Closer to home, the new cinema in Ealing Broadway is finally open. The Picturehouse cinema is going to show a mix of arthouse and blockbuster films and continues the long tradition of Ealing cinema with Ealing Studios just around the corner. There is a one-year student membership for £20 that gives you free tickets and money off food so check it out.
The final aspect of our work on Teen Vogue involves an industry case study and textual analysis of the magazine's social media presence. Industry is the final key concept to address in this in-depth study. It's important to remember that the exam question could cover anything from how Teen Vogue makes money to what attracts audiences to their social media pages. This means we need comprehensive knowledge across the board. Notes from the lesson Industry: Conde Nast Teen Vogue is owned and published by Condé Nast, an American media organisation that publishes around 20 magazines including Vogue, GQ and Wired. The company targets a wide range of different audiences – 164 million consumers across its brands. In March 2018, Condé Nast announced the launch of Influencer Platform Next Gen, a digital campaign that links advertisers and content creation. The goal is to “connect to a new generation of audience”.
Income sources Teen Vogue’s main source of income is through selling advertising space online – adverts that are targeted using browsing history. However, they also monetise their customer data and loyalty, encouraging readers to register online for updates, offers and access to the ‘Insider’ area of the website. This data can then be sold to other companies or used to attract ‘advertorial’ or sponsored content. Teen Vogue also makes money through YouTube with plenty of 1m+ views on their video content. This is an example of digital convergence – a traditionally print-based product moving into multimedia and accessible on one device. Finally, they run events such as the Teen Vogue summit and US tour. Teen Vogue: fashion industry player Although Teen Vogue has been creating headlines for its political content in recent years, it is also an important part of the fashion industry. Both editorial content and advertising is designed to create a strong desire in their audience for products featured. This links to Condé Nast’s role as a major media company interested in maximising profit. Some argue that Teen Vogue’s more diverse coverage offers a form of public service through its political coverage. But are features criticising capitalism hypocritical when the brand is owned by a media giant like Condé Nast?
Teen Vogue: Industry and social media blog tasks
Create a new blogpost called 'Teen Vogue Industry and social media' and work through the following tasks to complete the final aspects of your Teen Vogue case study: Industry: Condé Nast 1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year? 2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income? 3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams? 4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry? 5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit? Closure of print edition research Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below: BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers? New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong 1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”? 2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success? 3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine? 4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it? 5) How do online-only publications make money? 6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z? 7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for? 8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much? 9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach. 10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design. Social media analysis Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence: 1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have? 2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website? 3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait? 4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images? 5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have? 6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed? 7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand? 8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram? 9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels? 10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).
This is your final set of blog tasks for Teen Vogue and will complete your comprehensive case study for this in-depth CSP. Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.
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:
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.
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
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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):
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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
