AS Media Studies

G322: Key Concepts in MediaSection A: TV DRAMA

Date: 25/02/2014 Term Sp2, Lesson 1 1

TV Dramas

• What can you remember about the 2 following words?

• Write your answers in your books

Connect

VerisimilitudeRepresentation

Discovery Question

Date Term ?, Lesson ? 3

Discover

• What is a TV DRAMA and why is REPRESENTATION so important in

it?

Date Term ?, Lesson ? 4

Learning Objective/ Outcome Level

All: Will understand the exam question and be able to relate it to TV Dramas

Level 2

Most: Will explain the uses Camerawork, Editing, Sound and MES in a TV Drama to create Representation

Level 3

Some: Will analyse the the uses Camerawork, Editing, Sound and MES in a TV Drama to create Representation

Level 4

Discover

G322 Media Exam

• Textual Analysis and Representation:

– Camera shots– Camera Angle– Movement and Composition– Editing– Sound– Mise-en-Scene

Discover

G322 Media Exam

• The purpose of these units is first to assess candidates’ media textual analysis skills and their understanding of the concept of representation using a short unseen moving image extract

Discover

Section A

• An ‘unseen’ moving image extract with one compulsory question dealing with textual analysis of various technical aspects of the languages and conventions of moving image media.

• Candidates will be asked to link this analysis with a discussion of some aspect of representation within the sequence.

Discover

Section A

• The focus of study for Section A is the use of technical aspects of the moving image medium to create meaning for an audience, focusing on the creation of representations of specific social types, groups, events or places within the extract.

Discover

Exam Structure

Watching the unseen moving image extract

• You will be allowed two minutes to read the question for Section A before the extract is screened.

• The extract will be screened four times.

– First screening: watch the extract; no notes are to be made this time.– Second screening: watch the extract and make notes. • There will be a brief break for note-making.– Third and fourth screening: watch the extract and make notes

• There will be a brief break for note-making after the third and fourth screenings.

• Your notes for Section A are to be written in the answer booklet provided and must be handed in at the end of the examination.

• Rule a diagonal line through your notes afterwards.

Discover

7 KEY AREAS FOR TOPIC

• Gender• Age• Ethnicity• Sexuality• Class and status• Physical ability/disability• Regional identity

Discover

In exploring representation you need to establish....

• What view of people or issues is being conveyed to audiences?

• How far is that view conveyed?• How far are audiences positioned to take up a

preferred view?• How far do the representations challenge or

conform to dominant representations and ideologies?

Representation

• Representation refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.

• A key aspect in the study of representation concern is with the way in which representations are made to seem ‘natural’.

Representation

• Media is all about taking reality (real life) and re-presenting it to an audience in a different way. This might be a re-presentation of real life e.g. BBC news, a manipulation of real life e.g. The Only Way is Essex or Made in Chelsea, or a fictional account e.g. Eastenders or Coronation Street.

• All Media has a base in reality and the way we see different events or characters can have a real impact on the way we feel about a group of people or a major issue.

Representation

• Representation plays a major role in our enjoyment of a Media text. The audience reads and decodes information in a number of ways, and this helps them to understand who a character is or what they might be feeling.

• The audience is also influenced by what they see represented on screen

• Look at the following TV characters – how do they make you feel about them?

Stereotypes

• The easiest way for the audience to relate to a character or characters is to use Stereotypes

• Stereotypes are when a character is created using a common set of ideas about a group of people. These ideas can be both positive and negative and can influence the way we view groups of people

Stereotypes

• Whenever we look at a character on screen we need to work out who they are representing.

• This is how Stereotypes work – they arew a simple way of recognising a character quickly for an audience

• An ARCHEOTYPE is a developed character – a character that builds from a stereotype.

Approaching the Question

• It is very difficult to discuss a ‘plan’ for Question 1 when the topic and extract are unseen!

• What we can do is practice the tools that will help for every question

Date Term ?, Lesson ? 20

Approaching the Question

• Some important rules:– You must talk about each area of CAMERAWORK,

MISE-EN-SCENE, EDITING and SOUND to get a Level 3 or 4

– You should discuss one point at a time and move on

– Use P.E.A parargraphs to help you make relevant points

Date Term ?, Lesson ? 21

Approaching the Question

Date Term ?, Lesson ? 22