Media Studies is an incredibly important subject, not just for those seeking a career in this area. Over the course of the next two years, you will consider the ways that media texts construct representations of individuals, events, issues and social groups as well as exploring the influence such texts have on audiences. You will also learn about the business side of the media industry, thinking about marketing, distribution, production, etc. Plus, in a practical component, you will learn technical skills and, using industry standard software, create your own cross-media production.
The following work will give you a useful foundation upon which to build when we start the course in September.
Read this online article about composition of images.
Put composition techniques into practice by taking photos using your mobile phone.
Experiment with different ideas such as those below, using shadows, taking extreme close-ups, unconventional selfies.
Read ‘A Guide to British Newspapers’.
Read articles from different newspapers on the same topic and on the same day and consider the differences in the way the topic is represented. Does this fit with the information given in ‘A Guide to British Newspapers’?
Watch the following British TV Dramas, both available on BBC iPlayer:
‘Noughts & Crosses’
Six-part drama series set in a dystopian London following Sephy (a member of the black elite) and Callum (member of the white underclass). Based on Malorie Blackman’s novels.
The media is the most dynamic, innovative and influential method of mass communication of modern times. It has been reported that adults in Great Britain are consuming media for almost eight hours a day. That’s eight hours a day watching films and television, reading newspapers, and sifting through online media. Within that time, we are bombarded by other people’s representations of the world and how we respond to these representations can affect our perceptions of people, places and society, of politics and culture, of ourselves and of our place in the world.
Kevin Smith
Steve Murray
James Middleditch
We look forward to seeing you soon!
