Thursday, September 19, 2024
Coursework: Ignite presentation learner response
Hopefully, the presentations and Q&A sessions that followed have highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of your coursework proposal and may indeed have prompted re-drafts of your statement of intent.
Your learner response is as follows and will take some time to do properly:
Create a new blogpost called 'Ignite presentation learner response'
1) Type up your feedback in full including the ratings out of five for each of the categories.
2) Use this feedback, comments from peers and your own reflection on your presentation to self-assess and write your own detailed WWW and EBI for your coursework concept and presentation as a whole.
3) Write a paragraph discussing how your presentation will lead into your actual coursework production. Do you need to update your statement of intent? Does your concept offer enough clarity? Is it appropriate for the audience specified in the brief? Is it achievable to film with the resources you have available? Can you add media terminology or theory to your statement of intent now you have reflected on your presentation and seen others?
REMINDER: You also need to ensure that ALL your research and planning from over the summer - including your current statement of intent - is posted to your Media 2 coursework blog.
If you continue this process at home, ensure it is completed by your next coursework lesson.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Language and Representations
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
OSP: Influencers and celebrity culture
Social media and influencers have added a whole new dimension to celebrity culture in the last 15 years.
As part of our study of online, social and participatory media - and before we start studying Taylor Swift - we need to explore the rise of influencers and the way celebrity culture has changed. This also builds on last week's work on Clay Shirky and his End of Audience theories.
User-generated content
Influencers exist because of changes in technology and the internet. This created social media sites like YouTube and Facebook and led to the rise in user-generated content.
User-generated content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by audiences, rather than brands or professional producers.
This links to Shirky’s work on audiences as producers – we create and share media as well as viewing it.
The rise of social media influencers and online celebrity culture has fundamentally changed the relationship between brands, stars and audiences.
Some argue that YouTube has democratised the contemporary media landscape – anyone can become the next star and audiences can choose who to follow. Others suggest that social media has blurred the boundaries between advertising and entertainment – and that young audiences are being exploited.
Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions:
1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"?
Read this excellent, academic article on the history of celebrity culture recommended by exam board AQA. Has digital culture changed the nature of celebrity or have things always been like this?
Read this Forbes article on how covid and TikTok have changed the influencer market in the last couple of years. What does this tell us about society and media culture - are we becoming more creative and independent or is this just another way to sell more products to more people?
Due date on Google Classroom.
Friday, September 06, 2024
OSP: Clay Shirky - End of audience
This will allow us to build on the work we did in Year 12 while further exploring the impact of the internet on audiences and media industries. Our two in-depth CSPs are the online presence of music sensation Taylor Swift and The Voice website - the online home of the weekly newspaper for the Black British community.
Notes from the lesson
Before studying the CSPs, we need to learn a key theorist for this topic - Clay Shirky's End of audience theories. This, along with the remarkable impact of the internet, will underpin everything we study for Taylor Swift and The Voice.
The internet: a brief history
The internet has been the most significant social, cultural and technological development of the last 30 years.
- In 1998, just 9% of UK households had internet access.
- By 2020, it had risen to 96%.
- Daily internet use in the UK has trebled since 2006 with almost 50 million using it every day.
- Smartphones are now the most popular device to access the internet. The iPhone was launched in 2007.
The 'Information Revolution'
- “The most important medium of the twentieth century” (Briggs and Burke 2005)
- “An application that will usher in The Information Age” (Castells 1996)
Clay Shirky suggests the 20th century media model “with professional producers and amateur consumers” has been replaced by a more chaotic landscape that allows consumers to be producers and distributors.
From the rise of collaborative projects to publicity campaigns run by volunteers, he believes that “organizations now have to understand, and respect, the motivations of the billion new participants in the contemporary media ecosystem.”
Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks
Media Magazine reading
Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:
1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody
Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:
1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?
6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed?
A/A* extension work: Read Chapter 1 ‘It takes a village to find a phone’ and Chapter 4 ‘Publish, then filter’ to further understand Shirky’s ideas concerning the ‘End of audience’.
Wednesday, September 04, 2024
Re-cap: Summer Project 2024
Your summer project contains compulsory and optional elements; everybody will be researching music videos, creating a concept, writing a first draft Statement of Intent and presenting this to class as an Ignite presentation in September. However, you may wish to also plan and film elements of your production over the summer while you have time available - this is up to you.
Summer project tasks
Complete the following tasks on a blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Summer Project: coursework planning':
1) Research: music videos
You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX music videos that will inform your production work. The music videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).
Music Video 1: Narrative
How is narrative used in the music video and what impact does this have on the audience? Can you apply any narrative theories to the story in the music video?
Music Video 2: Camerawork (shots, angles, movement)
Look for particular camera shots and movement - remember that movement is a critical convention of most music videos and camerawork can contribute to this.
Music Video 3: Mise-en-scene
What do you notice about the use of mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Use CLAMPS to help you here and think in particular about how mise-en-scene is used to communicate the genre of music and the personality or brand identity of the band/artist.
For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the music video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?
You can find a range of notable music video examples in this blogpost or you are free to select videos of your choice. You may wish to write more about one video than another but as long as you have 800+ words of music video research in total you will be fine. Feel free to use bullet points if this is helpful.
2) Planning: music video treatment
A treatment is like a script for a music video - it tells the band or artist exactly what will happen in the video and the kind of style or effect the video will have. You'll need choose what song you are going to use at this point - remember, you can use an existing artist's work but it needs to be appropriate for the brief.
You can find further music video treatment guidance here plus an example of a genuine director's treatment for the brilliant alt-J video Breezeblocks.
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.
The original AQA brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 4.
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 music video and music magazine concept: your new original artist, genre, song and music video treatment. Then, your print brief: music magazine title, double page feature, additional page, photoshoot etc.
- Media language: how you will use music video conventions and music magazine conventions - e.g. camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene to create meanings for your audience.
- Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes in your music video and music magazine; applications of representation theory; social and cultural contexts - how your coursework will reflect contemporary media culture and society.
- Media audiences: your target audience demographics and psychographics; audience pleasures - why they would enjoy your music video and magazine; audience theory if relevant.
- Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; the publisher for your music magazine; the brand identity for your artist; how fans would engage with your products etc.
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 - make sure it is posted before you present)
2) Coursework concept
3) Language: terminology and theory
4) Representations / social and cultural contexts
5) Audience and Industry / digital convergence
6) Presentation 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 second lesson back in September
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, 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:
Music video planning and treatment
This is effectively your script for your music video. There is guidance/links above on how to write a great music video treatment.
Storyboard
Sketch out a selection of critical shots from your music video, 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 music video AND 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 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 music video in chronological order.
Mise-en-scene
What iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre you are working in? Plan your cast, 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!
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 and note it on the Candidate Record Form - so this means the song for your music video. 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!
Welcome to Year 13 Media!
Welcome to Year 13 A Level Media Studies!
Year 13 Media is by far our favourite year to teach... Time to create coursework, study the in-depth topics and theories that showcase the best of the subject and get into some brilliant debates about news, technology, society and more. We can't wait!
We'll be kicking off with Online, Social and Participatory Media on the exam side and on the coursework side we'll be presenting our Ignite presentations to get coursework up and running.
Let's have a great year and get a top grade next summer!