This document provides instructions for a summer media studies assignment. Students are asked to explore 6 films from two lists that will be studied in their Year 12 course. For 3 films from each list, they need to collect information to answer questions about the film's institutions, audience, genre/conventions, and representations. They can present their findings as either a paper-based portfolio or blog-based portfolio, including summaries and sources. The goal is for students to gain understanding of key areas that will be explored in their upcoming course.

1. Media Studies Summer assignment
Over the summer you are expected to start to explorethe films that
will be the focusof study in Year 12. The films we will be studying
are
Thriller Films (Coursework) Institutions and Audience(Exam)
Inception
Shutter Island
Seven
Taken
GoneGirl
The Hobbit
The Fifth Estate
Shifty
12 Years a Slave
Frozen
Choose three filmsfrom each list. For each of the filmsyou have
chosen you need to collect information and sourcesthat willhelp you
to answer the followingquestions that focuson someof the key areas
we will exploring.
Institutions:
Who directed this film? What other films have they directed?
Who produced thisfilm (‘Producer’and whatcompany paid for it/)? What other films
have they produced?
Who distributed this film in the UK/USA/ Rest of the world? Whatother films have they
distributed?
How much money did this film make (and over what time scale)? How did this film
make money? Look at Box Office Mojo to help with this.
Audience
Who is the target audiencefor this film (age, ethnicity, gender, interests etc.)? What
censorship classification does it have (it will be differentfor differencecountries)How
does this affect the target audience?
What is it about this film that would attract this target audience(content, Stars, story,
etc.) Use YouTubeto search for clips to help you with this question (images as well and
any interviewswith stars, directorsetc.)
What did the critics say about this film (give clearly referenced quotes from quality
sourceseg The Guardian, Variety, Empire, New York Times, James Berardinelli, Robert
Ebert, Leonard Maltin, Andrew Sarris, Rolling Stone, Los AnglesTimes, Huffington Post
etc.) Do you agree with the critic? Why? Why not?

2. Genre and Conventions
What genre is this film?
What do the audienceexpect to see/ hear/ experiencewhen they watch filmsof this
genre?
What conventionsof this genre are presentsin the film?
What are some other examples of films that you know that share the same genre and
conventions?
Is this film very typicalof its genre? Explain your answer with examples.
Representation
What kindsof peopleare the main characters?
How are these kindsof person portrayed (represented)?
Where is the film set (place and possibly time as well)?
How is the place/time portrayed (represented)?
Do you think these representationsare positive or negative? Explain your answer using
examples.
What is the moral or message of the story? Why do you think the director wanted the
film to have that moral or message/ moral? Why does it end the way that it does?
How should you present this assignment?
Paper Based Portfolio – A collect of articles you havefound onlinewhich you have
read, highlighted importantpoints, anointed with your thought, organized aboutthe
four key areas. You will also includea quick summary of each question.
Blog Based Portfolio (Iwould recommend usingBlogger – you can sign up for an
account usingyour school email address.) – On the blog you would havea posts for each
film and area and you would includehyperlinksto articles, YouTubeclips, websites etc.
that contain information and a moredetailed summary of each question to show that
you have read the material! This summary could take the form of vidoepodcasts, text,
embedded powerpoints, embeddedpreziect. You will need to give me the urlof the
blog so that I can see what you havedone.
While it is not essential to watch the films it would makethis task more interesting and
enjoyable! Some might be difficultto get hold of (eg The Goob)