Cumnock Media Class
Sound
If you can see the source of the sound on screen it is diegetic or natural sound even if it has been recorded later in the studio to filter out other noises.
If the sounds which have been added, such as music, are not being produced by something on the screen such as a radio then they are unnatural or non-diegetic.
The second prelim will be held on the week beginning Monday 18th of February.
Those of you who manage to sit the actual exam at Intermediate 1 level should put Monday 3rd of June into your diaries. The times will be confirmed at a later date but it is likely to be a start time of 9 o’clock. You will need to have passed, or be very close to passing, at least one prelim to fall into this category.
Supported Study will be offered after school on:
1 Tuesday 26th February – Analysis – EN
2 Wednesday 6th of March – Production – SB
3 Thursday 14th of March – Analysis – EN
4 Tuesday 19th of March – Production – SB
5 Wednesday 27th of March – Analysis – EN
Bring your own snacks.
http://www.teachers-direct.co.uk/resources/wordsearches/preview.aspx?puzzle-number=1168689
You should be able to use all of these words properly by now. If, as you do the puzzle, you come across any word that you can’t remember – look it up!
Design a front cover for a school magazine. Your target audience is teenagers and their parents.
Your front cover will need all of the following:
1
(a) Institutional factors affect the making of media texts. These factors
include:
• who owns the media company
• the need to make a profit
• the effect of budget and resources on the text
• the use of stars
• the effect of advertisers and advertising
• the effect of the law on the text
• and other institutional factors.
How has at least one institutional factor affected the text you have studied? (6)
b) Representations are made by including particular elements in the text.
Identify at least one representation in the media text you have studied and describe in detail how it has been made. (8)
you will all be 15! Soon you will be able to legally watch 15 films.
Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, frequent strong language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be shown if discreet and justified by context.
The 15 certificate was introduced by the British Board of Film Censors on 1 November 1982, following an overhaul of its classifications as recommended by the Williams Committee. It is currently defined as follows:
Passed only for persons of fifteen years and over. No person apparently under the age of 15 years shall be admitted to any exhibition at which there is to be shown any film which has received a ’15’ certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.
It was a direct replacement for the AA certificate, the only difference being that the age limit was raised from fourteen to fifteen. In 1985, following the recommendations of the 1984 Video Recordings Act, the 15 certificate was extended to cover video releases.
While the increased age limit allowed the BBFC to be more lenient with regard to classifying certain films, it became clear towards the end of the 1980s that an additional classification was needed between 15 and PG, as Hollywood in particular was producing an increasing number of films aimed specifically at young teenagers. Since these films were considered too strong for a PG, they were usually given a 15 certificate, thus preventing their natural audience from seeing them.
As a result of increasingly public debate over this issue, the BBFC introduced the 12 certificate in 1989.
The BBFC permits the following within the bounds of the 15 certificate:
Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds. Language: There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable. Nudity: There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. Sex: Sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed but without strong detail. The depiction of casual sex should be handled responsibly. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behaviour. Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain, and of injuries. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief. Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons (in particular, knives). Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable. Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but clear instructive detail is unacceptable. The film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.
A fashion magazine’s target audience is ABC1 females in their late twenties to thirties. They are very successful in attracting their audience, resulting in continual high readership and, as a result, they do not widely try to appeal to other audiences such as men. The features each month are very similar, and based around fashion, which is what appeals to its audience and is what the magazine is renowned for. Some have a variety of features which can appeal to many different audience types; including features on fashion and beauty, as well as harder hitting features about global problems and events.
Many of the women who read the glossies, particularly those perhaps who are not regular readers may buy them for aspiration and distraction purposes. Although not being able to afford the clothes and products being advertised, it gives the reader something to aspire towards, or perhaps give an insight into that lifestyle. While reading the magazine, the reader can feel as if they have more money, or live the model lifestyle, reading about the lives of famous models and actresses etc.
The adverts are deliberately designed to look as much like the glossy magazine itself as possible and usually have high fashion outfits, a sophisticated look and a stick thin model or actress selling their product.
What are codes?
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic:
•Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film.
•Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character’s actions show you how the character is feeling.
Some codes fit both categories – music for example, is both technical and symbolic
What are conventions?
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any film, but conventions are also genre specific.
Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre. For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.
Prelim 2 is in February which gives us all 5 weeks to prepare to show we are up the challenge of the exam. If you do not pass the second prelim you will be dropped down to Access 3.
On Mondays we will be practising for exams and the Unseen Analysis. This means that you will either be doing a practice exam question like you will be today or you will be doing a practice unseen analysis of a perfume advert or a magazine front cover.
• Your job is to write as much detail as you can to get full marks.
• My job is to mark your work and get it back to you by the next Monday so you can learn where you are going right/wrong.
On Thursdays and Fridays we will be preparing for the NABs or we will be watching new media texts depending on how far we get with the things we have to do.
Every Tuesday at lunchtime we will be running The Hunger Games in 30 minute sections in G:14 for those who wish to look over the text again to refresh their memory – 1-1.30 every Tuesday.
Supported Study will be offered to those who pass the second prelim during March and April.
