Coursework: Preliminary exercise 2022

Year 13 coursework now moves on to 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 use later in the term.

Preliminary exercise: Music video extract

Task: Film and edit an extract from a music video for your artist/band

Length: 30-45 seconds

Equipment: Your own camera / smartphone or sign out a Media department Canon SLR from our technician Mr Harrison 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 extract.
• A range of different camera shots and angles.
• Either a narrative or performance element.
• Editing appropriate to the content and song.

Camerawork: Your camerawork must be appropriate for your genre, artist and song. It is likely you will want to include a significant number of close-ups, particularly on the artist/performer.

Editing: You must edit your 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 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: See Google Classroom 

Filming deadline: See Google Classroom

Final deadline: See Google Classroom 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
• Learn Premiere Pro 2018 in 11 Minutes

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 your music video treatment (this is basically a script for your music video). You can find an example of a treatment here.

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: see Google Classroom 

OSP: Teen Vogue - Audience and Representation

Teen Vogue offers a huge amount to discuss and write about for the concepts of audience and representation.

The exam could focus on anything from the changing nature of digital audiences to how certain groups or issues are represented in Teen Vogue online.

Notes from the lesson

Audience

Although the brand name suggests a teenage audience, the typical Teen Vogue reader has evolved in recent years. The move to more political content has broadened the appeal and changed the genre – young women now expect more from their media.

The ‘Campus Life’ section in Lifestyle also suggests an older readership. However, the audience is still interested in celebrity content and beauty – which Teen Vogue addresses by featuring the ‘opinion leaders’ (two-step flow) of social media.

Generations

Generation X: Born between 1965 – 1980
Millennials / Generation Y: Born between 1981 – 1995
Generation Z (or iGen): Born 1996 – 2010

Teen Vogue: political positioning

Teen Vogue generally takes a liberal, left-wing political stance and positions its readers to become active in their support:

• Pro-feminist
• Pro-gender fluidity and gender identity
• Supports LGBT equality
• Pro-multiculturalism
• Supports Black Lives Matter
• Pro-environment (accepting science on climate change)
• Pro-choice (abortion)

Teen Vogue: audience interaction

How does Teen Vogue encourage audience interaction?

• Activism
• Social media
• ‘Clickbait’ and first-person headlines
• Events – Teen Vogue summit

Representation

Changing representations

Feminist bloggers and websites such as Rookie and liberal blog Jezebel have been credited with changing the representation of women and feminism in the digital age.

This can be linked to Clay Shirky’s ‘end of audience’ theory with digital influencers, blogs and online movements changing the media landscape and creating opportunities to connect and campaign – with established mainstream brands like Teen Vogue then following to stay relevant. 

Teen Vogue: Audience and Representation blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Teen Vogue Audience and Representation' and work through the following tasks to complete the audience and representation aspects of your Teen Vogue case study:

Audience

1) Analyse the Conde Nast media pack for Teen Vogue. What is the Teen Vogue mission statement and what does this tell us about the target audience and audience pleasures?

2) What is the target audience for Teen Vogue? Use the media pack to pick out key aspects of the audience demographics. Also, consider the psychographic groups that would be attracted to Teen Vogue: make specific reference to the website design or certain articles to support your points regarding this.

3) What audience pleasures or gratifications can be found in Teen Vogue? Do these differ from the gratifications of traditional print-based magazines?

4) How is the audience positioned to respond to political news stories?

5) How does Teen Vogue encourage audiences to interact with the brand – and each other – on social media? The ‘tentpoles and editorial pillars’ section of the media pack may help with this question.

Representations

1) Look again at the Conde Nast media pack for Teen Vogue. What do the ‘tentpoles and editorial pillars’ (key events and features throughout the year) suggest about the representation of women and teenage girls on teenvogue.com?

2) How are issues of gender identity and sexuality represented in Teen Vogue?

3) Do representations of appearance or beauty in Teen Vogue reinforce or challenge traditional stereotypes?

4) What is the patriarchy and how does Teen Vogue challenge it? Does it succeed? 

5) Does Teen Vogue reinforce or challenge typical representations of celebrity? 

Feature: how Teen Vogue represents the changing nature of media aimed at women

Read this Quartz feature - The true story of how Teen Vogue got mad, got woke, and began terrifying men like Donald Trump - and answer the following questions:

1) How was the Teen Vogue op-ed on Donald Trump received on social media?

2) How have newspapers and magazines generally categorised and targeted news by gender?

3) How is this gender bias still present in the modern media landscape?

4) What impact did the alternative women’s website Jezebel have on the women’s magazine market?

5) Do you agree with the writer that female audiences can enjoy celebrity news and beauty tips alongside hard-hitting political coverage? Does this explain the recent success of Teen Vogue?

6) How does the writer suggest feminists used to be represented in the media?

7) What is the more modern representation of feminism? Do you agree that this makes feminism ‘stereotyped as fluffy’?

8) What contrasting audience pleasures for Teen Vogue are suggested by the writer in the article as a whole?

9) The writer suggests that this change in representation and audience pleasures for media products aimed at women has emerged from the feminist-blog movement. How can this be linked to Clay Shirky’s ‘end of audience’ theory?

10) Is Teen Vogue simply a product of the Trump presidency or will websites and magazines aimed at women continue to become more hard-hitting and serious in their offering to audiences?

There is plenty to work on here as this needs to cover two of the key concepts for this in-depth CSP. Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

A Level Media wider opportunities

It's great to hear several of you are considering studying media-related courses at university. There are plenty of things you can be doing to boost your personal statement or practical experience. 

A reminder of the textbooks available - we have managed to order a few copies of these for students on last year's bursary programme. Come and see me or check your email for more on this.

Media Theory at A Level by Mark Dixon

I'd be tempted to make this my top recommendation for A Level Media. It covers all the theories in the A Level Media specification and if you visit Mark Dixon's Essential Media Theory website you can sign up to view sample exam answers and more for free. Highly recommended! 

A Level Media Textbooks

Stop press! If you do want to order a textbook or two and are not eligible for the bursary, there is a 25% off code if you order direct from the publisher Illuminate Publishing. Order from the publisher here and use code SCHOOL25 at checkout to save 25% until the end of October 2022.

The textbook details:

AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YR 1 & AS: STUDENT BOOK

• NEW SPEC: AQA Media Studies for A Level Yr 1 & AS: Student Book 
• AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Hendry, Elspeth Stevenson 
• AWARDING BODY: AQA 
• LEVEL: A Level Year 1 & AS 
• ISBN: 978-1-911208-03-7 
• SUBJECT: Media Studies 
• PAGES: 272pp 

AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YEAR 2: STUDENT BOOK

• AQA Media Studies for A Level Year 2: Student Book 
• AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Hendry, Elspeth Stevenson 
• AWARDING BODY: AQA 
• LEVEL: A Level Year 2 
• ISBN: 978-1-911208-09-9 
• SUBJECT: Media Studies 

AQA MEDIA STUDIES FOR A LEVEL YEAR 1 & AS REVISION GUIDE

• AQA Media Studies for A Level Year 1 & AS: Revision Guide
• AUTHOR(S): Stephanie Hendry
• AWARDING BODY: AQA 
• LEVEL: A Level Year 1 & AS
• ISBN: 978-1-911208-86-0 
• SUBJECT: Media Studies 

Reading around the subject

A reminder of our top tips for reading around the subject in Media:

Media Magazine

The best reading for A Level Media is free to you - by reading copies of Media Magazine (you can find these in our Media Magazine archive.) This magazine is designed specifically for A Level Media students and contains articles about the terminology, concepts and media products we are studying - plus lots more!

If you're looking for books by media academics, it really depends what topic you are interested in. For example...

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky is a great read if you're interested in the impact the internet has had on business, media and the world. Shirky is a great writer and you'll find this easy to read.

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler is the classic text for feminism and gender discussions - it's still a key media theory today and can also help with Sociology and English Literature. Beware though - it's a challenging read!

There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation by Paul Gilroy can also be a tough read in places due to its complexity (very much university-level academic writing) but is highly recommended if you're interested in the representation of race and ethnicity and the experience of British culture for black Britons.

Creative Mentor Network

The Creative Mentor Network is an incredible opportunity for post-16 students to make connections in the creative and media industries by shadowing a professional for several weeks. We’ve had a number of students complete the project and develop a fantastic range of contacts and experiences that will help them to get a job in the creative industries in future.

You can find more details on the CMN website or watch the video below (featuring our very own Hussein from a few years ago!)

BFI Film Academy

The BFI Film Academy is a national talent development project for young aspiring filmmakers organised by the BFI. It is aimed at 16-19 year olds and this year's focus is on Animation & Video Effects. It's extremely competitive and difficult to win a place but if you do there are funds available to pay your expenses and it's a quite incredible opportunity to meet people from the industry and learn professional-level skills. You can find out more about this project and other opportunities at the BFI Film Academy website here. 

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 six 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/treatment 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.

September assessment preparation: Magazines and Radio

For the upcoming September assessment we will simply be running a 60 minute paper on Magazines and Radio.  

This gives us the opportunity to test our knowledge on the two topics from last term. Simply revise the Magazines and Radio content:

• Magazines index
• Radio index

Note: there is no unseen question for this assessment - it is only on Radio and Magazines.

You may also find the following revision tips and walkthrough videos useful for your preparation.

How to revise

Revision is a very personal thing and everyone has different techniques. This video with top tips for A* revision is pretty good: 

As you know, I strongly recommend using flash cards (they are often called record cards if you are trying to buy them online or in WHSmiths). The simple act of distilling topics into a few key words or phrases to put on the card will seriously help in remembering the key information in the final exams.   

How to plan and answer A Level Media exam questions

These 'walk and talk' videos go through a range of different A Level Media exam questions and cover the number of marks, how long to spend on the answer and what structure or points you could make in your answer. 

Although these are on different topics and CSPs to your upcoming exams, you can follow the same exam technique in annotating the question and identifying the key words.

Paper 1 Section B - 6 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):

Paper 1 Section B - 9 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):

Paper 2 - 25 mark TV question:

Good luck with your revision!

OSP: Teen Vogue - background and textual analysis

Our first Online, Social and Participatory CSP is Teen Vogue - the former print magazine turned online sensation.

Teen Vogue has generated a huge amount of coverage (and attracted a significant audience) by re-positioning the magazine as a socially conscious political hub for young women.

Notes from the lesson

Teen Vogue: background

Teen Vogue was launched in 2003 as a print magazine ‘little sister’ title to US Vogue. It focused on fashion and celebrity and was a conventional magazine aimed at teenage girls.

In 2015, in response to declining sales, the magazine cut back its print distribution and focused on digital content. After single-copy sales dropped 50% in the first six months of 2016 alone, the magazine went quarterly (four issues a year) before announcing the closure of the print magazine completely in November 2017.

Online growth
Led by digital director Phillip Picardi, the Teen Vogue website grew substantially as the print magazine declined. 

Between January 2016 and 2017, Teen Vogue’s online traffic rocketed from 2.9m US visitors to 7.9m. The magazine then surpassed 10m unique users later in 2017. In addition, the magazine has 6m Facebook likes, 3.5m Twitter followers and a huge following on Snapchat.

Evolution and activism

The spectacular digital growth of Teen Vogue has been credited to the editor Elaine Welteroth and digital guru Picardi leading the magazine in a radically different direction to traditional teenage magazines.

Focusing on politics, activism and feminism, the magazine has developed a reputation for high-quality journalism while recruiting millions of socially-conscious, educated readers.

'Woke'
Teen Vogue considers itself a ‘woke’ brand.

Woke definition: a political term of African American origin that refers to an awareness of issues concerning social justice.

This means Teen Vogue covers issues of politics, racism and gender identity… and amazingly has expanded the appeal and reach of the brand while doing do.

Teen Vogue: background reading and textual analysis blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your first case study on Teen Vogue.

Teen Vogue: background reading

Read this Guardian feature from 2017 on Teen Vogue and answer the following questions.

1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?

2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?

3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?

4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?

5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?

6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?

7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?

8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?

9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?

10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?

Teen Vogue: Factsheet Part 1

Read Media Factsheet #200 Teen Vogue - Part 1. You can find the Factsheet here using your Greenford Google login. Answer the following questions: 

1) The Factsheet suggests Teen Vogue has successfully made the transition to an online, social and participatory product. Why? What platforms is it now available on?

2) Look at the screenshots and details on pages 3-4 of the Factsheet. What does Teen Vogue offer its audience?

3) Who is the typical Teen Vogue reader?

4) Read the content analysis of the Teen Vogue website on page 5 of the Factsheet. Pick out three key examples of how meanings are created in Teen Vogue and what is communicated to the audience.

5) Finally, look at pages 6-7 focusing on representations. What range of representations can be found in Teen Vogue and what does this suggest regarding Teen Vogue's values and ideologies?

Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of the Teen Vogue website and read notable Teen Vogue articles to refer to in exam answers. 

Homepage analysis

Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:

1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?

2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?

3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?

4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?

5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue (in the Identity section) and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?

2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.

3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?

4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?

5) Choose one story featured in the Lifestyle section and explain how reflects the Teen Vogue brand.

Teen Vogue: Five key articles

Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below.

Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America

The new face of teen activism 

Black Teens Have Been Fighting for Gun Reform for Years

Netflix and strong female leads 

How to Break Away From the Gender Binary

1) What do you notice about the content and style of these articles? What do they have in common? 

2) How do the articles use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible - what makes the reader want to click or read more?

3) Pick a quote from each article that illustrates the political, 'woke' ideology of Teen Vogue and paste it here.

4) What effect on the audience are these articles hoping to achieve?

5) How do these article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

There is plenty to work on here - you will need to complete the majority for homework but we will set an extended deadline due to the volume of work. Due date on Google Classroom.

OSP Introduction: 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 Teen Vogue online presence (website, Facebook and Twitter) 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 Teen Vogue 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.
• In 2018, it had risen to 90%.
• Daily internet use in the UK has doubled since 2006.
• 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 Google Classroom.

Recap: Summer Project 2022

The summer project is a vital element of your coursework - an opportunity to plan an outstanding music promo video/print concept and then present it to class in September.

Your summer project contains compulsory and optional elements; everybody will be researching music videos and promos, 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 and actors 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 and music promos

You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX selected videos that will inform your production work. The music video videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below). For promos, we've suggested a few options but if you can find your own examples you are welcome to study those. Focus more on interviews, cutaways, structure and graphics/brand identity for the promos. 

Music videos

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: Technical codes (camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing)
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. Look for particular camera shots and movement - remember that movement is a critical convention of most music videos and camerawork can contribute to this. 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?  

Music Video 3: 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 music video example?

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 500+ words of music video research in total you will be fine.

Music promos

Music Promo 1: Frank Palangi - Artist Promo - No Plan B

How does this video use mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Look for settings/locations, cutaways, use of colour/black and white, lighting and costume:

Music Promo 2: Bel Thomson Artist Promo Video

Focus on the content here: what camera shots are used? What topics are covered in the interview? What other interviews are included aside from the artist herself? How are graphics or text-on-screen used? 

Music Promo 3: SBTV interview with Slaughterhouse

This is more an interview than a promo but contains many of the conventions we will want to use. How does the video begin? What questions are covered in the interview? How does the video incorporate live performance/music video elements? 

Again, it is absolutely fine to write about different promo videos (particularly if you can find them for the genre you are thinking of using) - as long as you have around 500 words of research/notes on promo videos you will be fine.

In total, your research notes on your blog will be approximately 1,000 words - bullet points are fine.

2) Planning: music promo script and treatment

In many ways, a music promo is a mix between an advert, a documentary and a music video. In order to produce this, you'll need to write a script but you should also plan to write a music video treatment too. 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 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. 

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. 

For this aspect of your summer project, write a combination script/treatment that will tell a reader what your three-minute promo will be made up of.


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 3. 

We also strongly recommend you look at our Statement of Intent 2023 questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to read this).


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 promo video and print advert concept: artist, genre, songs, interviews, narrative/performance/effects, photoshoot, branding etc.
• Media language: how you will use music promo video conventions and print advert 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 promo and print 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 promo; audience theory if relevant.
• Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; 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) 
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

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 presenting our Ignite presentations to get coursework up and running.

Let's have a great year and get a top grade next summer!

Media Awards 2022: The Nominations

The nominations are in for the Media Awards 2022!

The ceremony is in two weeks and will be the first in-person Media Awards since 2019. We've had an incredibly difficult job finalising the nominations - the quality level at both GCSE and A Level is superb and there has been a lot of very good work that hasn't made the cut.

If you haven't been before, the Media Awards is our Oscars-style ceremony where we award trophies for the best Media coursework at GCSE and A Level. It's a major event in the Greenford calendar and tickets have completely sold out whenever we have run the event in the past. The details for this year's awards:

Date: Tuesday 5 July
Time: 6pm - 8pm
Tickets: £5

Tickets will go on sale on Monday 27 June (exclusive presale for Media students) before tickets go on general sale on Wednesday 29 June.

Remember - you need to be quick. The event sold out in just four days when it last took place in 2019!

A Level nominations

BEST A LEVEL SOUND DESIGN

Kharina – Through the Eyes of K

Arianna – Sound of the Soul

Harneet – Love Theory 

BEST A LEVEL CINEMATOGRAPHY

Krystian – Teens In Tech: Social Media

Silver – London’s Latest Plan/Scam

Tegan – Obesity 111

BEST A LEVEL PRODUCTION DESIGN

Hannah – House of Riches

Assia – 90s Reload

Tianna – London Divided

BEST A LEVEL EDITING

Fabian – Rise of eSports

Kaashif - School: Work-Life Balance

Randa – Guilty Until Proven Innocent

BEST A LEVEL DOCUMENTARY CONCEPT

Dania – No Friend But The Mountains

Ibtihal – Mental Health in Ethnic Minorities

Sankavi – Culture Collage 

BEST A LEVEL POST-PRODUCTION

Ansa – Real vs Ideal

Gamid – Covid: Crushing the Economy

Jobanpreet – Knife Crime In Our Schools 

GCSE nominations

BEST GCSE TV DRAMA CINEMATOGRAPHY

Harrison – Galactic Escape

Lilly - Paranoia

Julia – The End of It

Orkena – Paranoia 

BEST GCSE TV DRAMA ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Khaterah – Purple Hyacinth 

Kemi – Elf/Human

Obaida – The Takeover 

Rubana – The Rise of Malignant 

BEST GCSE TV DRAMA EDITING

Nasra – Disappearance 

Watanpreet – Merge 

Shreyam - The Hallucination 

Ashleigh – Gone

Best Actress and Actor

BEST ACTOR 2022

Gamid

Kaidian

Diako

Shreyam

BEST ACTRESS 2022

Lilly 

Orkena 

Nasra 

Watanpreet 

Congratulations to all our nominees and we look forward to seeing you at the Media Awards on Tuesday 5 July! 

Rise Up Academy Summer School

Global Academy in Hayes will be hosting the Rise Up Academy Summer School in August. 

The event is a chance for students to get hands-on experience of working in media technology, including: building a TV studio and creating a TV show, exploring an Outside Broadcast truck, creating eye-catching graphics, learning about post-production and editing video content, virtual production, and cloud technology with Amazon Web Services. The event is free to attend but you need to book.

Year 10-13 Summer School is Thursday 4 and Friday 5 August. You can book your FREE place here.

You can find out more about Rise Up Academy Summer School on their website here. 

This is a brilliant opportunity to get hands-on media technology experience on our doorstep - get involved!

Revision links and tips

The exams are approaching and now is the time to make sure our revision and preparation is doing the job!

This is the time to be revising the terminology, concepts and CSPs as well as making flash cards and practising questions.

Revision links

Remember that AQA have given us advance information for the 2022 exams that will really help us focus our revision and preparation. 

Here's what you need to revise with links to the original blogposts:

Paper 1

Section A: Language and Representation

• Unseen analysis
• Music Video - Letter to the Free
• Advertising and Marketing - Score hair cream and Maybelline That Boss Life

Section B: Industry and Audience

• Film Industry - Blinded By The Light
• Radio - War of the Worlds and BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Paper 2

• Unseen analysis
• Magazines - Men's Health and Oh Comely
• OSP - Teen Vogue and The Voice
• Television - Capital and Deutschland 83

Revision links and guidance

We've got plenty of resources to help you with your revision and preparation for the upcoming exams.

Here's a link to the PowerPoint we've been using to revise key topics so far. 

Here's the sample questions and answers we've been working on in our revision lessons. 

Note that you'll need your Greenford Google login for these resources as they are only for GHS Media students.

Earlier this year we gave you a paper copy of the Theoretical Perspectives resource which covers all the theories in the A Level Media specification. Let us know if you didn't get one!

Finally, here's a short blog on what makes a good flashcard - always useful to get top tips on effective revision techniques.

Keep an eye out for more links and resources as we get them!