Category: Media

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Absolutely Fabulous episode entitled New Best Friend

Opening sequence: multi-coloured titles dance across screen then seen revolving round the centre – psychedelic flashing blue background; whole impression is of drunken or drugged vision.

Premise: Edina is a publicist who has Lulu among other celebs on her books; however she isn’t very good and even her customers don’t think much of her; she lives in a nice suburban house where the living accommodation is on the ground floor and the kitchen below – topsy-turvey rather like the relationships in the series! Everything is extreme in this programme.
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Notes from Media course November 2009

  • http://getaheadocrmedia.blogspot.com
  • Formative mark scheme
  • Evaluation / argument / analysis
  • Examples 20% / terminology 10%
  • One over all website with links to kids individual websites preferred
  • Jan 2009 ‘How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences.’
  • TV Drama see p 18-19 of spec NB p/c it for students
  • Keep a glossary of technical vocabulary
  • Integrate answers with argument, evaluation and analysis see above range of different examples.
  • Synthesised answers are best but difficult to cover all aspects equally quite acceptable to go through each aspect separately.
  • Constructions to be recognised by viewers – can adhere to cultural expectations or undermine or challenge them.
  • Sound and editing also important – pace can be influenced; manipulation of time to make things seem quicker, slower to increase tension; creation of perspective; manipulation of narrative information – e.g. relationships between characters or bits of story line.
  • Look at The Chase for editing of the keys bit – 3 shots – extension of time gives her status; which characters get most reaction shots? Point of view shots?
  • Sound is more than just dialogue; how is non-diegetic sound used? How is ambient sound used?
  • Section B – 2 case studies contrasting? E.g. big vs. small companies, or mass vs. niche? CONCENTRATE MORE ON PRODUCER / INSTITUION LESS ON GAME ITSELF
  • Strong technological element
  • All dependent on New Media Technologies for production / marketing / consumption
  • Start with the student
  • Where do they play? How do they share it? Where did they hear of it? Then back to the institution which produced it
  • Production / distribution / consumption / exchange i.e. shared, adapted, added to, changed, subverted? Mash ups!
  • Greg dyke ‘within 5-10 years 10% of jobs will be in media in some way. Firms have PR / media relations depts. Etc.
  • Technological convergence different from institutional convergence.
  • Section A if student does an intro say e.g. whether or not gender etc. is the key focus of the scene or not or whether it is a stereotypical view or not… But start with mise en scène.
  • On CD useful documents: Take back the tube / second life / their space report
  • Also Music Magazines c/w examples the Beat 56/60
  • Foundation c/w – do screen grabs show page layout / design and how photos cropped see also: Chestnut Grove School; remember not all members will contribute the same and marks can be differentiated. Evaluation should be more on lines of annotation, reflection, could film presentations of coursework to class. Creative & Media Diploma and The Art of the Title Sequence Map out the timeline of a trailer so they can copy it – see ginger snaps at cmdiploma.com Yasmin’s blog!
  • Advanced portfolio see p 32 of spec NB idea – set or sequence of posters for the railway billboards – photograph the boards then Photoshop own posters into them.
  • If using others’ music e-mail for permission – proves you have sought it even if not granted!
  • The 4 questions (see p 30 of spec)
  • Notes from the specimen A2 paper:
    • Q1a concepts 5 areas to be chosen from: digital technology / creativity* / research and planning / post-production / using conventions from real media texts (see on the blog a Mark Redman presentation on Creativity
    • Q1b concepts: representation / audience / narrative / genre / media language (includes genre, narrative etc.!!)
    • NB look at music magazines c/w in relation to these questions likewise soap trailer.
    • *could come up each time.
    • Section B convergence of themes; keep up to date with the news regarding media and issues
    • Collective identity suggestions:
      • Life on Mars – also a postmodern text
      • Facebook – also global media
      • GTA – also global media
      • Big Brother
      • Youth – British film
        • Shane Meadow sympathetically portrays the young
        • The news representation of young people
        • Social networking how do young people represent themselves?
        • Kid British (you tube short film)
      • Two Media is the production / institution not the texts themselves
      • Nick Griffin on question time for the mash up!
      • Downfall (Hitler)
      • Spotify
      • Longroad media
      • Michael Wesch film on the anthropology of the internet
      • Suggested reading about Youth representation
        • ‘Folk devils and moral panics’ – Stanley Coen
        • David Buckingham
        • Angela MacRobbie – ‘Girls and Magazines’
        • ‘Representing Youth’ – Christine Griffin

 

Final note every unit needs: institutions audiences, representation!