Equipment Booking

If you would like to book out any of the department equipment to complete controlled assessment tasks, you can do so here.

A2 Preparation Tasks

Preparation Tasks:

The coursework component of the A Level Media Studies course is all assessed on the work evidenced on an internet blog.

You should log into Blogger.com and create a blog for your A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio (this should be the title of the blog). The address of the blog should be CMS.... (insert your name)@blogspot.co.uk. You should take time to customise your blog, and ensure it looks creative (use the template settings on the left hand side of the screen). If you can't find out how to do something use your initiative and research how to do it (this is a good lesson in life).

Make sure you follow the department blog too, as it will have useful resources to help you with your work throughout the year.

All of the following tasks must be completed on your blog.

RESEARCH TASK – METHODS OF PROMOTION

This task will depend on your choice of brief – you must conduct research into how media products are brought to market and to the awareness of the audience. The prompt questions below are not exhaustive, but instead a starting point for your study.

·      * How are films/artists promoted?

·      * What different forms of marketing do we see?

·      * Are there any innovative examples of promotion you can find?

·      * How has technical convergence and the proliferation of hardware changed how films/music products are marketed?

RESEARCH TASK – CHOSEN MEDIA

This task is meant to show that you understand the key features of the type of product you are creating.

·      * What is a trailer/music video/short film?

·      * What are the key aspects of your chosen form of media? (what key things are included in all trailers/music promo videos?)

RESEARCH TASK – MEDIUM RESEARCH

This task is meant to help you identify similar products to your intended piece. This task is less prescriptive (as it is entirely dependent on which brief you choose) – so make sure you have enough scope to show your research and planning skills (mark scheme below). You SHOULD include:

·      * Analyses of similar products (editing, mise-en-scène etc)

·      * Timeline analyses of editing and transitions

·      * Examples of products from similar artists (music videos)

·      * Examples of products both from chosen and other genres (film)

·      * Other examples of background work

CREATIVE TASK – INITIAL IDEAS

By the time you return to us in September, you must have a shortlist of 3 initial ideas developed into 1 minute pitches – you will be presenting these to the class for short discussion in the first week.

Summer Task 4 - Media Institutions (how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms)

Research Task:

When talking about the media, what do we mean by the 'Big Six'?

Who are the 'Big Six'? What other companies do they own?

Find an example of a major media product that each of the 'Big Six' have produced within the last year, and research key information about these productions (budget, cast (if relevant), advertising campaign, release dates etc.)

*Remember to post your work on your blog!*

Summer Task 3 - Representation (how media forms portray events, issues, individuals and social groups)

Essay Task: 

One of the key principles underpinning the A Level Media Studies course is the concept of representation and the role the media plays in shaping our understanding of the world. Media theorist David Gauntlett argues that:

 "Popular media has a significant but not entirely straightforward relationship with people's sense of gender and identity."  ('Media, Gender and Identity', 2002) 

Essay title: Discuss the role the media plays in shaping our views and opinions on any one group in our society. Is this representation positive or negative?

(e.g. specific groups within gender, age, disability, regional identity, ethnicity, sexuality, class/status etc.)

*Don't forget to post your essay on your blog!*

Summer Task 2 - Media Language (how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings)

Choose a scene from a film you like. You must recreate, shot by shot, a sequence (30 – 60 seconds) from that scene and upload it to your blog. Be creative in how you adapt the scene, in terms of mise-en-scène (costume, props, setting and lighting). Upload the finished sequence to your blog, alongside a brief post that reflects on what you learnt from this challenge and how you would approach it differently next time.

·      * THERE ARE COUNTLESS FREE VERSIONS OF EDITING SOFTWARE FOR DOWNLOAD ON THE INTERNET IF YOU DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO ONE ALREADY