In Term 3 of Year 9, we introduce the students to Pop Bands & The Music Industry. The students are required to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding by researching and analysing existing pop bands, CD covers, promo videos and tour posters. They are helped to develop their understanding of musical genres and how this affects a band’s actual and perceived/projected identity. The students then use this newly acquired knowledge to plan, mock-up and develop their own artefact.
We make the distinction between ‘found’ and ‘original’ images clear to the students and task them with constructing band member archetypes using their classmates as models. They take digital photos of the models and then superimpose them on to a suitable background so that they can produce CD cover designs, tour posters and merchandise.
During Year 9 students are expected to move from Media as production to Media as analysis, interpretation and evaluation. They are introduced to more conventions and technical language. This is reinforced by tasking them with projects that require the students to explore them in more depth and apply them in their own production and writing.
Throughout Year 9 the concepts of ‘institution’, ‘regulation’ and ‘censorship’ are introduced and woven through the Modern Technology, Film Studies and Pop Band / Pop Music Industry units....
