Summer Assessment Work

A’Level and BTEC

Welcome to Wyke Media Studies

Dear prospective Media students,

Welcome to Media! Hope you are well and staying safe. Although the current situation is difficult we feel it is a great opportunity to prepare, read around the subject and learn the vocabulary so that you are in a really strong position at the start of your first year at Wyke. These activities will equip you with media language and terminology, and give you a broad overview of many of the topics that will be explored in greater depth. It will also give us an opportunity to see what your strengths are.

Some of you will have encountered some of the concepts already but we still need to see if you can write and research with some clarity and conviction. There are some simple tasks and more analytical tasks that we will mark and consider in detail. Please work through them over the coming weeks/months, deciding when to devote more time to for further research, to ensure that you are giving yourself the best start possible for your A-level course. We will also provide some extension tasks for those of you that are particularly keen and see this as your future pathway.

Best wishes

The Media Team:

Rebecca Ives (Head of Media & Film) David Harrison (Media teacher and Head of GCSE English) Harvinder Kaur (Media and Film teacher) Lee Hartley (Media teacher) Liam Fulton (Digital technician)

Introduction to the course:

Media Studies examines all forms of communication- print, broadcast and online. Everything that is presented to us has an intention; to inform, entertain or promote. It is imperative to learn how to analyse and de-code these messages in order to learn how to both appreciate and ‘read’ media texts in order to develop our independent ideas, opinions and viewpoints – all key factors in critical reading and thinking at A-level/ BTEC and beyond.

This independent research will provide you with an opportunity to engage with different forms of media across the four frameworks; media language, industry, audience and representation.

Some of you may have studied media before others not. Complete the following tasks in this booklet to the best of your ability. All aspects of this booklet cover areas from A Level media and BTEC media, this is to help us and you to evaluate which course would be best suited to you.

We hope you put in maximum effort and enjoy the tasks. We understand the circumstances in which you are carrying out this work. We advise that you make notes while research and keep these notes, as these will be beneficial later on when studying the course.

Check out what media A level has to offer on our website via this link https://wyke.ac.uk/courses/media-studies/

And

BTEC media via this link: https://wyke.ac.uk/courses/creative-digital-media-production/

Contents/ Task summary Task 1: What is Media? (20 minutes work)

Task 2: Media Leaflet (2/3 hours work)

Task 3: Media Theory (15 minutes reading)

Task 4: Application of semiotics (20/30 minutes work)

Task 5: Application of Hall (10 minutes work)

Task 6: Analysis essay writing (2 hours work)

Extension tasks and further reading

Task 1: What is Media? In both A Level and BTEC similar skills will be addressed this year so: Watch the video clip on YouTube: What is Media? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE-B_XkoAgQ Make notes on what you understand about Media

Media language Representation

Audience Institutions/Industry

Task 2: Media Leaflet Practical work and working to a deadline and strict brief are an essential skill to all media students. Pupils will have to complete several practical tasks over the 2 years of study at Wyke on both A’ level and BTEC courses. We take in to consideration that many of our students want to work in the industry so tasks are created with a vocational approach in mind.

So with this in mind:

‘Imagine you work for the BBC in the ‘educating young people’ about film and media department. You have been asked to design a

‘media & film’ leaflet to encourage young people to get more involved in making media productions.’

*Before you design and make your booklet you may want to conduct some research on the following key areas (here are some hints and tips on how to get started: Editing: Research what editing is and how it allows an audience to make sense of a film. You may not notice editing when you are watching a film; this is because it’s hidden. Some editing techniques you may have heard include: Jump cut, montage and shot reverse shot. Editing does not have to be ‘a type of shot’ it could be other things, can you find out what and explain? Cinematography: This is art of photography. The difference between cinematography is: editing happens in the postproduction and cinematography during production. Cinematography includes camera framing, camera angles and camera movement. But can you find out and explain different examples and why they are used to create meaning for an audience? Mise-en-scene: This is French for ‘within the scene’ it is a big factor in helping the audience understand what is happening via costumes, lighting, character placement, props and make up. In your research you may want to research how mise-en-scene helps the audience understand genre and how it creates hidden meanings to audiences. Your task: To design a leaflet to explain the basics of editing, cinematography and mise-en scene to educate young people wanting to get in to the media and film industry. Your leaflet can be made and designed on Publisher or word. It needs to look professional and interesting with images and text to make it look appealing and fun to a young audience. The text below in bold will be used as sub headings in the leaflet. As you are a creative designer the design, template and layout has been left for you to design in a fun and creative way.

Checklist of evidence required 1) A front cover page: With a design that will be appealing to young

people wanting to learn about media and film. The title of the leaflet will be ‘Media: The basics’

2) Cinematography framing and angles: Explain what cinematography is and why a variety of framing types are needed. Show different examples of camera framing techniques and evaluate why different framing is used to create meaning for audiences. (You might want to take your own shots or use existing ones from the Internet. You can refer to a scene from films also.)

3) Cinematography camera movement: State and explain at least 3 camera movement techniques with examples from a film or TV series you have watched to explain your point. Explain why camera movement is needed in a moving image production and why not all frames can be still.

4) Mise-en-scene: Define and explain what mise-en-scene is and why it is important when making a production seem realistic. Use images to help explain what types of locations, props and costumes and lighting would be used if you were to make a science fiction film like Star Wars in comparison to a period film such as Emma.

5) Summary: Include a summary evaluating why cinematography techniques and mise-en-scene is important when engaging and audience. If these are not used when film making why would it be problematic?

Teacher Mark page

grading criteria Criteria achieved Assessment comments

(Positive) feedback/Why wasn’t the criteria achieved)

Did they meet the deadline?

A basic understanding of the assignment shown with limited creativity and design.

Yes Partly

No

A clear understanding of the assignment will have been shown with will explained overviews of the key terms. The presentation will more advanced than the P criteria.

Yes Partly

No

D1) A solid understanding of the key terms, with use of excellent examples that have been justified and explained as to why they are used. The summary will have clear elements of evaluation and the design is to near professional standards.

Yes Partly

No

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A brief introduction to media theory and media language

Media Language is a key part of media studies and being able to understand media texts or anything visual. Please make notes and carry out the following tasks to help you develop your skills on how to apply media language in a formal written essay.

Media language refers to how media products communicate with an audience. This is mainly done through the use of visual language (see list below). You will find that media texts communicate meaning through the use of signs and symbols this is called semiology. Creators of media products encode messages and meanings within their products through media language; the audiences then decode their messages and respond to them in different ways.

It can include:

1. Cinematography (Camera framing and angles) 2. Editing 3. Sound 4. Mise-en-scene (costume, make up, location, lighting,

body language) 5. Intertextuality (referring to another media product

within their own work) 6. Genre �

When analysing media texts in A’ level and BTEC you will have to apply media language theory.

Roland Barthes: Barthes is the first theorist you will encounter when you start Media Studies. Some of you may have met him already. His theory deals directly with media language and reading signs/texts. It is often called “semiology” – the reading of signs.

Task 3 Media Theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bow0Y9QUlBU - watch this Youtube link and make notes to learn more about the theory and Barthes. To analyse an image of signs we will use Barthes terms: DENOTATION/SIGNIFIER (what we actually see) and CONNOTATION/SIGNIFIED (what this actually means to us) So here: Denotation – I see a long shot of an expensive red sports car and man leaning against it. Connotation – The man is wealthy, powerful and likes driving fast cars to show his wealth and power to those who do not know him. Further simple examples on Denotation and Connotation

• Denotation: Red rose with a green stem • Connotation: a symbol of passion and love - this

is what the rose represents. Could be a symbol of England.

• Denotation: Brown cross • Connotation: a symbol of religion, or to be more

specific this is a symbol of Christianity. Could be a symbol of pain.

Task 4 Application of semiotics Your Turn: you now need to conduct a mini analysis applying Barthes theory. Examine this advert and answer the 4 questions below.

1. What message is the advert trying to convey/tell us? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does the water and the pulse rate image connote? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why has the colour blue been used?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How does the use of text/font/typography reinforce the

message on the advert? ‘find your power’? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stuart hall reception theory Another theorist you will probably encounter in the first few weeks at Wyke is Stuart Hall. His theory links to Barthes in many ways. We are still talking about media language and how we interpret text and signs but it is more to do with how different audiences will interpret things differently. Hall believes that there are three ways to read a text:

• Dominant reading - media text/programme/poster/film etc. has a set of ideas the producer wants us all to understand.

• Oppositional reading - is when an audience do not agree with the intended meaning

• Negotiated reading – a combination of both ( to agree and disagree)

Obviously everyone in the Media wants us to agree with the dominant reading but our class, gender, culture, race, politics and gender may make this impossible

What do you think? Do you think we decide the meaning of media texts ourselves?

‘broadcasters are concerned that the audience has failed to take the meaning as they – the broadcasters- intended. What they really mean to say is that viewers are not operating within the

‘dominant’ or ‘preferred’ code’ – Stuart Hall

This theory highlights the fact that as an audience – we are not passive. We decide meaning.