KS4 Media with Mr Barton

WALT: To understand what media studies is and the syllabus you will follow

WILF: Is for you to set high standards of presentation and outline how you will strive to

meet your target by the end of the year

Starter Activity

• A medium is something that is between the creator (producer) and the person or people (audience) with whom they wish to communicate.

• Television, Film, Radio, Newspapers and magazines are all media and we have come to call them the media.

“A ‘medium’ is a method of communication. It is something that is in the middle.”

What Is Media Studies?

• There are many different forms of communication that we study for Media Studies GCSE.

• We can put them into three main areas:

Audio-Visual MediaPrint-based MediaICT-based Media

Categorise all the media you know into the three sections above using the following diagram.

Media Studies is……

Audio-visual Media Print-based Media

ICT-based Media Cross-Media Forms

How the media communicates to you!

• Before any of those media forms were invented (and you will learn how and why they were invented), humans relied on various interpersonal communication – and we still do!

• Many aspects of interpersonal communication are used to make meaning in newspapers, television, films.

Interpersonal Communication

Verbal Communication

Tone of voice

Volume

Vocabulary

Accent

Non-Verbal Communication

Appearance

Facial Expression

Posture

Eye contact

Signs, Codes, Symbols

Religious symbols

Greetings

Manners

Written/Visual Communication

Letters

Drawing/Graffiti

Books

Poems

The Five Senses:

Sight

Hearing

Touch

Smell

Taste

Think About it…

• We use our five senses to help us send and receive communication BUT they cannot make sense of what they receive without the help of our brain.

• The eye, for example, can see things but it cannot make sense of them without the brain.

• Our brain interprets and understands what the eye sees and the same is true of the other four senses!

Perception is everything…

• Since the day you were born though, your brain has been collecting information like a huge computer hard drive.

• We use this store of information in order to make sense of what we see, often by making links with what we have previously experienced.

• Different colours, sounds, shapes, symbols, smells, typefaces, words, objects and images can trigger our memories.

• However, not everyone perceives the world around them in quite the same way or makes the same interpretations.

• Why might one person perceive something in a different way to someone else?

So How Can We Study The Media?

• For the purpose of media study, we call any product of a media production process a media ‘text’

• A magazine advert, a film, a TV programme are all defined as ‘texts’ because by reading them (studying them closely) we may find out a number of things about them.

• What we study about these ‘texts’ are called the key ideas of Media Studies.

• There are 3 key ideas when analysing texts – these will be handed out for you to keep in your Portfolio!

• We will revisit these when we conduct our ‘textual analysis’. • We will constantly deconstruct different texts to see how they are

made and the effects they have!

Media Language and Categories

• The languages used by audio-visual, print and ICT-based media to produce meaning to an audience.

- What is the text called and what links do we make with it’s title/name?

- What is this text about?- How does it say it? What are it’s languages? (print,

moving images, sounds)- How are these languages combined to make this

text?- What genre is this text? How do you know?- What codes or conventions does it follow?

Media Producers and Audiences

• For this idea, we study who made the text, who they represent, how they are financed and the process of media production itself.

- How was the text produced?- Who produced it?- Why did they produce it?- When and where was it produced and did this influence the production of the

text?- What is it similar to? Why might this be relevant?- Who was the text’s target audience?- Who actually watches/reads/listens to it? How do we know?- How was it financed and by whom? How much profit did it make?- How did it reach it’s audience? Where was it advertised? Where is it

shown/sold/available?- How do audiences respond to the text?- What effects does the text have on it’s audience? How do we know this?- What have other people (critics) said about the text?- How do I respond to the text and why?- What do I need to consider when producing my own text?

Media Messages and Values• For the study of this idea, we look at the relationships between people,

places, events, ideas, values and beliefs, at their representations in the media, at the issues and debates around these representations and how this affects society.

- Whose interests does the text serve?- Who is present in this text? Who is absent in this text?- Who or what can it be said to represent?- What does this text tell us about who made it and when and where

they made it?- Has it’s meaning changed over the years and in what ways?- What judgements do you make about the truth, accuracy or effect of

this text?- What judgements might other people/groups make about this text?- What values are offered, either directly or indirectly by the text?- What issues does this text raise?- What do I need to consider when making my own media text? What

messages and values am I using in my decision making?

GCSE Media Studies Skills

• There are two main subject specific skills you will need to develop over the next two years:– Textual analysis skills– Practical media production skills

You will also need to learn lots of subject-specific vocabulary to get higher grades and use these in your analyses and evaluations!

Practical Media Production

• The purpose of producing your own media texts is a good way to use your skills in creative activities.

• In practical work, you will work in groups, reflecting on the decisions and processes you used when making your ‘text’.

• This year, you are going to work on your own online news/magazine publication called ‘Heartlands Voice’.

• Later on in the course, there will be the opportunity to work on the ‘Voice’ radio station in association with Aston FM.

• Throughout the course, you will also complete practical projects on coursework and these should remain in your portfolio!

Your Portfolio

• Your portfolio is for you to store:– Your notebook– Handouts– Practical project print-outs and evaluations– Work completed for Heartlands Voice– Coursework– Assessed pieces and homework

It is your responsibility to look after and organise your portfolio. This is very important!

Assessment• Your portfolio should contain your three coursework pieces. TWO of

these are completed in Year 10 and are together worth 25% of your overall marks for GCSE. The other piece is completed during Year 11 and is also worth 25% of your total grade.

Coursework Assignment 1: Textual analysis essay, comparing two newspapers (12.5%)

Coursework Assignment 2: Analytical essay on the represntation of Muslims in the media (12.5%)

Coursework Assignment 3: Practical production of a website for a band aimed at teenagers (25%)

Your portfolio should also contain all assessed work you have produced each half term (check the syllabus for this) and any work you have completed for Heartlands Voice.

Further Information

• You will need to use the course website to:– Find out your syllabus– Download notes on different topics– Complete tasks– Find information about how you are assessed and when you are

assessed– Find information about coursework– Find information about your work on Heartlands Voice– Find out what sort of grade you can expect to achieve

This website is constantly being developed and can be found at:

www.heartlandsmedia.wikispaces.com

Work Experience

• You will also need to complete work experience at a Media outlet in July 2009.

• We are currently sending letters out to media companies all across Birmingham to try to secure placements at TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations and advertising companies.

Main Task

Put these media forms in order in a timeline:

InternetTelevisionNewspapers + MagazinesFilmsCable TVRadioDigital Communication (mobile phones, digital TV)

Homework – Media Consumption Diary

Keep a diary for one week of your consumption of the media. Make a note of all that you see or hear throughout the day and how long each activity takes.

You should include:

- watching television (what you watch, how long for)

- reading newspapers/magazines (which publications, what were the articles about?)

- playing computer games (which games, how long for)

- listening to MP3 Player (what you listened to, how long for)

- Use of the internet (sites visited, time spent per day)

Calculate the amount of time you spend on each medium per week.

You must also record any time you have spent discussing media texts with friends!

High Standards• Always enter the room in an orderly manner and start the lesson by copying the

D.O.T (date, objectives, title)• Always maintain a high level of presentation• As soon as I start to talk, you listen.• If you wish to ask a question, raise your hand and be patient. NEVER call out!• Always aim to complete tasks within the set time limit• In a whole-class environment, you need to listen!• The end of the lesson is the most important part – it allows you to reflect on

what you have learned and how you have learned it – DON’T SWITCH OFF!• Always think about what I’m looking for (WILF) – this will tell you what I will

look for when I mark your work• Pay attention when looking at examples of work – you can always learn

something from them!• Always try to meet your targets in your next piece of work.• Make good use of the department website to strengthen basic grammar and

spelling skills.