Resources for AQA A Level Media Studies on MediaEdu

This page should provide you with an index to the information we have on MediaEdu which relates directly to AQA A Level Media Studies.

This page also contains external links to support materials on the AQA site.

AS Schemes

• AQA AS MEST1 Scheme

• AQA AS MEST2 Scheme

A2 Schemes

• AQA A2 MEST3 Scheme

• AQA A2 MEST4 Scheme

Guides

• AQA AS Media Studies | How To Get The Top Grades

• AQA A2 Media Studies...

The catch word for the digital world of new media is convergence. Convergence is the coming together of everything digital.

Definition

Any digital media can be transmitted by any suitable digital medium, such as a wifi broadband connection or mobile phone, so that all communications, text, audio, graphics, video, and broadcasting can be accessed instantly.

The iPhone, Blackberry or computer becomes a two-way communications module with access...

The new Government report Digital Britain would make a good starting point for a case study on the impact of digital media. The report provides recommendations to promote and protect talent and innovation in British creative industries, to modernise TV and radio frameworks and support local news, and introduces policies to maximise the social and economic benefits from digital technologies. The Report is one of the central policy commitments in...

We Study Media by Rob McMinn

The Student Room & Media Studies

Setting up a Radio Station on Mediaed.org.uk

Modern Mechanix: examples of vintage advertising

Technorati on Ideology

Ideology for Kids: Decoding the Kremlin’s Website

The End of Cyberspace

Kinoeye on Media Studies

Bluegrass Film Society

Kids Gobble Up Interactive Junk Food Marketing

Continental Philosophy: Key Notes on Theorists

Dr. Mabuse’s Kaledio-scope: Four Models of...

Television and film crime/cop drama is very popular with a wide audience. Crime dramas seek to anchor the representations of all types of police officers, criminals and victims as ‘believable’ characters, with ‘realistic’ plot lines, set in urban locations.The genre has been taken up in the US under the heading of American Quality Televsion (AQT) - see under heading AQT.

Codes and conventions

Crime dramas:

• are constructed realities
...

2008 Onwards

Unit 1 Investigating Media

• 50% of AS, 25% of A Level
• 2 hour written examination
• 80 marks

Two Sections: A & B

Section A

Four compulsory short answer questions

Section B

A choice of one from two essays

Available January and June

Click on this hyperlink to find out more about Unit 1

Unit 2 Creating Media

• 50% of AS, 25% of A Level
• Practical unit, internally assessed and externally moderated
• 80 marks
• Externally set...

Associated Resources

MEST2 Coursework Overview 2011-12.ppt

All teacher-assessed marks to be returned to AQA by 10 January 2012 or 15 May 2012

Link: AQA MEST2 Briefs

Brief Two | Regional Newspapers

A regional newspaper is about to run a month long campaign promoting local sports. The newspaper has an online presence and is keen to use its website as a focus for information, as well as featuring a range of sports related features in its print...

Denotation and Connotation

These are two important words concerned with the way an audience understands the meaning of a media text. These can also be called the signs and signified meaning, or the micro and macro features.

Denotation / sign / micro feature is the basic, literal meaning of what is in the picture or scene.

Connotation / signified meaning / macro feature means different interpretations suggested by the text, often associated...

Associated Resources

• Representation Theory Simplified Handout.doc

The media literally re-presents the world to us. Dominant and oppositional arguments conflict e.g. on one hand the media is showing us how things actually are, on the other hand they are telling us how things should be (dictating representations, not just reflecting society).

The main representations we study in the media are:

• Masculinity
• Femininity
• Social Class
• Sexuality
...

How do I get my students to reach the top grades? This is a question which we all ask.

Examiners and moderators often see work by students who may not be in the top ability bands yet manage to reach the higher mark bands because they REALLY understand what is required of them.

Below are some ideas and strategies which have been proven to help raise achievement in both exams and coursework modules.  These are focused on the AQA Media Studies A2...

How do I get my students to reach the top grades? This is a question which we all ask.

Examiners and moderators often see work by students who aren’t perhaps in the top ability bands yet manage to reach the higher mark bands because they REALLY understand what is required of them.

Below are some ideas and strategies which have been proven to help raise achievement in both exams and coursework modules.  These are focused on the AQA Media...

AS Case Study Example

Film / broadcast fiction over three platforms, moving image, print and emedia

• Students will do significantly better if they use their own, rather than teacher-taught material.

• A case study is not just one product. The case study is an investigation of the area you have chosen to study (sport / music / lifestyle) and will include a wide range of products from the three platforms, moving image, print and emedia.

• Questions...

Associated Resources

• JAN10 Question Paper.pdf
• MEST1 Jan 2010 Blu Ray Exemplars.doc

Media Issues

You may wish to focus on “a topic or issue arising out of or suggested by a contemporary media text or texts.” If you adopt this approach, make sure you’re interested in it (!) and don’t lose sight of the specific text(s) upon which your study must centre. Below are a number of issues, by way of example.

The following four important issues could form the basis of your study. Remember, though, the focus must always be the...

This advice is based on my experience as a teacher and moderator, and is intended to help colleagues when supporting their students for MEST2.

Of course, the AQA specification has details which you and your students will need to be familiar with; the briefs themselves are fairly detailed and there is additional information in the Teachers’ Resource Banks for this unit.  Each centre also has its own coursework advisor, (details available from...

• We can organise half-day or full day courses on any aspect of Media Studies at your school or college.

• We can also provide keynote speakers for conferences and training events.

Contact MediaEdu

Programme Details

• We come to you.

• Where possible assessors from leading awarding bodies lead our courses.

• Each revision course is 3 hours in length and is delivered in both whole group and seminar-style workshops. We can run a full-day course, if...

Introduction

All three A Level Media Studies exam specifications emphasise the study of the representation of difference.

AQA suggests:

A case study of refugees in British newspapers for example, would involve research into, and documentation of, the treatment of refugees in a variety of British newspapers (or possibly just one) to pinpoint the political and social reasons for the construction of such media representations and the possible...

There are a few scenarios under which you may find yourself using the film Tsotsi in an examination or assessment. You, or your teacher may perhaps choose the film when given an open ended assignment in a GCSE film assignment for media studies but the most likely circumstance under which you will be using the film is for the WJEC GCSE Film Studies Paper 2, titled ‘Films From Outside Hollywood’ where the film is currently one of the focus...

Functions of the Title Sequence

The functions of the title sequence in a film may seem to be fairly obvious. They are designed to tell the audience the names of the people and organisations involved with the making of the film and in this respect they do the job well.

Irrespective of the genre, there is a conventional way of presenting this information in the credit sequence. This information and the order in which it is presented follows a...

Click on the link below to download a PowerPoint slideshow which introduces you to the coursework unit of AQA A2 Media Studies (MEST4).

MEST4_A2_Coursework_Introduction.ppt

Click on the link below to download a PDF booklet you can print out.

Film Genre - Thrillers.pdf

Unit 2 Creating Media

This is the course work unit and here we are looking at just one of the three briefs. It is the new brief for students to complete by May 2011. All teacher-assessed marks to be returned to AQA by 10 January 2011 or 15 May 2011

MediaEdu pages that will help with this module:

• Popular Music Promotion
• Understanding Advertising
• CD Cover Design & Analysis
• Production Zone – Video
• Music Video Pre-Production
• Digital Cameras and...

Media Product One – The Game Play Trailer for Call of Duty

The trailer is the fourth instalment of the Call of Duty game series, which was released in the UK in November 2007. The trailer was widely available, including online and on television. It is a first person shooter game and can be played by a single player or as a multi-player online game. It is available on all main platforms, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS.

The...

Luther (BBC)

6 X 60 minutes drama originated on BBC1 May/June 2010

View Preview for Episode One

Characters

• DCI John Luther

• Alice

• DCI Ian Reed

The BBC’s new crime drama Luther is the first major drama series to have its eponymous hero played by a black actor. DCI John Luther, played by British actor Idris Elba, is familiar from his role as ‘Stringer’ Bell the drug lord with business acumen in The Wire. He was also in the US...

Click on the link below to download a frame for analysing the opening of the film ‘Children of Men’.

Film-Opening-Children-Of-Men.doc

‘It’s just an idea for group work deconstructing an interesting text (especially because, unusually, this one starts in the middle of the disequilibrium, rather than establishing an equilibrium first of all, so is good for narrative theory.  Also, our “hero” is rather unheroic (he doesn’t return to the...

Question

“Digital media have, in many ways, changed how we consume media products”.

  Who do you think benefits the most – audiences or producers?

Benefits for Audiences

With ‘convergence culture’ audiences benefit because:

• They have a wealth of information available at all times via broadband, wi-fi and multi platform mobile devices such as the iPone and Blackberry.
• Availability of interactive features - Social Networking Sites...

MediaEdu provides access to the following resources:

A Level Media Studies

• Schemes of work for AS and A2
• Topic Information
• Interactive Quizzes
• Image Gallery

GCSE Media Studies

• Schemes of work for GCSE
• Mock Exams
• Topic Information
• Interactive Quizzes
• Image Gallery

Key Concepts & Skills

• Skills Tutorials
• Production Zone
• Key Concept Guides
• Media Language Glossary

Other Resources

• YouTube Playlist

Support Community

• Our colleagues are always...

Practical ways to study the concept of genre.

The new specifications for A-level (AQA) doesn’t require the study of genre explicitly at A/S Level.  However, at A2 the Specification suggests that candidates could consider Genre Theories as part of their understanding of why and how texts are created as they are.

For the research element of the MEST 4 study, it may well be that students wish to study a particular genre.

For example, a...

AS MEST1 - Term 1

A Suggested Scheme of Work

This scheme of work is not in any way prescriptive, it is simply offered as a possible way in. It should be adapted and moulded to fit particular teachers, students and resources.

This is what the spec says:

Unit 1 – MEST1 Investigating Media

The basics are : It is 50% of AS, 25% of A Level.

There is a 2 hour written
examination worth 80 marks.

Two sections:

Section A – four compulsory...

AS MEST2 - Terms 2 and 3

A Suggested Scheme of Work

This scheme of work is not in any way prescriptive, it is simply offered as a possible way in. It should be adapted and moulded to fit particular teachers, students and resources.

TERM 2: Jan- Mar (Approx 12 weeks)

MEST 2 Creating Media Briefs for 2009

AQA Instructions say that each Brief has three separate tasks, each requiring students to work in the three different media platforms –...

A Suggested Scheme of Work

This scheme of work is not in any way prescriptive, it is simply offered as a possible way in. It should be adapted and moulded to fit particular teachers, students and resources.

Week 1 Intro

This is the examined unit for A2 worth 50% of the A2 level called Critical Perspectives. I suggest that this unit is taught after the completion of MEST4 course work, so teaching the unit is likely to begin in late January and...

A Suggested Scheme of Work

This scheme of work is not in any way prescriptive, it is simply offered as a possible way in. It should be adapted and moulded to fit particular teachers, students and resources.

Strategy

Many teachers will want to get going on the Research and Production unit – MEST4 – at the beginning of term 4 (Autumn) so that all the course work is in by the beginning of the Spring term, and the difficult task of marking...

I have tried to break down the marking for each question for those people who need guidance on the value of individual bullet points / questions.

Most of the bullet points / questions I expect will be rolled together into one answer and so, as with much GCSE Media Studies marking, I would be thinking about marking the answers holistically – have a look at the table of marks out of 25 where I have suggested that a little bit either side of...

Blockbuster Enterprises
Mastermind House
Quizoftheweek Road
Norwich
RU1 4 QZS

December 2008

Dear Media Student

Congratulations on reaching the final phase of your GCSE course. We know that the work has been difficult at times and possibly frustrating, but we hope that your two year’s work in the world of media has ultimately been rewarding.

The Final Challenge for you is possibly the most challenging yet – The Television Quiz Show exam!...[ read full article ] »

A Grade

An A / A* grade student will have realised how the history of television forms and influences the current programmes being broadcast at present. They will have a comprehensive knowledge of some significant quiz shows and the way in which the genre has developed over the years and will have considered possible developments in the future of broadcasting.

There will be clear evidence that ethical considerations and issues will have been...

CT2009: TV Quiz Shows – Mock exam paper – HIGHER
Question 1 – History and Research
Question 2 – Key Concepts
Question 3 – Production Tasks
Question 4 – Evaluation / The Future

Question 1 – Describe the key conventions of the television quiz show. (25 marks)

You should discuss:
i) the Host (KC=ML/C)
ii) the contestants and how they are selected (KC=R)
iii) the questions that are asked / the rounds or structure of the show (...

Advertising Articles.doc

Advertising Brief.doc

Advertising Evaluation Annotated.doc

Advertising Macro.doc

Advertising Writing Frame.doc

Adverts.ppt

AQA GCSE Comics Scheme of Work.zip

AQA GCSE Coursework Coversheets.zip

AQA GCSE Coursework Sheet.doc

AQA GCSE Media Assessment Ideas.doc

AQA GCSE Media Intro Scheme.doc

AQA GCSE Media Overview.ppt

AQA GCSE Sec A Coversheet.doc

AQA GCSE Sec B Coversheet.doc

AQA GCSE Section B Coursework...

Question 1 – History and Research
Question 2 – Key Concepts: Audiences
Question 3 – Production Tasks
Question 4 – Scheduling

Question 1 – Describe the key conventions of the television quiz show. (25 marks)

You should discuss:

i) the Host (KC=ML/C)

ii) the contestants and how they are selected (KC=R)

iii) the questions that are asked / the rounds or structure of the show (KC=ML/C)

iv) the studio setting and (KC=ML/C)

v) the...

This is a prepared exam. This means that you have two weeks to research and prepare your answers. You will then have 1 ½ hours to carry out the tasks under supervision.  You will NOT be allowed to take any notes into the exam but you should make sure that you have pencils, colours, ruler, sharpener, eraser, highlighter, etc.

This is a 2-question mock exam. The real AQA GCSE Media Studies Controlled Test will have 4 tasks for you to complete....[ read full article ] »

TASK 1: History / Research Question (25 marks)

The focus for this Task on the Higher tier paper is how UK and US sitcoms have gone in different directions. In your classwork you may have covered the “cosy–domestic” British sitcom of the Terry and June or Ever Decreasing Circles format. Many of the US sitcoms that we have seen imported into the UK have been “star vehicles” for example Cybil (Shepard) or Ellen (DeGeneres) which somehow...

TASK 1: History / Research Question (25 marks)

The key to this question is how the sitcom has changed since the 1960s when it first became a television staple. The thrust of the answer should identify the key conventions of the sitcom, for example: the consistency of setting and characters; the “no learning” rule which allows characters to make similar mistakes week after week; the canned laughter / laughter track - (see other notes).

A...

An Introduction to Sitcoms

Frome College on Sitcoms

A List of British Sitcoms

Buster Tests: Sitcom Basics

BBC on Britain’s Best Sitcoms

North East Wales Institute of HE on Sitcoms

ScreenOnline on Sitcoms

Television Heaven on Galton & Simpson

Teletronic.co.uk on The Good Life

Writing Sitcoms

Robin Kelly on Sitcom Writing

The Stage Guide to Sitcom Writing

Sitcom Downloads & Other Resources

FunTrivia Quizzes on Sitcom

Kings’ School...

What is a Sitcom?

A Situation Comedy is a comedy series built around a familiar group of characters in the same location.

[Geoff Barton’s ‘Glossary of Media Terms’]

When approaching Sitcom or Situation Comedy as a television genre it is important to establish how it has developed historically and what it might evolve into in terms of its possible futures.

As with any analysis in Media Studies, the Key Concepts need to be addressed. In this...

A typical A Level exam production task is to create a trailer for a film.

This is the type of task you will be asked to do:

Make a 3 minute trailer for a 15 rated film in a genre of your choice suitable for a teenage audience with a budget of about £10 million (the approximate budget for Slumdog Millionaire).

Before making your trailer you need to fully understand what a film trailer is, how it works and what it aims to do.

Definition

A...

Time allowed: 1 hr writing. 30 mins reading/taking notes only

You have 30 mins to read the texts, or view the moving image clips, and make notes. Then you have one hour to write your response. It is really essential to make good use of the 30 minute note making time.

This paper does not directly ask candidates to compare the two texts which can be moving image or print texts. It asks candidate to use the texts as a starting point for a...

TEXTS AND CONTEXTS IN THE MEDIA

THIS UNIT WILL COVER THE FOLLOWING TOPIC AREAS:

THE PRODUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF NEWS
REPRESENTATION
GENRE
MEDIA AUDIENCES

RESOURCES: Use of materials ranging from Teaching TV News Eileen Lewis (BFI 2003) to Media Studies: The Essential Introduction Rayner, Kruger and Wall (Routledge, 2002) and many video extracts from contemporary TV news, soaps, TV programmes like The Weakest Link for audience...

READING THE MEDIA

RESOURCES: internet access/hand outs from newspapers and real applications/ Definition of key terms and handouts from various theorists on Media and extracts from key books for AS/A2 students.

ICT OPPORTUNITIES: digital camera work and photo editing software when designing own front page of magazine; Adobe Auditions (once purchased) for practising radio work and digital camcorder and Pinnacle software for moving images as...

TEXTUAL TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY MEDIA

Advertising, Marketing & Documentary

RESOURCES: Handouts from key texts like The Media Student’s Book Gill Branston (Routledge, 2002); Advanced Level Media Angela Bell, Mark Joyce and Danny Rivers (Hodder and Stoughton, 2003) as well as newspaper extracts from The Guardian and tabloids like The Sun for information on reality TV and any comments on current TV advertisements.

Information will be given off...

PRACTICAL PRODUCTION

Advertising & Marketing

RESOURCES: a folder containing colour coded sheets designed in-house making references to syllabus requirements of a brief of 750 words as well as producing an example of a mass media product and an evaluation of 1000 words.

Other resources will include handouts from work studied in MED 2 on ADVERTISING to help students produce this production and create a bibliography. Students will need to...

INDEPENDENT STUDY

There is no week by week overview of this unit as this is not taught in a six-week block. it works alongside MED 4 units of work. There will be regular deadlines set and regular tutorials to assess students’ work.

RESOURCES: students provided with a folder that contains information to help them plan their Independent Study. The folder has Key Concepts highlighted, exemplar material from students that gained a strong grade...

• We can organise half-day or full day courses on any aspect of Media Studies at your school or college.

• We can also provide keynote speakers for conferences and training events.

Contact MediaEdu

Programme Details

• We come to you.

• Where possible assessors from leading awarding bodies lead our courses.

• Each revision course is 3 hours in length and is delivered in both whole group and seminar-style...

Click on the link below to download a frame for analysing the opening of the film ‘Children of Men’.

Film-Opening-Children-Of-Men.doc

‘It’s just an idea for group work deconstructing an interesting text (especially because, unusually, this one starts in the middle of the disequilibrium, rather than establishing an equilibrium first of all, so is good for narrative theory.  Also, our “hero” is rather...

MediaEdu provides access to the following resources:

A Level Media Studies

• Schemes of work for AS and A2
• Topic Information
• Interactive Quizzes
• Image Gallery

GCSE Media Studies

• Schemes of work for GCSE
• Mock Exams
• Topic Information
• Interactive Quizzes
• Image Gallery

Key Concepts & Skills

• Skills Tutorials
• Production Zone
• Key Concept Guides
• Media Language Glossary

Other Resources

• YouTube Playlist

Support...

AS MEST1 - Term 1

A Suggested Scheme of Work

This scheme of work is not in any way prescriptive, it is simply offered as a possible way in. It should be adapted and moulded to fit particular teachers, students and resources.

This is what the spec says:

Unit 1 – MEST1 Investigating Media

The basics are : It is 50% of AS, 25% of A Level.

There is a 2 hour written
examination worth 80 marks.

Two...