Exam

1. January 2011
Media Exam: Guideline to each question...

2. 25 Marks 30 mins
The question could be based on
one or more of these topics:
- Digital Technology
- Creativity
- Research and Planning
- Post-Production
- Using conventions from real
media texts
What did you do?
How did you do it?
How did skills develop?
Give specific examples...
25 Marks 30 mins
The question could be based
on one or more of these topics:
50 Marks 1 hour
Choice of 2 questions
- Focuses on the British
representations of youths in
the media
-

3. How any decision made that
impacted the final product…
For example:
Understanding all the different
tools on photoshop enabled the
production of a professional high
quality group of images for the
digipak.
Evaluate:
Assessing how the use of certain
technologies benefitted the final
product.
Look in depth into each feature of
the final product.
• How has the use of new technologies impacted the final product ?
• How has your work has been presented to the group ?
• How has the internet supported skills in development?
• Consider the positives and negatives of the digital technology used.
Hardware Software Online
• How didAS compare to A2?
• Blogger
• Slideshare, Emaze, Prezi
• Facebook, Instagram,Twitter
• Premiere Pro
• Photoshop
• Youtube,Vimeo
• Wix
• Powerpoint,Word, Publisher

4. How to answer 1a:• Introduction
- Outline what digital technology is
- Give a brief overview of what the final product ofAS andA2 was (EG Film
Opening and MusicVideo)
- Suggest that skills have advanced allowing the finalA2 product to have
been built to a professional standard.
• Paragraph 1
-Blogger (digital notebook).Allowed to document all work over the 2 years.
• Paragraph 2: focus onAS
-Premiere Pro (DancingAnimals, Juno, Prelim : 180 rule, close up shot)
-Photoshop (Poster for AS)
• Paragraph 3
-Premiere Pro (edit of the music video, steal’o’matic, storyboard )
-Photoshop (digipak, album cover, magazine article)
-Type of camera used (video camera, iPhone,DSLR?)
• Paragraph 4
-Wix, Merchandise for the website, iTunes for audio
-Presentations: Emaze, Prezi, Slideshare, Photobucket for images
-Powerpoint,Word, Publisher (Digipak, Magazine, MagazineArticle)
-Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat)
-Allowed connection with fans: Survey Monkey, Polls,Gifs)
• Conclusion
To conclude, with the extensive
knowledge that developed over the
two years of media studies based
on how to use new technologies;
this allowed more creativity in our
products and benefitted the results.

5. Henry Jenkins argues that
Participatory Cultures
encourages creativity because
you can share what you create
online and get feedback on it.
David Gauntlett argues that through making thigs
people engage with the world and create connections
with each other.
His answer to ‘Does technology really encourage
creativity?’ isYES.
He says that we are shifting from a ‘sit-back-and-be-
told culture’ to a ‘making-and-doing culture’. People
are rejecting traditional teaching and television and
making their own learning and entertainment instead.

6. Examiners Report
• Examiners stated that the more successful answers included analysis on the different types of digital
technologies throughout the development process for the final product and they assessed how the
use of different technologies enhanced the creativity of the end product.
• Essays that included a range of examples such as mentioning hardware, software and online
activity were more successful.
• Responses that were of a lower standard were confused about what digital technology is.They only
mentioned what a camera is; to stay away from this weakness do not focus on just camera focus on all
aspects of digital involved within the development of the product such as using different software’s
(premiere/Microsoft), hardware’s (cameras) and online platforms (social media, presentation
websites).
• Do not list technologies without having an understanding or producing an analysis of them.
• Successful answers spoke of the journey they had been on. In order to do this you will need to talk
about AS and A2 work, start from the beginning ofAS which will make it easier in recording all of the
work that was developed over the two years. Do not just talk about the music video, talk about the
film opening and prelims.
• Successful answers included theorists to support the points made and applied these definitions to
their own use of technologies with examples.

7. You do not have to talk about AS
and A2 productions, only focus
on one.
For narrative, it would be easier
to analyze the film opening.
Sentence starters:
• As part of the coursework for my AS
portfolio, I produced a film opening on
the genre of…
• I am going to discuss theories of narrative
in relation to my foundation portfolio
where I produced a film opening focused
on genre...Which targeted a… audience...
• ...targeting a...audience...
• ...conforming to the...genre
• ...that conformed/challenged the
narrative conventions
A narrative is a series of
events that must be linked
in order to find meaning.
• How useful is the concept of narrative in
understanding your work?
• How is your narrative structured?
• What pleasure(s) does your narrative offer the
audience?
• How do you use characters in your narrative? (EG
Propp)
• How does narrative structure/ending shape the
meaning of your production?

8. Todorov (Structure of Narrative)
identified 5 stages of the narrative / a story and
the motion that plots have a circular narrative.
- Equilibrium: (sets the scene) this is everyday
life.
- Disruption: Something happens to alter the
equilibrium.
- Recognition of Disruption:Climax of the
narrative
- Repair of disruption: restores the equilibrium.
- New equilibrium: (satisfactory end)
everything goes back to normal.
Propp (Characters in Narrative)
examined the importance of character within narrative. He
identifies 8 types of characters common in stories:
-Hero
-Helper
-Villain
-False Hero
Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)
believed that the way we understand certain words
depends not so much on any meaning they themselves
directly contain, but by our understanding of the difference
between the word and its ‘(binary) opposite’.
- He focuses on opposites as the way the narrative is
structured.
Barthes (Codes of Narrative)
states that texts may be ‘open’ or ‘closed’. He decided that the threads
you pull to find a meaning are the narrative codes.
-Action: advance the narrative- they drive it forward and builds tension.
-Enigma: refers to any element of the story that isn’t fully explained
and them becomes a mystery to the reader.
-Semantic: connotation within the story that gives additional meaning
over the basic denotative meaning of the word.
-Symbolic: organizes meanings into broader and deeper sets of
meaning.This is done by the use of binary opposites.
-Cultural: Something read with understanding due to cultural
awareness.
-Donor
-Dispatcher
-Princess
-Princesses
-Father

9. How to answer 1B:
• Introduction:
Mention the year which you are going to discuss. During our
first year of media studies we developed a film opening for
our AS foundation portfolio end product where we focused on
the genre of..
• Paragraph 1: conformed to the concept
Focus on the theorists that were conformed to in the film
opening.What theories were used and give evidence and
examples of this that were used.
-We was inspired by Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites
which helped structure our narrative.
-As well as Strauss’ theory we used Propps theory of
characters in our film opening… our main character ...Who
was like Propps character idea of ...
• Paragraph 2: challenged the concept
Suggest how you challenged some of the theorists ideas or
subverted stereotypes that would usually set the narrative.
• Paragraph 3:
Discuss the use of enigma codes and how the
audience would be questioning what is going
to happen in the film opening.
We used enigma codes in order to give an
opening of progression in our film and to
keep the audience wondering what is going
to happen.This enticed them as … in the film
opening made the audience question what
the result would be.
• Conclusion
Give an overview and judgement of how
applying narrative and applying the chosen
theorists benefitted the end result of the
product.

10. Examiners Report
• Examiners suggest that examining a film opening for the narrative question will be more effective as
opposed to analyzing other products, they say magazine and website product analysis did not work as well
as those who spoke of their film opening.
• Candidates were able to accurately reference narrative theories such as Propp,Todorov, Barthes, Levi-
Strauss and Goodwin.
• Those that achieved level 4 and had successful answers related the theorists ideas to their own work.
Weak answers only gave a guideline of the process of developing the product and did not add any analysis.
In order to achieve a higher grade you can mention the process of developing your product but support your
points in correlation with theorists.
• Time management is crucial within the exam, you should spend an equal amount of time on section A and
`B to ensure that both section carry equal marks.

11. • How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic /
social / collective groups of people in different ways?
• How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?
• What are the social implications of different media representations of groups
of people?
• To what extent is human identity increasingly ‘mediated’?

12. How to answer Collective
Identity:
• Introduction
Talk about what representation is and the different ways the media is used.
Representation is the way in which media portray a particular group from a particular ideological or value perspective.
Throughout this essay I will focus on the representation of youths in the media; they show youths in different perspectives
through different mediums such as films, newspapers, the internet andTV drama. Gerry Connor Quote:“representation is
not just about the way the world is presented to us but also about how we engage with media texts in order to interpret and
assimilate such portrayals”.
• Paragraph 1: Past
Quadrophenia- mods and rockers and news papers. (Main themes: fashion, music, drugs, sex and language). Uses moral
panic that arose in the mid 1960s which links with Cohens 1972 theory who argued that ‘folk devils’ emerge in a society
which reflects anxieties in reality. Mention Gramsci: Gramsci developed the idea of cultural hegemony and states that
representations of youth vary through generations.
Paragraph 2: Hoodie Horror
Mention the theory of Greg Philo.Within films media show youths in various different ways from violent hoodie wearing
chavs, shown in the film ”Brotherhood”.The Forestgate stabbing story contributes to the idea that all teenagers are
involved with knives and crimes. Ill manors is another film that follows the lives of four drug dealers.
Paragraph 3:Vulnerable
Select a Case Study from: End of the FWorld, SelfishGiant, Undateables orThe ‘A’ Word.
Teens are represented as vulnerable and subvert the dominant ideology that all youths are reckless and selfish.This makes
the audience sympathise with the characters and spreads the message that not all teenagers are the same.

13. Paragraph 4: Criminals that turn things around
Select a Case Study from: MisFits or Kingsman.
Media use representations both negatively and positively.Youths are often portrayed as criminals but within Misfits, the media subvert the
stereotype of teenagers and show them positively, participating in community service.
Paragraph 5: Everyday Teen
Select a Case Study from: Soaps, Bad Education or Fresh Meat.
TV drama represent youths quite often as everyday teens, the audience of these mainly being within the mid-older generation. Through soaps
such as Eastenders they involve teenagers are accompany them with stories representing them as an ‘everyday teen’. In Eastenders characters
such as Bex is shown having an interest in music and aims to go to university.
Paragraph 6: Geek Chic
Select a Case Study from: Online News story: Sarah Sobka aged 17 was crowned the UK young scientist of the year.This is a positive
representation illustrated by the media but these are often overshadowed by the negative. Media frequently portrays youths as a negative
group which is not always the case, this conforms to Giroux’s idea that youth becomes an empty category by demonising the delinquent youth.
Media representations of young people are not necessarily accurate and may contribute to the dominance of negative representations.
Paragraph 7: Role Models
Select a Case Study from:
Social media influencers EG Kay Ska. Bloggers EG Charlie Lyne. Hossack. Sports people EG Tom Daly
These role models subvert the common stereotype of youths.They deliver positive representations and enhance the message that not all
teenagers are the same despite the dominant ideology in the media. Vloggers use liberal pluralism to promote their positive representation.
Role models challenge the hegemonic views of the common conception of youths being reckless and violent. Thus linking with Charles
Leadbeaters idea that anyone has access to the internet which allows anyone to connect, share and contribute.
News Stories:
Within the news, the use of gatekeeping only shows what the media want the public to see.This results into the more negative stories being
released on teenagers, creating a cultural hegemony that youths are rebels and are continuously getting into trouble.
How to answer Collective
Identity:

14. How to answer Collective Identity:
Intro: Mention the area of study: I am going to discuss the representations of youth and youth culture in the media.
Collective identity is... a concept referring to a set of individuals’ sense of belonging to thegroup or collective.This is the
sense of belonging or “identity” people are recognised for as an indvidual within groups.
Mediation is ...when the media pick and choose what they present in order to portray a certain view
Paragraph 1:
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 3:

15. Charles Leadbeater
The web allows everyone to publish, share,
connect, collaborate and to create.
More people that ever can participate in culture,
contributing their ideas, views and information.
Charles Acland
“Youth is a time of
substantial surveillance,
because it is a time when
the culture is learned”.
Acland argues that the way
media represents youths
reinforce hegemony.This is
done by contrasting
normal youth behaviour
with deviant youth
behaviour.
His ‘ideology of protection’
has the idea that young
people need more
surveillance and
monitoring. ‘Young people
are being stereotypically
watched and seen as wild’.
Thomas De Zengotita
Zengotita believes that almost everything we learn or experience is through
the media. This implies that the media shapes and creates us as well as our
views and identity. We believe ourselves to be something/someone because
of what the media tell us and tell us what we are.
Greg Philo (Hoodie
Horror)
“The culture of violence is
real. But for the British
media, its simple- bad
upbringing or just even
children”.
Philo developed the idea
that media believes teens
to be violent hoodie
wearing ‘chavs’ and
exploits the fears and
views the middle class
hold against youths.With
the news focusing on the
negative, this portrays all
teenagers as the same
and creates them all to be
violent.
Dick Hebdige
Hebdige argues that style through the rebellion of
common objects allows Britain's subcultures to
characteristically separate themselves from the mass
culture to which they belong in.
Gramsci
Gramsci developed the concept of cultural hegemony.This is the idea that one
social class (usually middle class) is able to dominate a society by making their
way of life and values appear normal, natural and common sense.
Dyer
Stereotypes are always about power: those with power stereotype those with
less power.
Giroux
Youth becomes an empty category by demonising the delinquent youth. Media
representations of young people are not necessarily accurate and may
contribute to the dominance of negative representations.
Gauntlett
“Identity is
complicated:
everyone thinks
they’ve got one”.

16. Examiners Report
• One center allowed students to have their own focus within the essay that have had guidelines and plenty
of discussion/study time previous to the exam, these answers were excellent and demonstrated that not
all students have to use the same case studies and mention the same theories to get top marks. Having a
variety of evidence that can be easily backed up and is written with understanding, in relation to the
question, were questions that were more successful.
• Level 4 answers used appropriate theories and media interpretations were effectively used.