Monday 29 December 2014

Possible Questions for January Exam

Sorry this is a bit late going up but you should still have plenty of time to consider all the areas and I'm sure you were able to occupy yourselves with revising for your other subjects.

As I said, you will get a full paper, 2hrs in length. You will answer 2 short questions and a long question.

One question from each of the following sections will appear on the paper. It is probably not advisable to just revise for one of each and hope for the best. You should consider a plan for each of the essay titles provided to ensure you are fully prepared. Read the questions carefully and make sure you understand what is being asked of you.

Don't forget you have logins for:

http://media.edusites.co.uk

on which there are a vast range of resources but the answers for Q1a & 1b will mostly require you to draw on your own experiences.



Thursday 30 October 2014

Formatting the script

Follow the link to the BBC writer's room for all the information you need.

Look at the first example for a FILM script.

All film scripts are formatted this way and always have been. One of the key things to bear in mind is that if you've formatted the script properly (ie. there's the correct text to white space ratio on the page) then 1 page of script will equal 1 page of screen time. I don't know who came up with the equation or how, but it works and it's an essential tool for professional filmmakers when so much of the budgeting of a film is based on length (among other things).

Professionals use specialised software called Final Draft that does all the spacing and formatting automatically.

You will need to set up tabs on word to help you. It can be a bit fiddly but will give you a fairly close approximation of the real thing.

Try not to over-write it. Think about the script as a blueprint for the director, to help them work out what needs to be shot for each scene. It is not essential that it reads well. just that it has all the relevant prop, location, character and costume information.

In a Hollywood film, where the director will often not have written the script, much of the above details will be subject to change but when a writer is directing their own work, the script details are very important because often the writer is starting to direct the movie in their heads.

Note: Scripts very rarely have information about what shot is to be used for the reason stated above - the director will make all those decisions.

They say a film is made 3 times:

  • When it's written
  • When it's shot
  • When it's edited

Think carefully about every stage and your film will turn out well.

See link below.

BBC Writer's room - Formatting a script

Monday 21 April 2014

SECTION B SAMPLE QUESTION 1 - HOW TO ANSWER

Discuss the impact of technology on a media industry you have studied.

Questions like this one are very broad in their scope, meaning that you could write a very long and detailed essay on this question. But you won't have time to write more than 500 wds so you'll have to be concise.

This means you have to know your notes well and be able to pull them out of your head at will. This is what revision is for. You read over your notes and learn them. Then identify how you apply them to the different possible questions.

Also note that you will always be marked on the same things:

Media Terminology - 10mks
Examples from case studies (at least two) - 20mks
Explanation/Argument/Analysis - 20mks

NB: The following is simply one way you could approach answering the question above. Remember you will always get a better mark if you look closely at a couple of areas rather than trying to write about everything.

Essay Plan:

Introduction:

Simply state that the film industry has been transformed in every way by digital technology. This includes:

  • Production
  • Distribution
  • Exhibition
Then state your view as to whether digital technology has had advantages or disadvantages for audiences and institutions. Or both. If you have a strong view either way you can state it now as long as your essay goes on to explain why you hold this view.

PARAGRAPH 1


Production: Talk about how the vast majority of major Hollywood movies have embraced digital technology and explain why but always link it to your case studies.
Star Trek was not shot on digital cameras but benefited from digital technology in its post-production esp VFX. Created a sophisticated product which its (mainly) young tech savvy target audience would be expecting.
Contrast this with Shifty Without digital cameras, because of it's miniscule budget and tight schedule, it is unlikely that Shifty would ever have been made.
We can identify advantages and disadvantages here for both institutions and audiences. Digital technology means a superior product for the producers of Star Trek and it greater satisfaction for the audience. Whereas with Shifty success for the producers is simply getting it made; for the audience it means there is potentially greater choice for them. And this in itself could be seen as a challenge to the dominance of Hollywood. Though as the essay should show, it doesn't work out like this in practice.
Another issue is that by devoting all their money, time and resources to big effects driven, action extravaganzas, the studios make fewer and fewer mid budget, adult orientated films that produced Oscar bait like The Godfather and Chinatown in the 1970s.

PARAGRAPH 2:

Distribution/Marketing: It would not be unreasonable to base your entire essay on this area as there is a great deal to discuss.

Digital technology has transformed distribution and marketing strategies. You should consider how digital distribution differs from the old model.
What does it mean for the distribution of both blockbusters and independent films?
How much money that saves and for whom.
How do the institutions benefit?
Are there any drawbacks? Certainly independent producers are more able to afford to distribute films but they still need to get them screened. If a major producer can send multiple digital prints to a cinema for the same cost as to send one, exhibitors are simply more likely to screen the blockbuster on more than one screen because it is still likely to get a larger audience than the low budget British movie. So Hollywood still seems to benefit the most and the audience's choice is still limited.

PARAGRAPH 3 (and possibly 4):

Marketing: Very important paragraph. This is all about the use of cross-media convergence and synergy.
You must know your examples for this. You have to talk about both case studies. And don't just describe what Star Trek and Shifty did. Explain HOW it worked for them. Shifty's clever use of convergence and synergy allowed them to target an audience outside what would have been their more likely middle-class Guardian reader profile and reach the urban youths. Give the examples of how it was done. How did they use synergy in their link ups with music artists, despite not being able to afford to license any music for use in the film? Yes, it was only a modest success, but it proved to be an effective launch pad for the production team to move on to bigger and better things.

Look at the Star Trek approach. How they used traditional marketing methods in combination CONVERGENCE to create a total online saturation. Because of the major studio backing they could explore the creation of additional online content to the max with games, apps, widgets. Absolutely everything a user could want for their mobile device.
REMEMBER: Massice Hollywood movies generally have teenage boys as they're primary audience but ultimately they want to try to attract as many people as possible because the movies are so expensive to make they don't want to limit their audience size. Hence their huge online presence. You could not escape Star Trek on its release.
Consider the endless product tie-ins (synergy).

So while both institutions benefit, who really benefits the most? Consider the difference in the scale of success. Is all this of benefit to the audience? Presumably so, as long as they as they're sci-fi fans.

Don't forget to comment on the audience's use of technology. Think about your own media consumption. Young people LOVE using their phones. It is just common sense to create content for mobile devices as well as focusing a great deal of the marketing energies there.

PARAGRAPH 5:

Exhibition/exchange: This does not need to be as detailed but it is important to note that since AVATAR the majority of cinemas are now digital and while this was very costly, it was inevitable. The audience benefits because of the high quality product on offer, though somehow, despite vastly reduced distribution costs cinema tickets continue to rise.
What is interesting about it is that it has placed a great deal of power in the hands of exhibitors, who are now also setting up on demand services as well and sometimes even getting involved in the finance of films. This potentially benefits the audience because there is more choice and flexibility about how they see films. Superficially at least. It is easy now to screen several different films in the same auditorium but that doesn't mean that independent films are necessarily getting shown; or if they are it is at times when there's no audience to see them (2pm on a Wednesday for example). So again the question of choice gets raised.

CONCLUSION:

Evaluate your argument. Is the advent of digital technology a good or bad thing, or somewhere in between? Certainly studies have to deal with piracy, but they are able to use the digital technology to create "new" innovations like 3D to combat piracy. In the final analysis. Who really benefits the most from digital technology the institutions (Independents v Hollywood) or audiences. Or is there something for everyone. After all, just how different is Man of Steel from Thor or The Avengers or Spiderman. How many Mission Impossibles do we need?

EXAM QUESTIONS INTRO

Discuss the impact of technology on a media industry you have studied.

So the first thing to identify when you are answering an AS media question is: 

What is the main focus of the question?

There are only 3 or 4 different question focuses that come up year after year and while the different wording of them requires you to privilege some ideas over others, they will, nonetheless fall into one of the following different categories:


  • The impact or significance of digital technology
  • Media ownership
  • Marketing and distribution

Within each of these different question areas you will still have to think about:

  • Production
  • Distribution/Marketing
  • Exhibition
And:
  • Audiences & Institutions

In order for you response to be analytical and evaluative you should always be thinking in terms of advantages and disadvantage for audiences and institutions.

Never simply describe how a certain institution has used cross-media convergence to market their product. For example: explain whether it has been successful and how convergence contributed to that, then evaluate who this benefits the most. Is it an advantage to both audience AND institution, or just the institution?

As long as you know what the question is asking you you will be able to apply the same basic questions to help you answer each one.

EASTER REVISION SESSIONS

DO NOT FORGET

WEDNESDAY 23RD APRIL

REVISION SESSIONS

9am-3pm

Get there early for prompt 9 o'clock start.

Nobody can afford to miss these session. Your teachers are giving their holiday time up to help YOU. We would not be doing so if we didn't think the work was ESSENTIAL.

Miss is at your peril.

Thursday 10 April 2014

!!!!!AS DEADLINES!!!!

Ignore these dates at your peril:

Thursday April 17th (1st week of Easter holidays) Planning and Preparation on blog COMPLETED

Thursday May 1st (1 week back after Eater Holidays) Film COMPLETED

Thursday May 8th - evaluation questions COMPLETED

Fri 8th-Sun 10th I'm in Belfast for the Giro d'Italia

Monday 11th-Tuesday12th I will be marking the projects

Wednesday 13th the paperwork will be posted to OCR to meet the 15th May deadline.

Please note: by not completing your projects in a timely fashion you have more or less removed the possibility of being able to act on the feedback I provide.
If you want to be able to do so you should aim to finish everything by the THURSDAY MAY 1st. If you do so then I will be able to provide more timely feedback.



AS BLOG FEEDBACK 2014

Since you are all in the undesirable position of not having completed your projects yet it makes it rather difficult for me to mark them properly and provide your with feedback.

Therefore what I will do is mark and give feedback on the planning and preparation part of the blog. Check out my other recent posts for advice on this.

The way to approach it is this:

  • Set some time aside to go over some of the exemplar blogs I've created links to. 

  • Divide up who will work on what blog posts

  • Do the necessary blogging work before Thursday April 17th. This is the day I will spend marking the blogs.
If you hope to have the time to complete your coursework well enough (and have the time to make adjustments based on feedback) to get a good mark, it essential that you do this work over Easter.

REMEMBER: You have all wasted a ludicrous amount of time. In previous years all other groups were finished film and blog and were just completing their EVALUATION QUESTIONS at this stage. You are badly behind. You need to put the work in or it will not get done. If any part of the coursework is incomplete it will automatically get a Level 1 (U). 

Everybody needs to be aiming for at least a B grade in their coursework to buffer you for the exam.