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience? 6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show? 7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938? 8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast? 9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? 10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast? 11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast? 12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this? Analysis and opinion
1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?
2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio? 3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media? 4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why? 5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument. 6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?
We need to analyse selected pages from Oh Comely to explore how it is constructed and the way issues of representation and identity are presented. Oh Comely deliberately offers an alternative version of the women's lifestyle magazine genre and we need to explore how page design, content and conventions are used or subverted to create this effect. We also need to consider the different representations that can be found in these features.
Oh Comely Language and Representation: blog tasks There are no articles to read this week - instead you need to carry out a close-textual analysis of the CSP pages and answer a range of questions on representations in the magazine. This will be challenging so allow time to complete it and email your teacher if you are unsure on any of the questions. Language: close-textual analysis Work through the following tasks to complete your close-textual analysis of the Oh Comely CSP pages: Front cover 1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience? 2) The words under the title introduce the content and topics addressed. What do these suggest about the potential audience of Oh Comely? 3) How do the cover lines use narrative to create enigma? What do the cover lines suggest about the magazine's content and audience? 4) Write an analysis of the central image. 5) What representation of gender can be found on this front cover? Feature: Speaking Out 1) What does the headline and standfirst suggest about Oh Comely's feminist perspective? 2) What do the interviewees in this feature suggest about the values and ideologies that underpin this magazine? 3) How conventional is the page design in this feature? Why? 4) Pick out specific aspects of this feature that subvert the stereotypical representation of women in the media. Are they different to what we may find in conventional women's lifestyle magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan? Why is the absence of men a key feature of Oh Comely? 5) How does the photography offer a fresh or unusual perspective on women? Feature: More than gender 1) How does this feature offer a fresh perspective on gender and identity? 2) What is the significance of the writer and photographer? How does this fit with the Oh Comely brand? 3) What style of photography is used in this feature? 4) What representations of the transgender lifestyle can be found in this feature? 5) Why is the biographical information at the end of the article significant? (Clue: the writer is also an editor of a niche, creative magazine called Entitle).
Representation and identity Work through the following questions on representation and Oh Comely: 1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes? 2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature? 3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely? 4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors). 5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?
6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition? 7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. 8) Liesbet van Zoonen has suggested women's bodies are objectified and artificially constructed to present women as passive and restricted to secondary roles. How does Oh Comely challenge this stereotypical representation of women in the media? 9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint? 10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding/reception theory) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why? Due date on Google Classroom
