pixl gateway: progression
TRANSCRIPT
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PiXLGateway:Progression
- MediaStudies-
WelcometoyourMediaStudiesY11toY12transitionbooklet
AtKS5MediaStudiesisunderpinnedbyfourKEYCONCEPTSthatyouwilllearnabout:
• MEDIALANGUAGE• REPRESENTATION• AUDIENCE• MEDIAINDUSTRIES
AlongsidetheseyouwillalsolearnarangeofDIGITALPRODUCTIONskillsThisbookletisgoingtotakeyouthrougharangeofactivitiesthataredesignedtoprepareyouforstudyingMediaStudiesatKS5Contents
• MediaLanguage p.2checkthese• Representation p.2• MediaIndustries p.3• Audience p.3• MediaProduction pp.4–6
Appendix(DevelopingIndependentResearch)WiderReadingMediaTheoristsMediaTerminologyResearch
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MediaLanguage Medialanguagereferstohowmediaproductscommunicatewithanaudience.Thisismainlydonethroughtheuseofvisuallanguage.Youwillfindthatmediatextscommunicatemeaningthroughtheuseofsignsandsymbols.TerminologyTask-Writeyourowndefinitionsofthesekeymedialanguageterms:• Denotation• Connotation• Representation• Symboliccodes• Targetaudience
• Preferredreading• Polysemy• Encoding• Decoding• Anchorage
TextualAnalysisInorderto understandhowMEDIALANGUAGEworksyouaregoing topractiseanalysingtwodifferentprintadvertsandexplain howmeaningiscreatedwithinthem.Youshouldfindone advertthatrepresentswomeninapositivewayandone advertthatrepresentstheminanegativeway.For eachoftheadvertsyoushouldexplainthefollowing:1.Whatisthetargetaudienceforthetext?Howdoyouknowthis?2.Whatassumptionsabouttheaudienceandtheirvalues/beliefsareimpliedwithinthetext?3.Howmightdifferentaudiencesrespondtothistextindifferentways?4.Howhavetechnicalcodes,suchascamerashotsandangles,andsymboliccodessuchasbodylanguageandfacialexpressions,beenusedtopositiontheaudience?6.Aretheredifferentreadingsofthistext(polysemy)?Whatisthepreferredreading?7.Whyhavetheproducersusedmedialanguagetoconstructthisrepresentationofgender?
Representation
Representationreferstohowthemediaportraysevents,issues,individualsandsocialgroups.ManytheoristssuchasStuartHallandDavidGauntletthaveexploredthenotionthatthemediadonotactuallyreflecttheworld,buttheyshapeitthroughtheirrepresentations.Task:WatchthisshortfilmfromtheYouTubechannel‘TheSchoolofLife’.https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=NwPdAZPnk7kQ.Doyouthinkthemediaofferaudiencesawindowontheworld?
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ProduceaPrezipresentationthatexploresthequestionabove,Youshouldincludeexamplesfrommediatextstosupportyourpoints.
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MediaIndustries Mediaindustriesrefertothebusinessaspectofthemedia.Asmediastudentsyouwillbeexploringhowdifferentmediaindustriesproduce,distributeandmarkettheirproducts.
Researchingkeyterms-Researchthemeaningofthesekeyterms.Youshouldwriteyourowndefinitions(makesureyouunderstandwhatyouarewriting):
• Conglomerate• Oligopoly• Regulation• Synergy• Convergence
• Mainstream• Independent• Ideology• Hegemony• Democracy
Mainstreammediaproductsareoftenproducedbybigglobalconglomeratesthathavealargeamountofpowerwithintheindustry.
Watchthisdocumentaryaboutpressownership:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnbbgUIO4wTask:CarryoutacasestudyresearchtaskintoRupertMurdoch’sNEWSCORP.Aspartofthisyoushouldproduceamind-mapillustratingallofthecompaniestheyownacrossdifferentmediaforms.WriteyourfindingsupasateachingresourcethatcouldbeusedwithGCSEstudentsstudyingMediaOwnership.
AudienceWhatwouldbethepointofanymediatextiftherewasnoaudiencetoconsumeit?WithinMediaStudies‘audience’referstohowdifferentformsofmediatarget,reachandaddressaudiences.Wealsoexplorehowtogrouppeopleintoaudiencesandhowthesegroupsresponddifferentlytodifferentmediatexts.OnewayofgroupingaudiencestogetherisbylookingattheirPSYCHOGRAPHICprofile.Watchthisvideohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhby7s9OJv0andthencarryoutyourownresearchintopsychographicgroupings.Task:ProduceanINFOGRAPHICexplainingthesevendifferentpsychographicgroups.Foreachgroupyoushouldincludeadescriptionoftheirmembers’personalities,examplesofmediatextstheywouldchoosetoconsumeandwhytheywouldchoosethesetexts.
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MediaProductionThenewspecificationsatA-LevelaresplitbetweenexaminedworkandNEA(non-examinedassessment)coursework.ThistypicallyaccountsforonethirdofyourfinalALevelgrade.
Developingyourdigitalproductionskills
Inordertoprepareforthissectionofthecourseyoushouldworkondevelopingyourownproductionskillsoverthesummer.Chooseone(orbothifyouarefeelingambitious)oftheseproductionbriefs:
Brief1:MagazineProductionDesignandcreatethefrontpage,contentspageandadoublepagespreadforanewlifestylemagazineaimedatafashionconscious18-25ABdemographicaudience.Youcanchoosewhetherthiswouldbeamainstreamorindependentmagazine,butwhicheveryouchooseitshouldclearlyfollowtheconventionsofthemediumwithinthatfield.Youshouldthinkcarefullyaboutthefollowingaspects:
• TheNAME–whatisthebrandname?Whataretheconnotationsofthisname?Howdoesitappealtothetargetaudience?Whatdoesitsuggestaboutthemagazine?
• USP(uniquesellingpoint)–whatistheUSPofyourmagazinebrand?Whatgapinthemarketdoesitfill?Whatdoesitoffertheaudiencethatisdifferenttoothercurrentmagazines?
• AUDIENCE–howareyougoingtoappealtothetargetaudience?• WhatUSESandGRATIFICATIONSdoesthemagazineoffertheaudience?• CONTENT–whatissuesareexploredwithinthemagazine?Howarethecontents
organisedintodifferentsectionsinthecontentspage?• AESTHETICSTYLE–whatcolourpalettesandtypefacehaveyouchosentorepresent
thebrandandappealtothetargetaudience?Whatmainimagehaveyouchosenforthecoverpagetograbtheaudience’sattentionandcommunicatethegenreofthemagazine?
Brief2:MusicVideoProductionShootandeditthefirstminuteofamusicvideoforanysongofyourchoice.Yourvideocaneitherbeanarrativevideo,performancebasedoramixofboth.Whichevergenreyouchoosetoworkin,youmustremembertoclearlyencodegenresignifiersthroughoutthefootage.Youshouldalsothinkcarefullyaboutthefollowingaspects:
• CAMERASHOTS,ANGLESandMOVEMENTS–howdotheseengagetheaudienceandworkwiththegenreofmusic?Rememberthecameraneedstokeepmovingtokeeptheaudienceinterested.
• MISE-EN-SCENE–howhaveyouincludedprops,locationsandsettingstoengagetheaudienceandcommunicatethegenre?
• WhatUSESandGRATIFICATIONSdoesthemusicvideooffertheaudience?Whywouldtheyenjoywatchingthis?
• HowhaveyouconstructedaSTARPERSONAinthemusicvideo?• HaveyouthoughtcarefullyaboutLIPSYNCINGandmatchingthevisualsandmusic?
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DevelopingyourDigitalTechnologySkills Alargepartofthemediaworldinvolvesembracingdigitaltechnologies.DevelopmentsintechnologiesandadvancementsofWeb2.0meansaudiencesarenowbecomingproducersoftheirownmediaproducts,fromshootinganduploadingtheirownfilmsonYouTube,todesigningandmaintainingtheirownblogs.Asaconfidentmediaproducer,youshouldusethesummerholidaystofamiliariseyourselfwiththetechnologieslistedbelow,andhavesomefunproducingyourown.
1. Blogging-Createyourownblogtorecordyoursummeradventureswww.blogger.com
2. GraphicDesign-CreateyourowngraphicdesignproductsandvideosusingAdobeSparkhttps://spark.adobe.com/home
3. Sharinganddistributingyourowncontent-CreateyourownYouTubechanneltouploadyourownvideos,andthensharewithfriendsandfamilyhttps://www.youtube.com
4. Websitecreation-Createyourownwebsitehttps://www.wix.com/
TEDTalks
HereisalistoflinkstoTEDtalksthatareconnectedtotheconceptsexploredwithinMediaStudies:https://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_newshttps://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_social_media_and_the_end_of_genderhttps://www.ted.com/talks/david_puttnam_what_happens_when_the_media_s_priority_is_profitTEDTalksPlaylisthttps://www.ted.com/playlists/21/media_with_meaningYoushouldwatchthevideosaboveandthinkaboutthekeypointsraisedineachone.AnalyticalTask:Writeablurbexplainingwhateachtalkisabout,andthenaddyourthoughtsonthistalk.CreativeTask:ProduceyourownstyleTEDtalkexploringoneofthekeyMediaconcepts(outlinedinthisbooklet)thatinterestsyou.Ifyoudon’twanttofilmyourselfyoucoulddoitasa‘DrawmyLife’stylevideo.Youcoulduseawebsitesuchaswww.powtoon.comtohelpyouproducethis.
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APPENDIX(DevelopingIndependentStudy)
WiderReading
MediaTheory
ResearchingMediaTechnicalCodes
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WiderReading Assixthformstudentsitisessentialthatyoudevelopyourindependentlearningskillsandcarryoutwiderreadingaroundyoursubject.HereisalistofbooksandwebsiteswhichwillhelpyouprepareforthetheoreticalaspectoftheMediaStudiescourse.
BooksMedia,GenderandIdentitybyDavidGauntlettFeminismisforEverybodybybellhooksFeministMediaStudiesbyLiesbetvanZoonenGenderTroublebyJudithButlerAfterEmpirebyPaulGilroyThereAin'tNoBlackInTheUnionJackPaulGilroyMediaRegulationbyLuntandLivingstoneHereComesEverybodybyClayShirkyCognitiveSurplus:CreativityandGenerosityinaConnectedAgebyClayShirkyRepresentation:CulturalRepresentationsandSignifyingPracticesEditedbyStuartHallPowerwithoutResponsibility:Press,BroadcastingandtheInternetinBritainbyJamesCurranTheCulturalIndustriesbyDavidHesmondhalghConvergenceCulture:WhereOldandNewMediaCollidebyHenryJenkins
WebsitesTheMediaGuardian:https://www.theguardian.com/uk/mediaEMC’sMediaMagazine:https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine(wellworthsubscribingto)BritishFilmInstitute:http://www.bfi.org.uk/UniversityGuidetoMediacourses:https://www.topuniversities.com/courses/communication-media-studies/guide
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MediaTheoristsDuringtheMediaStudiescourseyouwillencountermanymediatheoriststhathavestudiedvariousareasofthemedia.Inordertogiveyouaheadstartyoushouldresearchasmanyofthesetheoristsaspossibleandproduceadocumentthatoutlinestheirkeytheorieslinkedwitheachoftheconceptsbelow:
MediaLanguageSemiology–RolandBarthesNarratology–TodorovGenreTheory–SteveNealeStructuralism–ClaudeLevi-StraussPostmodernism–Baudrillard
MediaRepresentationsTheoriesofRepresentation–StuartHallTheoriesofIdentity–DavidGauntlettFeministTheory–VanZoonenFeministTheory–bellhooksTheoriesofGenderPerformativity–ButlerTheoriesAroundEthnicity,andPost-ColonialTheory–Gilroy
MediaIndustriesPowerandMediaIndustries–JamesCurranandJeanSeatonRegulation–LivingstoneandLuntCulturalIndustries–Hesmondhalgh
MediaAudiencesMediaEffects–BanduraCultivationTheory–GeorgeGerbnerReceptionTheory–StuartHallFandom–HenryJenkins‘EndofAudience’Theories–ClayShirky
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InvestigatingTechnicalCodes BelowisalistofkeytechnicaltermsthatwillsupportyouwithinyourMediaStudiescourse.Tohelpyouprepare for thecourseyoushouldbeginby researchingandwritingyourowndefinitionofthekeytermsbelow.Youcouldalsoincludetheeffectofthetechnicalcode.
Camerawork and photography create meaning and communicatemessagesthrough:
FramingMediumshot Close-up Longshot Mediumclose-up Extremeclose-up Mediumlongshot Establishingshot Overhead Pointofview(POV) Two-shot Overshouldershot
AnglesHighangle Lowangle Cantedangle(Dutch)
MovementStatic Pan Whippan Tilt Track Dolly Crane Hand-held(Steadicam®) Zoom Aerial
CompositionAspectratio Ruleofthirds Depthoffield(deepandshallowfocus)
Focuspulls
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ColourWarm Cold Blackandwhite Monochromaticpalette Exposure Filters ColourHue
VisualEffectsGreen/bluescreen Computer-generatedimagery(CGI)
Slowmotion Fastmotion Freezeframe
Lightingisusedtocreatemeaningandcommunicatesmessagesthrough:
DirectionandShadowsOverheadlighting Underlighting Sidelighting
ColourWarm Cold Natural
QualityHardlighting Softlighting Highkey Lowkey
Editingtechniquescreatemeaningandcommunicatemessagesthrough:
NarrativesequencingContinuityediting Non-continuityediting 180degreerule Cutaways Shot/reverseshot Eyelinematch
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Actionmatch Cross-cutting Flashbackorflashforward Intercutting Parallelediting Ellipticalediting Montage
TransitionsContinuitycuts Jumpcuts Fadeinandfadeout Wipe Dissolve
Soundcreatesmeaningandcommunicatesmessagesthrough:Diegeticsound Non-diegeticsound Ambientsound Synchronoussound Asynchronoussound Foleysound Soundbridges
MusicSoundtrack Score Incidentalmusic Thememusic Sound/musicalmotifs
DialogueVoice-over Modeofaddress Directaddress Accent
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