This document provides tips and guidance for various units within the OCR Media Studies A-Level course. For the foundation and advanced portfolio units, it emphasizes the importance of ongoing research and planning, discussing key areas like audience and logistics. It provides tips for the construction, evaluation, and research/planning stages. For key concepts and critical perspectives, it advises focusing answers on applying theory to examples from the last three years and linking concepts to student work. It concludes with statistics on national exam results.

1. OCR Media Studies
Conference Highlights
(March 2011, December 2011, November 2012)

2. Unit G321:
Foundation Portfolio

3. Unit G321
Research and Planning
- Research and planning should be an on-going process
throughout the unit. If you conduct more research at a
later time, or revise any of the plans of your final pieces,
update your work to include the new additions.
- During the research and planning phases, make sure that
you discuss texts, audience, institutions and logistics.
- During audience research, try focus groups or vox pops,
rather than questionnaires.
- Ensure that you have a lot of evidence for the research
and planning phase if you wish to gain high marks for this
section (see next slide for exemplar production log).

4. Title (with date)
Targets identified
Tasks identified
Relevant
screenshots
(linking to work)
Evaluation (of
learning and
performance)

5. Unit G321 (cont.)
Construction
- Proofread your own work, or ask somebody else.
- Take a variety of different photos (locations, costumes, props, make-
up, lighting, etc).
- During the construction stage, make time to take a step back from the
creation of your task and ask yourself or your peers:
* “Is the task appropriate and professional-looking?”
* “Does it do what it is supposed to?”
* “Would it appeal to the target audience?”

6. Unit G321 (cont.)
Evaluation
- In your evaluation, include critical and creative
reflections. Also, evaluate and assess the various skills
that you have developed.
- Use a variety of approaches during each question in
the evaluation – NO essays.
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7. Unit G321 (cont.)
Magazine design tips…
- For copyright free images to use on a logo, you can go to...
www.sxc.hu or www.istockphoto.com
- The front cover text should be all capitals.
- Use sans serif fonts for headings and serif fonts for body
copy (no more than three fonts used on the inside pages).
- The maximum font size should be 10 points.
- Use witty captions for photographs. Do not just describe
what is happening in the image.
- The least creative journalistic piece for the double-page
spread is an interview.
- Make sure that your journalistic piece is error free.

8. Unit G322:
Key Media Concepts
A) Textual Analysis
and Representation
B) Institutions and
Audiences

9. Unit G322 (Section A)
Textual analysis and representation tips…
- Do not try to analyse the entire five-minute extract; pick the
most important parts to analyse.
- Editing and sound are the most shunned micro elements for
analysis. Sometimes they are omitted entirely.
- The various elements of editing should focus on pace,
manipulation of time, perspective and narrative.
- Important sound elements include diegetic / non-diegetic sound,
dialogue, mode of address, voiceover, synchronous / asynchronous
sound, soundtrack / incidental music and pitch.
- Link all of your analyses back to the stated REPRESENTATION.
- Take a highlighter and highlight the first use of each key term in
your response. That way you know that you have used them at
least once, as will the examiner.

10. Editing and sound
http://prezi.com/vofo4uwyrkwe/ocrmediaconf2011_cutting-edges

11. Unit G322 (Section B)
Institutions and audiences tips…
- Have at least two contemporary examples / case
studies relating to your chosen media industry (i.e. from
the last three years).
- Make sure you answer the question that is set on the
paper. Be able to explain and evaluate the points you
make, to move beyond description – but do not overload
your responses with irrelevant theory!
- Leave a line between each paragraph – make it easy
for the examiner to read!
- Aim to include your own experiences of media
consumption, in relation to your chosen media industry.

12. Unit G324:
Advanced Portfolio

13. Unit G324
Research and Planning
- Research and planning should be an on-going process
throughout the unit. If you conduct more research at a
later time, or revise any of the plans of your final
pieces, update your work to include the new additions.
- During the research and planning phases, make sure
that you discuss texts, audience, institutions and
logistics.
- Ensure that you have a lot of evidence for the
research and planning phase if you wish to gain high
marks for this section (see next slide for exemplar
production log).

14. Title (with date)
Targets identified
Tasks identified
Relevant
screenshots
(linking to work)
Evaluation (of
learning and
performance)

15. Unit G324 (cont.)
Construction
- You are marked on your directing skills during
video work; control your actors, camera and mise-
en-scène.
- The ancillary tasks are just as important as the
main task; give them just as much attention.
- The digipak must contain at least four pages (front,
back, inside front, inside back, inlays, etc). The
more, the merrier. If you are not sure, ask at HMV
and other music stores for examples. Wikipedia has a
good entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak).

16. Unit G324 (cont.)
Construction
- There should be consistency, a strong sense of house
style and a clear identity across all three productions.
- During the construction stage, make time to take a
step back from the creation of your task and ask
yourself or your peers:
* “Is the task appropriate and professional-looking?”
* “Does it do what it is supposed to?”
* “Would it appeal to the target audience?”

17. Unit G324 (cont.)
Evaluation
- In your evaluation, include critical and creative
reflections. Also, evaluate and assess the various skills
that you have developed.
- Use a variety of approaches during each question in
the evaluation, not just essays.
- For example…

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19. Unit G325:
Critical Perspectives in
Media
A) Theoretical Evaluation of
Production
B) Contemporary Media
Issues

20. Unit G325 – Section A(Q1)
Portfolio evaluation tips…
- Make sure that you divide your time sensibly: Sections
A(1) and A(2) half an hour each, section B one hour.
- When evaluating your production work for section A(1),
always state what you did, how you did it and why you did
it.
- A(1) is all about you, but also apply theory to the
practical work and the creative process.
- Make sure that you are taking an evaluative and
reflective approach.
- Link two theories to your work and evaluate the value of
these theories.

21. Unit G325 – Section A(Q2)
Portfolio evaluation tips…
- Section A(2) is all about the work, but look to apply theory to the
work in relation to the set concept.
- You need to be prepared to write about all of the concepts, so
you can respond to what comes up on the paper. Choose which
production fits which concept the best.
- Examples are crucial – look to give examples from your chosen
text as often as possible. Remember, the examiner will not have
seen this production, so explain it as thoroughly as possible.
- Link three theories to your chosen text and evaluate the value of
these theories in relation to that chosen text.
- It is only natural that you will link in some of the other concepts,
which is fine. However, focus more upon the given concept – do
not stray too much.

22. Unit G325 (Section B)
Contemporary media issues tips…
- Contemporary means recent. Therefore, your answer
should be about media from the last three years. However,
you are expected to discuss historical and future uses of
media. Approximately 75% contemporary and 25%
historical / future.
- Section B is about a deep understanding of a complicated
media issue, so make sure that you understand the
question and answer the question that is actually set – do
not stray.
- You need lots of reading, lots of your own examples and a
clear, balanced argument. And you need to make
connections.

23. A-Level Media Studies
Statistics

24. National Results
The overall breakdown…
- AS Media Studies = 95% A – E grades.
- AS Media Studies = 10% A grade.
- A2 Media Studies = 99% A – E grades.
- A2 Media Studies = 10% A grade.
- A* overall = 1.7%.

25. National Results
The coursework units breakdown…
- Unit G321 = 93% A – E grades.
- Unit G321 = 18% A grade.
- Unit G324 = 97% A – E grades.
- Unit G324 = 24% A grade.

26. Web Pages
OCR A-Level Media Studies Blog
http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com