MIGRAIN: Audience theory 2 - the effects debate

Forming opinions on the effect the media has on audiences is a crucial aspect of A Level Media Studies.

There are a range of theories we need to learn to help develop our understanding and opinions of this topic.

Audience theory 2: notes

Bandura: Social learning theory
Albert Bandura’s social learning theory came from an influential psychology study involving a bobo doll and children’s behaviour after observing violent acts. 

Social learning theory suggests people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling.

Stanley Cohen: moral panic
Moral Panic occurs when someone or something is defined by the media as a threat to society. The term was created by Stanley Cohen.

Cohen suggested in his 1972 book ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ that a moral panic occurs when a “condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests”.

Cohen suggested the media plays an important role in creating moral panic, even if just through news reports.

Cohen defined his five stages of moral panic as:

1) Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests
2) This threat is depicted in an easily recognisable form by the media
3) There is a rapid build-up of public concern
4) There is a response from authorities or opinion makers
5) The panic recedes or results in social changes




Technopanic: the modern moral panic
A technopanic is simply a moral panic that focuses on something linked to new technology.

George Gerbner: Cultivation theory
George Gerbner researched whether watching television influences the audience's ideas and perception of everyday life. 

Cultivation theories suggest that TV viewing can have long-term, gradual but significant effects on the audience’s attitudes and beliefs (rather than behaviour).

Gerbner’s Cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid.

Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and therefore are affected by the Mean World Syndrome, the belief that the world is a far worse and dangerous place than it actually is.

Source: Mass Communication theory

Audience theory 2: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Audience theory 2 - blog tasks' and work through the following tasks:

Theory questions and your opinion

1) Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

3) Research three examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? If the link is blocked in school, you can access the text here.

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

6) Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming desensitised to online threats, trolling and abuse? Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? Write a paragraph discussing these ideas.

The effects debate: Media Factsheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 030 - The Effects Debate available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can also access it via your school Google login here.

Read Media Factsheet 030 - Media and Audiences -The Effects Debate and answer the following questions:

1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')

2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?

3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? 

4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.

5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?

7) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?

9) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

Finish for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson: due date on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Cinematography feedback and learner response

Your one-minute cinematography videos are a great way to make sure we have learned our camera shots, angles and movement.

Once we've screened the videos in class, you need to complete the following tasks on your blog:

Cinematography video feedback/learner response

Create a new blogpost called 'Cinematography video feedback and learner response'. Make sure your video is on YouTube and embedded in this blogpost. 

1) Type up your feedback/comments from your teacher.

2) Type up your feedback from fellow students.

3) Now reflect on your work and write your own summary of the comments and feedback you have received. Write three WWWs and three EBIs.

4) Learner response: think about what you learned about cinematography making the video and also watching others. What will you do differently when you start the coursework in the summer? What tips or tricks have you learned from others that you can use next time? Are there any specific aspects of camerawork that you need to revise or practice?

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

MIGRAIN: Audience theory 1

To develop our study of audience, we need to explore the effects that media products have on us and apply a range of theories to help us do this. 

Does consuming media make us violent? Anti-social? More aggressive? Or has digital technology and social media actually contributed to the lowest drug, alcohol and teenage pregnancy statistics for many years? In addition, we also need to explore what audiences enjoy about the media and ask how active or passive audiences are.

Audience theory: notes

The hypodermic needle model

This is a crude theory from the 1920s that suggests the media injects information into the audience like a hypodermic needle and therefore can have a dangerous effect on us.

The two-step flow model

The two-step flow model was developed in the 1940s because the hypodermic needle theory was considered too simplistic, assuming the audience consumed media without thinking.

The two-step flow model instead suggests the audience are influenced by ‘opinion leaders’ in the media who mediate how the audience react to media texts. The theory suggests the media is not all-powerful and that social factors are important.

Blumler & Katz: Uses and Gratifications theory

Researchers Blumler and Katz reignited audience theory in 1974 by stating that media audiences are active and make conscious choices about the way they consume media.

They suggested there are four main uses or gratifications (pleasures) that audiences get from the media.

Diversion: escape from everyday problems and routine - entertainment.

Personal Relationships: using the media for emotional and other interaction (e.g. developing affection for characters in TV)

Personal Identity: finding ourselves reflected in texts or learning behaviour and values from the media. Reality TV or documentary (Educating Yorkshire) are good examples.

Surveillance: Information useful for living (e.g. Weather, traffic news, holiday bargains etc.)

Rokeach and DeFleur: Dependency theory

Rokeach and DeFleur took Uses and Gratifications one step further in 1976 in suggesting that people have become dependent on the media.

With Dependency theory, they suggest that people rely on the media for information determining their decisions. This means the media can create many different feelings such as fear, anxiety, and happiness.

Audience theory 1: blog tasks

Hypodermic needle model

1) Read this Mail Online article about the effects of videogames. How does this article link to the hypodermic needle model?

2) How does coverage of the Talk Talk hacking case (see Daily Mail front page below) link to the hypodermic needle model? Why might someone criticise this front page? 

3) What do you think of the hypodermic needle theory? Do audiences believe everything they see in the media?

Two-step flow model

1) Summarise the two-step flow model. What is an opinion leader?

2) How do celebrities like Taylor Swift fit into the two-step flow model? 

3) In your opinion, is the two-step flow theory still relevant today?

Uses and Gratifications theory

1) For each of the four categories, write about one media text (e.g. film, TV programme, newspaper etc.) that fits that particular audience use or pleasure. Make sure you explain WHY it fits the category and use images or clips to illustrate your points. The first one is done for you.

Diversion: Film - Blinded By The Light. Entertaining and offering escapism for fans of Bruce Springsteen or anyone that enjoys coming of age films or culture-clash comedies.

Personal Relationships: 

Personal Identity: 

Surveillance: 

Dependency theory

1) Do you agree that audiences have become dependent on the media? What evidence or examples can you provide to support your view?

2) How has the growth of new and digital technology in the last 15 years changed people's dependency on the media? Is this a new problem?

3) Reflecting on your own media use, how does your media consumption impact on your emotions? Does the media have an overall positive or negative impact on your health and wellbeing? What is your average screentime and how does this impact on your mood?

Extension tasks A/A*

If you're interested in the debate regarding videogames and the impact on children read this blog on the subject. What is your opinion on whether videogames are positive or negative?

Remember, anything you don't complete in the lessons you need to finish for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Cinematography analysis tasks

We have watched some superb film and TV clips for cinematography, learning the importance of camera shots, angle and movement.

Being able to confidently analyse camera shots and movement is essential for media textual analysis and may well be required in your media exams.

Here's another good YouTube video on camerawork and the effect on audiences:

You may also want to check out the Studio Binder YouTube channel which has extended videos on all aspects of the video production process. Here's their ultimate guide to camera shots for example:

Cinematography: blog analysis tasks

Your cinematography blog tasks are as follows:

Find the opening sequence to a film or TV drama of your choice on YouTube and embed the video in a blogpost called 'Cinematography blog tasks'. 

1) Write an analysis of the cinematography in the opening sequence. Highlight your use of media language and try to cover camera shots, angles and movement using the terminology we have learned in lessons. 

2) How does the camerawork give the audience clues about the setting, narrative and character?

Secondly, find and analyse one film or TV still image. Add the image to your blogpost. 

3) Analyse the camera shot/angle in the image and what it communicates to the audience. Remember to highlight the media terminology you use.

Due date: see Google Classroom

MIGRAIN assessment 1 - learner response

Well done on completing your first A Level Media Studies assessment - it's an important first step in identifying our strengths and weaknesses in the subject so far.

The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here! 

Your learner response is as follows:

Create a new blogpost on your Media 1 Exam blog called 'Assessment 1: learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

3) Read this exemplar response from a previous Year 12 (an A grade) - note this was a slightly different paper in terms of the question wording and also had an additional question 4 (we've updated it to better reflect recent exams). Identify at least one potential point for questions 1-3 from this student's paper that you could have mentioned in your assessment. 

4) Did you get any media terminology or theory wrong in the assessment? Make a note of it here for future revision, including theories/terminology that you could have used but didn't.

5) Identify your weakest question and write three bullet points that would improve on your original response. Use the mark scheme and exemplar paper to identify these points - particularly focusing on the anticipated content and the top level descriptors.

If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.

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 - plus the effect that media may have on us. 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: presentation

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?

Audience classification: blog tasks 

Create a new blogpost called 'Audience classification' and work through the following tasks: 

1) Media Factsheet

Read Media Factsheet 232 - Approaches to Studying Audiences. You'll find all our factsheets 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 the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) How is audience defined in the Factsheet?

2) What does the infographic for Gen Z in the age of Covid-19 suggest about the media Gen Z consumes? 

3) How do media companies target and measure their audience in the digital age?

4) What did the NRS used to do and what does PAMCO do now? 

5) How are demographics and psychographics defined in the factsheet?

6) Now read the rest of the factsheet - we'll be studying these theories over the next few lessons. Choose one audience theory you think is interesting and explain why. 

2) Psychographics presentation and reflection

1) Post the details from your psychographics presentation (details in the blogpost above) to your blog with all details of the couple you created and their media consumption (it needs to be on your blog individually but can be a duplicate of your partner's post).

2) Reflect on what you have learned about psychographics. Which psychographic groups do you feel best fit YOUR lifestyle and personality? Explain how and why you made your decision and provide evidence justifying this.

Due date: on Google Classroom

Film & TV Language: Cinematography practical task

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.

This video from Darius Britt will help you if you're not sure on any of the shots:



Cinematography: Practical task

Create a one minute cinematography video that illustrates the main types of camera shot, angles 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 and descriptive. However, you MUST make sure the framing and labelling using media terminology is accurate. This means text on screen labels as part of your editing process.

4) Edit your video to approximately one minute, adding music, voiceover, 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 laptop/PC to do it. Remember, the one element you must include is titles - text on screen - correctly identifying each shot type / camera movement / angle you use. Here's a YouTube tutorial if you're not sure how to add text for each shot/camera movement you include.

5) Export your finished video, upload it to YouTube and post it to your blog along with a brief explanation of your work.

Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what we're after (note - this goes a little beyond the brief!)



Deadline: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: index so far

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 Introduction to Media 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
4) Language: Reading an image - media codes

5) Reception theory - advert analysis and factsheet

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

Important: indexes are a great way to revise for your assessments and check you haven't missed any important content.

Due date on Google Classroom.

MIGRAIN Introduction to Media: 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 four 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.

Levi-Strauss: binary opposition

We will return to this later in the course when we explore ideology but Levi-Strauss suggests that media texts use binary oppositions to create conflict and narrative for the audience to follow. His idea is that all culture can be understood in relation to these opposite forces such as heroes and villains.

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?  


A/A* extension task

Use our brilliant Media Magazine archive to read Narratology: Todorov, Propp and Freytag from MM70 (page 24). This applies some of our narrative theories (and one new one) to Star Wars, Avengers and more. Which of these theories do you find most useful when applying to media texts? Why? 


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 video feedback and learner response

It's always a great pleasure watching 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: Genre

Genre is a crucial concept in media 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

Watch this evolution of the James Bond movie franchise to see how a genre can adapt, innovate and reinvent itself:

Genre: blog tasks

Work through the following tasks on your Exam blog. There is a lot of work here - factsheets to read and questions to answer before carrying out your own in-depth blog case study on a moving image text of your choice.

Task 1: 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 are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

4) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

5) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

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?


Task 2: Genre analysis case study

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) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
3) What is your experience of this genre?
4) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
5) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
6) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
7) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where - try imdb.com if unsure)?
8) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
9) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
10) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
11) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
12) 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) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
3) 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)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.
2) In terms of genre, 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 fair amount 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. In total, we think this work will take around 2-3 hours so plan your homework time accordingly.

Due date: 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 lessons, 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 (we recommend using Adobe Premiere Pro so you get more confident using it) produce a one-minute montage of images and videos. 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 videos to have a significant impact on the audience. For this task, you do not need to use original images or videos.

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 occasionally 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: Reception theory

Reception theory is extremely useful when decoding media texts - and allows us to explore how different audiences may react to a media product.

It's also one of AQA's key audience theories for the new specification which means there may well be an exam question asking you to apply the theory to a particular media text. Make sure you have confidently learned these notes then complete the blog tasks below.

Reception theory: notes

Studying media language means looking at the way in which the sign or text is interpreted and how the meaning comes across to the audience. 

All media is thought to be polysemic in that it can be interpreted in different ways – it is not simply passively accepted by the audience. Stuart Hall introduced the idea of three different readings.

Stuart Hall: reception theory

Hall suggested there are three types of reading:

Dominant, Preferred or Hegemonic Reading: what the producer/creator intends – the ‘natural’ reading

Negotiated Reading: a middle ground between the producer’s intentions and the audience’s individual views

Oppositional or ‘Counter-Hegemonic’ Reading: an alternative reading that is actively against the producer’s intentions.

Here's a video from the excellent Media Insider on Reception theory:

Reception theory: example exam question

Sample AQA question for Paper 2:

According to reception theory, ‘the media attempts to transmit specific messages to audiences, but audiences are free to interpret these messages in a variety of ways – or even reject them’.

How valid are reception theory’s claims about audience responses? [25 marks]

Reception theory: blog tasks

Create a new blog post called ‘Reception theory’. Work through the following tasks:

Part 1) Applying Reception theory to adverts

Look back at the adverts you have been analysing in last week's lessons on Reading an Image and media codes (RBK 50 Cent and one of your choice). 

1) What are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings for the RBK 50 Cent advert?

2) What are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings for the advert of your own choice that you analysed for last week's work?

Remember to highlight or bold any media terminology you are using.

Part 2) Reception theory factsheet #218

Use our extremely useful A Level Media Factsheet archive to find Factsheet #218 Spotlight on Stuart Hall: Encoding, Decoding and Reception Theory. Read the factsheet and complete the following tasks and questions:

1) Complete Activity 1 on page 2 of the factsheet. Choose a media text you have enjoyed and apply the sender-message-channel-receiver model to the text. There is an example of how to do this in the factsheet (the freediving YouTube video).

2) What are the definitions of 'encoding' and 'decoding'?

3) Why did Stuart Hall criticise the sender-message-channel-receiver model?

4) What was Hall's circuit of communication model?

5) What does the factsheet say about Hall's Reception theory?

6) Look at the final page. How does it suggest Reception theory could be criticised?

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