13D: New/Digital media stories index update

Yep, it's that time again! 

You need a new index of new/digital media stories and we've now hit the fantastic figure of FORTY stories. 

Hopefully, now you're revising for MEST3 Section A you're realising how vital these stories are for the exam.

I'll give you some lesson time this morning to update the index while I give individual feedback on your MEST3 Section A homework from half-term.

Please post a NEW index of 40 stories to your blog - do not just update a previous post.

Year 13: MEST3 Section A preparation

If you attended Friday's Media lesson, you'll have been walked through a typical MEST3 Section A exam paper and analysed the two clips on Occupy. These clips are available on YouTube below:

Media product 1:



Media product 2:



The exam paper is available here.

Remember, your homework is to complete the three questions ON PAPER and bring them to your first double lesson back after half-term. You will then be given some feedback prior to the MEST3 PPE exam on Monday 2 March.

The key details:

• Spend 10 minutes on question 1.
• Spend 15 minutes EACH on questions 2 and 3.
• Spend the remaining 5 minutes checking your work and ensuring you have covered each aspect of each question.
• You MUST refer to a wide variety of media examples (beyond the texts in the exam) for questions 2 and 3.
• Aim to write 4-5 sides of A4 in total for Section A.

Good luck!

13E: Linked production research and planning

With your Critical Investigations ongoing, we now need to turn our attention back to the Linked Production. Your job over half-term is to complete the research and planning for your production. This includes the following:

1) Research: notes on at least THREE similar texts to the one you are creating. What are the key conventions? What can you learn/borrow from the examples you have looked at?

2) Project schedule: when will you film and edit this production?

3) Script - see the BBC Writers' Room for advice/script formatting. If you're making a music video, you'll want to write a treatment instead. This is an example treatment that I provided for GCSE Media students studying this topic.

4) Storyboard - sheets available in Media or you can use this AQA storyboard sheet.

5) Shot list - use Microsoft Word or a template like this to help you.

6) Mise-en-scene: casting details, location scouting with photographs, props, costume and make-up, lighting.

Note: for print productions, you will need to write all text required in Microsoft Word, plan mise-en-scene for all photoshoots and produce detailed sketches of all the pages you plan to produce.

All of the above needs to be posted to your MEST4 coursework blog.

Deadline: Friday 27 February

Mr Halsey lessons cancelled - Wednesday 11 February

Year 13 - a reminder that Mr Halsey's lessons are cancelled on Wednesday 11 February. We do not have staffing cover within the Media department so you will have to work in the LRA or at home on these tasks.

13E
Make sure you have a detailed learner response to your Critical Investigation first draft on your blog - details of the task here.

Start working on the second draft of your Critical Investigation while your comments and feedback are fresh in your mind. You will almost certainly have to do additional research to move up to your target grade.

13D
Complete your two new and digital media stories and upload them on your blog. Update your NDM index too.

Complete the outstanding work on feminism - looking at the article on post-feminism in Media Magazine and then researching No More Page 3.

13D - this is due on Friday.

MEST1 Re-sit: deadline FRIDAY

The deadline to pay for your MEST1 re-sit is FRIDAY.

You MUST pay the £20.65 to the Exams office in A Block before the price doubles.

If you are unsure of whether this applies to you see Mr Halsey or Mr Bush on THURSDAY.

13E: Critical Investigation learner response

Hopefully, you have found the peer assessment tasks useful in identifying key aspects to improve for your next draft. You need to complete an initial learner response task to make sure you have read, recorded and understood your feedback.

Critical Investigation: first draft learner response

On your MEST4 coursework blog, complete the following tasks:

1. Type up your teacher comments from your first draft.
2. Write what mark/grade you are aiming for in your second draft.
3. Write a numbered list of five things you will do or change for your second draft that will help you get there. Be specific and explain in detail.

Critical Investigation: next deadline

Write the second draft of your Critical Investigation.

This includes any additional research that may be required.

Due: Wednesday 4 March

This second draft will receive feedback in the form of an extended one-to-one tutorial in class before Easter. You will then have a short time to make final improvements before the Easter deadline.

Linked Production Planning Documents

Make sure you complete the following, that they've been checked by us, and uploaded to your blog, before you start shooting:

• Project schedule
• Script - see the BBC Writers' Room for advice/script formatting
• Storyboard
• Shot list
• Mise-en-scene: casting details, location scouting with photographs, props, costume and make-up, lighting.

13D: New and digital media stories - updated index

It's time for a NEW blogpost updating our NDM story index.

You need a total of 32 stories in your latest index. Make sure the stories are numbered and link through to your original blogpost for that story.

A reminder of what each story should include is here. One story, remember, should be focused on news or journalism.

As ever, I've put up some great stories on the Macguffin Twitter account that basically does your homework for you.

Get it done!

Polite notice: If you haven't got 32 stories you'll be catching up at lunch.

Identities and the Media: Feminism

Are we living in a post-feminist state? Do you agree there is still a need for feminism? To what extent does the media contribute to the identity created for women in popular culture? These are some of the questions we need to consider in this next section of our Identities and the Media unit.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Media Magazine reading

1) Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here).

2) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

3) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

4) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

5) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

No More Page 3

1) Research the No More Page 3 campaign. Who started it and why?

2) What are the six reasons the campaign gives for why Page 3 has to go?

3) Read this debate in the Guardian regarding whether the campaign should be dropped. What are Barbara Ellen and Susan Boniface's contrasting opinions in the debate?

4) How can the No More Page 3 campaign be linked to the idea of post-feminism?

5) What are your OWN views on the No More Page 3 campaign. Do you agree with the campaign's aims? Should the campaign continue?

6) Do you agree that we are in a post-feminist state or is there still a need for feminism?

Complete for homework if you don't get it finished in the lesson - deadline set by your exam class teacher.