Resources for AQA GCSE Media Studies on MediaEdu

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

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

• 2012 AQA GCSE Media Studies Television Crime Drama Overview

Further Reading & Support

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

AQA GCSE Media...

Andy Warhol predicted in 1968 that everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. Contemporary observers such as David Weinberger suggest that Internet technologies will make everyone famous to 15 people.  But Reality TV shows confirm to viewers that anyone can become famous to an audience of millions – well almost anyone… 

Genre

Reality television is a hybrid genre. It is like a documentary as it is a factual form concerned with investigating...

Half-Day Revision Course for AQA GCSE Media Studies External Assessment on Action Adventure Films - 2011

Our first session will be a half-day revision course on Action Adventure Films for this summer’s AQA GCSE Media Studies External Assessment. 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...

What is The Popular Press?

Contents

• definitions of media language associated with newspapers
• codes and conventions
• areas of study
• classroom activities
• front page examples
• front page quiz
• news values
• regulation
• institutions
• representations
• audiences
• politics and the popular press

The Popular Press refers to mass circulation national newspapers, targeted at the popular end of the market. This includes The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily...

A Level Storyboarding

Pre-production Item | Storyboard

Example Brief: Create a storyboard (and video trailer) for a TV Crime Drama

The pre-production brief is to create a storyboard. Students should create a storyboard that shows as much detail as possible including camera instructions with details of camera movement, shot duration, content, details of audio tracks and details of transitions between frames.

This guide opens with a...

Use the three image links above to access GEEVIDEO.com’s excellent archive of Pop Music on TV Clips. When you click on one of the movie clips, you will see a ‘Download Spamblocker’ advert - ignore this and click on the ‘skip’ option on top right hand corner of the screen. The video should then be ready to watch.

Anyone teaching pop music needs to ge their libary to order the fabulous comprehensive history of pop by Alan Parker called All You...

‘The focus of this examination is institutional/ scheduling issues and audience pleasures. These pages on sit-com provide a background only to the topic. The specific issues of institution/scheduling and audience pleasures in relation to sit-com will need to be taught separately.’

Brief Definition

The British TV sitcom is a television series that derives humour from the same characters in a fixed location exploring a variety of comic...

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...

Associated Resources

• Narrative AS Terminology Revision Sheet.doc

Overview

• Narrative
• Narrative Enigmas
• Narrative Themes
• Narrative Structure
• Narrative Theory

Narrative

• The structure and organisation of media texts e.g. story
• Narrative chain of cause and effect – the plotlines in a story that are triggered by action and enigma codes (something happens that causes something else to happen)
• Narrative is correlated...

Overview

• Year 11 AQA Media Studies GCSE 1 Year Scheme of Work 2012: (4812 Single Award)
• Unit 1: Investigating the Media (TV Crime Drama) and Unit 2: Understanding the Media (Controlled Assessment)

Scheme

• AQA GCSE Media Studies 2012 1-Year SOW.doc

Concepts

• Media Language, Forms and Conventions (Semiotics, Genre, Narrative)
• Institution (Producers, Distribution, Technology)
• Audiences (Targeting, Theory and Debate)
• Representation
• Research,...

These quizzes are best viewed in Firefox.

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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.

These quizzes are best viewed in Firefox.

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

One of the major planning points in a teacher’s year is concerning a course. With changing specifications and curriculums, you can find yourself in the position of designing and redesigning media studies courses every year. So when do you do the controlled assessment? When do you tackle the skills training and when can you start the academic theory. Because you have more than a year, it can almost be too much time. Here are a few points which...

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,...

It all began in Wiltshire with the brutal murder of a three year old boy in June 1860. His body was taken from his bed at his home Road Hill House and dumped in the privy.

Who done it and why?

The crucial murder mystery element was that all the principal suspects were the people in the house at the time – the family and the servants.

The media in the form of local and national newspapers reported with relish every detail of the case and it...

Scheme

• AQA GCSE Media Studies 2012 Unit 1 SoW - Television Crime Drama.doc

Associated Resources

• AQA GCSE Media Studies Television Crime Drama Overview

Concepts

• Media Language, Forms and Conventions (Semiotics, Genre, Narrative)
• Institution (Producers, Distribution, Technology)
• Audiences (Targeting, Theory and Debate)
• Representation
• Research, Planning and Responding to a Brief
• Constructing, Creating and Evaluating

Skills

• Textual Analysis,...

Guides

Understanding Crime Drama

Understanding The Murder Mystery

Case Studies

The Mentalist

Luther

Life on Mars

24 Magazine

Bones Homepage

Activities & Skills

Coming soon…

Associated Resources

Coming soon…

TV Crime Drama Police Procedurals Worksheet.doc

TV Crime Drama Characters Worksheet.doc

TV Crime Drama Mise-en-scene Worksheet.doc

TV Crime Drama Production Ideas.doc

This page should provide you with an index to the information we have on MediaEdu which relates directly to the 2012 AQA GCSE Media Studies External Assessment on Television Crime Drama.

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

Scheme

• 2012 AQA GCSE Media Studies Unit 1 Scheme of Work: Television Crime Drama

Guides

• Understanding Crime Drama
• Understanding The Murder Mystery

Case Studies

• Crime Drama Case...

Trailer: Season 3

Genre: US Police Procedural

First seen in September 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show’s executive producer. Duration is 44 minutes of actual drama.

By 2011 it is in its third series and joins a stable of police procedurals on Channel 5 including:

CSI: Miami; CSI: NY; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; NCIS and US Law and Order.

I have chosen it as a case study because it attracts a...

AA Films Analysing Evil Characters Worksheet.doc

AA Films Analysing Good Characters Worksheet.doc

AA Films Camera Angles & Shot Worksheet.doc

AA Films Editing Worksheet.doc

AA Films Editing Worksheet Exemplar.doc

AA Films Hollywood Worksheet.doc

Film Marketing Analysis Worksheet.doc

Storyboard Blank 8 Frames.doc

• 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...

Trailer

At World’s End was the most successful film of 2007, grossing approximately $960 million worldwide, and making it the second most successful in the series, behind Dead Man’s Chest.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Makeup and the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

It remains one of the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of $300 million.

Definition

For an introduction to Action Adventure films for GCSE see:

Associated Resources

CA 2011 Action Adventure Mock Preliminary Letter v2.doc
CA 2011 Action Adventure Mock Exam Paper v2.doc

Understanding Storyboarding

Storyboarding is often required as a key production skill in the exam. Make sure you practise your storyboarding skills just in case it crops up again.

External Assessment Mock Exam Preliminary Letter

Action...

This guide is designed to cover the main points of the genre of Disaster Movies, which is the designated topic until summer 2012 for the WJEC GCSE in Film Studies for Paper 1 Exploring Film and to explain what you are likely to be asked in the examination

Defining the genre, what is a disaster movie?

Like all film genres, disaster movies are recognisable because of the presence of certain key elements which we would expect to see in a film...

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...

Unit 2 Overview: Understanding The Media - Controlled Assessment Unit

What students have to do…

In Unit 2 candidates will produce:

• Assignment 1 - Introductory assignment with two tasks
• Assignment 2 - Two tasks about cross-media platforms
• Assignment 3 - Practical production and evaluation

• Each assignment chosen from a different bank of assignments.
• Students work individually. For assignment 3, groups of candidates may collaborate but their...

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...

Introductory Assignment with Two Related Tasks drawn from Assignment Bank 1 - Radio

• 1. Analyse the opening five minutes of a radio mainly talk show. Showing codes and conventions. How does the show appeal to its audience?

• 2. Prepare a script for a radio show aimed at a specific audience with references to idents, inserts, bedding music, etc.

For students wanting to know more about studying and working with radio, see MediaEdu Radio Part 1.

Action Adventure Films is the set topic for the exam on Monday 13 June 2011 (pm) 1 hour and 30 mins

The 2011 brief should be issued to students on or shortly after Monday 16 May 2011. The brief will provide students with a contextualised scenario. The examination will require students to respond to tasks in role.

AQA suggests there are different types of action adventure films and offers this list:

Action Adventure – Swashbuckler

The Mask...

Adapt and use according to your particular circumstances.

This is the GCSE that was first examined in 2010. For the single GCSE there are two units which can be taught over two years.

Two extra units exploring media industries in more depth can be bolted on to obtain the GCSE Media Studies Double Award, either alongside the first two units or over a further year.

Unit 1

Assessed by an exam and worth 40% of the GCSE. Written Paper – 1 hour...

This resource is currently under construction.

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

Film Genre - Thrillers.pdf

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...

The rights to broadcast this years showpiece sporting tournament is in the hands of two national mainstream television channels: BBC and ITV.

The Football World Cup in South Africa 2010 will command many hours from both BBC and ITV primetime television slots from 11th of June – 11th of July. Games will be shown at 12.30, 17.00 and 19.30.

Programs will no doubt contain many hours of build up, the game itself, half time replays of highlights...

Sitcom is a genre which has remained successful by reacting to the changing contexts of the times in which it is produced, as well as more recently experimenting with hybridisation in order to attract its audiences.  (Depending on how much time you wish to spend, you could show either clips or episodes, and I have suggested suitable episodes which should be readily available on DVD or possibly Youtube.)

Rooted in the radio variety shows of...

The Front Cover

AQA, and other boards, GCSE assignment 1 asks students to write about / analyse two different MAGAZINE FRONT COVERS.

GCSE is about mass media texts. You need to choose consumer magazines rather than specialist or niche audience magazines.

Some examples of the genres of consumer magazines are:

• Fashion
• TV listings
• Children
• Lifestyle
• Home, garden and cooking
• Motoring
• Computing
• Sports

Browsing Magazines Covers on MediaEdu

Visit...

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 ] »

This exam is THREE HOURS in length.
All FOUR questions should be answered.
All of the questions are worth 25 marks, so you should spend an equal amount of time on each.
Include any rough design work or planning that you have produced during the exam – make sure your name is on any work that you hand in.

Associated Resources

Popular-Press-Mock-Exam.doc
Popular-Press-Mock-Exam-Scenario-Letter.doc
Popular-Press-Mock-Exam-Marking-Advice.doc...[ read full article ] »

Dear Students,

We at New Age Publishing recognise that more and more people are using the Internet to access their news and leisure activities.  The national papers have spotted this and are all now offering an on-line version of themselves.  We know from our research that teenagers are reading newspapers less and less but they are much more inclined to ‘surf the net’ for information. 

We want to launch an on-line newspaper aimed at the...

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

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.

Adapt and use according to your particular circumstances.

This is the new GCSE which will be first examined in 2010. For the single GCSE there are two units which can be taught over two years. 

Two extra units exploring media industries...

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.

Exam

The 2010 Controlled Test is 50% of the total marks for the GCSE.
The Popular Press refers to mass circulation national newspapers, targeted at the popular end of the market including The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express, The...

BTM TV

Memo

To: Creative Department Members

From: Managing Director

CC: Marketing Manager

Date: 3.12.07

Re: New Sit-com Commission

You may be aware that UKTV have been granted a digital broadcast licence for a new Comedy channel as from January 2008.

The main content of the channel will be classic comedy programmes and films from years gone by. They have managed to strike a deal with the BBC for many of their great classic sit-coms –...

Half-Day Revision Course for AQA GCSE Media Studies External Assessment on Action Adventure Films - 2011

Our first session will be a half-day revision course on Action Adventure Films for this summer’s AQA GCSE Media Studies External Assessment. 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.

...

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...

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...

These quizzes are best viewed in Firefox.

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

Click here to open this resource