A Level Media Studies 6th form Student Handbook

Media Studies @ CBSC The aims of the course are to:

Enhance your enjoyment and appreciation of the media, and develop an understanding of its role in shaping the world in which we live; Develop a critical understanding of the media through engagement with media products and concepts and through the creative application of practical skills; Explore production processes and new Media technologies through planning and producing your own professional Media texts; Support you in becoming independent through developing your own research skills and applying these to your studies And most importantly for you to succeed and enjoy the course!

Media Studies A Level Staff

Within the MS department you will have specialist teachers who have both completed degrees in areas of the Media and have direct experience of working within the Media. You will also have access to a full time technician who will always offer extra help with your production work beyond lesson time (MS students are welcome to use the Macs in E47 at any time). If you need to contact any of the department please use the email addresses listed below: Mrs Stephanie House- Head of Department, E41 shouse@carshaltonboys.org Ms Becky Germaine- Specialist A Level Media Studies teacher, E31

rgermaine@carshaltonboys.org Mr Jason Fox, Media Studies Technician, E47 jfox@carshaltonboys.org

Media Studies A Level Students

In return for outstanding teaching and access to the latest media technologies, we ask in return that all MS students are:

Organised and always bring all their equipment to each lesson Meet deadlines, producing work which reflects their full ability Gives 100% to the course and carries out extra independent research around topics Enthusiastic, committed and join in fully with all lessons (dont be afraid to voice your opinions!)

A Level Media Studies

The Media Studies course revolve around the four key principles of the Media: Audiences Institutions Representation Forms and Conventions (inc Media Language) In addition to these you will also study: New Media Technologies Textual Analysis of various Media Texts

Structure of the course

AS Level 1 Year A2 Level 2 Years

AS Media Studies 50% Exam (January) Textual Analysis and Representation Institutions and Audiences (Magazine Industry) 50% Coursework (May) Foundation Portfolio produce the opening sequence to a fictional film A2 Media Studies 50% Coursework (January) Advanced Portfolio produce an entire music video and accompanying digipak 50% Exam (June) Critical Perspectives in Media- Exploration of the representation of Britishness in contemporary cinema and television Theoretical Evaluation of Production work- Evaluation of production skills
At CBSC we follow the OCR specification (full details can be found at http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/kd/ocr_9646_kd_gce_spec.pdf )

Coursework
The coursework units at AS and A2 require you to work as part of a production team of four. Each unit requires a large amount of time and organisation to achieve the highest grades. You will carry out preproduction research and planning, production and post-production editing and evaluations. The two units are as follows:
G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media (AS Level) In this coursework unit you will produce the titles and opening sequence of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. You will work as part of a group of four. This process involves progression from a pre-production, preliminary exercise to a more fully realised piece. You will present your research and planning in the form of a blog, which will also showcase your film and post production evaluation. Completed January- May G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media (A2 Level) This coursework unit extends your skills which you developed at AS through engaging with contemporary media technologies to produce a media portfolio; the portfolio will include a complete music video, a digipak (CD/DVD cover) and a print advert for the digipak. You will

present your preproduction research and planning in your own personal blog (which will be a part of your groups blog) Completed June-December

Exams
You will sit two exams during the A level course, one in January of your AS year, and one in June of your A2 year. Each exam is split into two different sections (detailed below). The exam papers are extremely demanding and require a high level of written communication skills; it is essential that you develop your written communication to give you the best possible start in the exams (one way to help you improve your communication is through regularly reading a broadsheet newspaper).
G322: Key Media Concepts and TV Drama (AS Level) This paper covers the two areas of Textual Analysis and Representation alongside Institutions and Audiences. In Section A of the paper, you will answer questions on an unseen moving image extract that is then linked to some aspect of the representation within the sequence. In Section B, you will study the Magazine Industry, and answer a question about how the industry has harness new media technologies through exploring audience interaction with media texts.. G325: Critical Perspectives in Media (A2 Level) This paper covers the two areas of Theoretical Evaluation of Production alongside a study of Contemporary Media Issues. In Section A, you will describe and evaluate your skills development in your production work and then select one production to evaluate in relation to a media concept. In Section B, you will study the representation of Britishness in contemporary film and television, you will need to demonstrate your understanding through discussing a range of texts, institutions, audiences and critical debates.

Useful Websites
The Internet is an extremely useful tool in Media Studies, as each year the course adapts and changes to focus on the current Media climate. This means as an MS student you need to keep up to date with all of the developments on a national and global scale, as well as having a detailed knowledge of the latest Media technologies which are being developed and integrated into our society. http://www.bfi.org.uk/ and http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/bfi (British Film Institution website- all the latest developments in British film) http://www.guardian.co.uk/media http://www.guardian.co.uk/film http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture (The three Guardian websites for Media, Film and Culture) http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/media_studies.shtml (BBC Media educational site- useful tools/resources and links for work experience) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts/ (Latest news on Arts and Media from the BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology/ (Latest news on Media technologies from the BBC) http://www.culture.gov.uk/media/index.aspx (Department of Culture, Media and Sport- the government department which controls Media funding and regulation) http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevel.php

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/index.html http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/ (These three websites are educational websites which offer academic resources to help you with A Level MS)

Resources
Within the MS department you will have access to the latest media technologies including: Apple Macs iPads Digital Video Cameras (and all the accessories required to produce professional films, inc tripods, boom mics, lights, dollys, green screen backdrops) Professional Editing Software (Final Cut Pro) Professional Graphics Design software (Adobe Photoshop)

As a MS student you will be given the opportunity to loan equipment out. As the equipment is extremely valuable it is essential that you follow the loaning protocols and return all equipment, in the condition in which it was loaned, within the allocated time. Failure to do so will jeopardise your place on the course. Any damaged or lost equipment will be replaced by the student who loaned that equipment; therefore if you loan anything out you must not give it to another student as you are fully responsible for it

Career Paths

Students who successfully complete this course can go on to pursue careers in the media including Journalism, Advertising, Film Production and Broadcasting. This course also supports students wishing to go on to study at degree level in subjects such as Psychology, Drama, Art, English, Journalism and Media. Our past students have achieved great success in obtaining places on University courses in the top universities in Britain. If you have a keen interest in pursuing a career in the Media it is essential that you try and secure work experience as soon as you can. Speak to one of your teachers to discuss how to approach this (we already have links with different Media industries, and have had students work as runners on a film set, and work within a top London post production editing company).