The document provides guidance on preparing for Section A, Question 1a of the A2 Media exam. This question requires students to evaluate their skills development over the AS and A2 courses across areas such as digital technology, creativity, research and planning, post-production, and using conventions from real media texts. Students are advised to describe their skills in each area, supported by specific examples, and reflect on how their abilities have improved over time. The document outlines what should be covered for each skills area and offers tips for a successful critical reflection.

1. Section A , Question 1a – Skills Evaluation of Production

3. Breakdown of Section A
question 1a
 Section A, question 1a of the A2 exam is
worth 25 marks
 You will be evaluating your AS and A2
coursework in terms of the skills you have
developed over the 2 years
 You will have 30mins to answer this question

4. How is it marked?
20 marks - Explanation, analysis,
argument
20 marks – Examples
10 marks - Terminology

5. Section A: Skills Evaluation
of Production
Question 1(a)
describe and evaluate your skills development over the
course of your production work – this can include the
preliminary tasks, your actual c/w, ancillary tasks and any
other pieces you have created in the past year.
In the exam 1 or more of the following areas will be selected
for you to write about:
 Digital Technology
 Creativity
 Research and planning
 Post-production
 Using conventions from real media texts

6. Jan 2010
June 2010
Jan 2011
June 2011
Jan 2012
• Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media
production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision
making. Refer to a range of example in your answer to show how these
skills developed over time
• Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research
into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for
production developed over time
• Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for
media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your
creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to
show how these skills.
• Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media
influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range
of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed
over time.
• Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed
your own creative practise. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to
show how these skills have been developed over time.

7. What is it about?
 What did you do?
 How did you do it?
 How did your skills develop?
 All supported with specific examples
 In relation to the area(s) in question

8. Critical Reflection
 Reflective practice is a skill that is much sought
after and is highly regarded by universities and
employers. This goes beyond evaluations of the
outcomes; we are not simply thinking about
strengths and weaknesses.
 This is probably the most difficult part of the A2
course.

9. Section A: Skills
Evaluation of Production
 There is some cross over between the 5 areas
e.g. for Research and Planning you had to
research other film openings/music
magazines, which clearly links to “Using
conventions from real media texts” , the final
bullet point.
 Your task will be to produce a detailed
evaluation of your coursework using all 5
areas. The documents you produce will be
vital revision aids for the exam this summer.

10. Digital Technology-hardware,
software and online
 For this topic, you need to consider the
impact of the new technologies you have
used on your consumption and production
of media texts.
 Consider how you have presented your
work; have you used blogs?
 How has the internet supported your skills
development?
 Consider the pro’s and con’s of the digital
technology you have used

11. ICT/Digital Technology
 How did AS compare to A2?
 Blogs/websites
 Slideshare
 Flickr
 Facebook questionnaires
 Film and upload to YouTube (audience
questionnaires and feedback)
 Vlogs
 Post it note film/stop frame animations
 Digital photography
 Software and hardware

12. Digital Technology
You need to consider the skills you have learnt during AS with the following
software:
 Adobe Photoshop. The image manipulation program allowed you to
manipulate graphics necessary for the magazine. E.g. crop tools such as
Marquee (magic wand), Lassos, and colour converters such as Red Eye
Corrector, Colour Variations, Colour Dropper, Dodge and Burn, text tools,
picture boxes, shape tools, photograph manipulation, layers etc.
 Adobe Indesign CS5. The print construction software allowed you to create
a realistic product through layout/font/logo/colour manipulation etc.
 Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. The editing software allowed you to add specific
transitions/sound effects/manipulate time (temporal relations)…etc.
 Weblogs e.g. blogger which allowed you to regularly post about your
research & planning, progress and to display your final piece. It also enabled
you to leave comments (audience feedback) on each other’s blogs….

13. Digital Technology
You need to consider the skills you have learnt
from AS to A2 with the following hardware:
 Digital stills cameras
 Lighting
 Mini DV cameras
 Tripods
 PC
 Mini DV tape

14. Digital Technology
 What are the pros and cons of the
software and hardware you used
at AS and A2 in terms of skills
development?
 How did you use your skills to aid
the construction of your task?
 Be really really specific with your
examples

15. Creativity
 It is important not to assume one answer to any
question!
 Rather than ask yourself the question, " How have I
become more creative during my A level course?",
ask yourself, "Have I become more creative?".
 If you answer the second question, then you will
evaluate your progress much more thoroughly.
 Consider the pro’s and con’s of the technology you
have used and how this has impacted on your
creativity

16. Creativity
 Creativity involves thinking or behaving
imaginatively. It might involve challenging
conventions or replicating / furthering
knowledge of them – what did you do in your
c/w?
 You need to think about the decisions that
were made for you (the restrictions put on you
by the exam board) e.g. you must make a
music magazine or film opening. Then consider
the creative choices you made e.g. which type
of music magazine or genre of film? Etc.

17. Creativity
 How creative do you think you were in the
decisions you made when creating your c/w?
 Did the technology enhance your creativity or not?
 What ideas did you communicate and what
stylistic techniques did you use? How did it relate
to your interests/vision of identity?
 Was your product influenced by your social
environmental?
 Was this original or did you add something extra
to an original media text?
 Would you take any creative skills into future
projects or have you been influenced to engage
these skills in any other projects?

18. Research and Planning
 Consider the following:
 How you reviewed real text examples and discuss
conventions
 Analysis of old student work and discuss marking
criteria
 How you planned the micro elements
 Research into audience expectations
 How you reviewed your own progress and update
your plans.

19. Research and Planning
Think about the types of research you carried out:
 Primary – films, magazines, internet, questionnaires,
audience feedback
 Secondary – internet, textbooks, blogs for theories
Advantages/Disadvantages of your sources:
 Cost of magazines etc
 Accessibility – easy to find?
 Time consuming?
 Reliability of sources?
 Accuracy of sources?
 Usefulness of sources?

20. Research and Planning
 How did you organise your research and planning?
E.g. labels, blog etc
 What did you research?
 How did drafting help you?
 How did audience feedback improve your planning?
 How organised were you?
 What did you learn about working as part of a
group or independently?
 How did you present your research and planning?
E.g. wordle, moodboard, flickr, scribd, slideshare etc

21. Post-Production
 Consider the following:
 How you made decisions about editing and
layout
 Influence of audience expectations
 Photo manipulation

22. Post-production
 Post Production at AS might have consisted of
editing the material and putting all the titles
and music together on Adobe Premiere Pro or
editing images and putting text together on
Photoshop/Indesign. This is very similar to the
software listed as part of Digital technology
 You need to identify all of the steps you took
once you had either filmed or photographed –
to do this accurately it will be helpful to look at
your work and make a list of everything you
did in order to get to the finished stage.
 Post-production is everything that happens
after filming/photographing

23. Using Conventions of Real
Media Texts
 Each of your 3 practical projects had a specific set
of conventions.
 For this topic, you need to consider how your
understanding has developed over the course.
 Begin by make a note of the conventions of each
of the genres you created.
 Then pick 2 or 3 of these conventions and say how
you used them within your own work
 Don't forget to ask yourself how useful it is to
understand and apply real conventions AND why
your ability to apply this understanding has
improved over the course.

24. Using conventions from real
media texts
 What conventions of music magazines/film
openings did you apply to your c/w?
 Identify real media texts and explain how
your text is similar and different.
 “Creativity is always constrained by generic
conventions”. To what extent did you adhere
to or subvert generic conventions in the
creation of your media products.