OCR GCE MEDIA STUDIES NEW SPECIFICATION Media Studies

OCR GCE MEDIA STUDIES – NEW SPECIFICATION • Media Studies 2. 0 • There is a strong emphasis on production work, IT skills and contemporary media issues

What are the media? • • • TV & radio Cinema Newspapers & magazines Advertising Popular music The internet

What are the media? They all share an ability to reach large public audiences via the increasingly advanced technologies of print, video, sound, etc

Why study the media? • Consider how large a part the media play in our daily lives. ACTIVITY: • Write a diary for a typical weekday, describing the time you spend with the different media.

Why study the media? • a) b) c) d) e) Try to calculate how many hours you spend in an average week: Watching TV/Video/DVDs/online Listening to the radio Reading magazines/newspapers Listening to CDs/MP 3 s/tapes Using the internet/blogging/bebo/myspace/youtub e/facebook

Media influence • Do the media shape the way we think? • What do we learn about the world via the media? • Why are they so pleasurable for millions of people? • Who owns and controls the media?

Unit 1 – Foundation Portfolio (100 marks) AC • There will be four set tasks from a menu set by OCR • Each task will involve a preliminary and a main task, designed to create progression of skills • The preliminary task will be assessed and candidates will be penalised for non-submission • Research and planning will be assessed by teachers • There will be an evaluation of the production, based upon a set of key questions supplied by OCR • Research, construction and evaluation may all be presented as a group, but marks will be awarded individually • Students will be expected tp create a blog for their portfolio

Unit 1 – Foundation Portfolio (100 marks) • Example of FP task: • • Video Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes ALL VIDEO AND AUDIO MATERIAL MUST BE ORIGINAL, PRODUCED BY THE CANDIDATE(S), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. • Research and Planning – 20 marks • Construction – 60 marks • Evaluation – 20 marks

Unit 2 - Key Skills and Concepts (100 marks) Rv. L • 2 hour exam, including a 30 minute unseen sequence • 2 essay questions in 90 minutes • Q 1 – close textual analysis of an unseen sequence, linked to an issue of representation • Q 2 – case study into issues of production, distribution, marketing and exchange in a contemporary media industry

Unit 2 - Key Skills and Concepts (100 marks) • Q 1 – Unseen sequence will be taken from the following genre: – TV Drama • Q 2 – Case study may be taken from one of the following industries: – – – Film Music Radio Magazine Newspaper Videogame • It is expected that there will be a focus on British audiences and an emphasis on the students’ own experiences as consumers

Unit 3 – Advanced Portfolio (100 marks) • There will be a menu of 13 tasks set by OCR • For each portfolio, there will be a main task and three supplementary tasks, two of which must be chosen • Research and planning must be presented using appropriate IT • Evaluation must be presented using appropriate IT, in response to stimulus questions set by OCR

Unit 3 – Advanced Portfolio (100 marks) • Example of AP task: • • A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options: a website homepage for the band a cover for its release on DVD a magazine advertisement for the DVD • • • Research and Planning – 20 marks Construction – 60 marks Evaluation – 20 marks

Unit 4 – Critical Perspectives (100 marks) • 2 hour exam • 3 essay questions, Section A and Section B • Section A will ask two questions about the candidate’s production work in a critical context, eg • • 1 (a) “Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers”. In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions. [25 marks] 1 (b) “Media texts rely on cultural experiences in order for audiences to easily make sense of narratives”. Explain how you used conventional and / or experimental narrative approaches in one of your production pieces. [25 marks]

Unit 4 – Critical Perspectives (100 marks) • Section B will focus on contemporary media issues • Students will answer one question, using examples from at least two media, on the topics listed: – Contemporary Media Regulation – Global Media – Media and Collective Identity – Media in the Online Age – Postmodern Media – ‘We Media’ and Democracy