Resources for WJEC GCSE Media Studies on MediaEdu

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

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

• 2012 WJEC GCSE Media Studies Music: Industry Websites & Magazines Overview

Further Reading & Support

The primary source for authoritative information & support is the WJEC Media...

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
...

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...

These quizzes are best viewed in Firefox.

Firefox is an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer which is available free for both PCs and Macs.

These quizzes are best viewed in Firefox.

Firefox is an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer which is available free for both PCs and Macs.

The music industry is the name for the way the music we want to hear is delivered to us. It is part of the Creative Arts Business which includes cinema and theatre, where music is an integral part of their activities.

The aim of the music industry is to make money from a product which in this case is music, in the same way that a washing machine manufacturer makes money by designing and selling a product – a machine to do your washing.

Half or Full Day Revision Courses in Your School

Programme Details

Our practical workshops usually include:

• Investigating genre conventions (cards and games)
• Starter activities, ‘odd one out’ / ‘top n tail’ / connective thinking
• Loop cards with key facts
• Loop cards with relevant theories
• Carousel activities ‘add facts’ and move on….
• Carousel activities…making a storyboard…and move on…

We ensure that students get to know the exam structure,...

Guides

• Understanding The Music Industry & Music Industry Websites

Case Studies

• Fan Site Sample Deconstruction

• Product Site Sample Deconstruction

• Social Networking Site Sample Deconstruction

• Star Site Sample Deconstruction

Activities & Skills

• Music Video Codes

• Music Magazine Codes

• Music Industry Websites

• Music Industry Mock

• Music Industry Mark Scheme

Associated Resources

• Katy Perry Start Site

Associated Resources (by Rob Miller)

• Katy Perry Star Site.doc
• Music Industry Fan Site Sample Deconstruction: http://www.katyfan.com.doc

• Music Industry Product Site Sample Deconstruction: http://www.kerrang.com.doc

• Music Industry Social Networking Site Sample Deconstruction: Jay Z.doc

• Music Industry Star Site Sample Deconstruction: http://www.rollingstones.com.doc

...

Associated Resources

Deconstructing Website Pages.doc

The main point with websites is that they can be deconstructed like any other media form – the basic principles of Print Media (Magazines and Newspapers) apply in that a fundamental audience appeal is constructed from layout and design with the key fact that websites have their own conventions.

The Tabloid (see below) is the closest form of traditional media that compares with the...

This page should provide you with an index to the information we have on MediaEdu which relates directly to the 2012 WJEC GCSE Media Studies External Assessment on Music: Industry Websites & Magazines.

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

Scheme

• WJEC GCSE Media Studies Unit 1 Scheme of Work: Music | Industry Websites | Magazines

Guide

• Understanding The Music Industry & Music Industry Websites

Case...

Scheme

• WJEC GCSE Media Studies 2012 Unit 1 SoW - Music.doc

Associated Resources

• WJEC GCSE Media Studies Music: Industry Websites & Magazines Overview

Concepts

• Visual/Aural language - Semiotics
• Music Genre Codes and Conventions and Narrative
• History of Popular Music
• Representation in Music Websites and Music Videos
• The Music Industry
• Music Magazines
• Revision

Skills

• Analysis, skills of Deconstruction, Note taking, Group work
• Identifying...

• 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...

Half-Day Revision Course for WJEC GCSE Media Studies Exam on Music Videos & Fan Websites - 2011

This is a half-day revision course on Music Videos & Fan Websites for this summer’s WJEC GCSE Media Studies Exam. See ‘Programme Details’ below for more info.

Programme Details

• We come to you.

• We would suggest a Saturday if you would like the course delivered in term time.

• Each revision course is 3 hours in length and is delivered in both...

Click on the link below to download a mock exam and mark scheme for WJEC GCSE Media Studies Pop Videos & Fan Websites.

• WJEC GCSE Media Studies Music Videos & Fan Websites Mock Exam.doc
• WJEC GCSE Media Studies Music Videos and Fan Websites Mock Exam Mark Scheme.doc

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...

Editing within music videos can be explored which emphasises and draws attention that the shots have been joined together, in particular by using the jump-cut so that the effect is abrupt usually followed by something that the audience is not expecting.

Look at MediaEdu’s Music Video Pre-Production and Music Video Production

The pace of the editing being dictated by the visuals is another area to explore. How many cuts are visible in an...

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

Film Genre - Thrillers.pdf

2011 Exam

Section A - Music Video
Section B - Music Fan Websites

2012 Exam

Section A - Music Industry Websites
Section B - Music Magazines

The exam (40% of the final mark)  2 hours 15 minutes. The topic is music. Candidates will be expected to study the topic in a way which reflects the convergent nature of contemporary media.

The paper is divided into two sections.

Section A: Thinking about the Media – Investigating

This will assess...

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...

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...

This genre of films appeals to a family audience. The stories often pick up on the characters and type of stories that children have come across in children’s books – pirates, swashbuckling heroes, a quest for lost treasure and lots of adventures with monsters and exotic locations such as ancient Egypt. The most successful action adventure films include Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark franchise, and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy....[ read full article ] »

Click here to download as a PDF

Joe McElderry and Rage Against the Machine: a most unlikely chart battle!

In this scheme of work Stephen Hill compares the campaign for Joe McElderry’s ‘The Climb’ (UK number two, Christmas 2009) and Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ (UK number one, Christmas 2009). He considers the ways in which the marketing of the two songs reflects very different strategies for the promotion of...

Film Poster Writing Frame Sci-fi Trailers.doc

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 Class Work

Revision of Section A thinking about the Media – investigating. Text analysis including genre, narrative, and mis-en-scène from moving image sports TV and print and online advertisements, Representations and Audiences....[ read full article ] »

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.

Weeks 1-3 Class Work on Textual Analysis 30%

Intro to course work. Candidates are required to submit three pieces of work. The pieces must be from at least two different media.

• one piece must be based on textual analysis – 30 %
• one...

Analysing Comics 1.doc

Analysing Comics 2.doc

Analysing Pop Music Videos.doc

Animated Film Mock Exam.doc

Animated Film Scheme of Work.doc

Animated Film Teachers Approach.ppt

Animation Films Essay Frame.doc

Comics Teachers Approach.ppt

Conventions Pop Music on TV.doc

From Russia With Love Annotated Poster.doc

Narrative Structure Comics.pdf

Pop Music on TV Checklist.doc

Pop Music on TV Intro.ppt

Pop Music Top Camera Shots.doc

Popular...

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...

Half or Full Day Revision Courses in Your School

Programme Details

Our practical workshops usually include:

• Investigating genre conventions (cards and games)
• Starter activities, ‘odd one out’ / ‘top n tail’ / connective thinking
• Loop cards with key facts
• Loop cards with relevant theories
• Carousel activities ‘add facts’ and move on….
• Carousel activities…making a storyboard…and move on…

We ensure that...

• 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...

Half-Day Revision Course for WJEC GCSE Media Studies Exam on Music Videos & Fan Websites - 2011

This is a half-day revision course on Music Videos & Fan Websites for this summer’s WJEC GCSE Media Studies Exam. See ‘Programme Details’ below for more info.

Programme Details

• We come to you.

• We would suggest a Saturday if you would like the course delivered in term time.

• Each revision course is 3 hours in...

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...