MEA/BFI Theory for A Level from Kate McCabe
Presentation from the MEA/BFI conference November 24th 2012
Presentation from the MEA/BFI conference November 24th 2012
The Education Resource for BTEC, GCSE, AS & A2 Media Studies
Sunday 25 November 2012
Monday 8 October 2012
Fantastic Resources
3 fantastic documents on Production, Distribution and Exhibition from Belinda Raji sourced from Slideshare. All 3 are embedded on the BTEC level 3 page
Sunday 30 September 2012
New Page for BTEC Level 3
Click on the tab above for information specifically for BTEC level 3 and our first unit - Film Studies.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Welcome Back!
media-radar and little-radar are very glad to be back after an amazing break and looking forward to sharing exam material, theory and media news through the websites!
Thursday 14 June 2012
Moving Image and Print/Web/Audio
Print:
- masthead
- mission or slogan
- columns
- examine images -mode of address, angles, colours, lighting etc.
- composition and layout: text to image ratio (how mush text is there compared to the visual image)
- language of headlines
- colours
- banners, boxes, bullet points
- captions (underneath or within pictures)
- typography - font style, size and colour
- lead story
Audio:
- Silence and pauses
- single presenter or multiple presenters and characters
- use of jingles
- sound effects
- language used - description, emotive etc.
- tone and register: (friendly, conversational, humorous etc.) (formal, informal)
Web:
- masthead
- navigation bar
- sidebars
- links to other media especially social media
- interactive content
- composition and layout
- images
- 'chunks' of information
- colour
- audio content
See! you know it all already!
Sunday 10 June 2012
Saturday 9 June 2012
Case Study Mindmaps for A2
Case Study Mindmaps A2
View more PowerPoint from Kate McCabe
Stereotypes, Dominant Ideology and Marginalisation for Representation.
Audience Consumption and Audience Power vs Institutional Power for New Media Technology.
Will distribute these and a couple more for Monday.
Stereotypes, Dominant Ideology and Marginalisation for Representation.
Audience Consumption and Audience Power vs Institutional Power for New Media Technology.
Will distribute these and a couple more for Monday.
Wednesday 6 June 2012
Tuesday 5 June 2012
BTEC Grading....
Have all re-submitted work completed by Wednesday 13th June.
It's really important that where you have mixed grades within a Unit, you work to bring the tasks within the whole Unit up to the highest grade realistically possible. Having just one Unit of a higher level could help you achieve the higher level overall.
Equally, if you left a Unit with one task grade of Pass and the other tasks with Merit and Distinction, this whole Unit will be classed as Pass and this could bring your overall Qualification level down.
It will be 'oh so worth it' in the end!
Monday 4 June 2012
Tuesday 22 May 2012
A2's......
Keep checking little-radar.blogspot.com for daily posts on areas useful for
New Media Technology and Representation!
New Media Technology and Representation!
Monday 14 May 2012
Good Luck AS!!
Just Remember....
- you know to look at Shots, Angles, Movement first..
- you know that Media Forms means Codes and Conventions/Media Language
- you know you have to read the information carefully and use it
- you know that a grid can help you make as many points as possible, using media language in each, and throwing in a theory or two!
- you know not to spend more than 15 minutes on each question
- you know what the acronyms stand for to help you add detail to each question
- you know to refer closely to the text
- you know even if the text is something we weren't expecting you will not need to panic because you know loads and loads anyway!
- you know you know much more about your cross-media texts than you think you do
- you know you have to write about the way the texts are experienced, referring to examples from 3 platforms.
- you know that if you apply your knowledge to the question and give lots of specific details from your texts you will do brilliantly!
Saturday 12 May 2012
Revision for MEST 1: Cross-Media Study
Use the Mindmaps/Brainstorms below to help make your revision easier. Just answer the questions with the information you have researched.
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Friday 11 May 2012
You heard it straight from the Examiners....
AS Students look carefully through the list below. It is key information from the Examiner report of the 2009 exam session (taken from the AQA Website )
Section A:
- Use note-taking and planning time effectively
- Pick up on the hints in the introductory paragraphs provided
- Avoid MIGRAIN as a planning tool but instead focus on the specific requirements of each of the four questions
- Focus on the question
- Be aware that most questions encourage links to be made between key concepts
- Remember that thorough answers require a range of arguments, ideas and examples to be provided
- Have stamina
- Avoid repeating ideas and overlapping responses
- Make sure that equal time and effort is spent on all four questions
- Be clear, concise and succinct
- Remind themselves that the two pages provided in the answer booklet for each question is enough space for a top mark
- Make detailed references to the media product
- Learn media terminology and use it with confidence
- Avoid regurgitating theory just for the sake of it - Only use theory if its relevant to the question
Section B
- Prepare an individual and contemporary cross-media studies
- Do not make your case studies too narrow (i.e. one core product with just one linked product in each platform)
- Choose the question carefully. Spend time considering and planning your answer
- Maintain question focus throughout your answer and not provide a descriptive account of the cross-media study. The introductory paragraph should only be a brief overview (1sentence) of the area and products studied
- Avoid hypothetical and generalised examples in your answers. Select detailed and concrete examples from your case study to support their argument (remember to mention print examples too!)
- Evaluate what opportunities each platform offers institutions and audiences. Always place the study of individual media products within this context
- Ensure consistent consideration of the issues and debates which the cross-media study raises about the current media landscape
- Consider links with MEST2 which itself illustrates how media products work across the platforms and could also provide further individualised research evidence/examples
Tuesday 8 May 2012
Monday 7 May 2012
Sunday 6 May 2012
Saturday 5 May 2012
An Audience with Trupac
MEST 1 Audience Question
Use the Acronym 'Trupac' to help you remember everything for the Audience Question:
Type of Audience - Demographics? Psychographics? Primary? Secondary? Niche or Segmented?
Reception - How might the Audience receive the text? How can the text be Decoded? How is the text Encoded? What is the Mode of Address? Is the Audience influence by the Two-Step process?
Uses and Gratifications - How is the text used and how are the Audiences gratified?
Power - What level of power is in the hands of the Audience in terms of Consumption? Interaction? Production? Choice? Content? What power is in the hands of the Institution?
Advertisers - What is the relationship between the Institution, Advertisers and the Audience?
Cultivation and Effects - How are Audiences changed over time as a result of the text or text type? What Effect might the text have on the Audiences (Moral Panic? Violence? Shock and Awe?) How does the text fit with or shape dominant ideology?
Examples of Past Questions:
1) What features of the text encourage the Audience to ____________?
2) What pleasure does the ________ offer the Audience?
3) How does the ____________ persuade Audiences that ____________?
4) How does the sequence attempt to position the Audience to ___________?
5) What techniques does the __________ use to appeal to the Audience demographic?
6) In what way does _______ appeal to the target Audience?
Use the Acronym 'Trupac' to help you remember everything for the Audience Question:
Type of Audience - Demographics? Psychographics? Primary? Secondary? Niche or Segmented?
Reception - How might the Audience receive the text? How can the text be Decoded? How is the text Encoded? What is the Mode of Address? Is the Audience influence by the Two-Step process?
Uses and Gratifications - How is the text used and how are the Audiences gratified?
Power - What level of power is in the hands of the Audience in terms of Consumption? Interaction? Production? Choice? Content? What power is in the hands of the Institution?
Advertisers - What is the relationship between the Institution, Advertisers and the Audience?
Cultivation and Effects - How are Audiences changed over time as a result of the text or text type? What Effect might the text have on the Audiences (Moral Panic? Violence? Shock and Awe?) How does the text fit with or shape dominant ideology?
Examples of Past Questions:
1) What features of the text encourage the Audience to ____________?
2) What pleasure does the ________ offer the Audience?
3) How does the ____________ persuade Audiences that ____________?
4) How does the sequence attempt to position the Audience to ___________?
5) What techniques does the __________ use to appeal to the Audience demographic?
6) In what way does _______ appeal to the target Audience?
Who? How? Who? How? Who? What?
MEST 1 (MEST 3) Representation Question:
The six questions to prompt you into giving the fullest answer possible!
Who (or what) is being represented? (Teenagers? Doctors? London? Friendship?)
How is the Representation constructed? (Media Language eg. Shots, Angles, Movement* etc.)
Who created the Representation? (Institution? Evaluate the institutional impact on the representation - does the Institutional context limit or give freedom to the content?)
How does the Representation fit with Dominant Ideology? (Does it support or challenge Stereotypes? Audience expectations?)
Who benefits from the Representation? .....Society? (Does the Representation maintain the Status Quo?) .....Institution? (Does the Representation promote positive Brand Values?)
What has been left out of the Representation? (Career? Hobbies? Relationships with others? )
Who? How? Who? How? Who? What?
The list loosely goes from the factual to the more 'suggested' and symbolic .....
Who represented?
How constructed? *
Who created?
How like Dominant Ideology?
Who benefits?
What's missing?
* Sam Slatcard
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How is Technology Represented in the ________?
2) How are Game users Represented in the ___________?
3) How is a Woman's life Represented in the __________?
4) How is the Video Represented as being real?
The six questions to prompt you into giving the fullest answer possible!
Who (or what) is being represented? (Teenagers? Doctors? London? Friendship?)
How is the Representation constructed? (Media Language eg. Shots, Angles, Movement* etc.)
Who created the Representation? (Institution? Evaluate the institutional impact on the representation - does the Institutional context limit or give freedom to the content?)
How does the Representation fit with Dominant Ideology? (Does it support or challenge Stereotypes? Audience expectations?)
Who benefits from the Representation? .....Society? (Does the Representation maintain the Status Quo?) .....Institution? (Does the Representation promote positive Brand Values?)
What has been left out of the Representation? (Career? Hobbies? Relationships with others? )
Who? How? Who? How? Who? What?
The list loosely goes from the factual to the more 'suggested' and symbolic .....
Who represented?
How constructed? *
Who created?
How like Dominant Ideology?
Who benefits?
What's missing?
* Sam Slatcard
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How is Technology Represented in the ________?
2) How are Game users Represented in the ___________?
3) How is a Woman's life Represented in the __________?
4) How is the Video Represented as being real?
Thursday 3 May 2012
MEST 3 Case Study New Media Technology
Infographic on Social Media for 2012 at Digital Buzz. Concentrates on Facebook and Twitter but also has general info on Netflix, Blogging and tablet use.
Use and quote in your Case Study.
Use and quote in your Case Study.
iBOP
MEST 1 Institution Question:
Apple, one of the most influential Tech companies, has iPod, we have iBop - everything you need to include for the Institution question.
Institution - state who the Institution is - use the information in the booklet to help you.
Brand Values - explain what/how the text communicates the brand values of the
product and/or the text producing institution
Ownership - explain how the ownership limits or gives freedom to the institution.
Power - explain the power structures suggested by the text both at a textual level and a social (society) level through theory (gender, class, race, wealth etc.)
Use these as prompts to add detail to your answer but please ...read the question carefully.
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How does the ___________ communicate brand values for _____ ?
2) How effectively does ________ promote itself as a Public Service/Commercial channel?
3) How is the Brand image of ___________ promoted in the ___________?
4) What values and characteristics of ______________ are evident in the _______ ?
5) What is communicated in the ___________ about _______ and the experience it offers?
6) How does the ________ try to create a positive image for __________?
Apple, one of the most influential Tech companies, has iPod, we have iBop - everything you need to include for the Institution question.
Institution - state who the Institution is - use the information in the booklet to help you.
Brand Values - explain what/how the text communicates the brand values of the
product and/or the text producing institution
Ownership - explain how the ownership limits or gives freedom to the institution.
Power - explain the power structures suggested by the text both at a textual level and a social (society) level through theory (gender, class, race, wealth etc.)
Use these as prompts to add detail to your answer but please ...read the question carefully.
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How does the ___________ communicate brand values for _____ ?
2) How effectively does ________ promote itself as a Public Service/Commercial channel?
3) How is the Brand image of ___________ promoted in the ___________?
4) What values and characteristics of ______________ are evident in the _______ ?
5) What is communicated in the ___________ about _______ and the experience it offers?
6) How does the ________ try to create a positive image for __________?
Monday 30 April 2012
What Makes Advertisements Controversial?
Article from the BBC on what causes offence and the Top Ten ads by complaint to the ASA of 2010 via @COLFESmedia on twitter.
What makes Advertisements Controversial?
What makes Advertisements Controversial?
Sunday 29 April 2012
New Theory Videos
Two new theory videos embedded on the THEORY page - on Hegemony and Uses & Gratifications. Both created by Cheney Media - well worth checking out their YouTube channel here.
Saturday 28 April 2012
The Voice leading the way on Social Media
TellyBug, an interesting site calculating the trending topics on Social Media:
TellyBug Trending: What's hot and what's not in the world of Twitter?
TellyBug Trending: What's hot and what's not in the world of Twitter?
Sam Slatcard
MEST 1 Media Forms/Language Question
shots
Angles
Movement
Sound
Lighting
Anchorage
Typography
Colour
Address (...as in Mode of Address)
Register
Dress
The Acronym moves from the essential technical considerations for moving image through to the construction of individuals and personal qualities conveyed.
Of course, you're not going to forget Audience or Narrative. Audience and Narrative are central to why any of the above are used in the first place.
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How is the _______ constructed to engage the Audience?
2) How are different techniques used to ________________ ?
3) How does the __________ use typical conventions of ________?
4) How does the ___________ catch and hold the attention of the viewer?
5) How does the __________ imitate the layout/form of ___________?
6) How does the __________use media language to catch the attention of the _____ viewers?
shots
Angles
Movement
Sound
Lighting
Anchorage
Typography
Colour
Address (...as in Mode of Address)
Register
Dress
The Acronym moves from the essential technical considerations for moving image through to the construction of individuals and personal qualities conveyed.
Of course, you're not going to forget Audience or Narrative. Audience and Narrative are central to why any of the above are used in the first place.
Examples of Past Questions:
1) How is the _______ constructed to engage the Audience?
2) How are different techniques used to ________________ ?
3) How does the __________ use typical conventions of ________?
4) How does the ___________ catch and hold the attention of the viewer?
5) How does the __________ imitate the layout/form of ___________?
6) How does the __________use media language to catch the attention of the _____ viewers?
Thursday 5 April 2012
AS Exam Revision Activities
What can you do to help yourself revise?
- Deconstruct texts quickly making bullet point notes under the four headings - Audience, Institution, Representation and Form (Media Language). Do this as a 15-20 minute task to build confidence in analysing unseen texts of all types.Choose text extracts of about 1-2 minutes long
- Concentrate on Moving Image pieces. This means - TV news, Documentary, Sitcom, Game Show, Advert, Channel promotion, Soap Opera, Programme or Film Trailer, Campaign advert, Music Video, Current Affairs, Reality TV as well as Moving Image web content.
- Use sites like Youtube, BBC iPlayer, 4oD, Vimeo and ITV Player to access extracts and example texts. Make sure you get a range of examples from a range of institutions.
- Use some of the following as examples:
Advertising - Sony Xperia - Made of Imagination
TV News - Any BBC/ITV/CH4 News opening with Headlines
Soap Opera - An extract or the Opening from Eastenders or Hollyoaks
Sitcom - Miranda BBC1
Documentary - Panorama - Poor America choose a section or the Opening
Game Show - The Cube ITV1 2 Minute section from 0.48secs or the Opening
Channel Promotion - ITV Drama 2012 Channel Promotion
Trailer - Snow White and the Huntsman
Reality TV - The Voice BBC 1
Come Dine With Me Channel 4
Current Affairs - Newsnight BBC2 Debate on the London Riots
Moving Image Web Content - Youtube Home page
Come Dine With Me Channel 4
Current Affairs - Newsnight BBC2 Debate on the London Riots
Moving Image Web Content - Youtube Home page
- Use the updated Media AS Booklet with example questions to extend your notes into written answers.
- Come to the Revision day - Theory Clinic on Wednesday 9.30
- Do something - even spending 15 minutes analysing one of the texts above will leave you feeling much better than if you do nothing
Tuesday 27 March 2012
MediaEdu Youtube Playlist
Click on the link below to access fantastic video resources and clips on a variety of topics relevant to Media Studies: On Topics such as Advertising and Television; on Media Debates such as Violence, Representation, Feminism and Orientalism; and with Interview clips with figures such as Marshall McLuhan, Edward Said and Stuart Hall.
Media Edu Youtube Playlist
Media Edu Youtube Playlist
Sunday 25 March 2012
Saturday 18 February 2012
Friday 17 February 2012
Big, Fat, Gypsy Wedding: What's wrong with it?
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding (Channel 4) has just returned for another series drawing in one quarter of the audience share for the 9pm viewing slot and 5.6million viewers, more than BBC1 and ITV. The show continues to explore the world of the lavish weddings and the Gypsy and Traveller communities. But the programme is causing controversy on many fronts and can make for uncomfortable viewing.
To start with: the advertising campaign. Displayed along a variety of images on billboards and double page magazine spreads, is the bold text 'Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier.' The argument has been made that this would not be appropriate for any other ethnic group and is therefore a racist comment against the Gypsy and Traveller community. There is a meaning carried by using the superlative term of 'Gypsy' that is inherently negative. Superlatives extend qualities of a 'thing', making it more than it is. Group identity is not usually given a superlative term because it suggests 'extremes' of cultural behaviour, gross exaggeration and playing to the stereotype perception which already exists. None of these connotations are positive.
Now to the show. Documentary has traditional roots in a highly regarded form. Documentary makers of old have wrestled with 'truth'. Like anthropologists, concern was given to documentary style, whether it was purely observational and thus reflected 'reality' as honestly as possible, or whether it was participatory, accepting that the presence of a camera crew has an effect on the subjects.
MBFGW seems to be neither of these. The show presents the same representation of the Traveller and Gypsy community repeatedly, that of the excessive, exaggerated wedding ceremonies.Julie Bindell in the Guardian wrote an article about her experiences of life for traveller women The Truth about Traveller Life and found stories of poverty, abuse and neglect. There is an idea that you can easily find what you want to report on if you go looking for it, but at least it adds to a more balanced picture of a community. This 'documentary' owes more to the high-entertainment value reality shows than it does anything else. It relies heavily upon spectacle, emotional drama and shock. As viewers, we are sent reeling from one image to another, mouths slightly agape. This is not a fair portrayal of a group of people or, for that matter, their weddings (especially as the programme makers like to pick and choose when to focus on a wedding).
It could be argued that the community welcomes Channel 4 into their lives and positively enjoy the spotlight. However, they are not the producers or the decision makers. They do not select or edit footage or construct the subtle, distanced, at times mocking voiceover narration. This is a time when many Gypsy and Traveller groups are caught up in regular clashes with establishment institutions. They have been embroiled in a land ownership battle, suffering a print media backlash. Their Big Brother TV star has been in and out of the news with accusations of criminal behaviour. And in times of economic hardship and high unemployment, the show's recurrent theme is the exorbitant, excessive and 'fantasy' weddings.
Whilst the show may entertain many, provide Channel 4 with impressive ratings, not to mention continue the brand reputation of Ch4 as an innovative, progressive station, the impact of this media representation on a community group cannot be overlooked. Many complaints come from those in the communities themselves with particularly older community members saying that the representations are unrecognisable. Another issue is that for younger members watching the programme, these representations become their 'reality' and the culture begins to mutate and eventually is changed forever, because of an 'entertainment' show broadcast by a national television station.
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Copyright Friendly Wikispaces
Amazing resource on the Copyrightfriendly.wikispace. this site has links to hundreds of free music samples, pictures and sound effects that are part of the Creative Commons and fine for you to use in your productions. A great aspect to mention in your Evaluations as well to show you have considered the important issue of copyright and intellectual property.
Copyright Free Material
Media Studies Resources
Go to Links and Resources page for new document on where you can find information for A2 Critical Investigation or to boost your Exam knowledge and Theory for revision.
Audience as Product
Read this article from Daily Mail and consider your own opinion on the theory that Audiences are increasingly becoming the 'product' - their information and attention being 'sold' to companies.
Facebook is...'ruthlessly selling your soul' by Tom Hodgkinson
Facebook is...'ruthlessly selling your soul' by Tom Hodgkinson
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Advertising Education Foundation superb resource for A2
Advertising Education Foundation is a fantastic resource for any students focusing on Advertising as part of their A2 Critical investigation. The site has extracts from academic texts on advertising and links to many articles and sites commenting on contemporary campaigns.
The link here takes you straight to the book extracts - AEF On Campus Classroom Resources
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Monday 23 January 2012
Thursday 12 January 2012
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Coursework Fonts
For those of you busy doing print coursework tasks just a reminder of those Font sites:
Fontspace - My personal favourite. Very functional and easy to use.
Da Font - Again, functional with 1000's of fonts to choose from.
1001fonts
1001freefonts
For Font matching:
Identifont - match by name, similarity, picture or designer
What the Font - match by submitting an image of your font
Fontspace - My personal favourite. Very functional and easy to use.
Da Font - Again, functional with 1000's of fonts to choose from.
1001fonts
1001freefonts
For Font matching:
Identifont - match by name, similarity, picture or designer
What the Font - match by submitting an image of your font
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Monday 9 January 2012
Sunday 8 January 2012
Essential Material from AQA for MEST 1
Use these links below to download essential AS examination material from AQA:
Key Points from Examiners Report - very useful points to bear in mind for Section A & Section B
Good Section B answers - Example of a well written Section B - Cross Media Study answer.
Additional Sample Questions for Section B - Good questions to bullet-point plan with as a revision exercise for the exam
Specimen Question Paper - Useful question paper with Print Media for Section A
Specimen Examiner Mark Scheme - Read the specific elements the examiner is looking for with a Print Media text.
Key Points from Examiners Report - very useful points to bear in mind for Section A & Section B
Good Section B answers - Example of a well written Section B - Cross Media Study answer.
Additional Sample Questions for Section B - Good questions to bullet-point plan with as a revision exercise for the exam
Specimen Question Paper - Useful question paper with Print Media for Section A
Specimen Examiner Mark Scheme - Read the specific elements the examiner is looking for with a Print Media text.
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