Last lesson: Thur 21st May + Exam location

Preparation for our last lesson

It is our last lesson before the exam on Thursday. We will be looking at last-minute exam prep and essay technique.

Please watch this clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPBE6YNoP5w&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=52) and complete the following essay. Hand it in to me on Wednesday so that I can mark it and return it to you for Thursday:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of sexuality using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

Exam location

Your exam on Friday morning will be held in the Community Hall, not the main Assembly Hall.

Practice exam questions

There are only EIGHT days until your AS Media Studies exam. The best preparation you can be doing now is to practise your essay technique. 

There are a number of exam questions on previous blog entries (see below) so if you haven't done any of those, they would be the best place to start.

If you have done all of those, here are some others that you could do.

Watch each video clip FOUR times

• First screening: watch and don't take notes
• Second screening: watch and take notes
• Take a break to make more detailed notes
• Third screening: watch and take notes
• Take a break
• Fourth screening: watch and take notes

The questions then follow exactly the same format every time:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of ________________ using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

For each video clip, I have detailed what aspect of representation to focus on.

IF YOU WRITE IT, I WILL MARK IT!

Eastenders (ethnicity): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2voevj5R0-Q&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=5

Eastenders (ethnicity): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y094LCAUMTo&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=6

Coming Down the Mountain (disability): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIcVhqcKukw&index=7&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Blackpool (Age): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85qL5ph0J0&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=8

The Street (class): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e9pIZNag28&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=10

Compulsion (ethnicity): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzlH70WpO3c&index=22&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Casualty (disability): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOifqo5JQK8&index=44&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Touching the Velvet (sexuality): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPBE6YNoP5w&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=52

Representation of Gender essay question

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo7VoFlqexQ&index=42&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Watch the link above and answer the following essay question:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition

• Editing

• Sound

• Mise-en-scene

Documentary-making conference: Saturday 16th May

ST HILDA’S MEDIA NETWORK CONFERENCE

St Hilda’s College     University of Oxford

Jacqueline du Pre Building

SATURDAY 16^th MAY 2015

DOCUMENTARY-MAKING

for FILM, TV & RADIO

HEAR ALL ABOUT IT FROM THE PROFESSIONALS

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Bill Oddie, ornithologist, writer & broadcaster

Nicolas Kent, Creative Director, Oxford Film & TV

Ruth Sessions, Atlantic Productions

Clio Barnard, director

Sarah Gristwood, biographer, journalist & broadcaster

Simon Elmes, former Creative Director,

BBC Radio Documentaries Unit

Alexandra Griffiths, producer, BBC NHU

10.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.

(registration & coffee from 10 a.m.)

Tickets (to include lunch & all refreshments): 

Standard £45        Full-time students £20    St Hilda’s alumnae £32

Full programme & booking:-

   http://sthildasdocumentaryday.eventbrite.co.uk/

Lesson on Monday

For our lesson on Monday (P1), please can everyone bring:

• an essay you have written already, along with my feedback
• the handout on writing exam essays
• the camera/editing/sound/mise-en-scene word bank grid (if you weren't in the lesson on Thursday (eg Art exam), you won't have one of these but I will give you a copy in the lesson)

My room is being used so come to C25 (opposite).

Study leave

I was wrong when I said that coming to lessons during study leave was optional. School policy this year is that you have to come to lessons until you have sat the exam for that subject. As such, I will expect to see ALL of you in EVERY lesson until Friday 22nd May (unless you have an exam, obviously).

All our lessons will focus on exam technique for Section A. I will post all essay questions we look at in class/do for homework on my blog, so if you miss a lesson, check the blog for the work you need to do to catch up.

I am very aware that you have a lot of competing demands on your time in the next few weeks but the best possible preparation you can do for the exam is to PRACTISE.

Remember: if you write it, I will mark it.

Homework: Representation of disability in The Street

Here is the link to the extract from The Street that we looked at in today's lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80K5P1qqQOI&index=33&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Your question is:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of disability using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition

• Editing

• Sound

• Mise-en-scene

You have already written your introduction, so give yourselves another 40 minutes to complete the essay, using the notes in your exam essay handout.

If you hand it in to me before the end of school on Wednesday, I will mark it and give you feedback in our lesson on Thursday. If you are unable to do this (eg you're involved in the Art exam) please get it to me as soon as you can.

Please hand write this essay (unless you use a laptop in the exam) and be strict with yourself in terms of timings (give yourself extra time if you get it in the exam). As well as practising essay technique, you also need to practise producing work under the conditions you will face in the exam.

Ethnicity in Spooks essay + Downton Abbey feedback

The following people have not handed in their essays for the 'Ethnicity in Spooks' question:

Imed
Dafina
Sophie
Jamie
Jason
Ella
Dylan
Eleanor
Daniel
Elliot

I cannot give you feedback on how to improve unless you hand in work.

Similarly, several of you have not come to collect your feedback/marks for the 'Class in Dowton Abbey' question:

Dafina
Sophie
Jason
Eleanor
Dylan
Elliot

YOU NEED TO TAKE MORE OWNERSHIP FOR YOUR LEARNING - THE EXAM IS ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY!

Homework: timed essay

Sorry, I meant to post this on Monday after our lesson but forgot.

For those of you who were in the class, please finish the essay we planned:

Discuss the ways in which the extract (of Spooks) constructs the representation of ethnicity using the following:

• Camera shots, angle, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene 

For those of you who were not in class (mainly drama students), please watch the extract from Spooks (below) four times (as in your exam: once without taking notes, three times with) and then complete the essay above in 45 minutes.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM_X0uI2XvA&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F&index=20

Please get your completed essays to me before the end of the week so that I can mark them and return them to you in time for our next lesson.

Homework: Downton Abbey essay self-assessment

Your homework for Monday:

Using the discussion from today's lesson about exam technique and the pack I gave you, give yourself a mark for:

Explanation/Argument/Analysis (/20)
Use of examples (/20)
Media terminology (/10)

TOTAL: (/50)

There is a mark scheme in your exam technique pack.

Everyone who completes the self-assessment task will get their full feedback and marks in Monday's lesson.

(Jason, make sure you complete your essay and hand it in to me before I go home on Friday so that I can mark it over the weekend.)

Email me with blog changes

Just to confirm: when you have made the specific changes to your blog that I outlined in my coursework feedback, you need to email me (jky@cheney.oxon.sch.uk) directing me to the specific blog posts you have changed/added. That way, I'll be able to look at the specific changes you have made and see if there is enough there to bump you up by a mark or two. I will not have time to trawl through your entire blogs so I will only look at the posts you direct me to.

The deadline for you to email me is 3pm on Tuesday 15th April.

Mon 13th/Tues 14th April

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a relaxing Easter holiday.

In today's lesson, I will give you your marks/feedback for your coursework. On your feedback sheet, I have listed two/three minor tweaks you could make to your coursework portfolios that might sneak you an extra mark or two.

You will have today's lesson and tomorrow's lesson (P5) to make these specific changes. This is not a deadline extension where you can make significant changes to your coursework as I have already marked your blogs in their entirety but I will delay moderating yours (with Mr Groves) until Wednesday so that you can make these last few tweaks (hence the Tues P5 deadline).

I won't be in our lesson on Tuesday as I will moderating coursework but Muzzy Ibrahim, a former Cheney Media student who is now studying Media at university will be coming in to help you out.

FYI, the approximate grade boundaries for the coursework are:
A: 80
B: 70
C: 60
D: 50
E: 40

When you finish this work:
If you complete this work please do a CAGED representation analysis for each of the main characters in your coursework final production. This will be the start point for the exam preparation we will be doing together for Section A of the exam.

Screen grabs

Some of you have been having problems getting screen grabs on the Macs. The ICT boys have had a look at this and have come back with the following solution:

The command +shift and 4 shortcut screen grab can't work because the defaults point to a location students can't get access.

However the actual utility program called screen grab works fine and you can get it in Applications > Utilities. You can choose from within this program where you want the screenshot. 

FINAL DEADLINE!

We are here: the FINAL deadline for your WHOLE Foundation Portfolio is FRIDAY 27th MARCH.

That means your blogs must be absolutely finished:

• Research & Planning - including any suggestions for improvement from my feedback last term
• Final video - have this as your top blog post so that it's the first thing anyone visiting your blog sees
• Evaluation - look at all the advice in the blog posts below for how to approach this

Our LAST lesson before the deadline in Thursday. By this lesson you should have finished your blog. That way I can give you some last-minute feedback on improvements you could make in the subsequent 24 hours in order to achieve maximum marks.

ALL WORK THEREFORE NEEDS TO BE DONE BY THURSDAY!

Work for Thursday 11th March

Hi everyone,

I'm really sorry but I'm not going to be in our lesson again tomorrow. I know that's two in a row that I've missed so please accept my apologies.

Please be cracking on with your Evaluations. The seven questions that you need to respond to are listed in the post below and are on the sheet that I gave you on Tuesday.

The five elements of the mark scheme are also listed below and are on the other handout you got on Tuesday. I would be really worth your while having a look at the two examples of Evaluations in the post below so that you can see the kind of things the examiner is looking for.

In terms of how to approach the seven questions of the Evaluation, here are some things you might want to consider:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• How does your film fit into its chosen genre? Are there codes/conventions that you have stuck to (characterisation? costume? sound? filming style? etc)? Are there codes/conventions that you have challenged? If so, how and why?
• You could consider doing a comparative analysis of your film against other film(s) within the same genre and exploring the similarities/differences between them

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
• What social groups are portrayed in your production? How do you represent them? Does this challenge or reinforce stereotypical representations of that social group?

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
• Is your film designed to be a big blockbuster, distributed by one of the  major Hollywood studios? Or is it an indie film, that might try to gain a cult following, perhaps through appearing at a high-brow film festival (Cannes, Sundance, etc)? Would you go for a mass, worldwide release through the major cinema chains or would you prefer to gain a word-of-mouth following by releasing in art house cinemas? 
• There are no right answers to these questions, it entirely depends on what kind of film you're making and the kind of audience you are aiming to attract.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?
• Define your audience as specifically as possible. Create a mood board for them. You could even set up a fake social media account for them, with them 'liking' the kind of thing (films, music, foot outlets, shops) you think your target audience would be into. You could even have that 'person' join Groups that you think would appeal to them.
• This would also be a brilliant opportunity to bring in some of the theory work you've been doing with Mr Groves: can you discuss audience in a more academic way, bringing in relevant media theory? Are there ways of defining Media audiences that would be relevant here?

• How did you attract/address your audience?
• Once you have defined your audience, what have you done to make sure your film appeals to them?
• You may even want to do a 'director's commentary' of your film - record a voice-over of your film where you talk through some of the filming/editing decisions you made. Or just use screen grabs of key moments in your film that would appeal to your audience. 
• Or, you could record interviews with people who you think might represent your target audience and get them to give their opinions on the film. Make a short questionnaire that you ask all interviewees and you can then edit their responses together. Here is an example from some A2 Cheney students a couple of years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYvau2HZl

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
• Be very specific. Short videos or screen grabs showing exactly what you did and how you used them on your productions would be really useful here.

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
• I would recommend starting by doing a self-assessment of your preliminary task, using the exam board marking criteria
• What cinematic 'rules' did you break or mistakes did you make? How has your understanding of the technicalities of filming improved (mise-en-scene, camera movement, tripod vs handheld filming)? How has your ability to construct realistic films through use of location and costume improved?
• What have you learned about the editing process? And how has this helped you create a better production the second time around?
• Again, screen grabs or short extracts from your film would be really useful here.

Remember, across all seven questions, you are being marked on:

• Use of ICT/technology: don't just write your answers to these questions; look to use screen grabs, short films, voiceovers, etc
• Understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representations and conventions in relation to production: bring in relevant media theory and discuss how they apply to your production
• Refer to choices made and outcomes: be very specific about WHAT you did, WHY you did it and what EFFECT it had on how your final production comes across; it can be especially helpful to have a first draft to compare your second draft to her
• Understanding of development from preliminary to full task: not just in terms of it being 'better' but also in terms of how your understanding of what it takes to make a professional-looking film - this can include technical stuff but also reflecting on how you adapted to some of the mistakes you made along the way
• Ability to communicate: make sure that everything you write/say/film is clear, uses correct English, includes relevant media theory and terminology in a way that can be understood and comes across as knowledgeable

I hope this helps, I'll be back in on Monday (promise!) to see how you're getting on but please make sure you do get cracking: deadline is still Easter so you only have a couple of weeks.

Evaluation

Your evaluation has to cover 7 key questions:

• 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?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Within that, you are marked on:

• Use of technology/ICT
• Understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representations and conventions in relation to production
• Refer to choices made and outcomes
• Understanding of development from preliminary to full task
• Ability to communicate

Here is an example of a top band evaluation: http://latymerfoundationlaura09.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Evaluation%20-%20Main%20Task

Here is a bottom band example:

http://www.chrisadamschrisadams.blogspot.co.uk/

Have a look at the differences between the two - what lessons do you learn about how to approach your own evaluations?

The last five weeks...

The FINAL coursework deadline is Fri 27th March. This is the date that EVERYTHING needs to be done by and sent off to the exam board:

• Research and Planning 
• Final production
• Evaluation

TIMELINE:

Tues 24th Feb (today!) - Fri 6th March: Completion of final production.

Use my feedback to re-film/re-edit/add/delete from your production.

Mon 9th March - Fri 20th March: Evaluation

You need to respond to the following questions in relation to your final production:

• 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?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Mon 23rd March - Fri 27th March: Final changes / Response to feedback

On the basis of the feedback I give you, make any final changes that will improve your mark.

Mon 30th March - Fri 10th April: Easter holidays

Mon 13th April - Fri 22nd May: Exam prep

Progress Day and half-term work

The following students need to come in to finish the first draft of their film and/or complete the Research & Planning section of their blog:

Chloe
Imed
Dafina
Evelyn
Jamie
Jason
Adil
Zayyan
Dylan
Daniel
Denis
Kim
Elliot

I will call your parents so that they know you need to come in.

The rest of you, please use the feedback I gave you on your Research & Planning sections to make any changes.

Specifically, I'd like you all to do a thorough audience analysis of who you expect to watch your film. Be sure to bring in any audience theory you learned in your lessons with Mr Groves.

First draft deadline

The deadline for the first draft of your film is Tues 10th Feb.

If your film is not complete by this date you will need to come in on Progress Day (Thur 12th Feb) to complete it. If it is still not complete by this date, you will need to come in on the INSET day on Fri 13th Feb as well.

YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WARNED!

JKY not here - Tues 27th Jan

I'm not going to be in our lesson tomorrow (Tues 27th Jan) as I have to go to a Heads of English meeting at Wheatley Park.

Please use this lesson to get on with your filming and editing. You really need to have finished your filming this week and be getting on with your editing. I want to have first edits of your film finished by half-term so that I can mark them over half-term and give you some feedback. The final deadline for EVERYTHING (Research & Planning, Main Production, Evaluation) is Easter, as that's the date I have to send marks off to the exam board.

Some of you are up to speed with this, some of you need to get a shift on.

GET FILMING.

Filming and lesson absence

Most of you are at the stage where you are starting to film for your final productions. You are welcome to use lesson time to do this but if you are going to miss lessons to film you either need to:

• tell me in person at the beginning of the lesson
• email me before the lesson

This way I can mark you as present in the register. If you don't tell me ahead of the lesson (not send a message via another student), I will assume you are truanting the lesson and will follow up accordingly.