Using a variety of news websites, choose a minimum of 6 current news stories to use as case studies. Below is what you need to do with each story – and in as much detail as possible:-
- Give a summary of the news story
- What kind of news story is this? – Is it a new development or a continuation of a longer-running story?
- When did this news story break?
- Why do you think that this event is news worthy? – Which news values are relevant here?
- What do you believe is the institution’s agenda behind reporting this story?
- Is biased reporting evident? – In what way?
- How do you think this information has been gathered? – Local/National/International correspondent, expert opinion, eyewitness statements, news agency?
- Are there any images/video with this news report? – How do these impact on the way the news story is recieved by the audience?
- How are the relevant social groups featured within this news story represented?
- Is there any interaction between the institution and the audience? – I.e. Opinion poll, audience email/text responses to story, any other means for audience to voice opinion/interact with this news story?
- Is the same event reported on other news sources? – How does this report differ to the first source you found?
Try a variety of news sources… here are some to get you started – BBC News, Sky News, Reuters.co.uk, Bloomberg, NewsNow, CNN, Fox News, ITN News, Euro News.
You should either post these case studies on your blogs (those of you who have them!) or submit on paper… but this is expected to be completed, and is a prime resource of revision come exam time! (See exam countdown clock on Renier’s blog…. tick-tock-tick-tock..!!).
As you all may already know, there will be no lessons this week. However, you are still expected to complete work for this week until I return. Below are the tasks set for each class for the week ahead. This work is expected to be completed by next session.
MONDAY 2/01- A2 FILM STUDIES
Research Project: As you know, Shocking Cinema is not exclusively just about films made during a certain period – it is also the impact of events such as social, political and economic issues at the time which also affect the films that are deemed as shocking. You task today is to choose a film that is seen as shocking. You are then to research the film itself and the social, political and economic events that may have taken place at the time. You may choose more than one film – the more you have information on, the better prepared you will be for yor essay – You could also choose to look at the ‘Video Nasties’ phenomena of the 80’s and/or 90’s, or the ‘Copycat Theory’. This work should be presented on your blog with supporting appropriate images/screenshots.
TUESDAY 3/01 – AS MEDIA STUDIES
As you know, you have Focus Group Presentations next week (10th January). You are to complete ALL your research and planning for your three initial creative ideas, and be in a position to present and explain to your peers. You are also to create a set of questions that you will ask your peers in order to get some feedback. You should consider what kind of information you are after regarding your ideas and create your questions accordingly.
WEDNESDAY 4/01 – AS FILM STUDIES
You should be close to filming your Creative Project short films now – the deadline is now looming! You should take this week to complete ALL your pre-production planning (including Treatment and other pre-production documents as found on the blog) and be ready to start filming next session (If you haven’t begun so already). Remember, the deadline is fast approaching so it is important that you are in a position to film next session.
WEDNESDAY 4/01 – A2 FILM STUDIES
Following the research that you should have completed as set for Monday’s session, you are to write an essay based on your research.
ESSAY QUESTION: “What are the defining social, political and/or economic issues that have impacted upon a certain film text deemed as ’shocking’ to its audience”?
THURSDAY 5/01 – AS MEDIA STUDIES
As you know, you have Focus Group Presentations next week (12th January). You are to complete ALL your research and planning for your three initial creative ideas, and be in a position to present and explain to your peers. You are also to create a set of questions that you will ask your peers in order to get some feedback. You should consider what kind of information you are after regarding your ideas and create your questions accordingly.
If you have any questions, please leave a message and I shall try to respond as soon as I possibly can.
The Audience
People may complain about New Media Technology, in that it is too complicated and quickly goes out-of-date, but convergence generally means that the audience has more choice, or an enhanced experience, or both! Games consoles illustrate this point. You can have a machine that plays games… or you can have a machine that plays games, CD’s, DVD’s, allows you to edit your home video footage and put it on the internet for others to see, record your favourite television programme, connect you with others so you can play against them, and use the internet. Or at least, in theory you can have a machine that does all this and more. Why? Lagely because computer technology has seeped into almost every aspect of our lives. And the future? It won’t be too long before your home is a wireless network with a high-speed internet connection (many homes are already like this!).Through this system, you will be able to download and access music, films, and information from any room in your home. If you think this sounds fanciful, look up ‘freestyle’ or ‘Mira’ on Microsoft’s website. These technologies will make this sort of integration possible, at the same time as significantly altering media consumption habits. Microsoft views the PC as the centre of this technology, whereas others, such as Moxi Digital, see the set top box as the answer. Whichever system becomes the accepted standard, the principle behind it is perhaps the ultimate example of cenvergence, with computer technology at the heart of the delivery and distribution of all your media consumption.
The Institutions
Media institutions have grasped new technologies and the concept of convergence for the benefit of audiences, right? Wrong! One thing drives these institutions – Money!
Sony is a good example. In offering Playstation 3, it is doing more than selling a games console. It is selling a Sony BluRay Player, a Sony stereo system and a Sony system capable of connecting with other Sony products such as a digital camera or camcorder. If you have a Playstation 3, you can play music by artists belonging to the Sony record label, possibly bought over the internet using the Playstation 3 itself! Sony is seeking a market dominanceand brand loyalty, made easier through convergence. Convergence also allows a widening of the range of products a company can sell. Who makes a television that works well with a Sony Playstation 3?
Convergence also allows media companies to enter new areas in which they may not have had a strong position. The internet concerns media institutions for a number of reasons. It isn’t regulated, other people are making lots of money using it, and it provides entertainment in a way they don’t usually operate. This list could be longer. Some companies have attempted to solve this problem through convergence. Sky, for example. In some ways, the internet takes custom from Sky in that people can be entertained in other ways. But what if you are using the internet through your Sky Digital connection? Sky not only enters the internet arena, it also finds out where you go, what you like to see and presumably then uses this information to modify its existing output. You pay Sky and it gets free market research. And not only that. Sky has ‘SkyActive’, a ’safe’ connection to the internet and e-commerce. Companies have to pay Sky money to be part of this, but the rewards aren’t just for Sky. People trust televisions a lot more than computers. They understand them; televisions are familiar. This means they are more likely to buy from them. In this example, the convergence of television and internet technologies has clearly benefited Sky.
When the time comes to open up the examination paper for your Audiences & Institutions exam, you must remember a few things that will make it easier to identify what you have to do in order to do well…There are never any surprises in this exam!
First of all, you must make sure that you answer the questions in the correct section – there are two sections in this paper (Section A: New Media Technologies; and Section B: Media Ownership). You have been studying to answer the questions for Section A: New Media Technologies, so it is suggested that you only attempt to answer the questions from this section!
When answering one of the two essay questions, you should bear in mind that essentially – despite the way the question is worded – you will be presented with fundamentally the same question that is asked every year.
These questions are:
- How does the audience use the technology?
- How does the media industry use the technology?
The first thing you should do when reading the questions for the first time, is to figure out which question on the examination paper is referring to which of the two questions above.
New Media Technologies are the key ways in which the industry and audience communicate.
Media Industry
Industries produce NMT’s and the services that NMT’s provide for the audience.
NMT
NMT’s allow audiences to access services provided by the media industry.
Audience
Use NMT’s made by the industry to access media texts created by media industries.
Remember to plan your time!!
When completing your comprehension answer in bullet points for the first section (low marks questions) and then expand to a paragraph or so for the higher marked comprehension questions, drawing on your own knowledge of New Media Technologies. You must spend at least 30 minutes answering the essay question in section 2. Remember, you should only answer one of the two questions…do not answer both!
Good luck, ladies & gents! 
Here is the marking criteria for FM1 for all you guys studying AS Film Studies.
It includes a breakdown of how every piece of coursework for this unit is assessed.
As a result of much consideration between Renier and myself regarding the requirements for your written work, we would like to announce that the deadline for the submission of the Preliminary Task is not as originally stated on the week beginning Monday 15th December. We have now decided to extend the deadline to the first week back after the Christmas break.
The new final deadline for submission of your Preliminary Task is now on the week beginning Monday 5th January 2009.
We would like to state that this deadline extension is a one-off, and there will be no further extension to this deadline.
All written aspects of your Preliminary Task are now expected to be of the highest quality. If there are any queries/questions/support required for this, please inform us as soon as possible.
We are now approaching the submission date of the AS Media Foundation Portfolio Preliminary Task, and your attention should be turning towards writing your evaluation of your experience since you began this assignment. What follows is a rough guide on how to write you Foundation Portfolio Evaluation… remember to refer back to your Production Logs while you do this!
As always, an evaluation should have a beginning, a middle, and an end – so three sections. These would be:-
- Introduction – Here you will introduce your brief, planning & research carried out, construction of product
- Evaluation of Finished Product
- Evaluation of Product with regards to Audiences & Institutions
Below is a further breakdown of what you need to include in each section – which should be written as thoroughly as possible.
Section 1 – Introduction
Here, you will need to state which assignment brief pathway you chose (Print or Video). You will need to make it clear to the reader exactly what you are being asked to do for the completion of your chosen brief. You also need to include information on how you carried out your research and planning in response to the brief, and how that has influenced the construction of your media product.
You also need to discuss the construction stage, and decisions made on creating your magazine or video.
Section 2 – Evaluation of finished Product
Here, you discussed your completed product. Again, you must explain the decisions you have made, and how the finished product may differ from previous drafts. You also need to discuss how these changes impact on your audience. How does your product create meaning to the audience?
Here, you should refer back to critical theories, as covered during your studies on the Key Media Concepts Unit – things like genre, narrative, audience effects, media language/technical vocabulary.
Section 3 – Evaluation of Product with regards to Audiences & Institutions
Here, you are to compare your media product with real existing media products, which are similar to your own. You have to discuss how your media product fits in with the wider context of media institutions and audiences. Discuss how you believe the audience will ‘receive’ your product (a fair idea of this would be feedback you received during your Focus Group sessions you held with your peers).
You must answer the following questions in your evaluation
- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- How does your media product represent particular social groups?
- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product, and why?
- Who would be the audience for your media product?
- How did you attract/address your audience?
- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Other things you must consider….
- Remember to reflect on your experiences/decision-making. If you decided to do something in a particular way, you have to discuss why you did this. It is not good enough to simply describe… you need to analyse and evaluate!
