Notes and stuff-C Palmer

WORLD CINEMA-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT JAN 2008
Topic 9 World Cinema
"More candidates attempting this topic than in previous sessions – with varying degrees of success. It is really important to ensure a clear hypothesis/ area for investigation and debate. Some candidates researched interesting options such as Nigerian or Chinese cinema but unfortunately did not move beyond basic description of some films. More successful candidates explored topics such as the emergence of New German Cinema and the ways in which it represents the past, drawing some comparison with Hollywood. Other areas of study were Japanese cinema: Manga/Anime and Horror.

There was one excellent focus looking at feminism across Chinese cinema. This candidate had been able to access appropriate academic theory and was able to discuss social issues and historical context with reference and application to an appropriate filmography. There were also many effective studies of Bollywood and Asian cinema although these are rarely linked to national identity or auteur theories and primarily focus on representational issues. ‘Urban Realism’ of texts such as City of God and La Haine was the successful focus of one candidate who was able to make a contrast between this and the US gangster genre.

There were many responses offering comparative analysis to western cinema and Centres should be advised to guide candidates carefully when choosing a suitable focus, because candidates often lose focus on the topic and refer almost exclusively to the western films to which they compare their chosen texts. This has been a common weakness in these responses. Examples such as the ‘comparison of Studio Ghibli to Disney films’ or ‘how martial arts films have influenced western film’ often discuss Disney, Tarantino or The Matrix at the expense of their chosen focus. There is a lot of scope within this topic to discuss the wider context but candidates must not lose sight of the main issues."
DW

WOMEN AND FILM-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT JAN 2008
Topic 8 Women & Film
"This was less popular this session but there was a range of focuses as in the past – some studies of directors and actors and many representational studies. Some candidates considered the effects of thin/ attractive actresses on audiences with little focus on film. There were a few weak responses on romantic comedies. These mainly failed due to an over generalisation and potted history approach."
DW

TELEVISION DRAMA-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:57:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT
Topic 7 Television Drama
"This is an increasingly popular topic. Many candidates studied soap operas, crime and hospital dramas; the best of these exploring some form of debate eg a British v US institutional context or differing representations of a particular social group. One of the very best responses had researched the historical development of the Police drama, addressing representations of the police over time and linking these to social issues and attitudes to law and order in society.

Detailed analysis of texts from Dixon of Dock Green to Cops and Life on Mars aided the discussion of ideology (for example whether the text was intended to comfort and reassure the audience or encourage them to question/ criticise the role of policing in society). This candidate had fully embraced a full range of research methodologies, including travelling some distance to the National Media Museum to view episodes of past texts that were not available on DVD. This was particularly refreshing as many candidates now seem to access their texts through clips on YouTube."

DW

SPORT AND THE MEDIA-CRIT RESEARCH

2008-06-18T04:55:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT
Topic 6 Sport & the Media
"This was a less popular topic than in previous sessions. Many candidates researched the impact of TV on football, particularly lower league clubs. There were some strong discussions of advertising and sponsorship. One interesting response researched the coverage of the African Cup of Nations, comparing this year’s event with coverage from the past and considered the representation of Africa by the BBC and whether this might help to shape audience perceptions of the continent. The candidate also compared the role of sport as a unifying force in Africa with the more commercially motivated relationship that Europe has with sport.

There are still too many responses looking at the use technology in sport and the effect on the game. The better candidates were able to discuss interactive technology and audience pleasures. These were appropriate responses that encompassed full discussion of the key media concepts. Some weaker candidates simply discussed the effect of goal-line technology such as Hawkeye on the game: this is not an appropriate focus. Likewise, one candidate posed the question Do men receive more media coverage than women in sport? This question prevented the candidate from discussion of Why? and forced them into a limited argument of counting column inches of newspapers."

DW

POLITICS AND THE MEDIA-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:53:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT 2008
Topic 5 Politics & the Media
"There were very few responses to this topic, but most were handled very well. A few candidates considered the cult of celebrity in the representation of politicians by the media: some including references to the US Primaries. Other good examples considered the question of UK bias in reporting on the Palestine/Israel conflict and whether social satire undermines politicians, including Have I Got News for You and Boris Johnson as case studies. An over-general example of response to this topic was “How does the media affect government?” "

DW

CRIME AND THE MEDIA-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT 2008
Topic 4 Crime & the Media
"This has become the most popular topic. Many candidates considered the effects of representations of crime in the media (especially violent video games) upon an audience. The Madeleine McCann case was researched by a significant number of candidates. This was a potentially appropriate topic with the best responses exploring the differing representations of the case in different newspapers and/ or other media texts. One highly original response considered the use of YouTube as a platform for encouraging criminal behaviour where gangs place, effectively, ‘recruitment videos’. This candidate gave a sense of historical perspective, considering moral panics and drew parallels with events from the past.

Some candidates were able to discuss Moral Panics in the media connected with the representation of gun crime. One interesting response was able to discuss stereotyping, social class and gun crime. Overall the representation of gun crime proved difficult for many candidates – either due to a lack of objectivity or an over reliance on discussing music effects on young people. Some candidates discussed violent computer games and its effects on children. This focus would have been more appropriate to Topic 2.

Candidates who looked at computer games failed, in the main, to discuss representation of the crime – although this was implicit in places. Some good responses included public perception of crime."

DW

COMMUNITY RADIO-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT 2008

Topic 3 Community Radio
Fewer than twenty candidates attempted this topic and most were handled reasonably well. One or two of the best discussed the rise in popularity of community radio accessed through the internet and how podcasts had enabled mainstream stations to develop a sense of community through radio.

DW

CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA-CRIT RES

2008-06-18T04:47:00.000-07:00

EXAMINERS REPORT 2008

Topic 2 Children & the Media
This is still a popular topic with a very wide range of responses, many focussing on topics such as: the effects of violence in the media (particularly video games) on children, the educational purpose of TV, and the influence of the media on the development of eating disorders in young people. Many effects debate arguments were rather one-sided – candidates should be encouraged to consider a range of views and perspectives.
A range of psychological studies were utilised and the Bobo Doll experiment was far less evident than in previous sessions. One original response considered the decline in popularity of children’s comics and questioned whether TV was to blame. Centres should take care to observe the age limit as stated in the specification – ‘children’ are considered to be those up to the age of 15. Some candidates carried out research on their peers and considered their relationship with the media. Those candidates that were objective managed to produce a comprehensive and reflective study. There was one interesting study looking at aspiration and representation in teen magazines and another discussed children’s newspapers and news programmes.

DW

ADVERTISING-CRIT RESEARCH

2008-06-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

All taken from the Examiners Report JAN 2008.
Topic 1 Advertising

"This is an increasingly popular topic that is addressed with varying degrees of success. Many candidates still focus on an effects debate type approach – the size zero debate and obesity being popular topics. Here candidates need to be mindful of the topic – many drift into a general discussion of a variety of media forms (especially magazines and TV) and few stop to consider the aims and purpose of advertising itself. Some strong responses focused on the representation of gender within advertising (eg of alcohol or confectionary products) and considered the historical perspective of a particular brand (eg Guinness or Cadbury’s). Advertising on the internet was explored by a number of candidates, with some strong responses considering free and viral advertising.

Some interesting research focussed on coke and ideology and men’s fragrance advertising and masculinity. There were a few answers that lost focus; one candidate analysing advertising in women’s magazines and most of the response involved discussion of the front covers. Some other responses failed to achieve higher marks as they were more an investigation into celebrity and lifestyle magazines with little or no mention of advertising. There were a few questions that a rather narrow and inappropriate focus, for example; Fragrance Advertising – The audience is encouraged to purchase the product – is this true?"

DW

Reduction of copper

2008-06-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

GCSE EXAMS-Final Week( 23rd -27th June)

2008-06-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

GCSE EXAMS-Week 5 ( 9th -13th June)

2008-06-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

The following dates,times and subjects should be correct BUT you must refer to the timetable you were given in school.

Warning-This list is for reference only - you must double check it with your own timetable.

Mon 16th June P.M - HE:Child Development (F&H) AQA

Tues 17th June A.M - Add Sci A:Unit 1 OCR

Tues 17th June A.M- AD AP Sci Unit 1 Life Care OCR

Weds 18th June A.M - Statistics (F&H) AQA

Weds 18th June P.M - Add Sci A:Unit 2 Hgh OCR

Fri 20th June A.M - Add Sci A:Unit 3 Hgh OCR

Fri 20th June A.M - AD AP Sci A:Unit 6 [Maths/Perf] (F&H) OCR

GCSE EXAMS-Week 4( 9th -13th June)

2008-06-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

The following dates,times and subjects should be correct BUT you must refer to the timetable you were given in school.

Warning-This list is for reference only - you must double check it with your own timetable.

Mon 9th June P.M - Catering (F&H) WJEC

Weds 11th June A.M - History B:Modern World OCR

Thurs 12th June A.M - French A: Reading (F&H) AQA

Thurs 12th June P.M - Geography B Paper 3 (F&H) OCR

Thurs 12th June P.M - Maths Unit 3 -resit- EDEXL

Fri 13th June A.M - Drama Written Paper AQA

GCSE EXAMS-Week 3( 2nd -6th June)

2008-06-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

The following dates,times and subjects should be correct BUT you must refer to the timetable you were given in school.

Warning-This list is for reference only - you must double check it with your own timetable.

Monday 2nd June A.M - D&T Resistant Materials EDEXL

Monday 2nd June A.M - Italian Writing EDEXL

Monday 2nd June A.M - Arabic Writing EDEXL

Monday 2nd June P.M - Maths Calculator(F&H) EDEXL

Tuesday 3rd June A.M - English A Paper 1 (F&H) AQA

Tuesday 3rd June P.M - History B OCR

Wednesday4th June A.M - Geography B Paper 1 (F&H) OCR

Wednesday4th June P.M - French A Listening (F&H) AQA

Thursday 5th June A.M - Science A: Unit 2 (F&H) OCR

Thursday 5th June A.M - Chemistry A Unit 1 (F&H) OCR

Thursday 5th June P.M - English A Paper 2 (F&H) OCR

Friday 6th June P.M - R.E Marks Gospel EDEXL

Friday 6th June P.M - Maths Additional Maths Paper OCR

NEWS RUNNING ORDER

2008-05-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Below is a running order for a traditional news bulletin.

What's coming up in the programme/news headlines

Welcome from presenters (known as an intro)

News story 1

News story 2

News story 3

Sport

Weather

Goodbye (known as an outro)

AVA-UPDATED JUNE 9TH

2008-05-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

UPDATE JUNE 9TH 2008
ANA-MARIA
RANDY
KADIE
MATTHEW

So far the group is finalising the treatment, completed the studio layout (Semi circle arrangement.)

Randy has finished the music on Garage band.

DW

BTB-Updated June 9th

2008-05-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

"Reliable news and entertainment-The Future Today."

PARRIS
NATHAN
CHARLES
EMMA

This group has finished the music, logo,studio layout, script (draft),running order.

Teen News-Updated June 9th

2008-05-16T03:55:00.000-07:00

"The answers to your questions."

LEONA
ANNE

ZAIN
ALAN

This group has split!!!!!!

Leona and Anne have completed their studio layout, logo, script (draft).

Zain and Alan have completed ...

News Flex-UPDATED JUNE 9TH

2008-05-16T03:53:00.001-07:00

"Bringing you all sides of the news."

WILLIAM
CHERELLE
SARAH
KENNETH
PATRICK

This group has completed the Script (DRAFT), Logo,Music -(garage band)

News Flex

2008-05-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

"Bringing you all sides of the news."
WILLIAM
CHERELLE
SARA
KENNETH
PATRICK

LTN-Updated 9th June

2008-05-16T03:46:00.000-07:00

"Be informed of what you want,when you want."

TOYIN
JASPREET
DOMINIC
OWEN

This group has completed, half the music and script,treatment, studio layout,Logo.

ADVICE-IT JUST TAKES 10 MINUTES-

2008-05-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

Forget what has happened in the past, only look to the future and what you can do to improve your position and you will be surprised at the progress you will make.

10 minutes is all that it takes. Anyone can do that. But in that time work to the exclusion of all else.

It is better to work for 10 minutes in an hour than to do nothing at all in that time, which is often the case. So start that hour with only 10 minutes of work and then have a 10-minute break. You can do that.

Then begin again and you will have done 30 minutes of quality revision in that hour. Gradually increase the working periods into 40-minute sessions or more, whilst keeping the breaks to 10 minutes or less.

When working work and when relaxing relax. The two do not mix. Remember that, and use the "10-minute rule" whenever you get stuck, along with the other hints and tips given here. We are all different. So choose the ones that suit your way of working best.

Taken from a BBC article by George Turnbull (Ofqual's exams doctor.

ADVICE-BE WARNED-

2008-05-10T01:55:00.000-07:00

* Check your equipment, make sure that it is in good working order, and know what is to be provided by your school.

* Check you don't have two exams at the same time. Special arrangements need to be made.

* Don't cheat or break any rules. You could be disqualified or even arrested. Mobile phones are a menace and barred from the exam room. Don't take one in. You could be disqualified.

* Don't cram the night before an exam.

* Have a leisurely breakfast or lunch and walk to school, if possible. Be there in good time.

* Avoid friends outside the exam room. They could confuse you. Keep your thoughts to yourself and concentrate on the exam. That's why you are there.

Taken from a BBC article by George Turnbull (Ofqual's exams doctor.

ADVICE-REVISION BEFORE THE EXAM -

2008-05-10T01:52:00.000-07:00

Manage your time

* Know when and where your exams are and the work you have to do.

* Highlight your notes or abbreviate them on cards, so that the information can be referred to easily - but don't spend all of your time doing this instead of revising.

* Ease in an extra half hour of work a day at least, by getting up earlier or taking less time over lunch. In five days you will have gained an extra two-and-a-half hours of quality study time. You could then treat yourself to a night out. You deserve it.

* Cover several subjects in the one evening. Start with the one you dislike most and then look forward to finishing with the one you like best. Otherwise you will avoid the ones you don't like.

* Do past exam papers.

Taken from a BBC article by George Turnbull (Ofqual's exams doctor.

ADVICE-AFTER THE EXAM -

2008-05-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

No post-mortems. Do not worry about the exam you have just taken - you cannot do anything about it now. Put the papers in a drawer and look at them again only when your own grandchildren ask to see them. Concentrate instead on the next exam, where you can influence the result.

Taken from a BBC article by George Turnbull (Ofqual's exams doctor.

ADVICE-IN THE EXAM HALL-

2008-05-10T01:34:00.000-07:00

* Take six deep breaths, ignore everyone else and concentrate solely on what you have to do.

* Have a glucose sweet, to boost energy to your brain - but don't crunch.

* Read the instructions on the exam papers carefully - do the appropriate number of questions from the right sections, and answer compulsory questions.

* Know how many marks each question carries - don't spend too long on any one. Use the number of marks on the paper as a guide.

* Read questions carefully before you write anything. Time is allowed for this. Use that time to choose your questions, and write notes on the question paper to help you remember later.

* Make sure you answer the question asked. No marks if you don't.

* If you run out of time, more marks can be gained by completing your remaining answers in outline only. State what you would do and how to do it, by outlining your main arguments in an essay - without writing the essay - and by jotting down formulae in science - stating how you would complete the question - without doing the calculations.

Taken from a BBC article by George Turnbull (Ofqual's exams doctor.

Making your own news programme

2008-05-09T05:37:00.000-07:00

Year 10 Media Cover. Period 2 Friday 9th MAY

Television News Coursework Prep.

1-You must come up with an idea for a News Programme aimed at your age group.
This could be a national news broadcast or a more local, even school broadcast (available on youtube or community tv channel.)

The idea (Treatment) must be 500 words minimum and must cover everything from:
Studio layout,
Music
Presenters,style,number, language.
Running order of the stories.

2- When the treatment is finished you must write the script for one story (2 mins max) that you will cover.

(A first draft of the above and the other homework will be due in on Monday period 5)

D White

GCSE EXAMS-Week 2 ( 19th-23rd MAY)

2008-05-08T05:03:00.000-07:00

The following dates,times and subjects should be correct BUT you must refer to the timetable you were given in school.

Warning-This list is for reference only - you must double check it with your own timetable.

Monday 19th May A.M - Maths (Non Calculator-H&F) EDEXL

Tuesday 20th May A.M - English Literature (A Paper -H&F) AQA

Tuesday 20th May P.M - ICT (F&H) EDEXL

Wednesday 21st May A.M -Urdu Writing EDEXL

Wednesday 21st May A.M -Business and Comm Systems- AQA

Wednesday 21st May P.M -Biology A :Unit 3 [ideas] OCR

Friday 23rd May A.M -German:Reading [Higher] OCR

Friday 23rd May A.M -Business Studies AQA

Friday 23rd May P.M -Chemistry A:Unit 3 [ideas] OCR

Friday 23rd May P.M - Add Sci A :Unit 4 [ideas] OCR

DW

GCSE EXAMS-Week 1( 12th-16th MAY)

2008-05-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

The following dates,times and subjects should be correct BUT you must refer to the timetable you were given in school.

Warning-This list is for reference only - you must double check it with your own timetable.

Monday 12th/13th May - ART- EDEXL

Monday 12th May A.M - Bus and Comm Practical-AQA

Monday 12th May A.M - German (Listening/higher) -OCR

Monday 12th May P.M - Science(Unit 4 ideas F&H) -OCR

Monday 12th May P.M -Physics A:(Unit 3 [IDEAS] Hgh -OCR

Tuesday 13th May P.M -Italian (Oral) -EDEXL

Wednesday 14th May P.M -Rel/Life/Cath/Christy-EDEXL

Thursday 15th May A.M -Media Studies Controlled -AQA

Friday 16th May A.M -Urdu-Reading and Listening -EDEXL

Friday 16th May A.M -P.E Written-EDEXL

Friday 16th May A.M -Italian Listening-EDEXL

Friday 16th May A.M -Italian Reading-EDEXL

Friday 16th May P.M -Music Listening-EDEXL

Friday 16th May P.M -Arabic Listening-EDEXL

Friday 16th May P.M -Arabic Reading-EDEXL

Leavers day/Year 11/letter

2008-05-06T04:46:00.000-07:00

7th MAY 2008

Dear Parents/Guardians/Students

LEAVERS DAY
Year 11 start study leave on Friday May 9th 2008.

On Friday there will be a Leavers Mass in Palmer Hall at 11.20 a.m.
This will be followed by a get together in O’Donnell hall with food and drinks provided by the school. Year 11 will then have the opportunity to take photographs and sign shirts.

Students will be dismissed from school at 12.30 apprx.

Students are reminded that while Friday is your leavers day
IT IS NOT YOUR LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.
Most students return for exams early next week and a large number of you will be returning to the sixth form in September.
THE STANDARD OF BEHAVIOUR ON FRIDAY WILL BE THE SAME STANDARD EXPECTED ON ANY OTHER DAY.
EXAMS

Students will only return to school for exams. (Info and revision advice can be found at www.canonpalmerrevision.blogspot.com
Each student has already been given their own copy of the exam timetable and on the back of that timetable they have been given specific instructions regarding exam procedures. I have listed 2 of those important instructions here.

1-Students must arrive at least 10 minutes before the exam starts and they will be penalised if they bring any unauthorised equipment into the exam (even if they do so by accident!).

2-Students will be refused entry to the exam hall if they arrive out of uniform.

EXAM RESULTS can be collected from the school on Thursday August 21st from 10.30a.m.

LIBRARY

The Library cannot cope with the large numbers of students sitting exams during this period therefore all exam students must leave the site after each exam, unless a department has made a prior arrangement. Please see Mr White (in advance) if this causes a specific difficulty for you.

PROM

The Prom takes place on Monday June 30th at Woolston Manor Chigwell www.woolstonmanor.co.uk There are a few tickets remaining and these can be purchased from Mr White.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the contribution you have made during your time at Canon Palmer and I would like to wish you every success in your examinations and in the future whether it is here at Canon Palmer Catholic School or elsewhere.

Yours sincerely,

Mr D White
Head of Upper School

Sitcom words to use in the exam

2008-05-06T03:10:00.000-07:00

Media Words you have to use in your exam at some point !

AUDIENCE - "the typical audience for my sitcom will be...."

SCHEDULING - "the scheduling of sitcoms is usually early evening and for a half an hour slot"

STEREOTYPES: "Sitcoms rely heavily on gender and racial stereotypes"

CONVENTIONS - "the conventiosn of sitcoms are....."

GLOBALISATION - "an examlpe of how sitcoms are a part of globalistaion is that friends is shown in over 50 countries"

INSTITUTIONS - " some of the major sitcom producing institutions are the BBC and FOX"

REPRESENTATION - "the representation of race in sitcom has changed dramtically over the years"

NARRATIVE - "Most sitcome narratives are....."

GENRE - "the sitcom genre..."

IDEOLOGY- "the ideology of sitcom promotes gender stereotypes"

MISE - EN - SCENE - "the mise en scene of a sitcom is very naturalistic"

LIAR

2008-04-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

L= Language
(The media terminology, do you undersatnd the terms ,do you use the correct terms in the right context.)
I=Institution
(At it's simplest this means 'The makers of the media'.)
A=Audience
(The 'consumers'. Be aware that AUDIENCE can have a much more detailed explanation and there are a number of Audience 'theories' out there.-Think in terms of defining an Audience/gender/age/class/nation etc.)
R=Representation
(Put simply,a study of the characters in a text, their actions/behaviour and the settings they are placed in.)

dw

NMT-PAST QUESTIONS (3&4)

2008-04-24T05:32:00.000-07:00

New Media Technologies - Past Exam Questions

3-How far do new media technologies change audience leisure patterns?
0r
4-Why do media industries need to continue to update new media technologies?

3-To what extent are new media technologies more interactive for audiences than traditional media technologies?
OR
4-What benefits do media industries hope to gain from the introduction of new media technologies?

3-Discuss the role played by new media technologies in audiences’ use of leisure time.
0R
4-Explain why media industries are keen to be part of developments in media technology.

3-Discuss how new media technologies are changing the ways that audiences are consuming the media.
OR
4-To what extent are new media technologies advantageous for audiences?

3-Explore the issue of convergence with regard to the future of media technology.
OR
4-What benefits to audiences do digital technologies appear to offer?

dw

SHIFT happens-THE TEXT

2008-04-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Did you know . . .
Sometimes size does matter.
If you’re one in a million in China . . .
There are 1,300 people just like you.
In India, there are 1,100 people just like you.
The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQ’s . . .
Is greater than the total population of North America.
In India, it’s the top 28%.
Translation for teachers: They have more honors kids than we have kids.
Did you know . . .
China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world.
If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China . . .
China would still have a labor surplus.
During the course of this 8 minute presentation . . .
60 babies will be born in the U.S.
244 babies will be born in China.
351 babies will be born in India.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs . . .
By the age of 38.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor . . .
1 out of 4 workers today is working for a company they have been employed by for less than one year.
More than 1 out of 2 are working for a company they have worked for for less than five years.
According to former Secretary of Education Richard Riley . . .
The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .
Using technologies that haven’t been invented . . .
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
Name this country . . .
Richest in the World
Largest Military
Center of world business and finance
Strongest education system
World center of innovation and invention
Currency the world standard of value
Highest standard of living
England.
In 1900.
Did you know . . .
The U.S. is 20th in the world in broadband Internet penetration.
(Luxembourg just passed us.)
In 2002 alone Nintendo invested more than $140 million in research and development.
The U.S. Federal Government spent less than half as much on Research and Innovation in Education.
1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
There are over 100 million registered users of MySpace.(August 2006)
If MySpace were a country, it would be the 11th-largest in the world (between Japan and Mexico)*
The average MySpace page is visited 30 times a day.
Did you know . . .
We are living in exponential times.
There are over 2.7 billion searches performed on Google each month.
To whom were these questions addressed B.G.?
(Before Google)
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the population of the planet.
There are about 540,000 words in the English language . . .
About 5 times as many as during Shakespeare’s time.
More than 3,000 new books are published . . .
Daily.
It’s estimated that a week’s worth of New York Times . . .
Contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
It’s estimated that 40 exabytes (that’s 4.0 x 1019) of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year.
That’s estimated to be more than in the previous 5,000 years.
The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years.
It’s predicted to double every 72 hours by 2010.
Third generation fiber optics has recently been separately tested by NEC and Alcatel . . .
That pushes 10 trillion bits per second down one strand of fiber.
That’s 1,900 CDs or 150 million simultaneous phone calls every second.
It’s currently tripling about every 6 months and is expected to do so for at least the next 20 years.
The fiber is already there, they’re just improving the switches on the ends. Which means the marginal cost of these improvements is effectively $0.
Predictions are that e-paper will be cheaper than real paper.
47 million laptops were shipped worldwide last year.
The $100 laptop project is expecting to ship between 50 and 100 million laptops a year to children in underdeveloped countries.
Predictions are that by 2013 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
By 2023, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .
First grader Abby will be just 23 years old and beginning her (first) career . . .
And while technical predictions further out than about 15 years are hard to do . . .
Predictions are that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the human race.
What does it all mean?
Shift Happens.
Now you know . . .

THE QUick fire Sitcom booklet test

2008-03-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

Media studies Quick fire test-page 1-19- SITCOM BOOOKLET

1-What four key concepts need to be considered when studying Media?

……………………………………………
……………………………………………
……………………………………………
……………………………………………

2-Explain the following in relation to Sitcom Language.

a-Situation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
b-Representation.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
c-Gum
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3-How does mise-en-scene affect humour? Give an example.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Example…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4-List 7 British sitcoms from the 1960’s-1990’s.
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
Pto

5-How is TODOROV linked to Sitcoms?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6-List 4 Conventions of a sitcom.
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………

7-List the 2 main ‘TYPES’ of Sitcom.
*………………………………………………………………
*………………………………………………………………

8-How do U.K and U.S differ?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9-Fill in the gap in this sentence;
“TV SITCOM IS ESSENTIALLY A ___________ MEDIUM”

10-Write a joke for me.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

DW

YEAR 11 BOOSTER Timetable

2008-03-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

This information is intended to be accurate. However it should not be used to replace the information you have been given in school. See Mr Egan if you have a query about the timetable.

bOOSTERS RUN FROM MON 11TH FEB-FRI 9TH MAY.

MONDAY:HISTORY/P.E/DRAMA.

TUESDAY:SCIENCE/ART/FRENCH

WEDNESDAY:ENGLISH/BUS COMM/MEDIA STUDIES.

THURSDAY:MATHS/CHILD DEV/GEOG/MEDIA STUDIES.

FRIDAY ICT/TECH/P.E.

Room and teacher information is available from departments.

All lessons start at 3.30.

DW

Yr 12 Check list-magazine coursework

2008-02-29T04:03:00.000-08:00

The minimum needed.

1-Research/results /survey-the magazine market
2-3 front cover analysis.-At least one must be a competitor.
3-1 double page spread analysis.
4-Front over mock up(s)-You may need to do more than one version.
5-Double page spread mock up.
6-Double page spread 'story'/interview-1500wrds
7-Finished front cover.
8-Finished double page spread.
9-Evaluation.

Remember to have quality control meetings with your group. Check that the house style is met and language/title/style consistent.

DW

Goodwin’s music video analysis

2008-02-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

A2 Media | Music Video Production 2008

Goodwin’s music video analysis

Andrew Goodwin writing in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (Routledge 1992)

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

musci video essay plan

2008-02-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

A2 Media | Music Video Production 2008

Writing about your group's music video:

Introduction
Explain what task you did for the AS production and how this one differs from it.

Part One
Explain briefly how the work came about and what the tasks were.

Which band did your group choose and why ?
How did you ‘pitch’ for them ?

What roles did the various people in the group take on ? Concentrate particularly on your role in the various activities.

What tasks had to be done in the research and planning phase? How were these handled and what could have been done to improve them ?

How did the group come to decisions about approaches to the tasks to be completed?

What factors were involved in the choices you made in constructing the video ?

What tasks had to be done in shooting and editing the video? How were these handled and what could have been done to improve them?

What feedback did you get at the Producer stage and how has your group responded to it ?

Part Two
Take note of the teacher advice and feedback you have had on these two parts and make necessary changes before handing in further drafts.

• Analyse the images and editing in your finished music video, paying close attention to characters, performance, narrative (or absence thereof), mise-en-scene and the ways in which you have constructed the video to sell the song.

• Use the methods you applied to real music videos and the handouts to help your analysis.

• How did you want this video to be read ?

• How did the audience actually read your video ? make reference to feedback from blog/youtube and from discussion in class.

Part Three• Compare your video to the conventions of music video, referring to actual examples where possible, including the one you analysed in September. Use the material saved on file to help you with this part.

• Make reference to the process of making a video in the music biz as outlined by our guest speakers. This is the Institutional part of your writing.

• If anyone else chose the same band or track, make reference to comparison with yours (not better or worse but conventions adopted).

• Compare with the real release if there is one.

AVOID• Excuses and blame - everyone has problems to overcome and things they don’t like, don’t use those as excuses and certainly don’t accuse those of spoiling your project- other group members, actors, teachers, equipment cannot be held responsible. We are only interested in how you dealt with difficulties in order to overcome them. A bad workman always blames his tools.

(With thanks to Longroad media)

magazine industry

2008-01-28T02:17:00.000-08:00

Examiners report june 2007

SECTION C PRINT
The Magazine Industry

Why the magazine industry has grown was the topic of the first question; how magazines target audiences the focus of the second. Nuts, Zoo, Cosmopolitan, and others were commonly used for textual analysis, IPC and Emap were the most frequently cited institutions. Weaker candidates confined themselves to textual analysis. Candidates from one centre relied entirely on the textual analysis of two publications. This is inadequate material for this area of study. The topic now expects candidates to provide an institutional context. Many centres have clearly prepared their candidates well for this.

‘Freebies’ attached to front covers were cited by some as a means of targeting readers. The term ’cover-mounting’ might have served them better. It is an issue of some importance in sections of the magazine industry currently, and has implications for reader loyalty and production costs. Able and well informed candidates recognized this point and dealt with it well.

For the second question, only the most perceptive candidates felt able to discuss the paradox that magazine institutions target niche audiences in an effort to maximize sales. Some candidates are still using the cliche a ‘fast-growing industry’ – the internet opportunities have slowed down the print side of the industry and candidates ought to be aware of this.

Critical research question 2

2008-01-14T02:02:00.001-08:00

Question 2

General Comments

Many candidates are able to present their findings and offer some discussion of the topic. However, some candidates fail to explore the issues and debates within a topic area, simply describing the research findings. A sense of the relationship between the focus topic and the broader context should be established. Also, many candidates still explore a very broad focus topic that does not allow them to engage in detailed debate.

Comment on individual topics
Topic 1 - Advertising
A large percentage of candidates covered this new topic. Some candidates researched very broad areas of study such as ‘the use of sex in advertising’, while others focused too closely on a single campaign such as the NSPCC ‘Full Stop’ campaign. A balance between the two is desirable, allowing for some detailed analysis within a broader context. The best example of this was a study of Coca-Cola’s advertising campaigns over the years, considering the changes in the content, style and emphasis of the adverts as a result of changes in society, technology etc. Other interesting case studies included some about products with a changing demographic or a need to re-brand or re-target to adjust to recent Ofcom restrictions regarding targeting children and food. A good knowledge of corporate policy, institutions and regulatory bodies also featured in some responses. Candidates should be aware of the purpose of advertising – some candidates took a very moralistic view of the negative effects of advertising and failed to consider the institutional context at all. The weaker responses seem to avoid any kind of textual analysis or clear description of the advertisement’s basic form, structure and meaning or relied exclusively upon the textual analysis of a single advertisement.

Topic 2 Children & the Media
A substantial number of candidates opted for this revised topic (3rd most popular) with varying degrees of success: many of them broadening their study to forms of media other than TV, as the new topic allows. Responses were varied with some very well researched institutional angles and interesting audience responses. There was a tendency, still, to summarise the responses of questionnaires or audience focus groups without much detail. For this topic, in particular, to simply gloss findings of a case study in one paragraph seems to undervalue the significance of effects, and potential diversity of audience responses. For example, a common statement would simply and abruptly be thus: “the findings of my sample of four children proved my point that children are affected by television viewing”. This summary comes with no quotation or citation of individuated children’s responses.

Another problem for centres is the very broad nature of some of the focus questions. For example, questions such as, ‘Does television affect obesity?’ seems to invite an undue emphasis on the state of the nation’s eating habits rather than a focus on detailed textual analysis of advertisements, or a less scientifically ambitious question, entailing psychology and food studies, about children’s attitude to body shape or size? It would be better if the research started from the point of view of the children’s consumption of television and the various representations within its output. There were some excellent responses from candidates who analysed the ‘educational’ elements of television and were able to draw on institutional intentions to ‘educate and entertain’. There were some excellent audience studies that were detailed, and analysed thoroughly their variously found data, offering the candidate a chance to observe variation and difference in their sample, and in relation to their hypothesis.

In contrast, too many discussion or focus groups consisted of very little actual data as evidence and all too frequently was cursorily reported as verifying the candidate’s hypothesis with no detail or citation of verbal or written response.

The effects of video games on children were also a popular area of study, although some candidates focused on more of a psychological/medical viewpoint than a true exploration of the media. Advertising was popular within this topic, particularly the impact of junk food advertising and the Jamie Oliver campaign – some candidates were very successful, having interviewed parents and conducted experiments with young children to support their secondary findings. One impressive response used a letter to a newspaper (raising concerns about various media effects on children) as a starting point and researched each one of the concerns producing a balanced argument about the positive and negative impact of the media on children. It is pleasing to note that fewer candidates are relying on the Bobo Doll experiment as ‘proof’ that violent images affect children’s behaviour.

Topic 3 Community Radio
Very few candidates attempted this topic. There are still problems with discussion within this topic. The few responses that were undertaken tended to be very descriptive. The best responses consider stations target & appeal to their niche audiences.

Topic 4 Crime & the Media
This is an increasingly popular topic (2nd most popular). A very wide range of marks were achieved but many candidates opted for inappropriate topics such as gun crime & rap music or music file-sharing. Most of these were seemingly recycled from the Popular Music topic that is no longer available but without adjusting the stance or context. Centres should be aware that the rubric states that the ‘representation of crime in the media’ should be the focus. Many candidates provided a more sociological study eg the relationship between drugs and crime with some (tenuous) link to the media eg by focusing on a single film such as Trainspotting. Candidates who did follow the rubric were able to attain high marks. One strong response analysed the way in which crime has been reported in The Mirror and The Times over the past forty years, comparing the publications and considering the changes in the amount and type of crime reported and whether this mirrors reality.

There were overall very few outstanding responses to this option. Responses were typically weakened by too general an approach. A popular focus was computer games and to what extent they influenced violent crime. Some were able to engage with effects debates on a basic level but rarely were candidates able to explore the texts themselves in any depth or investigate the wider context.

Topic 5 Politics & the Media
There were significantly fewer responses to this topic than in previous sessions, but they were usually of a very good standard. Candidates answering this topic clearly were involved in politics and provided a wide range of research methods and sources. There was a well handed discussion on political satire from the 60s to the present day and another on the impact of political cartoonists in the press.

Topic 6 Sport & the Media
Although still fairly popular fewer candidates attempted this topic in this session. The ones that did usually had quite partisan views and failed to study the literature of sports economic and politics or the academic body of research already available. Some candidates seemed to focus purely on the cult of celebrity – considering the career of a single sports person (or in some cases footballers’ wives & girlfriends!). Football hooliganism was studied by a number of candidates, although most failed to develop an appropriate argument within the rubric. Where candidates really did explore the relationship between sport & the media some interesting discussions emerged. One impressive response considered the coverage of disability sport in the media.

The research was wide - including interviews with able-bodied sports candidates and sports candidates with disabilities - and this candidate drew on many comparative secondary sources to produce a considered, balanced argument. Another strong response considered the development of cricket as a popular spectator sport and discussed how far this was due to media coverage.

Topic 7 Television Drama
There were relatively responses to this topic. The majority were on soaps or crime drama series but candidates were mostly unable to apply theories of realism or reference any reputable commentator for either genre, of which there are many. There was a tendency to be descriptive with few candidates managing to find an area that allowed for argument or debate. Some interesting contrasts and comparisons were made between British and American dramas from the same genre, although simply describing an episode of CSI and one of The Bill and commenting that the tone, style and narrative content are different because CSI is “over the top” and The Bill “realistic” with no context or further discussion or comment is not of sufficient substance. In fact one or two centres had candidates having virtually the same specific area of study and one instance of exactly the same episodes of CSI and The Bill were also used.

Given the wealth of material available within television drama it is disappointing to see so little imagination in the selection of specific areas of study.

Topic 8 Women & Film
This was by far the most popular topic and produced a very wide range of responses, including very strong responses from those candidates who apply close textual focus and link it to a macro level of debate about representations and the issues concerning the relationship between women and cinema. There was a strong sense that theoretical debate was required to grapple with the study, missing from approaches to several other topics. There was, therefore, among quite a few candidates, a good sense of structured essays which utilised theory and texts to illustrate ideas and interpretations.

Weaker answers, again, tended to limit their analysis to one or two films, of a particular actress, without generalising on their importance or presenting a comparison of a range of films that represent an evolutionary or distinctive signature.

Many candidates still focus on a very broad topic such as ‘Opportunities for women in the film industry’ that does not assist them in focusing research and engaging in detailed debate. Some candidates seem to confuse the issue of opportunities for women with the representation of women in film – while these two areas are clearly linked candidates should not simply state that the lack of female film directors proves that the male gaze exists. Some very strong responses were written on female film directors particularly Kathryn Bigelow and Jane Campion. Some, however, were highly descriptive of a director’s career and films, paying little attention to the broader context.

One excellent response considered the representation of women in Bond films over the decades, tying analysis of the film texts into social and historical context and considering some of the more subtle and complex issues of representation that are often missed when a candidate studies this topic. The work of Laura Mulvey was used widely although more candidates were questioning her theories and considering differing viewpoints. The San Diego University ‘Celluloid Ceiling’ report was cited frequently in discussions about opportunities for women in the industry and some candidates had contacted organisations such as Women in Film & Television to further their research.

Topic 9 World Cinema

This topic produced an encouraging number of very interesting essays and there have been some exceptional responses to this option and even some of the weaker candidates seem to have fared better, possibly because it is an opportunity to explore texts of particular personal interest. Specific areas of study were as diverse as studies on auteur and movements within: the Nigerian film industry, Japanese, Thai, Hong Kong, Indian and Hong Kong, Mainland Chinese cinemas and the global interaction and reciprocation between US and these cinemas as shown by such figures as Quentin Tarantino. Weaker responses tended to list films and their content without attending to their style, distinctiveness or impact. One candidate considered the growth of the Bollywood industry, while another highly impressive response analysed the work of Pedro Almodovar focusing particularly on the way in which he directs/represents issues of female sexuality and gender.
Japanese animation and ‘the influence of Asian cinema on Hollywood’ were also common focus areas.

Most candidates except the very highest wanted to explore their focus in relation to Hollywood and offer as their main issue some comparative study which was textual based. Women in Miyazaki’s films compared to Disney heroines was successfully discussed by a number of candidates and achieved very high marks for one candidate who was able to contextualise this more effectively.

One distinctive response discussed ‘World Cinema as polemic- a critical consideration of the portrayal of politics within World Cinema’. The candidate had specifically looked at the representation of fall of the Berlin wall represented in Goodbye Lenin compared to ‘The West’s ruthless devouring of Eastern identity’ in Fallen Angels, also managing to discuss City of God and La Haine in the process.
Few candidates seemed to consider European cinema as “World Cinema”.

DW

CRITICAL RESEARCH QUESTION 1.

2008-01-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Question Specific Comments

Question One - Comments relating to all topics.

Most candidates are utilising a range of appropriate methods, however centres should be aware that simply stating that a method has been used is not sufficient – explanation (not merely description) and reflection are essential to achieve the top band of level 2 and above. Also, while Q1 focuses on research methods, a clear sense of the topic is necessary in order to demonstrate that the research is appropriate. Some sense of purpose should also be demonstrated – many candidates simply start their response to Q1 with a description of their initial internet searches without establishing a context for the research.

It is disappointing that some of the more innovative methods of primary research seen in previous sessions have not been in evidence. Those who did use original methods attained highly such as the candidate who interviewed a university lecturer while on an open day and then used this lecturer’s latest academic paper as secondary research.

Many candidates are using the internet for their primary research by posting messages on a specialised site or on MySpace. In some cases this is most effective, however many candidates fail to plan this thoroughly and consequently the research is of little use. Most candidates identify appropriate secondary sources; however there is often an over-reliance on Wikipedia with little or no reflection on its reliability. Many candidates are using entries on Wikipedia that are only “stubs”: that is they are very basic definitions that require further supporting evidence or expansion. It is made clear at the foot of an entry that this is a “stub”. There is also a disturbing trend emerging where candidates cite textbooks, including AS Level and even GCSE texts, as their sole academic source.

While it is perfectly acceptable for candidates to discuss research sources that proved to be less useful than others, this should not form the basis of the response. Also, candidates should be aware that discussing methodologies that were inappropriate and stating what they could have done instead (but didn’t) is not going to be enough to enable them to attain a high mark!
Cause for concern is the use of the ubiquitous questionnaire, within the context of an Audience Study, sometimes veering on the superficial, like a consumer survey of shopping tastes likes and dislikes. Whereas the conventional Media Studies audience study tends to be linked to issues of representation or identification there is a tendency to overuse the questionnaire and focus group simply for a self-fulfilling function (does advertising influence children - yes probably!).

It is recommended that Audience Studies are carried out at the end of all the other primary and secondary research into theoretical, textual and contextual meanings, unless it is a pilot survey to ascertain initial public perceptions or to test out the validity and quality of the final questions. Another exception to this advice is where the investigation is premised around the whole study of audience perceptions, especially in such topics as Children and the Media or Women’s perceptions of representations/issues in Women and Film, for example.

Candidates should choose people for their questionnaires and/or interviews/focus groups on the basis of their appropriateness and not simply because they happen to be easily accessible from their own school or college or, even worse, just simply from their own media studies class.

Inappropriate requests for interviews with stars and celebrities are still common. Some candidates are a little too hopeful with these requests for information and clearly wait too long for responses that they highly unlikely to receive. It is difficult to reason why an examiner can validate as legitimate failed responses to such requests, especially when unnecessary detail concerning such requests dominate the response. [Even though one person did get Gary Lineker, or an assistant, to respond to a query on hooliganism in football and another obtained a signed photograph from Julie Andrews when asking for a response regarding Mary Poppins and its feminist stance.]

Report on the Units taken in January 2007

In one instance it was suggested that the advantage that a book had subheadings was quickly cancelled out by the disadvantage that there were too many pages to read in the one book. It is advisable to focus on methods actually used and on the value and purpose of using a source. At the same time, comments on the veracity, bias, reliability and accuracy of any survey or source would also be valid objects of the methods’ evaluation.
When specific texts are chosen for case studies a clear rationale for their selection should be given.

There were some very interesting responses at the top level and these were notable for their engaged, detailed and inquisitive approach to their chosen study.
At the outset candidates should try to establish that “this is what I want to find out” rather than “this is what I think” and then insist on proving it regardless of appropriate research. There is still, within some centres, low expectation of the skills involved in this unit. The step up from AS taught Units to individual and independent research, involving the retrieval and selection of a range of factual and academic information as well as the production of a reasoned and lengthy written discussion and analysis, using supporting evidence is clearly very difficult for some candidates.

There needs to be a demand that candidates go beyond simple content analysis and strive to achieve a level of textual analysis beyond denotation which is connotative. In addition, candidates should be encouraged to recognise that they will be rewarded for a range of methods used and reflected upon. In Question 2 candidates will be rewarded for demonstrating they can reference their sources of evidence when they find out something they did not previously know and they will demonstrate they understand media texts, practices and institutions better.

dw

critical research -answering question 2

2008-01-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

q.1 was about METHODS and paragraphs should be organised by method.
q.2 is about FINDINGS and paragraphs should perhaps be organised by concepts so that there is clear distinction between the two.

A structure something like this should work

para 1 Intro- what are the key issues in relation to your area of study ?

You might consider:

World Cinema: funding/distribution (Inst) how they reach audiences and how audiences receive/interpret/watch the films (aud) how they represent the culture (rep) how they are similar to/differ from western films (forms/conv)

Sport: how sports may be represented (nationalism, gender etc) dominance of certain sports and certain teams v minority coverage (Rep) conventions of coverage (F/C) importance of sport to media and of media to sport local sport/media (inst) and audience reception of sport in media (aud)

Children: concerns about what is represented to children/how they are represented (Rep) what kids understand/the impact of media texts upon them/their pleasures (aud) importance of child audiences to media institutions (Inst) the forms and convs of children’s media texts (F/C)

Para 2 How does your specific focus relate to the issues in the topic as a whole ?

Para 3-6 one on each conceptual area: Institution, Representation, Forms and Conventions, Audience as they relate to your topic. Maybe more than one paragraph on some areas but throughout referring to method, sources, references, quotes, ideas etc

Para 7 brief conclusion

Key is how to cross reference concepts with your research

adapted from guidance from Pete Fraser -longroad.

DW

nmt-case study exam explained

2008-01-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Unit 2732: Case Study: Audience and Institutions
The purpose of this unit is to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media institutions, production processes, technologies and related issues concerning audience consumption and reception (Assessment objective 2).
The examination lasts 1 hour and candidates answer four questions on New Media Technologies.
The unit is marked out of a total of 90 marks
Questions 1 and 2 may be divided into sub-questions, according to the nature of the written extract chosen for comprehension.
In the examination, for each topic, a substantial written quotation/extract will be given that is related to the topic concerned. Questions 1 and 2 require comprehension from the written extract itself and Questions 3 and 4 require related evidence from the case study.
There are clearly defined criteria below for the content of the areas of study for both topics. Guidance is given regarding which institutional agencies and textual examples should be studied and what is required from the Case Study.
Candidates are required to conduct some basic audience research as part of this unit, which they can draw upon in the examination.

The four areas of knowledge candidates need to study in relation to the chosen topics are:
- Media Institutions
- Production Practices
- Media Technologies
- Media Audiences
New Media Technologies
For this topic candidates need to:
- become familiar with the technologies that have been introduced in the 1990s and into the 2000s at the level of production (Media Technologies and Production Practices);
- become familiar with the nature of audience consumption and uses of media technology and the significance of such technologies for audiences (Media Audiences);
- have some sense of the significance of such technologies for audiences for media industries (Media Institutions).
Such technologies would include:The internet;- Mobile telephones;
Games consoles; Digital television; Digital Versatile Disks (DVD);Computer Generated Images (CGI);Mobile telephones; Games consoles;Digital television;
Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) ;Computer Generated Images (CGI);

The Extract
The written extract for each topic comprises a passage for comprehension, which is drawn from a recent source, such as an article from a newspaper or magazine discussing some aspect of new technology or contemporary media ownership.
The passage might include a small amount of numerical data. It will be between 200 and 300 words in length.

The Case Study
A case study for the topic of New Media Technologies might involve looking at the ways in which the Internet is interacting with other media.
This might involve considering how:
- media companies are investing in the internet (Media Institutions);
- technology itself can be used to both produce material on the web (Productions Practices) and download it (Media Technologies);
- consumption is changing as a consequence (Media Audiences)
If, for example, music on the Web was the focus of such a study, the potential replacement of high street CDs by MP3, the way bands can by-pass record companies and the ways in which audiences surf to acquire material, might all be analysed.
Audience research should be along the lines of simple, limited local data.
For the topic of New Media Technologies, this might involve, for example:
- a survey of media technology in the homes of ten families, or
- an interview with a group of students about how they use the Internet.

Mr ORANU-this is for you to download youtube clips.

2007-12-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

Sir,
It's a bit fiddly to download clips. What you need to do is follow the link on www.dermotwhite.blogspot.com to "vixy" (or click on the title "Mr ORANU ...-) to open a site that allows you to enter the Http info from the top of the page-( it will look like "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acl6U0rmbcU" )

Just copy and Paste the "http" info the converter. t
See the pic above.

Dw

How can Wii ever hope to compete?

2007-12-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

Year 10 Magazine Folder

2007-12-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Below is the minimum required for this element of the Magazine coursework.

1)Analysis of two front covers-denotation and connotation.

2)Research the market (teenagers) in preparation for the launch of a new mag...will include surveys.

3)Decide on a group magazine based on the research in number 2.

4)Do mock ups.

5)Take photographs based on the mock ups.

6)Import and edit using Photoshop.

7)Upload the cover to the Blog and Print the A4 cover on A3 paper.

8)Do an analysis of your front cover and one other cover from the group.

D White
Please note that extension tasks have been offered to those who have completed all the above. Ask your teacher if you would like to attempt an extension.

Name and Shame.

2007-11-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

The home study set for NOV 21st has not been completed by all students. Below is a list of who has answered questions. This must be finished by Friday 23rd..or else.

UPDATED NOV 27TH

Blog Owner NAMED FIRST -Then a list of who has answered questions (number of blogs answered in brackets)

Tom G- Dominic(1), Joshua (1), Raeesa (1). Becky(1)

Thomas L- Dominic (2) , Kristina (1), Alex(1) Tav(1)

Tavinderjitt- STILL NO QUESTIONS

Sylvia- Joshua(2), Stephanie(1) Tav(2),Tom G(1)

Stephanie- Kristina (2),Raeesa(2) Dan (1)

Sharmilli – STILL NO QUESTIONS

Raeesa- ------------------------------------

Nabiel- ------------------------------------

Kristina- STILL NOT DONE!

Joshua- Stephanie (2), Becky (2),Sylvia(1)Alex(1),Tom G(2)

Joseph C- Sylvia(2)

Jerome- -------------------------------------

Emma- -------------------------------------.

Dominic- Becky(3)

Daniel D- Stephanie(3), Raeesa (3)

Becky C- Dominic(3),Thomas L(1) ,Sylvia (3),Joshua(3),Alex(2),Tav(3)TomG (3)

Anneka- -------------------------------------

Alex M- Thomas L (1)

Blogger Session 2 - 21st NOV-summary

2007-11-21T03:29:00.000-08:00

Blogger-session 2- T5 WED 21st nov 2007

The complete session details (including pictures) can be found in Rm Staff-other resources/Blog folder.

(Only use if you have completed session 1’s instructions)
http://dermotwhite.blogspot.com/
1-Dashboard - Go to https://www.blogger.com
Sign in with your user name and password . This will show you your dashboard and it lists the blogs you have created. Click on ‘View Blog’.

2- The next screen you see will be the ‘body of’ your blog. Click ‘Customise’ to see the ‘skeleton’ of your blog.

3- When you see the ‘skeleton’ .Click on ‘Settings’ on the top left hand side.

4-Adding Permissions-
Click on ‘Permissions’.

5-PERMISSIONS CONTINUED.
You can allow others in your department signing in rights and ‘permission ‘ to edit and contribute to your blog.You can also restrict who can view the blog . If you want to restrict it to ‘only people I chose’ then you must enter their email address when prompted.

6-You may want put pages of notes on topics of interest to your students. What I did to allow that was create another blog which I link to the main blog. I have not given students the address of that blog .
An example of how this works can be found on Paul’s Blog
http://sociologyatcpcs.blogspot.com/
Go there and read his post for Monday 19th October.You will find that the link provided in that post shows you where he keeps his notes.
To do the same you should:
Click on ‘Dashboard’ on the top right and this will bring you back to the first screen you saw.
Click create a new blog and follow the simple instructions.
Cut and paste some notes you have and make a new Post on your new blog.More detail given on Rm stafF.

DW

Blogging Glossary

2007-11-21T03:06:00.000-08:00

You find an even more comprehensive list by clicking here
• Weblog- An online dated diary listing your periodic thoughts on a specific topic, often in reverse chronological order.
• Blog - short form for weblog
• Blogging - the act of posting on blogs
• Blogger - a person who blogs
• Blogosphere - The internet blogging community
BLOG COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS
• Navbar - a navigation bar usually seen on top of Blogger blogspot hosted blogs. more
• Index page - the front page fo the blog
• Header - the topmost part of the blog usually listing the blog title.
• Footer - the most bottom part of the blog usually listing navigation and copyright statements
• Sidebar - One or more columns along one or both sides of most blogs main page
• Categories - A collection of topic specific posts
• Post, Entry- individual articles that make up a blog
• Comments - enabling readers to leave their remarks
• Permalink - A link to a specific article
• Template - the blog presentation design
• Dashboard - When you login to your blogging account, it is the first screen with all controls, tools and functions.
• Archives - a collection of all your posts on one page. Can be categorized by month etc.
WEB FEEDS
• RSS - a family of web feed formats used for Web syndication. Short form for Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0), Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0), RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0). Wordpress generates RSS 2.0
BLOGGING SOFTWARE / CLIENTS
• Blogger - a free blogging platform by Google.
• Blogspot - free Blogger hosting blog at name.blogspot.com
BLOGGING HABITS
• Metablogging - writing articles about blogging
• Blogstipation - writer’s block for bloggers. Cant think of what to blog about?
• Blogathy - I do not want to post today and I do not care about it
• Blogopotamus - A long long blog post
• Blogorrhea - unusually high output of articles
• Commenter - someone who leaves remarks / comments

How to set up a blog-The very basics.

2007-10-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

1) Go to www.blogger.com
Click Create your blog now.

2) Follow the steps outlined.

-Use the email address that you use on a regular basis. This will become your sign in name. I use my school address.

-Use a password you will remember.

Click Continue.
3) Decide a blog title -This will appear at the top of the Blog.
Decide on a blog address-Your students will type this in to view the blog.

4) Decide on a Template for your blog. You can preview it first. The colours/fonts etc can be altered later.

Click Continue.

5) Your blog has been created.
Click Start Posting.

6) Type ‘Welcome to the ………………… Blog” in the Title space.
Type a v brief message in the text box.

Click Publish Post

7) Your blog post published successfully!

Click View Blog.

That’s it…for now.

I would now suggest you use www.dermot-white.blogspot.com

Follow the advice there in the order it is set out.

dw

UNIT 2732-NMT TOPICS (READ ON)

2007-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

2732

The purpose of this unit is to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media
institutions, production processes, technologies and related issues concerning audience
consumption and reception (Assessment Objective Two).

The examination lasts one hour and candidates answer three questions on one topic.

• New Media Technologies

The unit is marked out of a total of 90 marks, with Questions one and two on each topic being marked out of 45 marks in total and Questions three and four on each topic marked out of 45 marks each (with candidates choosing between them).
Questions one and two will be divided into sub-questions. In the examination, for each topic, a substantial written quotation/extract will be given that is related to the topic concerned.

Questions one and two require comprehension from the written extract itself and Questions three and four require related evidence from the candidates’ prepared case studies. Question one comprises three sub-questions marked out of approximately 20 in total and Question two comprises two sub-questions marked out of approximately 25 in total.

The four areas of knowledge candidates need to study in relation to the chosen topics are:

• Media Institutions
• Production Practices
• Media Technologies
• Media Audiences.

5.3.1 Set Topic Content

New Media Technologies

For this topic candidates need to:

• become familiar with the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the
level of production (Media Technologies and Production Practices);
• become familiar with the nature of audience reception and uses of media technology and
the significance of such technologies for audiences (Media Audiences);
• have some sense of the significance of such technologies for media industries (Media
Institutions).

Such technologies would include:
• Digital video production
• The internet and broadband
• 3G mobile telephones
• Games consoles
• Digital television and digital radio
• Personal Video Recorders; (PVR’s)

• MP3 players • Digital Versatile Disks (DVD)
• Computer Generated Images (CGI)
• Digital projection in cinema

This list is not meant to be comprehensive.
Candidates are not expected to know complex technical data.
This unit should be approached through contemporary examples. A good working knowledge of the significance of new technologies in the lives of audiences, their value to media industries and their increasing convergence, or “inter-connectedness”, will be the key elements in enabling candidates to respond to examination extracts and questions.

5.3.2 Additional Information
The Extract
The written extract for each topic comprises a passage for comprehension, which is drawn from a recent source, such as an article from a newspaper or magazine discussing some aspect of new technology or contemporary media ownership.
The passage might comprise numerical data or pictorial material. Any written text will not exceed 300 words in length.

Year 11 Mock week

2007-10-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

The most accurate timetable is the one you were given so don't just rely on the info here.
Exams take place in the sports hall unless otherwise stated.

Mon 19th-Maths 8.40-11.00/Geog 11.30 -12.30/Stats 1.20-3.20.

Tues 20th R.E 8.40-10.00/ICT 10.30-11.30/History 1.20-3.20.

Wed 21st English Lang 8.40-10.45/French 11.15-12.15 /Business Comm(in dept)1.20 -3.20/Child dev 1.20-3.20.

Thurs 22nd Eng Lit 8.40-10.45 /Res Materials 11.15- 12.15/Music(in dept) 1.20-3.20.

Fri 23rd Business Studies 8.40-10.30 /P.e 11.00-12.30 /Media 1.20-3.20

ART WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE ART DEPARTMENT AT A TIME TO BE SET BY THE DEPARTMENT. CHECK WITH MS IDAN FOR YOUR TIME.

Tyler JAMES/CONCEPT

2007-10-10T04:03:00.001-07:00

tyler james foolish
date 06 12 04

concept

This video, an infectious and witty fusion of choreography and a strong central performance from Tyler, takes place while he and
his band prepare for a would-be television show, the hustle and bustle of staging transitions and real time lighting all around
them, through which Tyler sigues effortlessly as the situations around him change.
The mood is automatic cool, sexy and upbeat. Graphic 3D typography effects support the lyric content of the track and add
to the video’s contemporary look.

location
The fi lm takes place in a large white studio cyclorama (white). Stylized props and set elements suggest the mood of a TV show rehearsal. All set elements are moveable. Scenic changes occur mid-take. Items could include...a partial set of stairs, moveable
wall partitions, platforms created from scaffolding, and so on. Compositions sometimes include ‘off camera’ details like lighting scrims, set edges etc. Other shots are stylized perfection.

lighting
Lighting forms a major part of the video and is used to render exquisite transitions throughout the track: lighting changes dramatically occur ‘mid take’ taking Tyler’s performance from silhouette, to side light, to frontal, to top lighting. These changes are made possible through manipulating the lighting real–time through a mixing desk. Other moments see practical lighting built
into partitions or set elements—switched on and off manually ‘mid–take’.

musicians

A stripped down band is cast to provide graphic counterpoint to Tyler’s performance. Instrument selection is primary in creating
a believable background to Tyler’s vocal delivery. Musicians perform on raised daises or scaffold platforms at different levels to effect the mood of a TV or stage rehearsal. Silhouette is used to great effect. Individual instruments and musicians are profiled in a series of graphic compositions focusing on form and close–up details eg thumbing strings, and so on.
Frontal, profile and down shots render the instruments and action with graphic precision. Musicians are purely background
action used to compositionally support Tyler.

performance
Tyler’s vocal delivery is charismatic and laconically soulful. The video creates situations around him that he sometimes responds to and at others ignores. Tyler projects effortless cool—at times observing the choreography, at times interacting with it, at others rocking out with the band. Tyler anchors all the action. Things happen around him on his cue—instrumental breaks synchronize with casual signals, lighting moods alter as he finishes lyrics or turns from camera, choreography entry and exits work to the structure of the track.

Tyler charismatically responds to the changing situations—controlled chaos—around him. Elements of the video retain a raw spontaneity—creating the feel of a first rehearsal as entrances and exits are still being memorised, other moments are polished and rehearsed immaculately.

choreography
Five identically styled female dancers form the dual purpose of providing sexy background routines and being the love interest

Tyler JAMES/Directors CONCEPT

2007-10-10T04:03:00.000-07:00

tyler james foolish
date 06 12 04

concept

This video, an infectious and witty fusion of choreography and a strong central performance from Tyler, takes place while he and
his band prepare for a would-be television show, the hustle and bustle of staging transitions and real time lighting all around
them, through which Tyler sigues effortlessly as the situations around him change.
The mood is automatic cool, sexy and upbeat. Graphic 3D typography effects support the lyric content of the track and add
to the video’s contemporary look.

location
The fi lm takes place in a large white studio cyclorama (white). Stylized props and set elements suggest the mood of a TV show rehearsal. All set elements are moveable. Scenic changes occur mid-take. Items could include...a partial set of stairs, moveable
wall partitions, platforms created from scaffolding, and so on. Compositions sometimes include ‘off camera’ details like lighting scrims, set edges etc. Other shots are stylized perfection.

lighting
Lighting forms a major part of the video and is used to render exquisite transitions throughout the track: lighting changes dramatically occur ‘mid take’ taking Tyler’s performance from silhouette, to side light, to frontal, to top lighting. These changes are made possible through manipulating the lighting real–time through a mixing desk. Other moments see practical lighting built
into partitions or set elements—switched on and off manually ‘mid–take’.

musicians

A stripped down band is cast to provide graphic counterpoint to Tyler’s performance. Instrument selection is primary in creating
a believable background to Tyler’s vocal delivery. Musicians perform on raised daises or scaffold platforms at different levels to effect the mood of a TV or stage rehearsal. Silhouette is used to great effect. Individual instruments and musicians are profiled in a series of graphic compositions focusing on form and close–up details eg thumbing strings, and so on.
Frontal, profile and down shots render the instruments and action with graphic precision. Musicians are purely background
action used to compositionally support Tyler.

performance
Tyler’s vocal delivery is charismatic and laconically soulful. The video creates situations around him that he sometimes responds to and at others ignores. Tyler projects effortless cool—at times observing the choreography, at times interacting with it, at others rocking out with the band. Tyler anchors all the action. Things happen around him on his cue—instrumental breaks synchronize with casual signals, lighting moods alter as he finishes lyrics or turns from camera, choreography entry and exits work to the structure of the track.

Tyler charismatically responds to the changing situations—controlled chaos—around him. Elements of the video retain a raw spontaneity—creating the feel of a first rehearsal as entrances and exits are still being memorised, other moments are polished and rehearsed immaculately.

choreography
Five identically styled female dancers form the dual purpose of providing sexy background routines and being the love interest

Essay writing skills

2007-10-08T09:22:00.001-07:00

How do I write an Essay?

At GCSE you will need to show that you can write a piece of extended writing (an 'essay') which answers a question.
It will need to have a number of points in answer to the question, some facts ('evidence') which prove the point, and arguments which explain and develop how what you are saying answers the question.

It is very easy to write an essay, particularly if your teacher has taught you properly.
Don’t listen to the people who make it sound complicated.

REMEMBER

THE FIRST thing to do when confronted by an Essay question is to establish:

WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS IT?

There are THREE types of Essay question:
(click the titles to find out more)

Describe
eg ‘Describe...’, 'What were...', 'How did...?' etc.
IN BRIEF – Simply write down a many facts as you can remember in a sensible order.
BEWARE – A 'How...' essay can sometimes be asking you to describe something (ie a 'description' essay). Sometimes it wants you to explain something (ie an 'analytical' essay). Read the question carefully to decide what the examiner wants you to write about.
1st Facts: Get your facts straight - where you're going to start and finish the story/ have you remembered all the facts (esp. dates)/ sort them into a logical order. Arrange your account in a sensible order, e.g.: Beginning - Middle - End.
2nd Explanation: e.g. As you tell your story, explain how one thing led to another/ identify areas of change and continuity/ detail different reactions to events/ draw links between people and events.
3rd Judgement: e.g. Briefly, as you tell your story, explore underlying principles/ weigh the importance of different people and events, the pace of events, or the degree of change.

REMEMBER
When you have finished each paragraph ALWAYS:
= CHECK BACK -
to make sure that you are still answering the question you have been asked (many pupils gradually drift off the question as the essay goes on).
= MISS A LINE – so the examiner can see clearly where your next point begins.

GH

nmt-key terms/glossary

2007-10-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

3G - Third Generation. First generation phones were analogue, second digital. 3G is a step forward largely because of the massive increase in bandwidth (up to 384 Kbps) which may mean that TV on your mobile is not such a far-fetched idea.

GPRS - General Packet Radio Service. This is so-called in that it offers a faster, more sophisticated mobile Internet experience (although it can't handle video, unlike 3G). Data is broken up into 'packets', sent, and then reassembled at the destination. This means data transfer is more efficient and so faster.

HSCSD - High Speed Circuit-Switched Data. Unlike the 'packet' method this establishes a direct connection before data is transferred. Although less efficient with the correct equipment this can be fast (as the name suggests).

SIM - Signal Identifier Module. Your SIM card tells the network who is calling. Some predict that this could be a useful place to store such things are electronic money, id etc. In Finland this is being given serious thought.

SMS - Short Messaging Service. Millions are sent each day and you're probably responsible for a good percentage. After email text messaging has probably been the most unexpectedly popular means of communication of the digital age.

MMS - Multimedia Messaging Service. Take a picture with your camera and send it to a friend - in just a few seconds. The introduction of the service will lead to colour screens becoming commonplace. The Sony Ericisson T68i (with attached Communicam™) was the UK's first phone to allow this. When the service is allowed cross-networks, probably in Spring 2003, and the phones become cheaper, it will be very popular. It will also lead to picture advertising messages.

WAP - Wireless Application Protocol. The Internet on your mobile phone. WAP actually related to the way in which data is handled by your phone - see 'Protocol' under 'General'.
Internet

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. Get an ADSL modem (a device that lets you send and receive signals) and have your existing phone line upgraded and you could experience the Internet at 10 - 30 times as fast as a normal connection using a standard modem. Also known as 'broadband' because of the increased 'bandwidth' (see below).
Broadband - High speed Internet access. One type of broadband connection is ADSL (see above).

HTML - Hyper-Text Markup Language. At a basic level HTML is used to tell your browser how to display a page. Right-click and choose 'View Source' to see some.

HTTP - Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol. The 'rules' by which web pages are handled by your browser.

CQ - I Seek You. A programme that allows instant messaging of other users, as well as other features such as chat, file transfer, voice calls etc. It has wider implications because of the way in which users log on to the network and can then interact with others. See http://www.icq.com/ for details.

MP3 - Motion Picture Experts Group Layer Three Audio. A computer file that uses compression to make music small enough to be downloaded from the internet without noticeable loss of quality. Its future is uncertain following the Napster case and the lack of support for it from both Microsoft and Real Networks, major software companies.

OS - Operating System. Windows 98, Linux, BeOS are three examples. It is basically the software that allows you to use both the hardware (devices) and software (programmes) on your computer.

Server - A server is a central computer that 'hosts' web pages. This site is on the school server (unless you have it on CD Rom).

Streaming - Rather than waiting to receive an entire video or music file, streamed files can be played as they download. The advantages are obvious, although this does require a consistent connection.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator. A web address to you. It's 'uniform' because it's the same for everyone, wherever they are.

General

Bandwidth - The amount of data transmitted in a fixed amount of time. Larger bandwidth is one advantage of 3G mobile phones and broadband internet connections.

Bluetooth - A wireless, short-range communication technology that allows devices to log on easily and quickly. At the moment this has limited use, although the potential is there so keep an eye out for products using it, from mobile phones to computer equipment.

Cable infrastructure - Generally used to refer to the network of fibre optic cables that cover the country. Through 'cable' it is possible to receive TV pictures, telephone services, and an Internet connection.

Convergence - The coming together of technologies from different areas to make a new product. Think of a fax machine - this uses telephone, scanning and printing technologies.

Platform - The 'stage' on which something operates. The use of this depends on the context. For example you could talk about a gaming platform to mean either a PC or a games console. Or you could talk about either Sky Television or your PC as a platform for the Internet.

Protocol - Protocol is a set of rules by which things operate together. For example one protocol is that black is worn at a funeral... Others are much more recent (see HTTP and WAP).

The case study.

2007-10-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

Unit 2732:
Case Study: Audience and Institutions

The purpose of this unit is to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media institutions, production processes, technologies and related issues concerning audience consumption and reception (Assessment objective 2).

The examination lasts 1 hour and candidates answer four questions on New Media Technologies.The unit is marked out of a total of 90 marks

Questions 1 and 2 may be divided into sub-questions, according to the nature of the written extract chosen for comprehension.
In the examination, for each topic, a substantial written quotation/extract will be given that is related to the topic concerned. Questions 1 and 2 require comprehension from the written extract itself and Questions 3 and 4 require related evidence from the case study.

There are clearly defined criteria below for the content of the areas of study for both topics. Guidance is given regarding which institutional agencies and textual examples should be studied and what is required from the Case Study.
Candidates are required to conduct some basic audience research as part of this unit, which they can draw upon in the examination.

The four areas of knowledge candidates need to study in relation to the chosen topics are:
- Media Institutions
- Production Practices
- Media Technologies
- Media Audiences

New Media Technologies
For this topic candidates need to:
- become familiar with the technologies that have been introduced in the 1990s and into the 2000s at the level of production (Media Technologies and Production Practices);
- become familiar with the nature of audience consumption and uses of media technology and the significance of such technologies for audiences (Media Audiences);
- have some sense of the significance of such technologies for audiences for media industries (Media Institutions).

Such technologies would include:The internet;- Mobile telephones;
Games consoles; Digital television; Digital Versatile Disks (DVD);Computer Generated Images (CGI);Mobile telephones; Games consoles;Digital television;
Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) ;Computer Generated Images (CGI);

The Extract
The written extract for each topic comprises a passage for comprehension, which is drawn from a recent source, such as an article from a newspaper or magazine discussing some aspect of new technology or contemporary media ownership.
The passage might include a small amount of numerical data. It will be between 200 and 300 words in length.

The Case Study
A case study for the topic of New Media Technologies might involve looking at the ways in which the Internet is interacting with other media.
This might involve considering how:
- media companies are investing in the internet (Media Institutions);
- technology itself can be used to both produce material on the web (Productions Practices) and download it (Media Technologies);
- consumption is changing as a consequence (Media Audiences)
If, for example, music on the Web was the focus of such a study, the potential replacement of high street CDs by MP3, the way bands can by-pass record companies and the ways in which audiences surf to acquire material, might all be analysed.
Audience research should be along the lines of simple, limited local data.
For the topic of New Media Technologies, this might involve, for example:
- a survey of media technology in the homes of ten families, or
- an interview with a group of students about how they use the Internet.

dw

tIPS AND tRICKS imovie

2007-10-03T01:29:00.000-07:00

The Cutting-Room Floor: Making Edits
Once you've brought the raw material into iMovie, you're ready to assemble your masterpiece. How? Simply drag clips from the shelf into the Clip Viewer, whose timeline-like display enables you to sequence clips, add transitions, and more.

Name Your Clips
iMovie automatically names captured clips, but names like Clip 01 and Clip 02 aren't exactly descriptive. You can rename clips simply by clicking on their names. Give them descriptive titles, such as Bird Close-up or Forestwide Shot, to help you identify them.

Trim the Fat
Chances are, each of the clips you capture has extraneous junk at its beginning and ending–some jerk momentarily blocking your view of the recital stage–or maybe just a few seconds of uninteresting footage. By removing–or cropping, in iMovie terms–this excess, you'll make a better movie (and reclaim gobs of disk space as a bonus). To crop a clip in iMovie, you position crop markers to indicate the material you want to keep.

Empty the Trash
When you crop a clip, iMovie puts its discarded portion in the Trash–not the same Trash the Finder provides for discarding unwanted icons, but a separate, iMovie-specific Trash. You can reclaim disk space by emptying iMovie's Trash as you work (choose Empty Trash from the File menu). But if you've done a lot of cropping, emptying the Trash can take a few minutes, so wait until you're ready to take a break.

Play Only One Thing
Remember that you can choose to play just one item–a clip, a title, a transition, or a music soundtrack–by selecting that item in the Clip Viewer and then clicking on the Play button or hitting the spacebar. This can be a handy way to check out a title or transition you've just added. To play an entire project, deselect everything (press command-D or click in a blank area of the Clip Viewer) and then click on Play.

Move Clips Faster
If you need to move a clip a significant distance–say, from the end of a project to the beginning–you can drag it and let the clip window scroll automatically. But there's a faster way. Drag the clip from the Clip Viewer into any empty box on the shelf. Scroll through the Clip Viewer to the new destination, and then drag the clip from the shelf back into the viewer.

Adding Polish: Transitions and Titles
Text titles and visual transitions can add a professional touch to your project. Titles can help set the stage by describing a place or a scene, and of course, they give credit where credit is due. And visual transitions, when used sparingly, can be pleasant alternatives to jarring cuts.

Transitions can even help tell a story. For example, a cross-dissolve–one clip fading out while another fades in–can imply the passage of time. (Imagine slowly dissolving from a nighttime campfire scene to a campsite scene shot the following morning.) Similarly, iMovie's Push Right transition, where one clip pushes another out of the frame, is a visual way of saying "meanwhile . . ."–imagine using this transition between a scene of an expectant mother in the delivery room and a shot of her husband pacing in the waiting room, chain-smoking nervously. (OK, so this is an old-fashioned maternity movie.)

Titling Tips
To superimpose title text over a specific clip, select the clip before opening the Titles palette. Be sure to choose a text color that adequately contrasts with the clip's contents. If your movie will be viewed on an analog television, you'll get the best results with chunky fonts that remain legible despite the TV's limited resolution. For example, Arial Black works better than Times, which has ornamental serifs that can break up when viewed on a TV set. (For more information on creating titles, see the sidebar "Roll Credits".)

Inserting a Clip between a Transition
You've added a Push Right transition to that maternity movie, but then you decide you want to insert a new clip–a shot of the doctor striding down the hospital hallway. If you drag the new clip to the Clip Viewer, you'll notice that iMovie doesn't open a space in which to drop it. That's because inserting a clip between two clips connected by a transition is a two-step process. First, delete the transition by clicking on it and then pressing the delete key. Now you can insert the new clip.

Updating Titles and Transitions
Change your mind about using a particular font, title, or transition style? To change a title or transition, first click on it in the Clip Viewer. Make the changes, and then click on the Update button in the Titles or Transitions palette in the Effects palette.

Some Background on Rendering
When you create a title or transition, iMovie must create its video frames. This rendering process takes time and memory; you'll notice that iMovie slows down when it's taking place. Avoid adding multiple transitions or titles in rapid-fire succession–this not only slows iMovie to a crawl but also might cause an error message saying there isn't enough memory to add anything until rendering is complete. To gauge how long the wait will be, look at the window that contains the transitions or titles you've added: a little red progress bar shows how far along rendering is.

Improving on a Good Thing
The cross-dissolve is one of the most often used transitions, perfect for creating a graceful segue between scenes and for implying the passage of time. Alas, iMovie 1.0's cross-dissolve transition adds an undesirable slow-motion effect to clips. Apple fixed this in iMovie 1.0.1, a free update (available at http://www.apple.com/imovie/).

While you're downloading the iMovie 1.0.1 updater, also grab the iMovie Plug-in Pack–it adds six title styles and eight transition effects. Just remember to use these spices judiciously.

Editing-Read this before you film!

2007-09-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Editing

Below are some ideas to bear in mind when planning, shooting and editing your film.

Introduction
Film editing is the process of selecting and sequencing footage in order to create meaning for an audience. Traditionally, the process involved physically cutting and sticking together the film, although this is rarely done today; computer based, non-linear editing is now the standard.

Creation of meaning

Editing allows meaning to be created through the use of establishing shots, establishing a believable space (or time), and closer shots to draw attention to significant objects, including faces and characters, as well as items of importance to the plot. This means that both personality and plot can be created through the selection of shots. Cross-cutting is commonly used to create tension and is an example of sequences of film being juxtaposed to guide the reader’s interpretation. The ability to juxtapose pieces of film means a filmmaker is able to encourage the audience to create meaning.
In the book Advanced Level Media Studies, the writers offer the example of early Russian experiments that used a close up shot of an actor’s face in association with a plate of food, drawing viewers to comment on the actor’s ability to convey hunger. However, when the same close up shot of the actor was combined with a coffin a different audience marvelled at the actor’s depiction of grief.

Creative geography

Linked to the idea of juxtaposition creating meaning is the concept of creative geography. Soap operas, such as Neighbours, make good use of creative geography to make the audience believe interior shots are taken inside the houses seen in exterior shots, rather than the reality of studio sets. If a character is shown going into a building then in the next shot we see the same character inside a building, the natural assumption is that the two are linked. Creative geography is also known as the ‘Kuleshov effect’ after the Russian filmmaker who pioneered the technique.

Continuity editing

The convention in editing is to make it as invisible as possible, so the joins between pieces of film should follow some kind of rationale where possible. Commonly, a scene will start with an establishing shot, then switch to a closer shot to develop the scene. Where this doesn’t happen it is often for a particular purpose.
Some of the main principles to bear in mind when deciding when to edit are:
• Match on action – If an object is dropped by a character the audience expect to see either a close up of the object or a reaction to it falling, so a change in shot to one of these would seem ‘natural’. Likewise, if someone goes through a door a shift in shot from one side of the door to the other would be expected, and so presenting shots in this way wouldn’t unduly draw attention to the editing.
• Eyeline match – In most films the audience is encouraged to empathise with characters, so their eyes become important; if they look up the audience expects to see what it is that has provoked such a reaction. Cutting from one shot to another at such a point would be ‘invisible’ in that the audience is already anticipating a change (perhaps unconsciously). Walter Murch, whose editing credits include The English Patient and Apocalypse Now, believes that blinking is central to good editing. The decision when to cut in a conversation can be taken not according to who is speaking, but according to the natural rhythm of blinking. Such an approach is obviously difficult to master and relies on a strong empathy with the filmed material and probable audience reaction.
• Time – According to accepted film grammar, the audience understands that cross dissolves often indicate the passage of time, or that some of a character’s actions will be left out. For example, if we see a car pull into a driveway then see a shot of someone entering a house from inside, we automatically accept that the character has got out of the car, locked the door, walked to the house and so on. If editing wasn’t used in this way we’d have to sit through some very long films!

There are two other ways of linking shots that are worthy of mention:
• Graphic matching - By making the final shot of one sequence similar to the first shot of the next can help to both smooth the transition between the two and link them.
• Focus of attention - If one shot draws the audience’s attention to the top right of the frame, one effective technique is to offer something of significance in a similar position in the next shot. Otherwise, a momentary disorientation will be experienced by the audience, although this feeling will be experienced subconsciously. See the book about Walter Murch listed below for more detail.

Summary
When planning your film it is vital that you approach it with control and forethought – an assured sense of reasoning will help to give your work a professional look and make it much more likely to be successful. Don’t just plan your shots, but plan your shots and how they will be edited. Carefully think about the length of your takes, the framing of your shots and the overall look you wish to achieve in terms of the angles you employ or the objects you include in the frame.
Further reading
• The Cinema Book ed Pam Cook
• Advanced Level Media Studies Angela Bell et al
• The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Film Editing by Michael Ondaatje

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Thriller TrailerA structure.

2007-09-26T03:09:00.000-07:00

Thriller Trailer
A structure for the process

1. Choice of thriller (why?)
2. Create a brief (make decisions at all stages)
a. Production – why this treatment?
b. Audience – to whom is this targeted? (think age/gender/lifestyle/aspirations/sub-cultural group)

Actual video preparation
. Initial ideas
. Development of these ideas
. Studio/location sequences (remember that the studio is a controlled environment; locations are not)
. Storyboard to be constructed and shot (filmed, with sound dubbed on). Remember that you can use digital still cameras and/or drawings)

Draw a timeline with the minutes and seconds illustrating what visuals will appear at any given moment in the trailer. This will give you a linear structure upon which to work.

Practicalities and Logistics
a. Casting; who? Auditions? Photographs? Screen Tests?
b. Props; list of props needed prepared; have you got them or do you need to buy/hire or obtain through Theatre Dept.?
c. Locations; photos needed; permissions?
d. Costume; as with props.
e. Make-up; have you the expertise and the designs?
f. Lighting; be very specific with your lighting plans in both studio and locations; draw plots
g. Rehearsals (which should include blocking and walkthroughs with camera positions)
h. Set design and building

All of the above should be completed as far as possible and notes, plans, lists, drawings and photographs kept in your folder.
Final considerations before the shoot:-

You should have prepared a shooting script (the order of shots on the day), have appointed roles within your group for the shoot day (director, cameras, floor manager, lighting, props/costumes, continuity, sound, choreographer, etc.) and have set up and organised all aspects of the shoot.

Is your cast organised? Do they know where and when they are expected to turn up? Do they know what they are doing? Do you have contingencies for illness/apathy/unreliability of students?
Are all your props and costumes ready?

Have you liaised with Gerry about your shoot?
have you checked out the lighting requirements?
Are you in control?

Good luck

Thriller Trailer Essay structure.

2007-09-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

Explore the ways in which film trailers engage and sustain the
audience’s interest (800 words)
In this essay you need to show that you understand:
- the importance of film trailers as marketing tools
- the effect of media language choices on moving image texts
- film language and terminology.
- ways to identify and categorise possible audiences.
- the techniques film trailers use to attract their target audience
A glossary of terms to include in your essay is attached.

Glossary
Genre the type of film you are seeing (action/ romance/ sci-fi/ epic/
adventure...)
Icons the features associated with a particular genre, e.g. types
of props (guns and hats in Westerns), music, setting, etc.
Mise en scène what you see in a camera shot (costumes, props, make-up,
lighting, buildings...)
Framing the way a scene is shot through the camera (e.g. closeups,
zoom, wide-angle...)
Editing the way different scenes are linked together (through cuts,
dissolves, fades...)
USP the film’s Unique Selling Point, or one biggest attraction
(e.g. a big star, or special effects, or action scenes, or
violence).

Remember:
One carefully written, descriptive sentence is worth far more than a
paragraph of waffle – and need not take any longer to write!

Explore the ways in which film trailers engage and sustain the
audience’s interest (800 words)

Introduction
Explain the purpose of film trailers.
- why make them?
- who are they for?
- where and when are they seen and why?
Which film trailers will you be using as examples?
Selling techniques
Explain USP and give examples.
Discuss voiceovers, and their use in the two trailers
Compare the positioning of key information (e.g. star) in the two trailers.
-How is this information conveyed?
-Why might the positioning be different?
Genre
Briefly discuss:
-why it is important for a trailer to indicate the film’s genre?
-how genre clues are provided (mise en scene, music, sound effects...)
This leads straight into…

Textual Analysis: your groups trailer
Discuss the trailer, making one or two descriptive, detailed, analytical
observations on each of the following
- mise en scene (lighting, colours, props, costumes, settings)
- sound effects and music
- framing (type of shots) and editing
How does this information tell you what genre your trailer belongs to?

Preparation/Filming

Audience
Using all the elements you have discussed identify the kinds of
audiences you think this film will appeal to. Think about:
- age range
- gender
- level of education
- other media texts they might enjoy.

Conclusion
Which trailer do you think is the more effective at appealing to its likely
target audience? Why?

http://www.allisonmedia.net/Media/film_trailers.htm

Audience/Institution/Representation.

2007-09-26T03:01:00.000-07:00

'Audience' is the term used to mean the people who watch, read, buy, listen to, or use a media product.

In studying the media it is necessary to think about audiences. Many of the institutions in charge of the world’s media will go to great lengths to work out how you, as an audience, function and what you want. A course like this gives you a chance to understand the importance of audience and its impact on the way films and music and many other things are created in today’s world.
Looking at the 'target audience' for a media product means looking at those people that its makers think will watch/buy/use it.

Institutions' is the term used to mean the companies who are reponsible for creating media products. So this includes, film companies, record labels, magazine publishers and so on.

The Media does not exist of its own accord. Films, magazines, adverts, radio, the music you listen to - all are created by colossal institutions. Some of these are arguably more powerful in this world than governments. Many have a massive influence on how you encounter information and what you think of major events taking place in the world at the moment. When we look at this area there are certain questions that should be asked:
• how do these institutions operate?
• who owns them?
• what influence do they have?

Why it is important to study institutions
When thinking about a media product it is important to understand the people that have input into its creation. Mostly, media companies are driven by money, but they may have other intentions. For example, they may seek to educate us, or influence us to think in a certain way, or even buy certain products. Knowing that a particular institution is behind a particular product may be important. Branding tells us that we will like, or dislike a product. So by studying institutions we learn to expect different things from the BBC than Sky Television.

Representation Sometimes you will come across people of your age represented quite controversially in a range of media texts. You need to look no further than the nearest soap opera to see your age being screened to millions in a way that you may find offensive or patronising. Through looking at representation, you are given a chance to see how media people - most of them decades older than you - depicts people of your age. Is their representation fair?

Why representation isn't simple
When considering representation it is important to consider these points:
• is the representaion based on reality? Or are stereotypes relied on?
• does the way certain groups are represented alter how audiences think of them?
• to what degree will the representation of certain groups be accepted by the audience?

Representation- How we stereotype.

2007-09-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

Representation- How we stereotype:Implicit Personality Theory

Finish the phrases below:
John is energetic, eager and ...(intelligent/stupid)

Julie is bright, lively and ...(thin/fat)
Joe is handsome, tall and ...(flabby/muscular)
Jane is attractive, intelligent and ...(likeable/unpleasant)
Susan is cheerful, positive and ...(attractive/unattractive)

If you compare your answers with those of others, the chances are that they will be exactly the same. There is no logical truth based reason for this- it is simply part of the way that we stereotype. The fact that we naturally see the world in this kind of shorthand way with connections between different character traits, allows the media to create simplistic representations which we find believable. Implicit personality theory explains this process.

As humans we use our own unique storehouse of knowledge about people when we judge them.
Our past experience is more important than the true features of the actual personality that we are judging.- traits exist more in the eye of the beholder than in reality.We have each a system of rules that tells us which characteristics go with other characteristics.
We categorise people into types (e.g. workaholic, feminist etc.) to simplify the task of person perception .Once we have in our minds a set of linked traits which seem to us to go together, they form a pattern of connections that can be called a prototype.

In other words the mix of traits that we may consider "typical" of feminists are a prototype of what a feminist is like to us.
If we encounter someone in reality or in the media who seems to fit neatly into a prototype, we feel reassured. It confirms our stereotyped view- we do not need to think further.Also once a few of the traits seem to fit our prototype, we will immediately bundle onto the person the rest of the traits from the prototype even if we do not know if they fit them in reality.

Research has shown that if we find people who do not fit into our prototypes, we will form very strong often impressions of them- it is surprising to us and disconcerting- it forces us to think more deeply.On the other hand, if it is at all possible, we will try to twist the truth to fit in with our prototype, often ignoring traits which do not fit into our neatly imagined pattern of characteristics. This will particularly happen as time passes and we have time to forget things that do not fit in. This can lead to enormous differences between our perceptions of people and the reality.

All of this distortion happens naturally in our minds before the media have had their chance to simplify and distort. We do a lot of the business of stereotyping ourselves. It is almost as if we conspire with the media to misunderstand the world.

(Steve Baker 9/1/97)

Representation-An introduction.

2007-09-26T02:52:00.000-07:00

An Introduction to Representation

Key Questions You Should Ask about all Media texts:

Who or what is being represented?
How are these people or objects represented?
Why was this image, or series of images chosen rather than another representation?
Who is presenting the images and why?
How do the people receiving the images react to them?
Over a period of time what do the images suggest about a certain group of people?
What points of view are neglected or ignored?

This is a central, underlying concept in media studies. You should remember that all media output is a representation. The term refers to the construction, in any medium of aspects of ‘reality’, such as people, places, objects, events and identities.

>Representations may be conveyed through still or moving pictures, as well as through speech and writing. Representation determines how a group or individual is presented and recognised and necessarily entails the use of codes and conventions.
In Media Studies it is important for us to make a clear distinction between reality and media representations and “to remember that the media operate in the spaces between the viewing, listening or reading audience and the world outside” (Downes and Miller).

This means that we should consider the media as systems through which we experience the world. The media quite literally mediate between us, as the audience, and the reality of events within the world. In short, they create a version of reality for our consumption.

One of the main debates hinges on the question of whether the media offers us truth or fiction. Of course the simple answer is that what we see are only images of the real thing: news for example, presents us with the reporting of an event not the event itself. Media texts are constructed therefore what we see or read is literally a RE-PRESENTATION of the ‘real world’.

Presence Vs. Absence:

The first thing to consider is the process of selection that has taken place. Who or what is being represented and who or what isn’t?

Example 1: Neighbours – which members of the Australian population are not represented in the programme? What is the effect of this on the audience?

Example 2: National TV News – what stories are represented about Wales? What doesn’t usually get represented? What is the effect of this on the audience?
Appearance:
This is not as simple as saying that positive representations are reducible to those that make a person or place appear attractive. For example if you were making a tourist advert for Wales / Cardiff what would you show?
Would these images give a fair representation of Wales / Cardiff?
If you were making a documentary about the problems facing the country or city what images would you show?
But do these images tell the whole story?
It gets more complicated in relation to representing people:

Women: female stars are judged much more on their looks than their male equivalents. List all the male film stars that do not conform to stereotypical notions of what is good looking. Now do the same for women.
This relates to age: women film stars have to be younger than their male equivalents. List the films you have seen in which the female star appears to be over 35. Now do the same for men. What does this tell you?

Activities, occupations and roles:
As well as what people look like, what they do is important too. Consider the occupations we see different ethnic minorities undertaking on television, does there seem to be typically White, Asian or Black jobs?
Also think about what they do other than work. Think about the young characters in soap operas – what storylines are they involved with? What does this tell you about the representation of young people in the media?

This can be linked in with Propp, for example we might argue that women play a more active role in narratives – they are not simply the princess. However, how often are the roles of hero and villain performed by a female character?
Obviously this does not directly apply to the representation of places. With places we should consider the extent to which they are the locations for certain type of activities and occupations:
For example The East-end of London is usually the site for criminal activities whereas North London is usually the setting for love affairs between the upper middle classes.
What about Wales? Is there a type of narrative or occupation usually associated with this country?

Relationships:

Relationships are often a key aspect to representations. Characters are represented at least in part through their interactions with others.
The types of relationships a character has romantically as well as with their family and friends are often key to the construction of the representation.
An example: you could argue that Sex in the City provides positive representations of female identity because it shows women who are independent and it rejects the traditional model of women as wives and mothers.
However you could argue that it provides negative representations as the female characters are motivated by the desire / need to become wives or mothers.

Stereotypes
1. The traditional view of stereotypes is that:
2. They make assumptions.
3. They are used by the media as a kind of shortcut but that their usage may also end up labelling groups or individuals.
4. They have been built up through years of representation in the media as well as through everyday assumptions in conversation.
Stereotypes work by simplifying individuals and by exaggerating certain traits in order to label that individual (and generalise about all people who share that particular trait).
What are the stereotypical traits of blondes, the French and the Germans?
Stereotypes may dehumanise people and create situations where resentment and hatred can build up towards that particular group. For example what stereotypes are there of young black men?
Stereotypes carry moral connotations – i.e. some people are judged as better than others.

EXEMPLAR CRITICAL EVALUATION

2007-09-26T02:00:00.001-07:00

UNIT 2733 - ADVANCED PRODUCTION

EXEMPLAR CRITICAL EVALUATION

Music Production Work Report

The task was to produce a music video, single and album cover for a particular band. We divided into groups and listened to a mixture of bands in which we may base our work on. My group decided upon Michelle Branch - Everywhere, we felt this song was the one that would give us most potential.
At the beginning of Year 12 we learnt how to use iMovie, iTunes and PhotoShop. Our Year 12 projects were to produce three iMovie adverts for a chocolate company. We then progressed onto producing a three minute opening sequence for a thriller. This year we will be using more sophisticated camera work, PhotoShop for our CD covers and editing so that the lip syncing fits in well.

In our pitch we based the video on three areas: (see booklet) this would prevent the audience from getting bored of seeing the same location throughout the video. For location we wanted it to be based in two places: a studio for the band and city centred for the narrative. The plane shot was cancelled because if the shot didn't look right or was unsteady then we'd loose valuable film time. The video would be simple with shots of her performing and writing lyrics. This would illustrate the lyrics and visuals as we would then add shots of the man she's singing about.

For research we watched and discussed music videos of previous groups. For example, avoiding backwards footage for a long time and shots that make no sense. Also, how important costumes and location are to a video. Through the analysis of music videos in industry we found what's common in popular videos and what videos for different genres contain. I continued watching music videos at home on MTV, VH1 and The Box for ideas. Looking at artists with a similar image to our artist gave more guidance on shots to use and whether to follow a narrative.

We forgot about a band since there maybe the problem of reliability so we thought it best to stick with just a singer playing the guitar. We thought about having the singer in a narrative where the male character is someone from her record company but thought this may become too confusing and followed too much narrative.

As Michelle Branch is an unknown artist to my group, I decided to look at her web site for information on the genre of her music and record company so we could portray her image as accurately as possible.

The target audience would be those who generally like pop/rock music. Since Michelle Branch is with the record company Maverick, co-founded by Madonna, this presents the idea that their audience's may be similar. Since she's only 18 years old, we chose a girl from our group to be the singer because she created the image we wanted, she'd also be reliable for filming. We wanted her to have a slight rock image so she wore the appropriate clothing. The male character was smart/casual so he suited the artists' image.

The College drama studio seemed the best place to film the singer playing the guitar, the simple setting would enable the focus to be on only her. To add mood to the shots we made use of the lighting in the studio. When editing we found this created the effect we had wanted, emphasising that the singer is alone.

Our other location was London for an urban setting. We filmed our original actor here but had the problem of using analogue, when editing they were of a bad quality and less focused so we ended up using less of these shots and filmed more on digital at College. Luckily another member of a group in Media was willing to play the male role.

We had a general shot list of what was needed in the video, containing varied camera shots and angles whilst distributing filming the footage between our group. We had to drop some filming ideas due to timing or because they made no sense with the rest of the video.

When editing, the shots at the beginning of the video were contradicting the music and visuals rather than illustrating them, so to grab the attention of the audience we made them fast paced. For the chorus we repeated the shot of her singing in a park to keep the video stable and familiar. We were going to make the shots of her love interest black and white but other people didn't see any reason to. Instead we slowed the clip down for a dream-like effect. We used a cross dissolve in most of these shots to seem more surreal.

We thought the audience may get bored of the same shots of her performing and of the male character, so in the guitar solo we sped her up when she was fooling around to split the video up and make her look free and easygoing. We adjusted the colour to make it bright and vivid so there wasn't confusion over whether it's linked to the narrative or not.

For the album cover we forgot the idea of the singer laying in a bed of roses (see booklet). Although it symbolises the music being rocky and romantic, we thought it may also be expensive to create. Instead we used an image from our video and placed this on the centre of a black backdrop so she's the main focus like many other conventional pop/rock groups including words of thanks and a list of songs on the album. For a sleeve in the album I thought about creating a collage with different images of the singer performing like bands such as Limp Bizkit and ŒNSync have done.

We chose a close-up side shot of the singer looking ahead, adjusting the colour so the image's slightly abstract, this makes it striking and eye-catching. For the back cover we placed an image of the singer in a similar, smaller framed pose looking down as a way of showing a closing to the CD. For both the album and single we used the same font for a familiarity. We made the font small, simple and white which is prominent but doesn't detract from the image.

When analysing our finished music video, the lip syncing seems a problem because some shots are not edited in at the right time. If we had extra time, I would've liked to improve this.

The analogue wasn't of the best quality so we had less shots to use, but we used the digital camera in lesson time with our new male character giving us more variety of clips to choose from.

I thought the music and visuals were successful in most areas of the video yet the last few shots of the male character walking away from the camera seemed too long and it would have been better to put a few more cuts in between. However, the very last shot of the singer on the guitar singing to the camera had to fit in for the lip syncing to work and it had taken a while just to get the shots of him walking in time, and the rest of the group thought it was fine.

Adjusting the colour on our singer when she was playing around with the guitar, I believe, worked well as it stops the video from being too repetitive and predictable, a kind of break from the narrative.
We used Andrew Goodwin's method from the book, Dancing in the Distraction Factory (Routledge 1992) to analyse our music videos.

We communicated meaning in the video by illustrating with music and visuals the narrative and using dissolving transitions for dream shots.

The narrative didn't go anywhere since we wanted it to be simple and also get the audience thinking whether something may or may not happen with the male and female character, yet we tried to make this understandable through cuts and dissolves.

I feel we represented Michelle Branch in the best way possible through location and costume. Her costume was best linked to a pop/rock genre for her age group and our locations were simple and shouldn't be too recognisable to our audience.

The combination of lyrics and visuals that we used both contradicted the video with "I'm not alone" and "You're everywhere to me" when we showed a long shot of her alone in the drama studio and illustrated the video when she sings, "You always light my way" when we show a low angle medium close-up of her love interest against the sunlight in the background. Some of his shots turned out better than expected. Due to the sunny day, the sunlight on the camera created silhouettes and beams of light which produced a mysterious but warm effect on screen.

The music and visuals are illustrated with fast music and fast editing when the drum beats in the song and there's a guitar solo. They are amplified when we speed up the buses in the street so it seems the world is going fast as the singer is writing the lyrics to her song.

To contribute to the star status of our artist we included close-ups and other varied shots like long and medium shots so the audience will begin to recognise her, this was also developed by showing her in separate locations and in performance.

We felt the use of voyeurism in our video wouldn't be suitable for Michelle Branch's music or image, yet we leant towards this idea on the male character as she looks or thinks about him obsessively.
We tried to make Michelle Branch's video as original as possible, but still found some intertextuality within other music videos. The simple narrative of the male character and female singer has been present in most of Britney Spears' videos, for example Born To Make You Happy involved little narrative, just shots of her with her boyfriend in a plain room and singing, but the difference with ours is that she didn't interact with her love interest. Also, from the film Moulin Rouge Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman released the song Come What May that shows quick out takes of them both together fooling around in front of the camera to divide the music video up from the highlights of the film. We followed this idea with quick shots of our singer playing with the guitar. Our final idea is the speeding up of shots. In Madonna's video Ray Of Light she repeatedly shows shots of people and objects moving fast by speeding up the footage. We felt we could create this idea with just one shot.

For the single cover I like the effect adjusting the colour created as you can't tell whether it's a filter or lighting in the studio. The main focus of the image is her eye which is slightly off centre yet to balance the piece, the audience would read the text in the middle of the cover towards the right The colour is warm and makes the image static and vibrant as if the artist gets a warm feeling when she thinks about her love interest. I think it's also a successful use of space in the square as she surrounds the whole area.

The font worked well with the image on both covers as it doesn't prevent Michelle Branch from being the focus of attention. Whilst the title of the song, "Everywhere" gives a sense that the artist is everywhere, along with her love interest.

By looking at both covers it is clear that Michelle Branch is a solo artist and part of a pop genre. If she was based more for example, on Heavy Metal, then this would be seen through her image as she may wear more makeup, different clothes and the cover maybe more abstract.

I think the darkness of the album cover was successful because it adds mystery and mood to the music. The spotlight on the artist makes her glow and creates the impression that she'd light up a room with her music.

It would have been better to add more detail to the inlay of the album as we only mentioned briefly who the artist wished to thank, who produced it and where it was recorded.

The function of music videos is to promote music made by bands of all genres. They are used frequently whilst a band is on tour so they are able to publicise their music whilst not having to travel to perform. They can enhance a star's image with the way they are represented. Videos sell singles and albums for bands and are a staple product of music TV channels, for example, MTV and VH1. However, for a video to be successful it must be entertaining and suit the audience and genre it is being aimed at.

Jake and Jim of record company Godman, gave a talk at our College where they said that due to deadlines they have to adapt if problems arise in filming or editing. Our music video follows the concepts of the music industry as we too had limited time for equipment, editing and performers. We also had to produce a pitch to show what our ideas are for the video. We may also not necessarily like the song we're creating a video for, but as it's the task we have been given, we must proceed.

CD covers sell an artist. If a cover is plain with no image it may be less successful than one that contains information about the band or a striking image to grab the attention. CD covers give an idea of what genre the band are in. They can make the difference between success and failure, this also applies to music videos.

After presenting our video to an audience, we generally got a positive response. They felt there was a variety of shots and angles that worked well, especially the pan of the male character and the artist. They believed using the same shot on them both showed there was a link between them. The shots of the singer looking down were also noted for being more naturalistic and original than if she was singing to the camera.

People believed the use of lighting added atmosphere and disguised the drama studio we filmed in. Everyone noticed there was a link between the lyrics and visuals in this location as she sings, "I'm not alone" when she's really contradicting this.

The idea of speeding up the footage and adjusting the colour when it came to the guitar solo was seen as a good idea, compensating for the problem of us having no electric guitar to use and they believed there was no reason to show a band since focus on just the lead singer was appropriate to "selling" our artist in the music industry.

The locations showed a distance between the singer and male character. Since the shots of the singer in public places were taken in London, and shots of the male character were taken in a field, they believed it showed distance between them.

One problem a few viewers had was the false sense that at the end of the video the characters would meet each other face to face. We argued, if she doesn't meet him, it adds mystery to the video and the last lyrics, "Tell me, do you see me?" creates the impression that she hasn't actually interacted with him before. However when it came to editing, we thought it would be suitable to keep the narrative simple and not involve an ending so it keeps the viewers guessing whether they'll actually may meet or not. It created mystery for our viewers when she was sitting down writing in a note book as they weren't sure whether she was writing a love letter or the words to the song.

A comment was made on less variety of locations for the male character compared to the singer, but we were unable to solve this problem since we had to take these shots in limited time due to the problems we had in London with analogue.

However, overall our audience believed our video had clarity of meaning, was entertaining and followed the general conventions of a music video.

Audience feedback for our single cover was generally positive, people liked the contrast in light on both sides of the image. They believed brightness showed happiness, whilst darkness portrayed sadness. It was also commented on as a strong, single composition.

For both covers we were given generally the same comments. Everyone liked how the lighting affected them both as it created mood and atmosphere. The use of the same font for both covers was also a strong point as like many covers for the same music genre, it was recognisable, simple and represented Michelle Branch being serious about her music.

There was disagreement over them being quite plain, a few people thought something should be added to the covers whilst others thought it was better the way it was because it's simplistic yet illustrates the artist being a solo singer and there's a clear music genre.

Everyone thought the tracks were clearly labelled on each cover and the black and white contrast on the back of the album was good as it was keeping to the simplistic theme, along with the images.
Our audience thought the album looked more realistic including a thank you list and barcode however a few people spotted we forgot to black out the sign saying Madonna - Rain as this is the cover we used to scan in the Mavericks symbol.

The spotlight above the artist on the front of the album added mystery and was similar to the single in that the artist is the focus of attention.

For our sleeve showing the singer performing, someone commented it is good as it shows the artist can play the guitar and is having has fun.

We were criticised slightly for not including more information on the inside cover of the album about each song, which I too think would have made the album more conventional.
It was clear to our audience which images were for the album and single cover. The front covers portrayed a realistic image of the singer and the genre of music she performs, one of our important main aims for both the CD covers and video.

Word Count: 2,994

Assessment

Key Strengths

Clear indication of brief and comparison with AS project.
Records and reflects upon all stages of the production and accounts for main decisions made.
Analyses finished product to show how form and content affect meaning.
Appropriate reference to ideas from Goodwin about structure and representation in music video.
Places production in relation to both other texts and industry practices.
Good reference to audience feedback.
Clear and systematic, detailed, thorough, reflective.

Level 4 27/30

An example of a music video evaluation.

2007-09-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

Example of music video evaluation ( from www.hurtwoodmedia.com )

Introduction
As part of the AS level media course th e course work I completed was 'print'- the front cover, contents page and main double paged article for a Sunday Supplement. The A2 product completed was a pop video. As part of a group of three I directed, shot footage for and edited the piece.

Part One
Initially, once deciding on a song for the pop video promotion we sketched a number of possible ideas and concepts connecting to the music. The song, 'Clubbed to Death' by Rob.D combined both a contemporary, rhythmic, strong bassed dance theme with an enveloping of a classical element. It was decided by record label - Multiply- to have the song released on black label record, a method to test the song's success'. The song would be given out on a limited amount of (black label) [Often used by up and coming dj's, unsure of how their song will do] records, the record company distributing only to djs in large or underground clubs. Based on its success of black label sales and the large amount of requests for the song in these clubs, it was decided by the record label to have it released as an official single, breaking the official charts being the next main objective. The single had a subsequent high rate of airplay on radio stations such as the alternative Xfm ( London), Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights on the national Radio 1 and Kissfm ( London). This guaranteed it a future public release to the general public.
Looking at various artists similar to Rob D in the music industry aided our research into the market our product shall be aimed at. 18-30 year olds with an interest in the club scene, or generally interested in alternative dance music (which is very popular at present with artists such as Jakarta staying at number 2 in the official top 40 singles chart for three weeks) would be an ideal audience to consider when designing and casting for the promotional video. Jakarta, however, has the advantage of the song's link to academy award winning film, 'American Beauty', for the piece that is remixed on the track features in the film. Luckily, having the video aimed at the mass market of those between the age of 18-30 means less of a limitation on our approach and a wider response who will buy the single from having watched and enjoyed the video and its song.
A pop video was needed in order to aid the single's publicity, most of all to make a bold statement alongside this contemporary, hard hitting, dramatic piece of music that is 'Clubbed to Death'. 'Clubbed To Death's success has a sole dependence on how the target audience receives the song, how much airplay the song will receive and whether or not the pop video (as main promoter of the song) will get much play on target satellite and terrestrial channels. Tying in a social message to the pop video was an initial idea that we stuck by. '.. .artists do not invent nature but merely hold it up to a mirror'. [Oliver Stone in Screen Violence, ibid, 1996, p237] The fact that such messages are hardly ever approached by dance videos in particular is advantageous in terms of the video standing out from others and appealing to the target audience.
Primarily, our ideas were to either have the video based around a state of ecstasy and bliss or shear hopelessness and despair. These themes connecting to the themes that Rob D appeared to portray in the song. The d.j wanted recognition for his song as opposed to his face. We cast two actors in their mid twenties [An element to allow audience association with the characters to capture the targeted audience] to 'face' the scripted arguments and violent scenes for the video. Our main objective was to have the video concentrate on two individuals who led the narrative based. By placing the main protagonist in a number of landscapes and using diverse camera angles/ positions and movements in these environments we intended on producing a video that defied usual pop video conventions. We aimed to bring the audience in, share the protagonist's pain, frustration, loneliness and her freedom [Although a restricted, eventual shattered bliss. ]
Once planning was underway our production team would regularly meet to discuss concepts and imagery for the video. Days of exploring possible locations were particularly beneficial as we too had a camera on hand to experiment with various shots and concepts, always considering how it could be placed in the video. Barren council estates, places of ruin [Namely Battersea Power station] and large empty, desolate areas were influential in our thoughts and ideas [We were soon able to channel our ideas down from the broad array of themes such as drugs, violence, claustrophobia, vulnerability, solitude and escapism.]. The situation was to be a dingy, tight scene of domestic violence and melancholic distress combined with an escapist route to rapture and euphoria.
Many storyboards were made, aiding our concentration on certain themes and issues, we had to abide by the 3 minute 40 second guideline the song secured. By editing the storyboard footage we introduced more concepts such as the tunnel section in the song [A montaged sequence of various tunnel- like environments, enforcing ideas of claustrophobia, a searching for an exit and need for hope and the light], which not only provided some variety to the video concepts but was also an aesthetically interesting camera movement to involve for the audience. An act in full consideration and satisfaction of audience wants, but also a sequence that connects successfully to the music. Such shots were achieved on shoot days organised amongst our production team before the assigned on-location shoot day.
Many primary ideas were used in the final piece. For example, dissolving a darkened drain into the dilated pupil of our protagonist. An ambitious concept though one we successfully achieved once we had shot and edited the piece. However, there were some ideas that had to be rejected. Our envisaged scenes of the camera at the end of a syringe going into a drug abusers arm, the use of the escapist route through drugs with the protagonist having the camera attached to her arm- portraying a state of deliriousness. These ideas were unachievable because of inability to provide the resources needed to perform such a task. Films such as the hard hitting, gritty 'Trainspotting' and 'Basket ball Diaries' and documentaries all inspired certain concepts. The crafty, slick camera angles of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' also provided some influence for ideas. All of these movies were particularly successful, so using them as an inspiration for our pop video would aid the wanted success to help sales of the single. Analysis of pop videos and its industry proved to be of some influence though we investigated more into ways that our pop video could defy what the industry has already churned out. Although there were a few ideas that were rejected, the movies did plant an interest with domestic violence and gritty, shocking ways of dealing with it.
Once the on location shoot day was over editing the footage started. Editing was one of the most difficult stages of production. [A process that also proved quite rewarding as we jigsawed the fragments together ]Careful consideration went into the cutting of shots to the beat of the music, the placing of vital concepts and their sequences in the correct places and the juxtaposing of elements such as the harsh reality of our protagonist with her escaping, yearning imagination
In conclusion, the pop video should boost the sales of 'Clubbed to Death'. A punchy, fast paced pop video- adding to the kick of the song. An element that would grab the full attention of the audiences (of clubbers) who started off the song's success in the clubs. The single should succumb to the predicted high sales that 'Multiply' had aimed for, provided that the targeted market receive the product well.
Word Count: 1, 179.

Part 2
'The music video serves to the image of an artist or band to maintain the visibility of performers in the absence of personal appearances''.
We sought to create a video on a par with the dramatic song, this being a visual impact serving the image of the song, resulting in a promotion for the track as opposed to the artist, Rob D who would prefer to remain low profile.
'The process of music making and selling can't be separated, and the rise of video promotion makes it clear that the relationship has always worked in reverse too- record sellers are also concerned with production. They produce the images (styles, personalities, visual appeal) to match the sounds'. [Stuart Price, Hodder and Stoughton, 1997]
This is a matter that was taken carefully into consideration when drawing up our main objectives for designing the promotional video. To have domestic violence as a main issue in the video was a factor that was not to create a moral panic [Simon Frith, 'Youth. Leisure, and the politics of rock 'n' roll'] but plant an awareness (for the audience) of the distressing issues occurring behind closed doors. A serious issue not often approached in artist's promotional videos. An approach that is unconventional to the usually light-hearted and jocular d.j pop video. For this reason it should receive more airplay and general interest from people who are awoken by a bold narrative that is presented in this video.
The objective of the video to promote a social understanding meant that the audience the video is aimed at is an active audience who are ready to question the text, as opposed to the passive audience (which most present products are aimed at- an audience willing to absorb the material, not questioning the text). The theme of domestic violence provides the narrative element of the video. The active audience identifies with the protagonist. This woman is the victim of a partner's abuse and violence;
her physical endurance and suffering take place in their four-walled, compact flat. The black and white, grained effect for the flat footage sets the mood for her melancholic life, particularly so when it is juxtaposed with shots of her in a cornfield, or in an empty field or with wild horses. Reality conflicts with the ideal dream; a concept portrayed with structure and narrative. The protagonist is hit and falls to the ground. The chain of events that follow are that which had led up to her being hit. These black and white images are part of a rhythmic montage [One of the five streams of montage founded by theorist Tudor commenting on Eisenstein's 'Montage'] with images of freedom, escapism and relief flashing in the opening sequence in relation to the heavy bass music. [Essentially in the pop video we are making a political and social statement This is an approach similar to the use of montage that Tudor researched and found useful for political propaganda activities. As opposed to the conventional pop video that almost never uses intellectual or overtonal montages.]
In relation to the challenging issue of domestic violence there is some use of horrific and haunting images to convey melancholic messages. For example, corpses and children in barren landscapes. One image was projected across the protagonist's desperate and gaunt face, of tulips with barbed wire- a juxtaposition posing the gentle with the harsh- a halting of beauty and any potential blossoming. The portrayal of our protagonist's searching and yearning mind juxtaposed with her trapped reality is an impending of the images splashed across her face. This image is continuously re-visited. The sun rising represents the glimmer of hope, though its abrupt suppression using a dissolve, from which the risen sun consequents to the girl's eye, back in the flat and dismally in the black and white grain. Even the lively colour has been banished.
The editing is conventional- when the bass plays, the shots are cut to the beat. When classical music is more prominent in the piece the shots are more gradually cut and dissolved. The editing is also connected to the message, fast paced at the dramatic sequence when the protagonist is being hit. The cuts are rapid and jerked during the argument and smooth during the images of escapism and freedom from her reality. The convention of using the dissolve to connect the subject matters is one that is used by many pop videos at present. For example, the connection is made between the image of the girl stood over a sink full of dirty dishes, her face bruised and gaunt and when she stares, emotionless (bearing and extra-diegetic gaze) at the mirror. The camera moves at a speed that connects well with the music (which has increased in pace). It stops in a dark, dirty cup which dissolves in to the first of the tunnels in the sequence. The urban and the rural settings vary in speed and colour. Each of the tunnels meanders into another, again at cuts and dissolves reflective of the musical beat. Her mind is no longer an image of calm and peace but of manic seclusion.
Camera angles, positions and movements are explored in the pop video far more than conventional videos in the music industry. For example, one shot of the girl [Used in conclusion to the black and white council flat sequence and to begin an overtonal montage of winding tunnel shots], a reflection of her in a collapsed state where the camera slowly zooms out to reveal the reflection on an old television screen, is symbolic of her repression and loneliness. Her violent partner and her own weariness trap the girl and she has given up on herself. The use of a sequence of point of view shots to present a searching mind, running and alone- although lifeless and motionless in reality her mind searches for an escape, it's chaotic and there is no way out for her . The audience is then hit with the graffitied words, 'When times are shit, don't give up hope'. Although the audience are faced with the question is there really any hope? Particularly after they have experienced this girl's world. A cyclical journey of harsh reality and the yearning, escaping mind (an approach not often uptaken by the conventional aesthetically pleasing, image based pop video. Ending this polysemic notion of messages is an evaluating harsh, brutal reality. The protagonist still suffers physically (as portrayed in the flat) and now mentally (portrayed in the tunnel sequence).
Promoting the dramatic song and producing a pop video that equals in this impact was fulfilled. Whether or not it will successfully promote the artist and song is yet to be known. Using a number of images brimming with social arguments, violence and suppression, we created a polysemic video that defies the usual conventions of the pop video. This defiance was as a result of narrative and its cyclical journey. We used the simple of convention of creating a black and white, gritted indoors (in the melancholic, claustrophobic flat) and the colourful outdoors in the yearning, hoping of the protagonist's mind. The pop video constantly returns to the black and white images in the flat- either of aggression, horror or sadness allowing an ambiguous open end; although there is a return to the black and white flat, the audience are left with just the image of her in a state of happiness- on a broken television screen.
Through this defiant genre of pop video it ought to be successful and therefore gain the profit that the record label aims for with an original promotion. However, considering its survival in the media and the pop video's dependency on airplay on channels such as MTV, etc there is a possibility that it could fail when placed in the industry.
Word Count: 1,134

Part three
The main motive behind the production of our pop video is to make profit. However, the ideology is alternative. It was a co modification of a sub culture- we wanted to achieve a dramatic social statement and have this ideology propagated to our target audience.
'Jakatta' is the name of an artist producing a similar genre of music (to our artist Rob D) and signed to the dance record company. Ministry of Sound's 'Rulin'. Rulin often release their artist's track on black label and, depending on this success, open the track to the public. ' Jakarta' (the American dj 's title) is similar to Rob D in that he too samples pieces (classical and more) eventually creating a dance track. Jakatta would be a direct competitor of Rob D due to their similar styles, similar record labels and target audience.
The pop video for Jakarta's song, 'American Dream' uses a female protagonist. She is, however, in a nightclub amongst other clubbers. The pop video automatically refers to the target audience, whom would mainly be club goers. There is a gratification of consumers associating and identifying themselves with the enjoyment of those within the text. Jakarta's advantage (regarding more methods of promotion) lies in the fact that Ministry of Sound, the owners of his record label, also own the music magazine and clubs nationwide. These elements aid and ease his promotion and overall publicity. Rob D, the artist of 'Clubbed to Death' and member of the dance label 'Multiply' relies on a solid pop video to successfully promote his track. The record label aims for profit after having organised production of the track and the pop video. We used domestic violence as a main narrative issue. An issue not usually addressed in pop videos, especially the dance videos aimed at audiences of 18-30, when the rate of marital violence among those under 30 years of age is more than double the rate for the next older age group (31-50). The protagonist who falls victim to this violence experiences a mental release and state of escapism. As a result of this narrative approach, the audience consuming the piece would (through diversion) escape and become part of our video- releasing them from everyday pressures. Through the pop video's bold confronting of domestic violence and a female protagonist's victimised suffering, we enforced a personal relationship between the empathising audience and our victim.[ According to The Uniform Crime Report of The Federal Bureau of Investigation, 30% of women killed in the United States die at the hands of a partner. In 1990, more than 1200 women were killed by their partners.] A sense of personal identity for members of the audience was achieved, exploring their personal problems having viewed the pop video's polysemic approach. Most importantly our pop video provides surveillance, a fresh, bold awakening for the audience as to what is going on in the world, behind closed doors. [Such an approach can be described as the Uses and Gratifications theory]
The journey that the audience experiences during our unconventional pop video, results in self-actualisation for audience members [An element at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.]. There is a realisation of self-potential for the audience, having compared their own life to that of the female protagonist in the video. This approach is also used in the promotional video for The Prodigy's 'Breathe'; an impactful video from the alternative dance act, it deals with elements of madness and claustrophobia using cramped and dark mise-en-scene and shocking subjects. Played on MTV and The Box music channels in the run up to its release in around 1998 it became a top 5 hit. Now there are channels such as MTV dance, KISS and Q that, too, would be suitable for the genre of music that 'Clubbed to Death' falls under, on which pop video can be viewed by target audiences.
'These examples of the totally contradictory readings of the same programme item provide us with the clearest examples of the way in which the 'meaning' of a programme as a 'message' depends upon the interpretive code which the audience brings to the decoding of the situation' (Morley).
Our pop video is essentially about suffering and a subsequent release and escape. This theme is approached boldly, with the use of many symbols to represent escape and suffering. Morley's theory can be applied, therefore to the pop video, for it is these shots that can be translated in a number of ways by the audience. The use of narrative is an unconventional approach for a promotional pop video, particularly when each element of the real and surreal contradict one another [Though the used convention of having the walled reality as black and white and having the escape in colour would have allowed the audience to clearly identify what the protagonist deals with and what she yearns for in her mind]. To maintain audience satisfaction we involved what may be described as 'aesthetically pleasing' aspects. Intertwining the unconventional social statement with the conventional need for eye satisfaction. For example, editing the camera angles, etc to the beat of the music.
Due to our concentration on wanting to get the 'Messages' across, the pop video does not result in a product that can be defined as 'aesthetically pleasing'. There were some shots that were very beautiful and satisfying to an audience's eye, for example the sunrise. However, this shot was meant to express this message of trapped escapism, hence, the subsequent dissolve into the black and white, gritted close up of the protagonist's eye- now in the flat. This juxtaposition of two shots, each conveying contradicting messages, often occurred in the pop video. Montaged sequences were also used to transmit messages. This approach can be compared to that of a similar sequence in 'The Basketball Diaries'. A 'First Independent' release, it is a young movie with dark messages of violence and drugs. It too has a main protagonist who suffers the most, in this sequence he recalls the first time he took heroin. 'It was like a long heat wave through my body. Any aches or pain, sadness or guilty feeling was completely flushed out' he voices over the recollection. The images are of him, running in slow motion through bright, colourful fields. A haunting panpipe plays, the camera fluidly running with him, the audience, therefore sharing this sensation.
The sensation experienced by audiences watching the sampled sequence from 'The Basketball Diaries' is too felt by the audience viewing the promotional video for 'Clubbed to Death'. Although the dream like sequences could be described as calm and 'palatable' it is not a 'sugaring of the pill of reason'. The audience endures some suffering through empathy for our female protagonist and subsequently shares her elation and sensation when in the openness and natural environment.
The subject of domestic violence is one of great importance in modern day society. It is an issue never usually dealt with nor confronted in conventional pop videos, yet on average each year, women experience 572,032 violent victimisations at the hands of an intimate [(Ronet Bachamn Ph.D; U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimisation Survey Report," January 1994, p.6).] If the song is successful and requests for the pop video's viewing prove to be of a high rate then this results in a profit-making institutional-consumption paradigm. This will be an accomplishment for we will have fulfilled one of the main objectives behind the promotional video- to successfully promote the song, consequently gaining profit. Of real achievement is the product itself, it is a polysemic presentation of alternative ideology. It alternatively contains a narrative but unconventionally this narrative is led by the addressing of a bold topic of domestic violence and its entrapment behind closed doors.
Word Count: 1,130.

2007-07-04T12:04:00.000-07:00