AS Media Studies revison guide 2

Revision guide: What is your exam all about?
Name: AS G322: Key Media Concepts (TV Drama)
Purpose:
•to assess candidates’ media textual analysis skills and their understanding of the concept of representation using a short unseen moving image extract (AO1, AO2);
•second to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media institutions and their production processes, distribution strategies, use of technologies and related issues concerning audience reception and consumption of media texts (AO1, AO2):

Length: The examination is two hours (including 30 minutes for viewing and making notes on the moving image extract) and candidates are required to answer two compulsory questions.

Marks: The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with each question marked out of 50.

Content: There are two sections to this paper:

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (50 marks)

Section B: Institutions and Audiences (50 marks)

Section A explained: Textual Analysis and Representation
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.
•Gender
•Age
•Ethnicity
•Sexuality
•Class and status
.Physical ability/disability
•Regional identity

REVISION GUIDE:
•DEFINE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF ALL THESE ASPECTS OF REPRESENTIONS.
•FIND A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EXAMPLE OF EACH OF THESE ASPECTS FROM A VARIETY OF BRITISH DRAMAS
•ANALYISE HOW THE REPRESENTAION WAS ACHIEVED (WHICH TECHNICAL AREAS AND HOW TRY TO USE EACH ONE)
•BULLET POINT HOW MEANING WAS CREATED FOR THE AUDIENECE

You must prepare in advance of the examination, using a range of examples from texts from the genre stated below, to demonstrate textual analysis of all of the following technical areas of moving image language and conventions in relation to the unseen extract:
• Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition
• Mise-en-Scène
• Editing
• Sound

REVISION GUIDE
•MAKE A LIST OF ALL OF THE SHOTS TYPES , ANGLES AND MOVEMENTS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF
•SKETCH AN EXAMPLE OF THE DIFFERENT SHOTS
•WRITE A BRIEF EXPALNATION OF COMPOSTITION AND LIST THE RULES AND WHAT THEY MEAN
•LIST THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDITING TECHNIQUES, TRANSTITIONS AND EFFECTS THAT YOU CAN USE
•FINALLY LIST THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOUND AND WHAT THEIR FUNCTIONS AND EFFECTS ARE

The focus of study for Section A is the use of technical aspects of the moving image medium to create meaning for an audience, focussing on the creation of representations of specific social types, groups, events or places within the extract. It is not necessary to study the history of the genre specified.

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE REVISION WITH THIS LIST AND SEE WHAT YOU HAVE MISSED
DO NOT CHEAT AS THIS IS A REVISION GUIDE AND CHEATING WILL NOT HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU NEED TO COVER IN MORE DEPTH

Technical areas to be covered:
Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition
• Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot,
wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot,
and variations of these.
• Angles: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
• Movements: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom,
reverse zoom.
• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus,
focus pulls.

Editing
Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.
• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.


Sound
• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.
• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène
• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.
• Lighting; colour design.

It is acknowledged that not every one of the above technical areas will feature in equal measure in any given extract. Therefore examiners are instructed to bear this in mind when marking the candidates’ answers and will not expect each aspect will be covered in the same degree of detail, but as appropriate to the extract provided and to the discussion of representation.
Candidates should be prepared to discuss, in response to the question, how these technical elements create specific representations of individuals, groups, events or places and help to articulate specific messages and values that have social significance.
This means that you are not expected to find meaning in things that do have them. There will be obvious examples in the extract of how some the technical areas have been used to create a specific representation so concentrate on them instead of looking for something that isn’t there.

LOOKING AT THE ABOVE NOW MAKE A LIST OF THE AREAS THAT YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON LIST THEM HERE TO SHOW TO ME AT OUR ONE-TO-ONE REVISION MEETING

Section B: Institutions and Audiences
One compulsory question to be answered by candidates based upon a case study of a specific media industry.
• Film
Through specific case studies of the centre’s choice, candidates should be prepared to demonstrate understanding of contemporary institutional processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange/exhibition at a local, national or international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption.
There should also be some emphasis on the students’ own experiences of being audiences of a particular medium.
You should be prepared to understand and discuss the following
• processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions
• the nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and institutions.
You should also be familiar with:
• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (Downloading and illegal internet distribution)

• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (companies joining together to produce new products, ‘extras’ and new ways of consuming products- examples include digital animation, social networking sites, magazines, big name soundtracks etc add to this list if you can)
• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (New editing and digital production techniques, digital animation, cameras and special effects, digital distribution, read section in worksheet on new distribution techs, internet marketing, mobile phone marketing the new media technologies that have been introduced)
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;
• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (Technology joining together – phones that play films, computers that play music, IPODS etc, how has this technology changed the way we watch films, the things that we like to have to go with films and how institutions have to respond to these)
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (Globalisation, domination of the market, no place for independent film making, no money available for British film makers or no way of getting films seen due to distribution practises, lack of choice for audiences – what to see and where and when they can see it)
• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (HOW DO YOU WATCH FILMS? WHAT TYPES OF FILMS DO YOU WATCH IN CERTAIN WAYS? IS THERE A TREND? DO YOUR FRIENDS FOLLOW THIS
• This unit should be approached through contemporary examples in the form of case studies based upon one of the specified media areas. Examples may include the following:
Film
A study of a specific studio or production company within a contemporary film industry that targets a British audience (eg Hollywood, Bollywood, UK film), including its patterns of production, distribution, exhibition and consumption by audiences. This should be accompanied by study of contemporary film distribution practices (digital cinemas, DVD, HD-DVD, downloads, etc) and their impact upon production, marketing and consumption.

This is your case study and should form the basis of your answer to this section of the exam. You should be able to give fully justified examples from both Working Title & Film 4. The question will ask you answer in relation to the study that you have carried out so be sure to use your research and to reflect your answer back to the institution that you have studied.

GET YOUR HEADS IN THE NOTES, THERE IS 3 LESSONS LEFT UNTIL THE EXAM!!!!!
EMAIL ME IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER HELP AT ANY TIME, NINA