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The Department offers specialist Media Studies courses at both GCSE and A Level. Situated in a specialist suite of rooms, students have access to computers in both classrooms and in the dedicated Editing Suite. The Department has a bank of resources for practical production; including a large number of mini-dvd camcorders, tripods and Adobe software for editing film and sound. Students are taught using Interactive Whiteboards and staff and students have access to a large DVD library.

Media Studies is a popular, challenging and captivating subject that offers students the opportunity to engage with Media concepts in both a theoretical and practical way.

Key Stage Four

Media Studies GCSE offers you the opportunity to develop an understanding of workings of the media. GCSE Students are expected to conduct detailed analyses of media texts; including film, television and print media using specialist media terminology. You will develop the skills needed to read and interpret the visual and audio language of a variety of texts, analysing how meaning is created for the audience and discussing the social and cultural messages and values.

You will also study media industries and platforms, looking specifically at the British broadcasting industry, and investigate the ways in which media producers target different audiences. The course also offers you the opportunity to produce your own media texts, and the department is equipped to offer groups the chance to film and edit their own video production as part of their coursework.

The course aims to:

• Develop students’ media literacy skills to approach texts in a more critical, analytical and independent way
• Develop technical and creative production skills

ASSESSMENT

Assessment is through a combination of coursework (60%) and examination (40%).  The coursework component requires students to complete a formal written assessment with a minor production piece, and produce a major production portfolio:

• Film Genres:
• Essay – You will have to analyse media texts conducting a technical analysis and discussing the representation of social groups. For example, you may be asked to compare how men and women are represented in the romantic comedy genre, looking at the way in which characters and situations are portrayed using different cinematic techniques, as well as exploring the representation of gender.
• Minor Production task – this will be linked to your written assessment, for example you may be asked to produce two film posters advertising the new release of a film in the romantic comedy genre, targeting a specific audience.
• Production Portfolio: You will be expected to research a specific genre from either film or television, and use your findings to plan your own production. Your video production may be the opening titles of a new film in a specific genre, or an extract from a new TV programme. You will be expected to use media conventions related to your specified medium and to target a specific audience. Once your production is finished you will be expected to evaluate the production process, your technical skills, and the success of the end product.

 

Candidates all sit one examination on ‘Textual Analysis and Media Topic’. You will be expected to analyse and respond to a short unseen moving image extract from an Action Adventure movie in order to demonstrate your understanding of key media concepts. The second part of the exam will test your understanding of institutions and audiences by answering questions on comedy programming on British television.

The course emphasises both analytical and theoretical skills as well as a creative and practical approach.  It is a rigorous and creative GCSE which can also be pursued at AS or Advanced Level in the Sixth Form.

 

Key Stage Five

A Level Media Studies offers you the opportunity to study a subject that is creative and practical as well as academic.  In addition to studying film and television, you will be expected to plan and film your own video productions, including the opening to a fiction film and a music promo video. All students have access to new production equipment, including the new suite of PCs, DVD cameras and the latest Adobe editing software.
Your exam topics cover areas such as British TV drama, and you will have the opportunity to research wider areas such as the British Film Industry and the representation of collective identities in the Media. You will learn how to deconstruct the technical aspects of moving image texts and will then apply this to your study of the way in which the media represents different social groups and constructs its output to appeal to different target audiences.

Media Studies gives you the chance to become more than just a passive member of the audience: deconstructing, challenging and understanding the industry that is such an integral part of modern society.

 

ASSESSMENT

AS Level

Coursework:  Foundation Portfolio in Media
50% of AS Level/ 25% of A Level
For your production coursework you will plan, film and edit the titles and opening of a new fiction film in a genre of your choice. You will use new media technology including a blog and will produce a DVD with extras to present your planning, research and evaluation of your product.

Examination: Key Media Concepts
50% of AS Level/ 25% of A Level
Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation
You will be examined on an extract from a recent British TV drama: the technical analysis of the languages and conventions of moving image media and an analysis of the representation of social groups within the extract. Texts studied include Skins, Shameless, Spooks, Doctor Who, costume dramas such as Bleak House and soap operas such as Eastenders.
Section B: Institutions and Audiences
You will answer a question based upon a case study of the British Film Industry: the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exhibition as well as British audience’s reception and consumption.

A2 Level

Coursework:  Advanced Portfolio in Media
25% of Final A Level
You will produce a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video together with a cover for its release on DVD and a magazine advert of the DVD. You will present your planning and research electronically using new media technology.

Examination: Critical Perspectives in Media
25% of Final A Level
This unit assesses your knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates through your understanding of one contemporary media issue. It also assesses your ability to critically evaluate your own practical work in reflective and theoretical ways.
Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production Coursework
Section B: Contemporary Media Issues – Media and Collective Identity
You will explore the contemporary representation of groups of people covering areas such as national cinema, gender, youth culture, ethnicity and post-9/11 representations of religion and global culture.

BLOGS

A-Level Media production projects are partly assessed and documented on line.

See present and past work here:

 

	Year 12 - AS Production Opening scene project (Click below to view the blogs) 2009/10 BLOGS 2008/09 BLOGS
	Year 13 - A2 Production Music Video project (Click below to view the blog)   2009/10 BLOGS