MIGRAIN: index, assessment 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.  

Confident use of media language is crucial across both exams in A Level Media so 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 - Media Exam blog

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 any other reason. Your index should currently include the following:

1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions
2) Media consumption audit
3) Semiotics blog tasks - English analysis and Icon, Index, Symbol
4) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses
5) Reception theory - advert analyses part 2
6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Narrative: Factsheet questions (this week's work)

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. Here's a guide to creating a blog index that I did last year:

Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson and anything missing completed over half-term without fail.

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 either side of half-term so make sure you have the following with you:

• A4 ringbinder folder or equivalent
• Dividers for your exam teacher / coursework teacher etc.
• Notes/Film & TV Language pack for all lessons so far
• Space for your marked assessments

Upcoming: A Level Media assessment

You have your first A Level Media assessment in your exam side double lesson in the week after half-term. Revise everything you've learned in Media this half-term on both sides of the course - the more media terminology you use in the assessment, the better you'll do. 

Good luck!

Film & TV Language: index so far

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.

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. Your index should currently include the following:

1) Film poster analysis
2) Mise-en-scene analysis blog tasks
3) Mise-en-scene video recreation and learner response
4) Lighting analysis blog tasks
5) Sound analysis blog tasks

6) Sound: parallel and contrapuntal video feedback and learner response

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.

Here's a video I did in lockdown last year that shows you how to create an index if you're not sure:

 

Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson. Any missing work MUST be caught up this week.

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:

Video feedback/learner response

Create a new blogpost called 'Sound video feedback and learner response'. Make sure your video is on YouTube and embedded on your blog and then complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback from your teacher.

2) Type up your feedback from fellow students - you can summarise key points if several students give you similar feedback.

3) Now reflect on your work and write your own evaluation of your video. Write a 'What went well' (WWW) paragraph and a paragraph for 'Even Better If' (EBI) underneath the rest of your feedback.

4) 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?

5) Finally, what have you learned about the importance of sound to film and TV through this week's work?

Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due date on Google Classroom.

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 rely 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 classics Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad have one major narrative arc and lots of mini-narratives. The overarching narrative runs over the series (or even multiple series), the mini narrative may be resolved within an episode (also known as an episodic narrative).

Narrative theories

When studying narrative in Media, we need to be able to identify what the story is and how it is being told. We also need to see how narrative is being used to encourage the audience to buy or choose the media product - or keep them engaged if they have already started to consume it.

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. You can also access them online here if you use your Greenford Google login.

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)

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  


You will be given lesson time to work on this but will need to complete for homework - due date specified on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Sound analysis tasks

As with every aspect of our Film & TV Language unit, you also have some written analysis to complete for Sound.

Work through the tasks below. If you need the notes on Sound from the lesson, you can find them in your Film Language booklet or on the other blogpost for Sound.

Sound analysis: blog tasks

1) 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.

Extension/additional task

If you didn't get to them in the lesson, watch the sound clips in the Film Language booklet and write answers to the questions to go with each clip on your blog: 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 and also here in Google Drive using your Greenford Google login.

Complete for homework - due date confirmed by your Film Language teacher and on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Sound notes and practical task

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.    

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.

Practical assignment: 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 - it can be a film score or a song, it is up to you.

2) Using editing software (Windows Moviemaker is fine but Adobe Premiere is available on Media PCs or at home if you are able to use it) 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 week, explaining the thinking behind your work.

Deadline: set by your coursework teacher and on Google Classroom

Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what to produce:

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

Genre factsheets

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 or can access them online using your Greenford Google login here.

Create a new blogpost in your Exam blog called 'Genre blog tasks' and complete the following:

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?


Genre analysis

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 - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:

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 time to complete it (including lesson time). Anything you don't finish this week in the lesson complete for homework - due date confirmed on Google Classroom. In total, we think this work will take around 2-3 hours so plan your homework time accordingly.

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:

• 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.

The key light can be directed from a variety of angles to create different effects.

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.  

Lighting blog tasks

You'll need to use the Film Language Powerpoint to work through the Lighting tasks. 

Create a blogpost called 'Lighting blog tasks' and complete the following:

1) 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:

1. Identify examples of high and low-key lighting.
2. Say which depict top, back or under lighting.
3. What effects are created by the lighting in each image?     

2) 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. 

3) Film noir YouTube clip analysis 

Finally, find a YouTube clip that fits the film noir genre and embed it under your research (the clip can be classic noir from the 1950s or something more recent - neo-noir). How does the clip's lighting fit the film noir genre? 

Anything you don't complete in the lesson will be homework, due date on Google Classroom.