Media

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What students will learn

How it builds on learning

Component 1

Term 1 – Music Videos

Students will be introduced to key terminology and theorists required for the Media Studies Specification. They will study two set music videos – currently Formation by Beyoncé and Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender, as well as a number of unseen products. Students will become familiar with analysing how media texts communicate meaning, building on their analysis skills from English.

Term 1 - Advertising

Alongside their work on Music Videos, students will develop their analysis skills by analysing advertising throughout the 20^th and 21^st century, and considering how these identify and reach target audiences.

Term 2 - Newspapers

Students complete an in-depth study for newspapers on the set products, The Times and The Daily Mirror, using all the skills from their previous two units, as well as ensuring they are aware of political bias within the newspaper industry, and aware of how this is affected by media ownership.

Term 2 - Radio

Students will develop understanding of Woman's Hour as an evolving media product in terms of the radio industry and audience issues they illustrate. Students will have an awareness of the historical significance of the programme and how it has been created and circulated in response to industry and audience demands.

Term 3 – Video Games

Learners should have knowledge and understanding of the Assassin’s Creed franchise in terms of the relevant video games industry and audience issues it illustrates. One game will be studied in detail.

Term 3 – Film Marketing

Students will study the set films and their marketing across various media, exploring the convergence of media platforms and technologies and other relevant industry issues. The two films reflect contrasting aspects of the film industry: mainstream (Black Panther) and independent (I, Daniel Blake) production. Students will consider at least one trailer and at least one poster for each film, as well as online marketing where relevant. Selected extracts from the films may also be studied in relation to the industry issues exemplified, including the opening credits and at least one other extract.

Term 3 – Introducing the NEA

Students will be given the briefs for the Media Studies NEA and will do the initial research and planning for their own Cross-Media Production, e.g. creating part of a music video, and a magazine cover and article featuring their own music artist!

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What students will learn

How it builds on learning

Term 1 – Completing the NEA

Students will have time in lessons to continue editing their cross-media production, although the expectation is that the majority of this will be completed independently.

Term 1 - Magazines

The magazine industry in the UK is a highly challenging media environment, with thousands of titles competing for readers and market space. Here, students will explore two magazines (Vogue and The Big Issue) in depth, developing an understanding of the contextual factors that shape their production, distribution, circulation and consumption, as well as considering the historical, social, and cultural significance of the representations they offer. Learners will also explore how media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies.

Term 1 - Television

Television today is a global industry. The international popularity of genres like Nordic noir, the global reach of streaming services such as Netflix and Apple TV+, and the growing number of international co-productions reflect the increasingly transnational outlook of television in the global age. Through an in-depth study of two contrasting programmes produced in different social and cultural contexts, (Killing Eve and Tehran), students will explore the dynamics that shape contemporary television production, distribution and circulation. The role of public service broadcasting in a global marketplace will be considered, as learners will explore the significance of the economic and industry contexts in which the set products are produced. The way in which the television industry is regulated, and the marketing strategies used to promote the set products will also be investigated. Students will also have opportunities to explore how the television audience is defined, constructed and targeted on both a national and a global scale.

Term 2 – Online Media

In a world increasingly dominated by digital technology, online, social and participatory media have become an integral part of the contemporary media landscape. The growing cultural significance of online platforms is evident in the number of subscribers that YouTubers attract, and in the amount of web traffic that the websites of online newspapers and magazines generate. Through an in-depth study of two contrasting online products, learners will look at the role played by social media channels and websites in the media today, exploring the way in which these convergent media platforms increasingly overlap, as well as investigating the potential that they offer for self-representation. The changing relationship between media producers and audiences will be considered here, as learners will examine the idea that media consumers have now become producers who regularly and actively participate in the creation and dissemination of media content online.

Term 2/3 – Revision of prior units

Revision of all the content above, in preparation for exams.