OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Language and Representations

Our first Online, Social and Participatory CSP is global pop sensation Taylor Swift and her use of online media.

The study will focus on the website and social media presence of Taylor Swift and how she constructs her online persona to influence 'Swifties' the world over.

Notes from the lesson

Taylor Swift: introduction

Taylor Swift is one of the most commercially successful figures in the global music industry, having been a star from a young age and working in a range of genres including country, pop and rock. The media company Bloomberg has estimated her wealth at just over $1billion. She was the most played artist on Spotify in 2023 and was Time magazine’s Person of the Year (2023). The financial magazine Forbes ranked her as the fifth most powerful woman in the world (the women above her in the list were all politicians).

Taylor Swift is a millennial artist (born 1989) whose (often very devoted) fans, known as ‘swifties’, range from young teens, Gens X and Z, millennials as well as the baby-boomer generation (‘senior swifties’). The persona she constructs across online and social media reflects the need to address these different target audiences. Swift is also a very influential figure in an industry context, credited with shifting the power relationships between the music industry and individual artists.

Source: AQA CSP booklet. 

Taylor Swift: websites

You can check out Taylor Swift's main website here and her tour microsite here.

Taylor Swift: social media

Taylor Swift uses social media very deliberately to create impact. In 2018 she wiped all her social media before returning to platforms a couple of days later with a snake video that was designed to kick off an album announcement. 

Taylor Swift: representations 

Taylor Swift is the perfect example of a modern celebrity – fully in control of her persona and able to skilfully construct her representations across multiple media platforms and through her live performance. She has also highlighted the representation of women in the media and music industry.

Taylor Swift: Language and Representations blog tasks

Narrative

Go to our Media Magazine archive (issue MM79) and read the feature All Too Well on Taylor Swift and how she controls her own narrative. Answer the following questions: 

1) Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her earlier albums? 

2) Why did Taylor Swift choose to make the short film 'All Too Well'? 

3) What other examples are provided in the article of Taylor Swift using media to construct her own image? 

Taylor Swift textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Taylor Swift's website and social media. 

1) Go to Taylor Swift's website. What do you notice about the media language choices - text, font, images, page design, links?

2) Now visit her Eras tour microsite. What do you notice about the construction of this site in terms of images and website conventions? 

3) Visit Taylor Swift's Twitter feed. Analyse her use of tweets/posts - are they promoting her music, her tour, or something else? Can you find any that are socially or politically oriented? 

4) Look at Taylor Swift's Instagram account. What do you notice about the selection and construction of images, reels and posts?  

5) Research Taylor Swift across any other social media accounts - e.g. Facebook. Do you notice any differences in how she represents herself on different platforms? Comment on text, images or tone/content.  

A/A* extension tasks

Read this academic history of celebrity culture and social contexts. How much can we find that is relevant to the kind of celebrity persona Taylor Swift has created? 

Read Written and Directed by Taylor Swift in Media Magazine MM84 - a feature on Swift's music videos including how she is using her Instagram channel to position herself as an up-and-coming director as well as music star. You can find this in our Media Magazine archive here.

Finally, consider this question: How does the construction of Taylor Swift's online presence reflect the social and cultural changes of the last 10 years? 

You will have some lesson time on this but will need to complete for homework. Due date on Show My Homework.

Coursework: Preliminary exercise 2025

We are starting our coursework with a preliminary exercise: a chance for you to refresh your technical production skills prior to creating your actual production.

This is a vital element of the overall coursework as it gives you the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them without it impacting on your grade. However, we also strongly advise you to create a preliminary exercise that is linked to your real coursework concept - this may give you additional material to edit into your production later on.

Preliminary exercise: TikTok Music video

Task: Plan, film and edit a 45-60 second TikTok music video 

Length: 45-60 seconds

Equipment: Your own camera / smartphone as this will make it easier to video in vertical mode and follow conventions of TikTok music video. You can borrow and sign out a phone tripod holder from our technician Mr Ray in DF06.

Groups: None. You MUST work individually. However, other people will need to be involved - perhaps as a performer, actor or part of your production team (camera operator etc.) This is fine as long as they are directed by the candidate submitting the work. Keep a note of who you use and how you directed them as you'll need to send this to the exam board at Easter.

What your music video extract needs to include

Content: Your preliminary exercise must include the following:

• A band/artist logo/brand identity that appears on screen at the beginning of the music video.
• A range of different camera shots and angles which fit the codes and conventions form of TikTok.
• Either a narrative or performance element (or both).
• Editing appropriate to the content and song.

Camerawork: Your camerawork must be appropriate for your genre, artist and song and careful consideration of TikTok music video conventions. It is likely you will want to include a significant number of close-ups, particularly on the artist/performer based on the industrial context of production.

Editing: You must edit your TikTok music video appropriately for the song and/or narrative. 

Sound: For this exercise, you can simply use the sound from the song you are using. However, if you wish to include an element in your music video that contains narrative and diegetic sound this is acceptable.

Mise-en-scene: iconography to establish genre of your band/artist - think carefully on setting, costume, make-up props, lighting etc.

Graphics on screen: Create a brand identity for your original artist/band (e.g. font/typography, colour, logo etc.) that appears on screen at the beginning (or end) of your preliminary exercise. 

Deadlines

Planning deadline: Next week (from when this blog was posted)

Filming & editing deadline: Week after (from when this blog was posted)

Final deadline: See Show my Homework for specific day - total time available for project is two weeks.


Research and planning blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Preliminary exercise: Research and planning' and complete the tasks below. First, watch this clip on the mistakes beginner filmmakers make - it will help you identify the errors to avoid when planning and shooting your video (this clip is about narrative filmmaking but many of the same points apply to any video project).



This is a great video discussing five mistakes to avoid when making a music video - but you'll also find loads of great ideas here too:

And here's another one with some specific tips on making a music video - for example, there's some great stuff on composition (leading lines) and lighting here:

There are also loads more tips and tutorials from Darius Britt (D4Darius on YouTube) that we would recommend watching as part of your research and planning. These include:

• Mastering Composition + Cinematography
• Nine things to check before pressing the record button

Now complete the following tasks:

1) State the song you have chosen for your preliminary exercise.

2) Choose at least three music videos similar to your concept and watch a clip or more from each. Make bullet-point notes on everything you watch, commenting on camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene.

3) Write a short music video treatment for your extract (this is basically a script for your TikTok music video). You can find an example of a treatment here. If you are making your real coursework then feel free to use the treatment from your summer project.

4) Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing (in a music video you will find you need FAR more shots than you think, particularly close-ups). These additional shots can be close-ups, alternative angles or something more creative. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word/Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example here (this is from narrative filmmaking but the same format can be used for any video project). 

5) Plan your mise-en-scene: what iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre and style of your artist? Plan your settings, costume, make-up, props and lighting. 

6) Plan a shooting schedule that will ensure everything is filmed by the deadline. Include when, where, who is required, planned equipment and any other aspects you need to arrange. 

Research and planning deadline: on Show my Homework

Coursework: Ignite presentation learner response

There have been some excellent Ignite presentations with some brilliantly creative responses to the coursework brief. 

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.

Due date: See Show my Homework

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 influencers: changing culture

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.

Influencers and their impact on media and culture

What impact are influencers having on society, media and culture? You need to be able to form your own opinion on this question. To help you, watch this BBC Panorama programme on influencers. Here's a brief summary:

Here's the extended 28-minute Panorama if you'd like to see more:

Bad Influencer: Belle Gibson & The Great Insta Con

The danger with user-generated content is whether we can trust what we see on social media. Belle Gibson was one of the first lifestyle influencers but ended up in a controversy over faking cancer diagnoses to promote her posts. This is a preview of a BBC3 documentary on Belle Gibson and the Great Insta Con:

Influencers and celebrity culture: blog tasks

1) Media Magazine reading

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"?

2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'? 

3) How do influencers reinforce capitalist ideologies? 

4) How can YouTube and social media celebrity content be read as postmodern, an example of hyperreality? 

5) What are the arguments for and against regulating online content such as YouTube?

6) How can Hesmondhalgh and Curran & Seaton's ideas be linked to online media debates? 

7) How can Gauntlett's ideas around identity and audience be applied to YouTube and influencer content?

8) What is YOUR opinion on celebrity influencers? Are they a positive, democratic addition to the contemporary media landscape or a highly constructed product promoting hegemonic capitalist ideologies?   

2) How to build a social media brand: case study

Read this excellent case study on how to build a celebrity social media brand and answer the following questions: 

1) What are the different ways celebrities manage their social media accounts? Give examples. 

2) Why is 'voice' important in celebrity social media content and what examples are provided? 

3) What different goals may celebrities have for their social media accounts? 

4) What types of content can be found from celebrity social media posts? 

5) How does social media allow influencers to interact with fans? Give examples.  

3) Guardian article: Social media harming young people

Finally, read this Guardian article reporting that social media and celebrity culture is harming young people. Answer the following questions:

1) What did the YMCA's report suggest about social media content and celebrity culture?  

2) What examples are provided of how this can have a damaging effect on young people? 

3) What is YOUR opinion on this topic? Do you feel social media is dangerous to young people? Should age restrictions be enforced? Explain your answer. 

A/A* extension tasks

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 Show my Homework.

OSP: Clay Shirky - End of audience

Our first topic for Year 13 is Online, Social and Participatory media (OSP).

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.

Source: ONS (Office for National Statistics)

The 'Information Revolution'

550 years ago, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg meant that the number of books in existence rose from a few thousand to 20 million in just 25 years. This led to the Reformation, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution in which centuries-old modes of thinking were radically questioned.

The internet has been likened to the Gutenberg revolution – which means we’re living through this ‘Information revolution’ right now:

• “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: End of audience



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.”

One of big changes with digital platforms is that “Every consumer is also a producer, and everyone can talk back.”  Yet what may be more significant is the simple math of how many people can reach each other through the connections in a network.  The result is always more connections. 

Shirky adds that media had been a hierarchical industry—in that one filtered first, and then published. “All of that now breaks down,” he says. “People are producing who are not employees or media professions.  So we now publish first, and then filter.  We find the good stuff after the fact.  This is dramatically different.”

Source: Internationalist Magazine Trendsetters profile 

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’.

You will have lesson time to work on this but will need to finish for homework. Due date on Show My Homework.

Re-cap: Summer Project 2025

The summer project is a vital element of your coursework - an opportunity to plan three outstanding TikTok videos and a music documentary billboard advert and then present it to class in September.

Your summer project contains compulsory and optional elements; everybody will be researching TikTok 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.

Your AQA coursework brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 6. 

Summer project tasks

Complete the following tasks on a blogpost on your coursework blog called 'Summer Project: coursework planning': 

1) Research: TikTok videos

You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX TikTok videos that will inform your production work. The TikTok videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).  

TikTok videos

TikTok Video 1: Narrative
How is narrative used in the TikTok video and what impact does this have on the audience? Can you apply any narrative theories to the story in the TikTok video?

TikTok 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 performances and camerawork can contribute to this. 

TikTok 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.

TikTok  Video 4: Editing

For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?  

TikTok  Video 5: Music Video Conventions

Think back to our Introduction to Music Video and our work on Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video conventions as part of the Ghost Town CSP. How many key conventions of music video can you find in your fifth TikTok example?

TikTok 6: Visual effects, intertextuality or product placement

Choose a TikTok video that has interesting visual effects or intertextuality and analyse the effect this creates and how it is constructed. Alternatively, you could look at product placement here and see how a band or artist has incorporated a brand or product into their video. 

You can start adding TikTok links to this shared document that should help with research and, of course, 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 TikTok video research in total you will be fine. Feel free to use bullet points if this is helpful.

2) Planning: THREE TikTok video treatments

A treatment is like a script for a TikTok 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 songs 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. 

For this aspect of your summer project, write a basic treatment that gives your reader a good idea of what each of your three TikTok video will look like. The most important thing is to keep in mind the brief - the TikTok video can feature any of the following:

• interviews/AMAs with band members 
• content created by band members 
• performances, live shows or personal appearances 
• band members taking on a TikTok challenge 
• the band interacting with fans • fan-made content 
• merchandise or promotion of the band’s music 
• any other content or combination of content you think would be appealing to the audience and promote the band effectively.

Start each of your THREE treatments with the following key details: 

1) Artist/band and song(s) you will use for video.

2) Original name for artist/band you have created - MUST be completely original

For example, Ed Sheeran - Shape of You is the artist and song you plan to use but your original name for your artist will be John Smith - Shape of You.


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.

It should explain:

• the ways in which you will apply knowledge and understanding of media language and media representation to your products
• how your products will target the intended audience
• the industry context they are created for
• how you will exploit the opportunities for digital convergence between the products

We also strongly recommend you look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to read this). 

This is just your first draft of the statement so try and keep it under 500 words if you can. That will leave a bit of room to add later when you do your next draft.

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 TikTok videos and billboard posters concept: your new original artist, genre, song and TikTok video treatments. Then, your print brief: documentary title, artists / bands featured, eras covered, etc.
• Media language: how you will use TikTok video conventions and billboard advertising 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 TikTok video and music documentary adverts; 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 TikTok video and magazine; audience theory if relevant.
• Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; the streaming service for your music documentary; the brand identity for your artist; how fans would engage with your products etc.

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 - 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 first lesson 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, 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:

TikTok video planning and treatment
This is effectively your script for your TikTok video. There is guidance/links above on how to write a great TikTok video treatment.

Storyboard 
Sketch out a selection of critical shots from your TikTok 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 TikTok 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 TikTok 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!