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Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
Examination
2 Hours
1 Hour on each section
Candidates are required to answer two compulsory questions in Section A
30 mins each question Section A
+
Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
Section A
Question 1a To describe and evaluate the skills development over the
course of the production work from the Thriller to the Music
Video
+Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
You must consider the whole of your practical work:
The preliminary task at AS (the continuity sequence)
The Thriller
The Music Video
The DVD advert and digipak
+Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
It can also include things you have produced outside the
course such as production work in:
Film studies
Art
Photography
Or even things made for fun on Youtube
+Question 1a
How have you developed as a maker of media products across
the scope of your practical work?
What skills have you developed?
What have you learnt?
+Question 1a
The skills development needs to be adapted to one or two of
the following production practices:
Digital technology
Creativity
Research and planning
Post-production (after filming – including, editing, sound,
titles, blog)
Using conventions from real media texts
+Question 1a
You have considered the following areas in your Blog
evaluations:
Digital technology
Research and planning
Post-production (editing)
Using conventions from real media texts
+Question 1a
However, Creativity is a new area to consider. Ask yourself the
following questions:
How creative have you been?
Would it have been more creative to have a free choice of
tasks?
Did the set tasks help you to be creative?
+Question 1a
Were you restricted too much by the task?
Did the task free you to be creative within the boundaries of the
task?
Where does creativity come from?
And finally. What does creativity mean?
Try applying all these questions to your practical coursework.
+Definition of creativity
Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize
ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving
problems, communicating with others, and entertaining
ourselves and others.
Human Motivation, 3rd ed., by Robert E. Franken
+Definition of creativity
Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
need to communicate ideas and values
need to solve problems
+Definition of creativity
In order to be creative, you need to be able to view things in
new ways or from a different perspective. Among other things,
you need to be able to generate new possibilities or new
alternatives. Tests of creativity measure not only the number of
alternatives that people can generate but the uniqueness of
those alternatives. the ability to generate alternatives or to see
things uniquely does not occur by change; it is linked to other,
more fundamental qualities of thinking, such as flexibility,
tolerance of ambiguity or unpredictability, and the enjoyment of
things heretofore unknown
+Question 1a
A good place to begin is by creating a timeline from September
in Year 12 showing what you done, what you have learnt and
what skills you have developed. E.g.:
Sept – film/media language
Oct – set up blog
Nov – preliminary task etc
+Question 1a
How to answer Question 1a
1. Plan and prepare
Be prepared to write about everything you have done
Remember you only have half an hour
You will be asked to write about one or two of the production
practices
+Question 1a
Identify examples from your coursework which you can adapt
to different questions
Consider how you are going to cover the breadth of your work
in only 30 minutes
+Question 1a
2. Consider the mark scheme
10 marks for explanation, analysis and argument
10 marks for use of examples
5 marks for use of terminology (media language)
Even a brilliant piece of argument can only score 10 marks
if not backed up by examples and terminology
+Question 1a
3. Think about where you are at the end of the course
What have you learnt in all the areas of the course?
Don’t just give an account of what you have done but also
reflect upon it in the light of all your learning
+Example Question 1a
In your experience, how has your creativity developed through
using digital technology to complete your productions?
Introduction
Explain the tasks you have done across the two years of the
course and mention anything made outside the course that
might be relevant.
+Example Question 1a
Main paragraphs
Start by writing about the technology you have used with some
reflections on how you got to grips with it initially
Discuss – your editing package, the camera, Blogger, YouTube,
Photoshop, Wordle, Picnik, the HD Digital cameras, the still
digital cameras and so on
+Example Question 1a
How easy is it to use the technology?
How did you use the technology in particular tasks?
Creativity – what does it mean to you?
Where have your ideas about creativity come from?
What do other people say about what creativity might mean?
+Example Question 1a
How have the tasks themselves encouraged creativity?
Refer to examples from what you have done?
Conclusion
Try to bring together these strands – technology and creativity
– to answer the question
+Example Question 1a
How has the technology allowed you to develop other skills?
Such as:
Teamwork
Organisation
Planning
Research
Negotiation
Technological confidence
+Example Question 1a
Final paragraph of conclusion
Digital technology has given media consumers the opportunity
to become media producers too (Web 2.0) – particularly via
web distribution, and that this, in turn, has allowed creative
comment in wider communities such as YouTube, Twitter and
+Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
Example Questions
1(a) ‘Digital technology turns media consumers into media
producers’. In your own experience how has your creativity
developed through using digital technology to complete
coursework productions?
+Section A
Theoretical Evaluation of Production
1(b) ‘Media texts rely on cultural experiences in order for
audiences to easily make sense of narratives’. Explain how you
used conventional and/or experimental narrative approaches in
one of your production pieces.
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Post-Production
QUESTION: In your experience how have your
post-production skills developed through
creating your productions?
Introduction
Explain the tasks you have done across the two years of the
course and mention anything made outside the course that
might be relevant.
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Post-Production
Main paragraphs
Post-production is everything you do after the filming process
Start by writing about the technology you have used with some reflections on how you got to grips with it initially
For the preliminary task and thriller write about the process of editing in detail (using Final Cut Express, Adobe Premiere)
How much of your text was ‘created’ only in post-production?
How much of your footage ended up being unused or rejected and why?
How did you use sound and music? Did you use mobygratis.com or freeplaymusic.com etc to obtain copyright music? Did you add any sound effects?
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Post-Production
Did you use a range of transitions? Dissolves, fades etc. Why? How?
Did you use effects? Black and white, slow-motion etc. Why? How?
What titles did you add? How and why?
After the editing was finished what did you do? Audience feedback, consider ideas around distribution and marketing – DVD, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter.
For the music video do the same, but there might be a lot more to say about the use of effects, e.g. pixellated effects, fast motion, mirror effects, titles etc
You also need to write about the advert and the digipak
Finally about the blog and what you added after the filming – inc. the evaluation and all the examples of technology (e.g. Slideshare, Animoto, Poplet etc) used
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Post-Production
Conclusion
Again write about the technology you have used. What was easy? Difficult? What was effective? What worked/didn’t work?
How has the technology allowed you to develop other skills? Such as:
Teamwork, organisation, planning , research, negotiation, technological confidence
Write about how using digital technology has enabled you to become an effective media post-production producer (Web 2.0, user generated content), and that this in turn has allowed participation in wider communities such as Youtube, Facebookand Twitter
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Research and Planning
QUESTION: In your experience how has your
research and planning developed through
creating your productions?
Introduction
Explain the tasks you have done across the two years of the
course and mention anything made outside the course that
might be relevant.
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Research and Planning
Main paragraphs
Start by writing about the research about thrillers that you undertook and some reflections on how you got to grips with it initially
Consider the conventions of the genre
Films and directors you have looked at e.g. Alfred Hitchcock, ‘Shadow of a Doubt’, ‘North by Northwest’, ‘Rear Window’, ‘Vertigo’. The opening titles of ‘Seven’ (David Fincher)
Research into potential target audiences (surveys, questionnaires, interviews, Facebook, Vox Pops etc)
How did your research into institutions responsible for production influence your production work?
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Research and Planning
Next move onto planning. What did you do to plan your thriller? Initial ideas, treatment, shooting schedule, location sheet, shot list, risk assessment, costume and props sheet, contingency plan, storyboard, animatic, organisation of time and resources. How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production stage?
Final research for the thriller was into the audience feedback – what did you do? What did you find out? Then, write about the research and planning for the music video, advert and digipak in the same way.
What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?
How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?
VERY IMPORTANT: How have you used digital technology in your research and planning?
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Research and Planning
Conclusion
Try to bring together these strands – research and planning – to
answer the question: what have you learnt from the process?
How has the technology allowed you to develop other skills? Such
as:
Teamwork, organisation, planning, research, negotiation,
technological confidence
Write about how using digital technology has enabled you to
become an effective media producer (Web 2.0, user generated
content), and that this in turn has allowed participation in wider
communities such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Using conventions
from real media texts
QUESTION: In your experience how has your
understanding of conventions developed
through creating your productions?
Introduction
Explain the tasks you have done across the two years of the
course and mention anything made outside the course that
might be relevant.
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Using conventions
from real media texts
Main paragraphs
Start by writing about the concept of genre. What is it? Why is it important?
Talk about the importance of genres for both audiences (easily recognised and understood) and institutions (as a mode of production – to target widest possible & specific audiences)
What research have you done into ‘real’ media texts? What did you find out? From this research what are the conventions of the thriller genre? Give examples from real films. How have you been influenced by producers/directors?
Think about Rick Altman’s Semantic (mise-en-scene)/Syntactic(narrative) approach to the conventions of a genre
How have you used these conventions in your own thriller?
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Using conventions
from real media texts
Have you challenged the conventions of the genre? If so, how?
Is your work generic or postmodern, or both?
Then, consider the music video – what research did you undertake into the genre? What are the conventions of the genre?
Also, consider the advert and digipak – what research did you do? What are the conventions of these two forms?
How have you used these conventions in your music video, advert and digipak?
Have you challenged the conventions? If so, how?
To what extent have you used digital technology in your research into the conventions of the thriller/music video/advert/digipak?
+Section A, Qu 1(a): Using conventions
from real media texts
Conclusion
How has the consideration of technology allowed you to develop other skills? Such as:
Teamwork, organisation, planning, research, negotiation, technological confidence
Write about how using digital technology has enabled you to become an effective researcher into the conventions of real media texts (Web 2.0, user generated content), and that this in turn has allowed participation in wider communities such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter
What have you learnt about using conventions from real media texts?
+G325 Critical Perspectives in Media
Question 1(b) requires that you select one of your media productions (either the Thriller or the Music Video)
You are then required to evaluate it in relation to one of the following media concepts:
+Question 1(b)
In the examination the question will ask
you to consider your coursework in
relation to only ONE of these concepts
and there will be no choice given
You should choose to write about only
ONE of the pieces of coursework but
can also discuss the preliminary or
ancillary tasks
+Question 1(b)
Therefore, you must be prepared to write about each of the
concepts in relation to either of the pieces of coursework
For example:
The thriller and genre
The music video and audience
The thriller and narrative
and so on
+Question 1(b)
You are studying Postmodernism for Section B of the paper
and can include a postmodern consideration of your
coursework as part of your answer
The postmodern aspects of the music video are reflected in
narrative, genre, representation, audience and media language
For example – the narrative structure of a music video can be
viewed as being postmodern in that it borrows from other
videos or genres (film, television etc)
+Question 1(b)
It is important to not just apply the relevant theory (e.g.
narrative and the thriller) but also to consider the importance
and significance of the concept to the product
E.g. why is narrative so important to your thriller?
What does narrative tell us about the genre of the thriller?
What are the conventions of the thriller evident in your
coursework and why is this significant?
+Question 1(b)
The key is to consider the task as an opportunity to:
really reflect on how your chosen project actually works as a text
You must be prepared to be flexible
It would be a big mistake to pin your hopes on one particular concept coming up in the exam
In advance you should prepare answers for the five concept areas.
+The concepts
Genre
Consider the conventions of the genre
How does your production conform/use the conventions of the
genre?
How does it challenge/break these conventions?
Apply Rick Altman’s theory of genre
+The concepts
Narrative
How is time and space organised in your production?
Is it linear? Non-linear?
Does it contain enigmas? What are they?
Apply the theories:
Todorov / Propp / Levi-Strauss /Barthes /Three-Act
+The concepts
Representation
How are groups represented in your production?
Gender – Men/Women
Ethnicity – representation of ethnic
minorities
Sexuality – gay/straight
+The concepts
Age – old/young
Class
Regional identity
Disability
Also, consider applying Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze
+The concepts
Audience
Apply the theories of audience:
The effects model
Cultivation Theory
Two Step Flow Theory
The uses and gratifications model
Reception theory
Suture
Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze
How did you target your audience? What was your audience’s response (feedback)?
+The concepts
Media Language
How does your production communicate to audiences through
media language? Consider:
Camerawork
Mise-en-scene
Sound
Editing
+The Mark Scheme
The mark scheme for question 1(b) is organised in the same
way as for question 1(a)
The question is marked out of 25 marks
Explanation, analysis and argument are worth 10 marks per
question
Examples are worth 10 marks
Use of terminology is worth 5 marks
+Example Question
Explain how you used
conventional and/or
experimental narrative
approaches in one of your
production pieces?
+Example Question
How might you go about answering this question?
You will need to select the piece of coursework that best suits this question – either the thriller or the music video
For the purposes of this example lets consider that the music video is used
+Example Question
The question can then be answered as follows:
1. Make some general points about how music videos work and
that they don’t need to tell a story
2. Define the term narrative – how a story is organised
3. Sometimes music videos do tell a story – does yours?
Describe here what you decided to do with your music video
+Example Question
4. A brief account of the video, the artist, the genre of music
5. Consider the idea of structure and how you chose to organise the music video if not through a chronological narrative
6. Then consider to what extent a narrative structure appears in the video
+Example Question
Consider the following questions
7. What governs the beginning, middle and end? Is it the music? Or the performance? Or is there a story?
8. How have you played with time and space in the video?
9. How will the audience have understood it?
+Example Question
Apply the narrative theories:
10. Todorov – Equilibrium > Disruption > Resolution > New
Equilibrium
11. Propp – the 8 character types – Hero, villain, princess,
donor, father, dispatcher, false hero, helper
12. Levi-Strauss – a series of binary oppositions
13. Barthes – Open/closed/polysemic/enigma codes
14. Three Act Model – Set up/Confrontation/Climax
+Example Question
There is no single right answer here
Whatever you write will need to be justified and explained with close reference to your production
14. You will also need to consider it in relation to other examples that you have seen, to show how you either followed or broke conventions
+Example Question
15. The concepts can overlap – so you can also discuss genre with relation to narrative
16. This will also overlap with the concept of audience
17. Remember – it is your production work you will be writing about, so you should know about it!
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Genre
QUESTION Explain how you used genre in your ‘thriller’
production piece
The question can then be answered as follows:
Define the term genre
Make some general points about how the thriller genre
works
Describe here what you decided to do with your thriller.
What happens? What characters are involved? Setting?
etc
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Genre
Consider the conventions of the thriller genre
How does your production conform/use the conventions of the genre?
How does it challenge/break these conventions?
Identify icongraphic/structural paradigms
Apply Rick Altman’s theory of genre
The Semantic approach – mise-en-scene. conventions
The Syntactic approach – narrative, situation, issues, themes
The Pragmatic approach – institution/audience
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Genre
You should include the following theorists:
Daniel Chandler – genres create order
John Fiske – a way of categorising texts
Barry Keith Grant – hybridity and sub-genres
Rick Altman – genre and pleasure
Jason Mittell – genre and institutions
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Genre
David Buckingham – genres and change
Steve Neale – genres and evolution, genres and audiences
David Bordwell – genres and themes
Genre and Uses and Gratifications – Deborah Grant
CONCLUSION
What have you learned about genre from your
coursework?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Audiences
QUESTION: Analyse one of your pieces of
coursework (either the thriller or the music
video) in terms of audience. You should
consider:
Briefly describe what you have done in your
video. What it is about. Where you got the music
from.
Then write about the fact you planned your video
with audiences in mind.
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Audiences
Then write about the Text>Audience>Institution Model and how you cannot think about texts (the music video) independently of audiences and institutions – they are all inextricably linked.
Audience research before you made the video (surveys, questionnaires, interviews, etc)
The effects model (passive, hypodermic syringe, Bobo Doll – Albert Bandura)
The uses and gratifications model (Active, use text for own pleasure)
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Audiences
Reception theory (meaning encoded by producer
– dominant, negotiated, oppositional)
Two-step flow theory – using opinion leaders
Cultivation Theory
Suture – ‘stitched’ into dominant reading by
narrative, mise-en-scene, editing, music etc)
Laura Mulvey – the male gaze, the triple gaze,
agency, the object of erotic desire
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Audiences
The use of digital technology –Youtube/Facebook/Twitter/Blog/surveymonkey etc to widen access for audiences
Web 2.0 (user generated content, audiences empowered –become creators in own right)
Audience feedback – surveymonkey, questionnaires, interviews etc – who is the audience? (Gender, age, class, sexuality, ethnicity etc)
Marketing to audience – the advert, digipak
CONCLUSION: What have you learned?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Media Language
QUESTION Analyse one of your pieces of coursework
(either the thriller or the music video) in terms of MEDIA
LANGUAGE. You should consider:
Briefly describe what you have done in your video. What it
is about and where you got the music from.
Compare it to other examples that you have seen, to show
how you either followed or challenged conventions
Then write about how you used the following in the video:
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Media Language
Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Position
High, Low, Tilt
Long, Medium, Close-Up, Extreme Close-Up
Wide Shots
Over the Shoulder, two-shots
Crane
Zoom, reverse zoom
Point-of-view
Tracking, dolly
Pan
Steadicam
Rolling
Hand-held
Deep focus, pulling focus
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Media Language
EditingSpeed – long take/short take
Style - straight-cut, dissolve, fade, wipe, jump cut
Shot/reverse shot
Eyeline match
Action match
Montage
Slow motion
Graphic Match
Ellipsis and expansion of time
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Media Language
Sound
Diegetic/non-diegetic – soundtrack,
themes, ambient sound
Parallel/Contrapuntal
On-screen/off-screen
Sound effects
Sound bridges
Pace
Dialogue
Music
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Media Language
Mise-en-Scene
Setting/location
Props
Hair, make-up, costume
Positioning of characters in frame (deep-focus)
Body language/facial expressions
Colour – denotation/connotation
Lighting – high key/low key etc
Special effects – CGI, back projection, pyrotechnics etc
CONCLUSION: What have you learned?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): RepresentationRichard Dyer – Typography of Representation
Richard Dyer – The Typography of Representation
Richard Dyer describes the typography of representation as
consisting of:
1. Re-presentation, which consists essentially of media
language, the conventions that are used to represent the world
to the audience; “representation insists that there is a real
world, but that our perception of it always mediated by [the
media's selection]“
2. Being representative of, for example, “to what extent are
representations [of groups] typical of how those groups are in
society?”. In this, the use of stereotypes is very important.
+Section A, Qu 1(b): RepresentationRichard Dyer – Typography of Representation
3. Who is responsible for the representation “that is,
in the sense of speaking for and on behalf of”. in
this, we must consider how the institution creating a
media text influences representation.
4. What does the audience think is being
represented to them?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Representation
Tessa Perkins Stereotypes
Stereotyping is not a simple process and can contain a number of assumptions.
Tessa Perkins identifies five such assumptions:
1. Stereotypes are not always negative eg the French are good cooks
2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful eg ‘Upper class twits’
3. They can be held about one’s own group
4. They are not always rigid and unchanging
5. They are not always false
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Representation
QUESTION: Analyse one of your pieces of coursework (either
the thriller or the music video) in terms of REPRESENTATION.
You should consider:
Describe what happens in your video/thriller
What groups in society are represented in your production?
How are these groups represented in your production?
Are the depictions positive or negative?
Do they reinforce or challenge stereotypes?
Or are they archetypes (typical examples)? Generic types
(only found in certain genres)?
Does your coursework maintain or challenge hegemony?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Representation
The following are possible groups to write about:
Gender – Men/Women
Ethnicity – representation of ethnic minorities
Sexuality – gay/straight
Age – old/young
Class (upper/middle/working/under)
Regional identity (Northern/Scottish/Welsh/Irish etc)
Disability (as opposed to ‘able’ people)
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Representation
All the above are examples of Levi-Strauss’ idea of BINARY OPPOSITIONS with a dominant group and a subordinate group. How is this evident in your coursework?
Genre – what are the conventional representations of characters in the genre e.g. Femme Fatale in the thriller
How is representation constructed in your production (camera, editing, sound, mise-en-scene)?
To what extent is the representation of the characters in your production postmodern?
+Section A, Qu 1(b): Representation
Also, consider applying Laura Mulvey’s theory of
the male gaze - the gaze of the camera is the
male gaze, the triple gaze, agency, the object of
erotic desire
How did your audience respond to issues of
representation in your video (consider your
audience feedback)
CONCLUSION
What have you learned?