Section A:

Theoretical Evaluation of Production

(50 marks)

1a (25 marks)

1b (25 marks)

Section A - Question 1a
(25 marks)
1a is entirely concerned about SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, but the area that comes up
will be quite specific.

1a) (25 marks)

You will answer a question describing and evaluating your
practical skills development from AS to A2.
The questions will focus on one and/or two of the following:
Digital Technology
Post-production
Creativity*
Research and Planning
Using Conventions from real media texts

You will notice that most of the above were areas that you covered in the
evaluation task at the end of each of your productions.
This time, you are putting together ideas and looking back across all your
production work and reflecting on how you developed across the course.

Past Paper: Jan 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYWmNv2Y-ag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJkHTAyh8P4

Watch these 2 examples of Media work.

1) Compare and discuss what you think they researched and how is this
EVIDENCED in their creativity?
2) Compare and discuss what planning you think went into their work,
and how is this EVIDENCED in their creativity?

How did your research and planning develop from 12 to 13 and how did this
contribute to your CREATIVITY?
R and P in Yr12

R and P in Yr13

MECS
media language

M
E
C
S
G
R
A
N
GRAN

genre, representation
audience, narrative

Creativity in 12
MECS

media language

M
E
C
S
G
R
A
N

GRAN

genre, representation
audience, narrative

Creativity in 13

Past Paper: June 2010

Past Paper: Jan 2011

examiners' tips
You only have 30mins for the question and you really need to
make the most of that time by quickly moving fromdescription
(so the reader knows what you did) toanalysis/evaluation/
reflection, so they start to understand what you learnt!
Practice!!!!! Try to write an essay on each of the areas, or at
the very least doing adetailed plan with lots of examples. The
fact that it is a 30 minute essay makes it very unusual, so you
need to be able to tailor your writing to that length-a tough
task!

digital technology

research/planning

post-production

creativity

real media text conventions

1. Digital

Technology

 What does Digital Technology actually mean?

Brainstorm the term, and then define in your own words...

Digital
Technology

Digital Technology refers to hardware, software and online

technology, so the cameras, the computers, the packages you
used and the programs online that you have worked with.
It is worth considering how all this inter-links

David Gauntlett and Media 2.0 Theory

With the internet, broadband
YouTube, cheap cameras etc
The Audience are much more
participatory, and less PASSIVE
Watch YouTube clips and make notes
on Gauntlett's ideas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWNXg7Vt-ig&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNqgXbI1_o8

Using a Website (digital technology)

How has a web based approach changed your
a) organisation,
b) creativity
c) presentation/professionalism of work?

vs
How has time played a factor in the relationship between digital
technologies, your skills, and your production work?

tape camera vs flip camera

basic tools vs advanced tools

(basic)print software vs
(advanced) moving image/sound
software

Digital technology turns

media consumers into
media producers.
Discuss what you think this quote means
How does it relate to you and your work?

What experience do you have with using PCs for

a practical project?

What experience do you have with using a Mac for

a practical project?

You all have experience of these two different

computer platforms - how can you write
about a comparison between the two in terms
of:a) digital technology
b) creativitiy
c) research and planning
d) Post-production

To what extent do you agree with the following:-

"Digital technology hinders

creativity?"
"To what extent does DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY make
CREATIVITY too easy that no skills arereally developed?"

For example....

Technology
Premiere
Photoshop
Garage Band
DSLR
Flip Cameras
YouTube
Weebly
GoPro

Advantages

Disadvantages

Marshall McLuhan and Technological Determinism

"the medium is the message"

What does this famous quote mean?
Consider to what extent the technology you have used has shaped
your practical work - what would your work look like if it was PRINT
BASED done on a PC using Microsoft WORD, compared to
producing a film on a camera using Final Cut Pro on an iMac?

In your opinion does TECHNOLOGY alter SOCIETY and people?

You: Producer
Timeline of Your Practical Skills Development
Think of each and every project you have completed since you
started media studies (way back to GCSE if you did it....you can
also include any creative production tasks that you may have done
outside of the subject in your own time)
Draw up a timeline and start to list the technologies (inc. level,
tools etc) you used for each project.
pre-production --- production --- post-production

e.g - Bilan

Premier - advanced
After effects?
Photoshop?
Garageband?
Green screen?

Timeline of Your Practical

Skills Development

Used Publisher?
Word/Hand drawn?

weebly

Premier

storyboard
drawing skills

Year 10

Year 11

AS practical
plan

GCSE Media people only

prod

A2 practical
post

plan

prod

post

GCSE
(year 10/11
if you did it!)

AS (year 12)

film opening
prelim

A2 (year 13)

ancillary texts
teaser

evaluation

so how would you organise an answer?

paragraph 1 should be an introduction which explains which projects you did. It can
be quite short.
paragraph 2 should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your
starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated.
use an example.
paragraph 3 should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you
learned and developed through these. again there should be examples to support all
that you say.
paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects,
again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves
forward for you from your early position.
paragraph 5 short conclusion
Remember it's only half an hour and you need to range across all your work!

digital technology & creativity

In your own experience, how has your

crea%vity developed through using

digital technology

coursework produc0ons?

to complete your

2.
Post-Production
pre-production

production

post-production

Post-production would actually fall under digital technology as well, so if

it comes up it would probably represent an expansion of points you'd
make in one section of digital technology (i.e Premiere/After Effects).
It is really about everything you do after constructing the raw materials
for your production; so once you have shot your video, what do you do
to it when editing (sound included!).

AS - A2:
Filming the 'edit', not thinking of the postproduction process and literately trying to
complete the film through 'raw' footage....?
Do you now film with editing in mind?

CuttingEdge editingP1

Watch the short documentary on editing and the job of editors. What
quotes on editing/post-production can you take from it.
How important is this stage of production? Is it more than just 'cutting'

AS

AS PRELIM:
basic cutting - sequence

AS FILM OPENING:
location limitations? In school?
image manipulation (tint, colour, b/c)?
basic titles?
editing for effect?

A2

Animated/advanced titles - motion

After Effects - advanced visual effects
layering - combining Photoshop? Ident?
Green screening
Image manipulation - fish eye removal/
stabiliser
Sound! - audio effects/manipulation

3. creativity
Creativity is likely to appear somewhere in the exam question, usually
combined with one of the other 4 areas.
Therefore it's not only necessary to understand WHAT exactly
creativity is, but how it can be COMBINED with these other areas, and
then linked to YOUR AS-A2 work.

can creativity be taught? does it come naturally?

are you creative?

what is creativity?
how original are your ideas?

have your ideas/work become more creative over time (why?)

CREATIVITY and the MIND

Psychoanalysis and the Media
Where did your initial ideas come from?

SUBCONSCIOUS?

d
u
e
r

COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS?

g
n
Ju

Creativity is the hardest one in many ways because it involves thinking

about what the creative process might mean.
Wikipedia describes it as "a mental process involving the discovery of new ideas, or
new-associations of existing ideas."

creative work derivative..

goodideas

How do these short films relate to that quote? What exactly is being said in both
about the creative process and coming up with ideas?
(reference in the exam if necessary)

Kirby Ferguson - Everything is a remix

Take notes on how

creativity is discussed
in the documentary.
Does it agree with what we have looked
at so far?
Can you see any link to your own ideas work process?
Where did your ideas originate from?
Was there influence?

For your projects it might involve considering:

where your creative ideas came from,

how you worked collaboratively to share creative ideas,
how did you respond to each creative brief?
how you used tools like the programs to achieve something imaginative.

AS Prelim - creativity was restricted

AS film opening/A2 teaser trailer - creativity was open

A2 evaluation - creativity was demanded!!!

4.

PLANNING &
RESEARCH
*what's the difference?

Research refers to looking at real media and

audiences to inform your thinking about a media
production and also how you record all that
research;

Planning refers to all the creative thinking and all

the organisation that goes on putting the
production together, and again gives you the
chance to write about how you kept records of it.

RESEARCH
and
PLANNING
Watch two pieces of Practical Work from another student (1AS & 1A2) and
compare them.
Now consider a couple of your own practical pieces:1) Why bother finding out what your audiences want and not just make your own work/film
regardless???
2) What Methods have you approached? eg., Audience Feedback, qualitative and quantative
research?
3) How has the way you plan changed over the two years? Give detailed examples. eg.,
Library to Youtube etc?

Research & Planning

and
Digital Technology
assembly and
organisation of
work

primary
research outlet

specific to media
texts - i.e
film openings
teaser trailers

pre-production
green screen experiments?
Go-pro test shoots?

rough shots?
location photos

Planning - links to
creativity.....
Storyboards: Did these help with creative
and original shots?
Scripts: Added realism? Made dialogue
sound more professional? Actions controlled?
Location/costume/props: Did getting out of
day-to-day clothes and beyond the school
gates make your work look more
creative/believable?

you 'create' your world!

 Has the research & planning demand increased since you started Media?
What result has this had on your work - see examples below:
Has your opinion on the importance of research and planning changed?

AS

A2

"You should feel free to acknowledge weaknesses

and to reflect upon how you learned from them
and how you overcame problems. It is not a place
to be defensive about your work but to really
reflect on it!" OCR
Think about the marks you gained/lost for your
AS media production and the difference in
quality of your final pieces. WHY WAS THIS?!
What mistakes did you learn from between AS
and A2 in terms of planning & research, and
what affect did this have on the final outcome?
Would you change your approach at AS given
the chance again?
What would you do differently?

 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.
Basic: Replicating

Location
Mise-en-scene
Characters/Costume
Cinematography

Film Opening vs Teaser

Format/Content
Narrative - footage needed
Editing - Pace/duration
Titles
Sound - Pace/voiceover

work was informed by research into real

media texts and how your ability to use such
research for production developed over time.

AS-A2: analysis beyond just the

YouTube link - breakdown of specific
sceenshots that directly relate to your
work!

 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.

5.
Using Conventions from Real Media Texts

Use of real media conventions involves consideration of other

texts that you looked at and how skilfully you were able to
weave their conventions into your work or ways in which you
might have challenged them.

follow
challenge
subvert

GCSE/AS? safer option, comfort zone?

A2? braver, took more risks?

Was there room to challenge/subvert conventions within your chosen

genre?

Horror
Strong generic
conventions
have rules!

mise-en-scene
camera
sound
characters
narrative

Thriller
Room for variety,
less obvious
conventions in
terms of

mise-en-scene
sound
camera
characters
narrative
sub genre

Have conventions been challenged/subverted in your genre before,

if so how often?
Did you re-challenge challenged conventions???

How did your research into RMT's inform YOUR texts from 12 then 13?
Real Film openings My Film Opening

which ones did you look at and what in them?

how did you use this research?

MECS

media language

M
E
C
S
G
R
A
N
GRAN

genre, representation
audience, narrative

Real trailers My trailer

which ones did you look at and what in them?

MECS
media language

M
E
C
S
G
R
A
N
GRAN

genre, representation
audience, narrative

how did you use this research?

Print based media: Many briefs, many conventions.

GCSE:
DVD COVER
POSTER
MAGAZINE FRONT COVER
and DOUBLE PAGED SPREAD
(GCSE - look at and replicate conventions)

AS
FILM OPENING

A2
TEASER
FILM POSTER
FILM MAGAZINE COVER
(A-level - analyse, adapt/customise conventions)

How are these 2 forms of media different?

Film Opening

1. To start a story, narrative,

characters, set the scene

Teaser Trailer
1. Used to SELL another text

Describe how your creative skills developed during post-production.

Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills
developed over time. [25]

1a

but adds marks!

1b

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

creativity

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

def

creativity

define the skills area, put it

in to your own words.
What could it include?

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

creativity

def
pre

what knowledge/skills did

you already have in this
area before Media?

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

creativity

def
pre

As

what knowledge/skills
developed at AS level?
What projects?

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

def

creativity

pre
what knowledge/skills
developed at A2 level?As
What projects?

A2

Digi-Tech

post-prod

research/plan

1A
conventions

What quotes can you

creativity
def relate to the
include that
skills area? pre
As

quotes

A2

30 min

film opening, teaser trailer - explain differences

Briefly explain purpose of research into real media texts

What are your early experiences of film RMT openings, trailers, pre-12?

(Paragraphs 3 and 4)

How did you use RMT openings for your own film opening?
What did you look at, why, how did you apply your understanding of them
Explain how research of RMT helped you create your film opening. Following conventions?
(Paragraphs 5 and 6)

How did you use RMT trailers in your yr13 production differently from your 12 film opening?
What did you look at, why did you understand them better?, did you apply your understanding of them better?
How? How did you demonstrate creativity with the things you learnt through your RMT research? More so at
A2?
(Paragraph 7)

Evaluate which production benefitted more from your RMT research. Did it enable you to follow,
challenge or subvert conventions found in RMT research? Highlight the importance of understanding
RMT to create your own products.

One important role in the film was held by a

character called Sapphire. Here, we consciously
subverted the stereotype of the beautiful but stupid
sidekick. Laura Mulvey, in the "Male Gaze", stated
that female character existed to draw the attention
from a predominately male audience, with a
desirable woman. Sapphire dressed conservatively
and in glasses, carried blueprints of the job that the
other actors were to carry out. This implied an
intelligent mastermind usually reserved for an older
male figure. By placing Sapphire in the heist movie
as a main character and furthermore by ensuring
she was controlling influence, deviates away from
Mulvey's "Male Gaze" and shows Sapphire as
positive role model in our film.

Representation is an important part of any

project. The filmmaker needs to be aware
that people and places can be portrayed in
both a positive and negative light.
Stereotypes which can be useful in telling
stories can also be damaging by relying on
negative traits. In my short film
"Williamson Gets Lost in Southall Market" I
was very conscious of the need to ensure
both Williamson and the other actors had a
positive presence in the film.

DARE