Component 3 involves one cross-media production in two forms for an intended audience. Students will have to cover media language, representations, audiences and media industries (including digital convergence). The Statement of Aims & Intentions should be of 500 words approximately.
The following forms will always be set:
- Television
- Advertising & marketing (music or film)
- Magazines
The exam board will stipulate the industry and audience contexts, and specific key requirements to be included in the production.
Learners will develop a response to their chosen brief and create a production in a genre of their choice for the specified industry context and intended audience.
Teacher review
Re-shooting/re-drafting as necessary.
Final editing/design/polish of entire cross-media production.
Submission of cross media production – beginning of December
Component 3 draws on the knowledge and understanding of the theories framework and the analytical skills developed in components 1 and 2, through the practical application of knowledge and understanding in a media product.
Internally assessed and externally moderated.
Create individual media production work for an intended audience, applying knowledge and understanding of:
- Media language
- Representation
- Audiences
- Media industries
Statement of Aims & Intentions to explain how the learner intends to respond to the brief, apply knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework and target the intended audience.
The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a closed text;.
How media producers group audiences (e.g. by age, gender ethnicity) to target their products.
The way in which media products place audiences (literally or metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view. For example, audiences may be positioned with a particular character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological perspective.
The association the audience make with the brand, for example Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the advertising campaigns and their placement.
The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, for example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.
Words that accompany an image that help to explain its meaning.
What the audience expects to see in a particular media text
These suggest the content to the reader and often contain teasers and rhetorical questions. These relate to the genre of the magazine.
The way in which the shots move from one to the other (transitions), e.g. fade, cut, etc. Fast cutting may increase the pace and therefore the tension of the text, for example.
In magazine terms, the main, or one of the main, stories in an edition. Features are generally located in the middle of the magazine, and cover more than one or two pages.
The people at whom the media text is aimed.
The visual aspects of the product that construct meaning and are part of media language, for example clothing, expression, and gesture
Learners will need to refine and reflect on their ideas and practical execution, developing their skills and awareness of strengths and weaknesses.
At this stage, learners are encourages to support each other in their knowledge of software, editing techniques, etc and to share the skills they have developed.
Students will deconstruct the set text episode of 'Peaky Blinders' as part of the television examination set texts.
In this unit, students will explore:
• the way events, issue, individuals (including self-representation) and social groups (including social identity) are represented
• how genre conventions are socially and historically relative, dynamic and can be used in a hybrid way
• the significance of the varieties of ways in which intertextuality can be used in the media.
As well as this, students will explore:
• Processes of production, distribution and circulation
• The specialised and institutionalised nature of media production, distribution and circulation
• The relationship of recent technological change and media production, distribution and circulation
• The significance of patterns of ownership
Students will also cover the Industry and Audience section of the Component 1 examination, with particular focus on the Video Games set text – the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ franchise.
something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience that some action will follow, for example, police chasing a criminal
the way in which audiences engage with media products
The way in which audiences 'read' the meanings in media products
The way in which media products place audiences in relation to a particular point of view. For example, audiences may be positioned with a particular character.
How audiences react to media products
How sound is used to communicate meaning - voice-over, dialogue, music etc.
A player's representation of themselves within a game.
part of a narrative which may be the experience of a character or the circumstances of an event before the action or narrative of a media text.t
Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for example, good versus evil, villain versus hero.
Learners will extend their experience of the media through the study of products with which they may be less familiar, including those produced by or for a minority group, non-mainstream and non-English language products. This aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the transnational nature of the media, considering the effect of different national contexts on representations in media products, the global reach of media industries, and the targeting of audiences on a national and global scale.
Studying texts with which all students will probably be unfamiliar means that they can work together to apply the skills developed through the course to analyse and interpret.
Students will deconstruct ‘The Bridge’ (Sweden/Denmark) as part of the Television examination set texts. In this unit, students will explore • the way events, issue, individuals (including self-representation) and social groups (including social identity) are represented through processes of selection and combination; the way the media through re-presentation construct versions of reality • how genre conventions are socially and historically relative, dynamic and can be used in a hybrid way • the significance of the varieties of ways in which intertextuality can be used in the media. As well as this, students will explore: • Processes of production, distribution and circulation by organisations, groups and individuals in a global context • the specialised and institutionalised nature of media production, distribution and circulation • the relationship of recent technological change and media production, distribution and circulation • the significance of patterns of ownership
Students will also prepare for Section C of the Component 2 examination by exploring a blog – ‘Zoella’. Websites and blogs are, by their very nature, dynamic and updated to respond to industry and audience needs. Learners are required to study the following elements of their chosen websites and blogs: • the design of the home page, including its use of images and topical material • links to other content, including audio-visual material such as the relevant YouTube channel, vlog etc. • interactive links, including to social and participatory media. Students will explore: • how the different modes and language associated with different media forms communicate multiple meanings • how developing technologies affect media language • the codes and conventions of media forms and products, including the processes through which media language develops as a genre • the dynamic and historically relative nature of genre • the processes through which meanings are established
The association the audience make with the brand, for example the BBC, built up over time.
The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. For example, a high angle shot may make them appear more vulnerable.
The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject. For example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.
That which makes the channel recognisable to audiences and different from any other channel.
The suggested meaning attached to a sign, e.g. the sports car suggests speed and power.
What the audience expects to see in a particular media text.
The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms, often the result of advances in technology.
The literal meaning of a sign, e.g. the car is red.
Sound that comes from the fictional world.
Learners will be able to demonstrate a critical approach to media issues, demonstrate appreciation and critical understanding of the media and their role both historically and currently in society, culture, politics and the economy.
Learners will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the global nature of the media, make informed arguments, reach substantiated judgements and draw conclusions about media issues.
Students will prepare for Section C of the Component 2 examination by analysing an online magazine – ‘Attitude’.
Websites and blogs are, by their very nature, dynamic and updated to respond to industry and audience needs. Learners are required to study the following elements of their chosen websites and blogs:
• The design of the home page, including its use of images and topical material
• Links to other content, including audio-visual material such as the relevant YouTube channel, vlog etc.
• Interactive links, including to social and participatory media.
Students will cover the Industry and Audience section of the Component 1 examination, with particular focus on the Radio set text – ‘Woman’s Hour'.
An enthusiast of a particular media form or product
This stands for Cross Cultural Consumer Characteristics and was a way of categorising consumers into groups through their motivational needs. The main groups were Mainstreamers, Aspirers, Explorers, Succeeders and Reformers.
A set of messages, values and beliefs that may be encoded into media products.
A legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which the owner's rights are recognised. This cover words, phrases, symbols and designs.d
The ways in which audiences can become actively involved in a product, for example, by posting a response to a blog or live tweeting.
The way in which a page has been designed to attract the target audience.
The way in which a media text is constructed in order to represent a version of events.
The way in which a media text 'speaks to' its target audience.
A relatively small audience with specialised interests, tastes and backgrounds.
Learners will explore the cross-media, multi-platform nature of the contemporary media and the centrality of online and social media platforms in distributing, accessing and participating in the media. They will explore the context of their relationships to other media forms and platforms, recognising their fluidity and the way in which they respond to emerging, contemporary developments in the digital landscape
Studying products aimed at niche groups within society will widen learners' understanding and acceptance of lifestyles outside the mainstream.
This unit will focus on preparation for both Component 1 and Component 2 examination.
Component 1:
• Section A: Analysing Media Language and Representation (45 marks)
• Section B: Understanding Media Industries and Audiences (45 marks)
Component 2:
• Section A: Television in the Global Age (30 marks)
• Section B – Magazines: Mainstream and Alternative Media (30 marks)
• Section C – Media in the Online Age (30 marks)
Suggested by British sociologist and media theorist David Gauntlett, summarised as audiences will select aspects of media texts that best suit their needs and ignore the rest.
The process by which media texts are constructed.
Media texts
A person or body that supervises a particular industry.
something that communicates meaning
An exaggerated representation of someone or something.
Where a genre is subdivided into smaller categories each of which has their own set of conventions.
The combination of elements to maximise profits within a media organisation or product. For example, a film and soundtrack.
The people at whom the text is aimed.
The development of study skills and revision techniques will build resilience and help the retention of knowledge.
Group revision activities, peer teaching and flipped learning will all encourage learners to work together in a supportive way.