OCR A2 Media studies Exam Questions 1a and 1b tips UPDATED

OCR A2 Media studies Exam Questions 1a and 1b tips UPDATED

• 1.
  + Theories for Questions1a and 1b What to pick and why
• 2.
  + Petesmediablog.blogspot.com  This isthe chief examiners blog.  Tips for EVERY question can be found here  Our blogs  http://mrsmitha2musicvideo.blogspot.com/  http://smithlcmedia.blogspot.com/
• 3.
  + Question 1a  Willbe a combination of  Creativity  Research and Planning  Real Media Conventions  Digital Technology  Post production
• 4.
  + Past Questions  Describehow you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time. Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.
• 5.
  + Top Tip –From the examiner  You only have half an hour for the question and you really need to make the most of that time by quickly moving from description (so the reader knows what you did) to analysis/evaluation/reflection, so he/she starts to understand what you learnt from it.  Final tips: you need some practice- this is very hard to do without it! Try to write an essay on each of the areas, or at the very least doing a detailed plan with lots of examples. The fact that it is a 30 minute essay makes it very unusual, so you need to be able to tailor your writing to that length- a tough task!
• 6.
  + Creativity – matchingthe debate to an area "A process needed for problem solving...not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people" (Jones 1993) post production research and planning "The making of the new and the re arranging of the old" (Bentley 1997) media conventions, post production, digital technology "Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation." (Csikszentmihalyi 1996) "There is no absolute judgement [on creativity] All judgements are comparisons of one thing with another." (Donald Larning) media conventions
• 7.
  + Real Media Conventions Knowingwhat ‘real’ texts include and knowing why you used them. For this, it is worth making a list for each project you have worked on and categorising them by medium so that you don’t repeat yourself Prelim Mag – Music Mag – Music Video – Digi Pack – Poster Or Continuity exercise – film opening – Music Video – Digi Pack - Poster
• 8.
  + Key basic terminology– magazines (useful for poster) Masthead: The title of the magazine or newspaper. It is usually placed at the top of the front cover for display purposes Cover lines : Information about major articles given on the front page of a magazine Plug: Information about the contents of a magazine or newspaper given on the front cover Left-side third: A lot of important information designed to attract potential readers is placed in the left-hand side vertical third of the front cover page. This is in case the magazine is displayed in a horizontal shelving system rather than a vertical one.
• 9.
  + Section 1b –analyzing your text against theory Make sure you have a line of argument and plenty of examples to back them up. Audience Genre Narrative Representation Media Language
• 10.
  + Past Questions Analyse mediarepresentation in one of your coursework productions. Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre. Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions.
• 11.
  + What’s not beenbeen asked? Audience Media Language
• 12.
  + Audience  Who wasyour product aimed at? (revise using your blog and uktribes)  How did you target this audience? (think uses and gratifications, what did you include to appeal to them?)  What was their reaction? (prefered, oppositional and negotiated)
• 13.
  + Media Language Difficult asit’s a bit catch all BUT focus on technical features  Editing  Camera work  Page layouts (magazine or poster)  Fonts (magazine or poster) These elements are used to tell a ‘story’. You’ll need to revise Music Video theory.
• 14.
  + Media Language -Basic Music Video stuff Tempo of music drives the editing. Genre might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles. Camerawork impacts meaning. Movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the artist/band (close-ups dominate). Editing is done in fast cuts, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing (repeatability). Digital effects often enhance editing, which manipulates the the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience.
• 15.
  + Media Language Slightly moreadvanced – Andrew Goodwin Illustrate: Images used to represent the meanings of the lyrics and genre (this is the most common feature of a music video) this is very often literal. Disjuncture: When the meaning of the song is completely ignored Amplify: Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown throughout the video and shown to the audience (basically repetition). You MUST link these elements to the basic technical elements.
• 16.
  + All previous questions Jan2010 1 (a) Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. [25] In question 1(b) you need to choose one of your media productions to write about. (b) Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions. [25] Section A Total [50] (a) Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time. [25] In question 1(b)you need to choose one of your media productions to write about. (b) Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre. [25] Section A Total [50]
• 17.
  + Jan 2011 1 (a)Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. [25] In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions. (b) Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions. [25] June 2011 1 (a) Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time. [25] Question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions only. (b) Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience. [25]
• 18.
  + Jan 2012 1 (a)Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. [25] In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions. (b) Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions. [25] June 2012 1 (a) Describe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these decisions made a difference to the final outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time. [25] In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions. (b) Explain how meaning is constructed by the use of media language in one of your coursework productions. [25]
• 19.
  + Jan 2013 1 (a)Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer. [25] In question 1(b) you must write about One of your media productions. (b) Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of narrative. [25] June 2013 1 (a) Explain how your skills in the creative use of digital technology developed over time. Refer to a range of examples from your media productions in your answer. [25] In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions. (b) Apply the concept of representation to one of your coursework productions. [25]