This document provides guidance on preparing for Question 1(a) of the Critical Perspectives exam, which requires students to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their media production work. It discusses focusing the response on one or two specific skills areas from a list including digital technology, research and planning, post-production, using conventions from real media texts, and creativity. For each area, the document provides examples of relevant skills and advice on how to structure a high-scoring answer, including using examples from coursework projects to show skills development over time.

1. A2 MEDIA - G325 Critical Perspectives
Focus on Q1a

2. First, a quick recap of the whole exam
paper…

3. The Critical Perspectives Exam – 2 hrs
Section A:
Theoretical Evaluation of
Production
Q1(a)
25 marks
Q1(b)
25 marks
Section B:
Contemporary
Media Issues
Media in the
Online Age
50 marks

4. Brief overview
Media in the Online Age - Discuss
contemporary issues and debates
surrounding different forms of media in the
online age (Choice out of two questions).
Q1(a) – Evaluate your skills development in a
specific area.
Q1(b) – Evaluate one of your own media
products in relation to a key media concept.
SectionASectionB

5. Just to check you’ve been
paying attention...
• Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate
your ______ ___________.
• Question 1 (b) requires you to evaluate ___ of your
media products in relation to a key media _______.
• Section B requires you to discuss issues and debates
surrounding different forms of _____ __ ___ ______
___.

6. Just to check you’ve been
paying attention...
• Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate
your skills development.
• Question 1 (b) requires you to evaluate ___ of your
media products in relation to a media _______.
• Section B requires you to discuss issues and debates
surrounding different forms of _____ __ ___ ______
___.

7. Just to check you’ve been
paying attention...
• Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate
your skills development.
• Question 1 (b) requires you to evaluate one of your
media products in relation to a media concept.
• Section B requires you to discuss issues and debates
surrounding different forms of _____ __ ___ ______
___.

8. Just to check you’ve been
paying attention...
• Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate
your skills development.
• Question 1 (b) requires you to evaluate one of your
media products in relation to a media concept.
• Section B requires you to discuss issues and debates
surrounding different forms of media in the online
age.

9. Question 1(a)
Requires you to describe and evaluate your skills
development over the course of your production work,
from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio.
It will require you to adapt this to one or two
specific areas from the following:
• Digital Technology
• Research and planning
• Post-production
• Using conventions from real media texts
• Creativity

10. The following slides go through
each of the areas you may be
asked about in the exam...
Digital Technology
Research and planning
Post-production
Using conventions from real media texts
Creativity

11. Digital Technology
Digital technology refers to hardware, software and online
technology, so the digital cameras, the computers and devices,
the software packages and the websites and online applications
that you have worked with.
For example:
Canon Legria Camera (AS)
Canon 550 D SLR Camera (A2)
iMacs, iPads, Smartphones
Final Cut Pro X
GarageBand
Adobe Photoshop (A2)
Adobe Illustrator (A2)
Internet (e.g. YouTube, Storyboard
That, OneDrive, Freesound, etc.)
Tip: Your AS and A2
coursework evaluations
required you to consider how
you used digital technology /
new media so look back at
these evaluation tasks

12. Research and Planning
It is worth dealing with research and planning separately.
Research refers to looking at real media and also audiences to
inform your thinking about a media production.
Planning refers to all the creative and logistical thinking and all
the organisation and record keeping that goes on in putting the
production together so that everything works.

13. Research
Research can be further broken down into the following areas:
1. Research into conventions of real media texts
• Institutional conventions, e.g. what you would expect a media product
from a certain type of organisation to be like/include.
• Format conventions, e.g. duration, and what you would expect a film
opening, teaser trailer, poster or magazine cover to be like/include
• Genre conventions, e.g. what kind of narrative, characters, setting and
location, iconography and style (camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing
and sound) you would expect from a product in that genre.

14. Research
2. Audience research
• Secondary research (Pearl & Dean data, IMDB info, etc.)
• Primary research (feedback questionnaires, vox pops, etc.)
3. Technical research, e.g.:
• How to achieve a particular camera shot
• How to use features in the software to achieve a particular effect (many
of you found YouTube video tutorials to find out how to do something in
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop)
4. Logistical research, e.g.:
• recce shots of your locations
• sourcing suitable costumes, props and actors

15. Planning
Planning involves a wide range of creative and organisational
skills, for example:
• writing a synopsis
• creating shot lists
• drafting shots/storyboards
• creating animatics
• organisation of equipment, costumes, props, locations, actors,
crew - compiling filming schedules and call sheets helped with
this.
• carrying out risk assessments

16. Post-production
Post-production is about everything you do after filming to
complete your media product, for example:
- Image manipulation
- Video editing (from cutting the shots and placing them on the
timeline to special effects)
- Creating and editing titles and graphics
- Sound production
- Audio & video mixing

17. Post-production
So, post-production skills could include things like:
• isolating an image from the background in Photoshop using
the magic eraser tool
• organising clips on the timeline in FCPX
• using quick keys
• adding transitions
• using particular effects, or animating effects with key frames
• adjusting sound levels, looping/layering sound clips, etc.
(Be as specific as possible to describe the tools you used
during post-production)

18. Using Conventions of Real Media Texts
Use of real media conventions involves consideration of other texts
that you looked at and how skilfully you were able to weave their
conventions into your work or ways in which you might have
challenged them. You could consider:
• Institutional conventions, e.g. what you would expect a media
product from a certain type of organisation to be like/include.
• Format conventions, e.g. what elements you would expect a film
opening, teaser trailer, poster or magazine cover to include
• Genre conventions, e.g. what kind of narrative, characters, setting
and location, iconography, style (camerawork, mise-en-scene,
editing and sound) you would expect from a product in that genre.

19. Using Conventions of Real Media Texts
Advice on this section from the Chief Examiner:
‘You need to do more than
just say ‘I looked on YouTube’
for conventions of real media,
but actually name specific
videos you looked at, what
you gained from them and
how they influenced your
work.’

20. Creativity
Creativity includes:
• The process of coming up with ideas for your
product.
• The creative/ inventive use of technical
elements such as camerawork, editing, sound,
and mise-en-scene.
• How you used creativity to solve problems.
• The effectiveness of your creative choices.

21. How to structure your answer
Paragraph 1 should be an introduction which explains which main coursework
projects you did. It can be quite short.
Paragraph 2 should suggest something about your starting point with the skills
area in the question - what skills did you have already and how were these
illustrated. Use a brief example.
Paragraph 3 should talk through your use of skills in early projects and what
you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to
support all that you say.
Paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later
projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this
represents moves forward for you from your early position and how the
development of these skills enabled you to be more creative.
Paragraph 5 short conclusion