THE BEST IS YET TO

COME…
An introduction to media studies
In this session we will be
•Looking at the rules/ regulations/ contracts
•Looking at an overview of the year
•To understand the requirements of the exam
•To learn the terms Macro and Micro
•To develop an understanding of the key
concept of ‘Representation’
 A/S LEVEL MEDIA STUDIES
OCR SPECIFICATION
A/S
G322: Key Media Concepts (TV Drama) - JANUARY
• Candidates gain an understanding of textual analysis,
representation, institutions and audiences.
Study an Industry – Film Four
Study TV Drama
G321: Foundation Portfolio in Media - JUNE
• Candidates produce two paired media artefacts from a series
of briefs.
A continuity exercise
The opening sequence to a fiction film ( max 2
minutes)
13 weeks – 52 Lessons
 Exam Requirements
• The examination is two hours (including
30 minutes for viewing and making notes
on the moving image extract)
• Candidates are required to answer two
compulsory questions
• The unit is marked out of a total of 100,
with each question marked out of 50
 G322 KEY MEDIA CONCEPTS
• Textual analysis and representation in
Television drama.

EXAM – In the exam students will see a

sequence from a drama. They should
interpret the way representations are
created by analysing content and media
language.
 Macro - Micro
Analysing the Micro
• Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition
• Mise-en-Scène
• Editing
• Sound
Draw conclusions on the Macro
• How do the technical aspects above create meaning for
an audience, focussing on the creation of
representations of specific social types, groups, events
or places within the extract.
 This exam requires:

• No waffly introduction or conclusion – it is not a

discussion
• Lots of examples from the text you have viewed
• Must answer in continuous prose – no bullet points
• Only analysis - no descriptions
• Must apply the correct media terminology in their
analysis
• Must focus on question
• One solid approach is for students to identify the
representations of place and people and then look at
the technical areas to see how they sustain these
representations.
Over the next 13 weeks you will
• Develop analytical skills so that you can analyse
any TV drama
•understand the concept of representation as a
key element of a TV drama
•show how representations are constructed
•show an awareness of the relationship between
form and content
 This will be done through a mixture of
the following teaching and learning
methods:
Analysis skills filming
editing quizzes
Mock exams weekly
homework simulations
watching lots of examples of tv
drama group work
discussion
 Media Studies gives you a …
Media Language Ideology

Genre Representation

Audience Institution

Narrative
 Watch this clip?
How will you apply your knowledge of them in the
exam?
Media Language Ideology

Genre Representation

Audience Institution

Narrative
 What do these terms mean?
How will you show your knowledge of them in the
exam?
Media Language Ideology

Genre Representation

Audience Institution

Narrative
Macro analysis - Representation
Key Words

Ideology
Stereotype
Archetype
Positive
Negative
Subjective
Mediated
Verisimilitude
Realism
Realistic
 Representation – A Definition
“ The media do not just offer us a
transparent ‘window on the world’ but a
mediated version of the world. They don’t
just present reality, the re-present it.”
 Representation Circus
• Table One – Your Facebook Profile

• Table Two – The Streets task

• Table Three – Alien Magazines

 Representation Circus
• Table One – Your Facebook Profile
– Describe/ draw your facebook profile as it is now
( Status/ picture/apps)

– Would you change anything if I was your friend?

– Would you change anything if your mum was your

friend?

– Would you change anything if your employer was

your friend?
 Table Two – The Streets task

- Listen to ‘Geezers need excitement’ x 2

- Take on the role of the female if your male

and male if your female
- Note down every reference to your new
gender in the song
- In a group share your responses
 Table Three – Alien Magazines

• Look through the magazines on the table

• Imagine you are an alien ( not hard for
some)
• From the evidence in the magazine wrie a
list of female interests and traits / male
interests and traits
Feedback on outcomes of the task
• Table One – Your Facebook Profile

• Table Two – The Streets task

• Table Three – Alien Magazines

 Key Learning Points
• All representations are a mediation of the truth
( some more so than others)
• Our reading of the representation is effected by
a number of factors – culture, age, context, form,
content
• Media representations often appear
‘unproblematic’ or ‘unquestioned’ – this can be
problematic and should be questioned!
• To explore this Macro area you have to go Micro