The Suspense Thriller - Charles Derry - extracts

Representation - Go through resources in preparation for Thursday 10th March

Below are two very detailed presentations taking you through Representation Theory.
Read and make notes (particularly questions you may have) ahead of next Thursday's lesson.

We will go through this carefully.

First, you can use the excellent structure I gave you a couple of weeks ago:

Representation from jphibbert1979

Representation theories from Great Baddow High School Media

UPDATE: I HAVE JUST FOUND THIS ONE WHICH IS ALSO VERY HELPFUL:

Representation A2 from reigatemedia

NARRATIVE: Revise / Consolidate

Fancy a University lecture?

HALF-TERM INDEPENDENT STUDY

1. Consolidation: Read the Daniel Chandler's introduction to Genre Theory.
Annotate / highlight, then write one or two paragraphs explaining what points you will be able to incorporate into your 1b essay.

2. Narrative theory:
a/ Read the chapter in your textbook and complete your class notes.
b/  Exam practice: Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions. [25 marks]

3. Consolidation: Cultivation Theory

Read the extract below:

Genre Theory - Wider reading (and watching)

Once again Mrs G black has gathered lots of different resources on Genre theory to help you enlarge your understanding of the concept.


See link below:
https://mrsblacksmedia2.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/year-13-key-concepts-genre/





ALSO, DO NOT FORGET TO GO TO MEDIA KNOW-ALL:
http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/alevelkeycon.php?pageID=genre


Your first stop for all key concepts.


Why not start here?
Do genres in the cinema really exist and if so, can they be defined?

“Genres isn’t a word that pops up in every conversation about films or every review – but the idea is second nature to the movies and our awareness of them. Movies belong to genres much the way people belong to families or ethnic groups. Name one of the classic, bedrock genres – Western, comedy, musical, war film, gangster picture, science fiction, horror – and even the most casual moviegoer will come up with a mental image of it, partly visual, partly conceptual” (Richard T. Jameson, They Went Thataway, 1994, p. IX).

“The master image for genre criticism is the triangle composed of artist/film/audience. Genres may be defined as patterns/form/styles/structures which transcend individual films, and which supervise both their construction by the filmmaker, and their reading by an audience” (Tom Ryall, quoted by Stephen Neale, Genre, 1980, p. 7).

“…genre can be defined as a structural pattern which embodies a universal life pattern or myth in the materials of language… Genre is universal, basic to human perceptions of life” (John Cawelti, The Six-gun Mystique, 1975, p. 30).

As Barry Keith Grant writes in the introduction of his genre reader, “the work of defining film genres is surprisingly difficult and complex’” [1] because “…recognition of the importance of genre in the cinema is a relatively recent development….although chronologically it narrowly predates the early work of auteur criticism.” [2] Grant takes notice that until the late 1940s and early 1950s – when Robert Warshow and genre pioneer André Bazin wrote the first significant essays on film genre (about gangster movies and about the Western) – films were only distinguished by a phrase (for example, ‘a war movie’) “used as a convenient label to give one an idea of what the story was like, what to expect generally from a film.” [3] As before in literature, in painting and in other forms of art, “genre became a critical term, providing another conceptual framework for understanding movies.” [4] A genre classification can also double as a precise commercial study because it evokes certain audience expectations and therefore it allows one to establish classifications, comparisons, balance-sheets, valuations for the future and so on. Although it has been helpful for cinema studies, classifying films in accordance with their genre remains a difficult and risky endeavor because genre ‘impurity’ is by now, some twenty years after the solidification of genre study, a constant characteristic and a usual practice of the cinema as art and as industry.

Extract from: Offscreen.com

Music Industry: Then and Now - Resources

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry


And for much more information, see this post from Mrs G. Black for her students. So much there for you!


https://mrsblacksmedia2.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/year-12-music-industry-how-the-industry-works/


ALSO, DO NOT FORGET TO READ THIS:
20 things you must know about music online
http://newmusicstrategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/nms.pdf
(Link also available on the right-hand side)

More on Audience Theory - updating your notes for Thursday 28th January

1. Firstly, watched again the videos in the post below in the light of our discussion today.
Add to your notes on Audience Theory in your files.

I will be checking your notes next week.

2. A few starters mentioned today ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/gun-violence-are-video-games-really-the-problem

Charlie Brooker's How TV Ruined Your Life?


David Gauntlett names 10 things wrong with Media Effects Theory:

3. The following powerpoint presentations will also help consolidate your understanding and stretch your knowledge further:

The Class PPT:

Effects and audiences lesson 2 from parkhighcpd

Further PPTs on Audience Theory

Audience from Andy Wallis

PPT on Moral panics:

Moral panicsnew from smcmediastudies

On Hegemony / marxist reading of texts:

Marxism and hegemony from Andy Wallis

4. Start a detailed brainstorm of how to apply audience theory to your thriller opening for NEXT THURSDAY.

HOMEWORK FOR THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY

We need to start studying for the exam units and we will start with some key media concepts and the theories around them.

We will start with Audience Theory. To that purpose and because we are behind, please watch the following videos before next Thursday and make some brief notes about each one. 

You can do that on paper in your folders. 

Bring your folders from now on to every lesson.

Media Theory Revision

Representation theory from Andy Wallis

Revision Guide A2 Media OCR from reigatemedia

1b. Media Languages essay plan and theory from aquinasmedia

Media language 2014 from Liz Davies

G325 a media theory and theorists_sectiona- from gdsteacher

Quick representation and narrative revision from Andy Wallis

Narrative from Andy Wallis

Marxism and hegemony from Andy Wallis

Audience from Andy Wallis

Audience Theory and Media Effects Debate

Please have a look at the twitter fed for links to to videos mentioned in class.

And here is Charlie Brooker's How TV Ruined Your Life, series 1 episode 1 (look for the Cultivation Theory Bit around 15')





May I take this chance to remind you to read up on this topic! We have great books in the library and the Media pod. I'll show you some titles / recommended chapters in next lesson.

Article links for Monday's lesson (27/01/14)

These are the links for the reading you are required to do for your lesson on Monday (27th Jan 2014).
There is also a video below too.

I have also added a folder to 'Media Resources' on the media drive called 'infographs' that contain useful stats in a graphical format.

Bjork on the evolving music industry

How Spotify made Lorde a superstar

Fan funded Album

Music download number fall

HMV launches digital service

Spotify merges with social media

itunes is no digital vampire

We're at the pointy end of labels' activities'

Re-posting: Gauntlett and Jenkins

FIRST WATCH THIS: David Gauntlett.

If it doesn't work, go directly there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNqgXbI1_o8

And this even better one!

Now read this:
Gauntlett interviewed by Henry Jenkins (from Jenkins' blog). Scan to find the relevant bits but look closely at part 3!

Studying Creativity in the Age of Web 2.0: An Interview with David Gauntlett (Part 1)

Studying Creativity in the Age of Web 2.0: An interview with David Gauntlett (Part Two)

Studying Creativity in the Age of Web 2.0: An interview with David Gauntlett (Part Three)

Moving on to Henry Jenkins, have a look at this:
Jenkins' post from his blog, Confessions of an Aca-Fan

Particularly watch this video!!!



And if you can this one:


Henry Jenkins is in London talking about his new book, Spreadable Media, and much more! He was interviewed by David Gauntlett on Tuesday night. Search #digitaltrans on Twitter for nuggets from the talk.
Someone has helpfully provided a rough transcript of what was said. You can read it here:

Henry Jenkins' talk

And here are poor videos of that talk.


Link to the Lost Zombies Project website
And here someone explains the project:




Here is a link to an article about the Palestinian protestors who dressed up as Avatar characters

Here is a link to the Harry Potter Alliance website that Jenkins mentions.

Section B: Revise and consolidate - Make links

This is a re-posting of a revision / exam prep exercise that we did last year on We Media. It is an exercise that focuses you on one of your chosen 'media areas' and forces you to link everything together. It is a kind of oral rehearsal of your essay.  Have a look first:

Here is the first part of a response to the question about the extent to which new media can enrich democracy, by Josh and Matthew.
They focused on the Social networking / citizen journalism angle which could be the first half (or 2/3) of the essay.

The boys are very clear and specific in places but less certain or vague in others. Also, there are a few more theory 'ingredients' that could be added and a mention of blogs.

Help create the ultimate answer by adding your comments below in response to what you hear.
What is good and why?
What is vague and needs clarification?
What's missing?
What could have been linked differently?
What theory could have been included and applied to the examples?

Of course you don't have to address all the above questions but make a start where you think it's most needed.

Now is your turn. Two pairs to focus on Video-sharing platform and participatory culture. Two pairs to focus on music industry in the online age.

Question 1a and Question 1b - Past questions and Exam Advice from Pete Fraser

Here are ALL previous questions for each element, from the exams in Jan and June 2010 and Jan 2011 and 2012.

Section A 

1a
Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time.

Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Describe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these decisions made a difference to the final outcomes.
 
1b

Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.

Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre.

Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions.

Analyse media representation in one of your coursework production.

Explain how meaning is constructed by the use of media language in one of your coursework production.

How to approach question 1a
How to approach question 1b

Q1a - Creativity

Rahul, Snehal and Samir:

Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.


Sharenieka and Carmela:

Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Mathura:'

Describe how you developed your understanding of conventions and evaluate how this knowledge contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Aymen and Aruran:

Describe how you developed your skills in post production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.