How to use this blog.

The purpose of this blog is to help you to revise for Section A of the G325 exam and for you to catch up if you miss any lessons.

On here you will find:

Details of what the 1a and 1b questions require.
Advice on how to approach each of the sub-topics for 1a and 1b.

Also, each class also has a blog for the 2 questions, which houses short films and other revision materials created by you and your peers. Have a look at your own class, but also make sure that you look at what materials other classes have created. It's all about sharing!

Requirements of the Unit: Question 1 (a).

30 minutes. 25 marks.

Students are required to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work (ie. throughout the course), from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio.

The skills development focus will be adapted to one or more of the following topics in the exam question:

Digital Technology
Creativity
Research and Planning
Post-production
Using conventions from real media texts

Students can discuss relevant work completed outside of their Media A Level course.

Requirements of the Unit: Question 1 (b).

30 minutes. 25 marks.
Students are expected to select one of their production pieces and evaluate it in relation to a media concept. Exam questions will focus on one of the following concepts:

Genre.
Narrative.
Representation.
Audience.
Media Language.

Gender Analysis of your childrens film opening

CBeebies at 10: Where are the lead female characters?

CBeebies has won a host of awards since it was launched ten years ago – most recently for the crime-fighting reggae-loving ‘Rastamouse’, and for the singing vegetables that star in ‘Mr Bloom’s Nursery’. Alongside established favourites like Postman Pat and Bob the Builder, shows like these have made it the most watched channel in the UK for the under sixes – and while parents generally regard it as a delightful and safe place to park a pre-schooler, one grumble continues to pervade message boards and blogs – where are all the lead female characters? This is a question that interests Dr Helen Mott from the Bristol Fawcett Society and she joins Jenni to discuss the issue with the Controller of CBeebies – Kay Benbow.

Listen to the show Here

Watch one of the Childrens TV show here and analyse the characters gender roles and who the active participants in the narrative are?

What is Dr Helen Motts argument about gender and representation in BBC Children’s programmes?

What is Dr Helen Mott arguing about Characters and Narrative in relation to gender?

How has Kay Benbow (Cbeebies new controller) responded to Helen Mott’s criticism?

What debate does the discussion open up about audiences?

Analysing Your Work:

In What way does your film represent gender through the characters?

In what way does your film opening represent gender through Narratives?

On reflection how do you feel your film opening relates to the audience?

Do you feel the representations you created were intentional?

How do you feel you have represented gender in products you have made since you Children’s opening?

Three ways of thinking about the way audiences respond to media:

Usefull for Section 1 b but also section 2

Denis McQauil - 'Uses and Gratifications'
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/usegrat.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_and_gratifications

Hypodermic needle theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model

Marshall McLuhan - The medium is the message
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

Suart Hall -  Audience reception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_reception