WJEC, Media Studies, AS course outline, Year 12

1. Starter Activity
• In pairs…
– Discuss: what is ‘Media’.
– Come up with a definition

2. To understand the outline of the course
To begin to understand how gender is represented

3. AS Media Studies
What will I study?
• Genre
• Textual Analysis
• Audience
• Representation

4. How will I be assessed?
• MS1 - Examination - 2 ½ hours (50%)
• MS2 - Coursework (3 tasks)
– 1 Pre Production task
– 1 linked Production
– and a written reflective report (50%)

5. AS Media Examination topics
• 1 Question – Textual analysis of an unseen text
(print or moving image) including genre and/or
narrative 40 marks
• 3 Questions on media representations and
audience responses (30 marks each)

6. AS Media Coursework
• Pre-production task (20 marks);
• Production which develops from the pre-production (40
marks)
• 1200 – 1600 word Reflective report on the production
process (40 marks)
• Group work for the production is only allowed for
audio-visual productions (group size no more than 3)

7. • Become more familiar with media texts
you would not normally consume –
newspapers, news reports, any genres you
would not normally be familiar with
• Read around the subject – Media
supplements in newspapers, text books
and dedicated websites
• Be up to date with news and current
affairs
What can I do to help myself?

8. The Media is a channel of communication from producer
to audience.
Producers create MEDIA TEXTS which we consume:
• advertisements
• DVD covers
• CD covers
• newspaper front pages
• magazines /comics
• radio sequences
• Films
• television programmes
• music videos
• websites
• computer games
Media texts
Sort this list into the
following media
platforms:
• Print
• Broadcasting (Moving
Image)
• E-Media

9. Rene Magritte: ‘This is not a pipe’

10. • The media do not offer us a
transparent 'window' on the world,
but a mediated version of the world.
They don't just present reality, they
re-present it.
David Buckingham (2003)

11. What is representation?
• Representation is the way in which the media
constructs aspects of ‘real life’:
• This includes:
– people,
– places,
– events,
– culture,
– ethnicity
– and issues
• (WJEC, Exploring the Media)
• Remember: The media don’t just present reality they
re-present it.

12. Understanding Representation
• To be able to understand
representation we need to be aware
that part of it is how we see things
and this is affected by our own
experiences, culture, gender and
preconceived expectations.

13. Same person: one year apart. Consider how
Miley Cyrus was representing herself in the
first picture, compared to her infamous
representation at the VMAs.

14. Shortly after the
VMAs - this was the
image on Miley
Cyrus’ homepage of
her official website.
Why was this image
chosen? What does
it represent?

15. Important Points to Consider!
• What kind of world/image is being created by the text?
• Is it positive or negative?
• How will audiences interpret this?
• This will depend on how the person sees the particular
person or celebrity, what their relationship is to a certain
event or issue
• It will also depend on the persons age, gender, ethnicity and
situation

18. •What is this?
•Why is it important to
understand when
studying the Media?
Bias

19. • Start observing how people are being
represented. Look at real people around you
– how are they representing themselves?
• Look at actors in soaps. Read about
celebrities. Facebook/Instagram/Twitter.
• Representation is everywhere.
Start observing…