GCSE Media Studies. Course Outlines. version 1.2

GCSE Media Studies Course Outlines version 1.2

GCSE Media Studies and GCSE Media Studies Double Award Models of Delivery Introduction All GCSEs taken after summer 2013 will be linear in structure. Candidates will be required to take all GCSE assessments at the end of the course for awards made from summer 2014 onwards. Candidates can carry forward their unit results from a GCSE single award to a double award in the same subject where units overlap ie students can complete the single award at the end of year 10 and complete the double award at the end of year 11. Alternatively they can complete all four units at the end of year 11. The new specification provides choice from a range of delivery models according to the priorities and needs of individual centres. The sample models provided here illustrate just four of the possible routes through the specification and are by no means the only ones that can be devised; however, they are intended to reflect what may by a typical delivery pattern for centres wishing to offer the following: 1. Double Award over three years 2. Double Award over two years 3. Single Award over two years 4. Single Award over one year It is important to stress that the models offered are intended to support the production of schemes of work which centres will need to develop according to the needs and interests of their candidates, the expertise of their staff and the resource levels available. Unit 1 External Assessment Teachers are advised to pay attention to the rubric given in the AQA specification on Page 8. As the Unit 1 topic changes each year, the course may need to be adapted from year to year to prevent any overlap of the chosen Unit 2 assignments with the Unit 1 external assessment. The brief for the Unit 1 written paper will be available four weeks prior to the external examination. Once the brief has been given to the candidates, no further teaching on this topic can take place. Instead, students should be encouraged to carry out their own research and develop their own ideas using the resources provided by the centre and the internet and resources to be found elsewhere. Unit 2 and 4 Controlled Assessments In planning course outlines, teachers should ensure that all internal marking and standardisation for Unit 2 is completed in time to meet the external deadline set by AQA (7 May) for the controlled assessment work to be sent to the Moderator. Centres will be informed which candidates work is required by the moderator and this work will always include the highest and lowest ranked folders. Similar procedures will need to be in place for the assessment of Unit 4 if submitting work for the Double Award. 1 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Units 3 and 4 Both units are likely to be more successful if links can be made with media professionals. Examples are given in the models as to how this might be achieved. Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 2

Option One: GCSE Media Studies (Double Award) Three Year Course In this sample model of delivery, units 1 and 2 (the Single Award) will be assessed at the end of the second year, and both units 3 and 4 (to complete the Double Award) will be assessed in the third year of the course. Teachers will have eight terms to deliver this course, with the final (ninth) term being dedicated to revision and practice for the Unit 3 exam, once the Unit 4 controlled assessment has been submitted. The course needs to cover: the four Key Concepts the three Unit 2 Controlled Assessments taken from banks of set assignments the knowledge and understanding of the set topic required for Unit 1 the skills to allow students to respond to the Brief for Unit 4 the knowledge and understanding of two media industries required for Unit 3. Given below is just one example of many possible approaches: Year One (2012-13) Year Two (2013-14) Year Three (2014-15) Term 1 Media Language & Pre- Production skills Audience Term 2 Unit 2: Assignment 1 (Web-based Media) Representation Institutions Term 3 The Advertising industry Unit 2: Assignment 2 (Advertising and Marketing) Term 4 Production Skills Unit 2: Assignment 3 (Promotion of Music) (if following this example in 2012-13, you cannot do this option select, eg Moving Image Promotion instead) Term 5 Unit 1 Set Brief (48101/PM) topic preparation Term 6 Unit 1 Exam (eg 2014 Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games) Units 3 & 4 Research: Print/Electronic Publishing and Webbased industries Production skills Term 7 Units 3 & 4 Research: Print/Electronic Publishing (focusing on advertising and marketing) and Webbased industries Unit 4: Responding to a Media Brief Term 8 Unit 4: Responding to a Media Brief Term 9 Revision of two selected media industries Unit 3 Exam 3 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

In the example provided, the centre involved has already worked with their local newspaper on previous Media courses and pays a professional designer to work on its website who is willing to talk about his work. Therefore the Print/Electronic Publishing and Web-based industries are being explored for Unit 3. To keep the course as broad as possible to sustain interest over three years, it has been decided to use a different medium for Unit 2: Assignment 3. The centre s Media department has ready access to a computer suite where students can work on DTP and web-design software. They have more limited access to video cameras and video-editing software, but can use them for short, intense periods of time. YEAR ONE Term 1: Media Language, Pre-Production Skills & Audience and Term 2: Representation, Institutions, Unit 2 Assignment 1 Students to complete as individual coursework. The teaching of the Key Concepts in the first two terms will be based around at least two media, the Unit 1 Topic (eg advertising and marketing for the 2014 exam on Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games) and Web-based Media, in order to support the Unit 1 External Assessment and the first Unit 2 assignment. This will also support Unit 3 when the students have to research the Web-based media industry. Students will use key texts from at least two media as their stimuli and will undertake as much practical work as possible to allow them to embed the theory through contextual work. After studying the first two of the Key Concepts as well as pre-production skills, the students are in a good position to undertake the first assignment. They cannot create a website for the topic of the Unit 1 exam (eg no websites for video games when the topic they will undertake is Gaming). This will then be banked within the centre for submission the following year with the other two assignments for Unit 2. Term 3: The Advertising Industry, Unit 2 Assignment 2 Students to complete as individual coursework. There will be a short introduction to the advertising, building on the four Key Concepts and applying them to case studies. Students will then be asked to create presentations about one advert that they enjoy and one that they find annoying. This should lead to an understanding of the different ways in which adverts grab the audience s attention and of the Uses and Gratifications theory. Students will investigate how campaigns are created and broadcast or published for an audience. They will analyse the representations created within adverts and the impact these have on their audiences, before carrying out Unit 2 Assignment 2. They cannot create adverts for the topic of the Unit 1 exam (eg no video game websites when the topic they will undertake is Gaming). Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 4

YEAR TWO Term 4: Production Skills, Unit 2 Assignment 3 As an introduction to the second year of the course, students will have time to access the hardware and software to be used for Unit 2 Assignment 3, working on a shorter piece of work, to learn the relevant skills. This will emphasise the need for accurate planning. Students will spend the second half of the term, and the start of the following term, on Unit 2 Assignment 3, carrying out independent research and planning before combining together into small groups to complete the detailed planning needed. They will produce their music videos together before writing up final evaluations. (No music videos can be created if students are sitting the 2013 Unit 1 exam on the Music Press. Instead they could create film trailers or opening sequences.) Term 5: Unit 2 Assignment 3, Unit 1 Set Brief topic preparation Initially students will complete their Unit 2 Assignment 3 work. (All of the controlled assessment work will be handed in for final assessment before the Easter holiday so that the teachers can assess it for submission to AQA by 7 May.) Having studied the relevant media industry while being introduced to the four Key Concepts in year one, students will now focus more tightly on the topic of the Unit 1 exam. Guidance is issued by AQA about the topic which will help to inform the planning of this stage of the course. Students will be taught using carefully-chosen media texts that exemplify the relevant conventions and the audience appeal of the chosen medium and genre. They will also revise key planning and production skills, such as storyboarding and website design. Term 6: Unit 1 Exam, Units 3 & 4 Research Students work individually on the Unit 1 brief released by AQA in May (eg in 2013 the preliminary material will be released on Tuesday 7 May the date for 2014 is to be confirmed), carrying out independent research and planning for the exam. The teacher will read through the preliminary material with them, clarifying the language if necessary. Students will collectively list the research and planning tasks they think are necessary, and will work their way through these in the exam prep period. Unit 1 External Assessment (Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. The date for 2013 is Thursday 6 June the date for 2014 is to be confirmed). The students should already have some understanding of at least two media industries: Web-based technologies, Advertising and Marketing, and the Unit 1 topic (if this is different to the previous two). From this, they will be able to work out what they already know about the two industries for Unit 3. Teachers in this centre will arrange for the class to visit the local newspaper soon after the exam, both to see the production process and to undertake a mini-assignment which can be continued back in class. Before the visit students will have worked out questions about the industry to fill in some of the gaps in their knowledge about Print Publishing. The mini assignment will include teaching of some of the relevant production skills. Later in the term, the centre s web designer will visit the class to run workshops in using relevant software and to lead a Q&A session about their work. 5 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Students will make notes on both the visit out and the visiting speaker for their Unit 3 learning. When the teachers know what the Unit 4 brief will be (released on 1 June each year via e-aqa), they will research possible visitors or locations to help their students to understand the issues involved. YEAR THREE Term 7 & 8: Industry Research and Unit 4 Brief The term will begin with revision of information about media campaigns and how different media forms and platforms require different approaches. Further research will then be undertaken to complete understanding of the two industries being studied. Students will then be introduced to the Unit 4 Brief, with at least one visiting speaker or visit out of school to help put the issue into a real-world context (this again may be written up for Unit 3). Students will then be given time to research, plan and create a treatment for each response to the Brief. The treatment is to be presented to the client (teacher) before Christmas. Students will write up the feedback they are given and how this affects their ideas. This will leave students with a term to create the final products and write the evaluations. All assessed work needs to be submitted to AQA by 7 May. The centre will continue some teaching about the two industries as the projects progress, putting the students work into a professional context as the planning and productions develop. Term 9: Revision of media industries Teachers will lead revision of two selected media industries, paying particular attention to each of the five areas of the industries identified in the specification. Unit 3 External Assessment (Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. The date for 2013 is 13 June pm.) End of course Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 6

Option Two: GCSE Media Studies (Double Award) Two Year Course In this model, teachers will have five terms to deliver the course, with the final (sixth) term once again being dedicated to revision and practice for the Unit 3 exam, after the Unit 4 controlled assessment has been submitted. Again, the course needs to cover: the four Key Concepts the three Unit 2 Controlled Assessments taken from banks of set assignments the knowledge and understanding of the set Topic required for Unit 1 the skills to allow students to respond to the Brief for Unit 4 the knowledge and understanding of two media industries required for Unit 3. Year One Term 1 Media Language & Pre-Production skills Audience Unit 2: Assignment 1 (Packaging of DVDs) Year Two Term 4 Units 3 & 4 Further Research: TV and Radio industries Unit 4: Responding to a Media Brief Term 2 Representation and Institutions Unit 2: Assignment 2 (Moving Image Promotion) Production Skills/Industry Research: TV and Radio Industries Term 5 Unit 4: Responding to a Media Brief (Deadline 7 May) Unit 1 Topic (eg The Music Press Print and Online 2013 or Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games 2014) Term 3 Unit 2: Assignment 3 (Advertising and Marketing one TV and two Radio adverts) Term 6 Unit 1 Set Brief (48101/PM) preparation Revision of Key Concepts Unit 1 Exam ( The Music Press Print and Online, 6 June 2013 or Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games 2014 to be confirmed) Unit 3 Exam 7 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

In this example, the centre already has connections with a small-scale TV production company through former students, and can build on that link. The local BBC radio station has offered to work with centres in the area in a variety of ways. Therefore the TV and Radio industries are being explored for Unit 3. To focus on key production skills, it has been decided to use these areas within Unit 2 as well, though obviously more than two media must be used here. Centres are encouraged to explore and develop their own links with media industries in a similar way. YEAR ONE Term 1: Teaching for each of the Key Concepts would also focus on the topic for Unit 1 (The Music Press: Print and Online for exam in 2013, or Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games for exam in 2014). Media Language & Pre-Production Skills Film Language, to include shot sizes, camera angles & movements, editing, sound etc. Use film trailers as the main texts for analysis How language creates meaning (denotation and connotation). Narrative. Storyboarding and scripting skills. Print (including DVD covers), to continue use of camera and framing, but also fonts, layout, colour, graphic devices, etc. Narrative in print. Deconstruct a DVD front cover and identify its audience. Print layout planning. Audience Targeting an audience, audience profiles, positioning. Mode of address. Genres and codes & conventions. How genres and audiences are linked. Why codes and conventions are important. Unit 2: Assignment Bank 1: Packaging of DVDs Students to complete as individual coursework. Analyse the DVD covers for two films in the same genre. How does each cover appeal to its target audience? Design a DVD cover for a film targeted at a specific audience, taking the cover shots using a digital camera. (The photography is a good preparation for the later Assignment 2 film promotion and for framing shots for TV production in Unit 4). Explain your ideas with reference to your use of media language and how the DVD cover appeals to its target audience. (Total assignment approx. 500-700 words). Term 2: Representation Mise-en-scène. Representations of people, places and ideas: gender, social class, ethnic groups, ideology. Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 8

Case study of a film and its promotion, looking at how the themes and the characters in the film are represented in posters, a trailer, the website, and a magazine article (such as an interview with the star talking about the film). Designing posters During this term, teachers should be collecting resources to support the Unit 1 written paper, eg newspaper/online news reports, reviews relating to the topic, DVDs, podcasts, URLs. Institutions How media form influences product: adaptations to different media, eg how is a film trailer s imagery used in other media? How did the films looked at transfer to DVD covers/posters, etc. Synergy. Production processes and industry roles. Finance. Scheduling, distribution. Media Codes and legislation (eg copyright issues in internet sites). Unit 2: Assignment Bank 2: Moving Image Promotion Students to complete as individual coursework. Explore how one film is promoted across two different media (film trailer and poster) focusing on representation of the film and the institutions need to work across more than one platform. Produce a mock-up design for a poster, and a storyboard for a trailer to promote the same film. Explain how the promotional products use a common idea in two different media, and how they deal with representation and institutional issues (total assignment approx. 1000-1200 words). Production Skills & Industry Research Workshops with the TV crew, looking at specific production skills (eg continuity editing 180 rule, 30 rule, establishing shot, master shot, shotreverse-shot, etc. Using a video camera and editing to create a simple sequence (such as entering a room and sitting down). Skills workshop using the relevant hardware and software to create a radio sequence. Evaluate sequences to learn from mistakes. Term 3: Unit 2 Assignment Bank 3: Advertising and Marketing An advertising campaign featuring one 30 second television advertisement and two radio advertisements. NB Students should complete the practical work in groups of no more than 4. Each student should contribute to all stages of the production. The student s own contribution should be indicated in the evaluation. Students cannot create adverts for the topic of their Unit 1 exam. Research and Planning (individual evidence needed): research into similar advertising campaigns and their audiences (inc. bullet point analyses around 9 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

screengrabs and annotated scripts); planning inc. scripts and storyboards. Paired assessment of ideas and checking for use of codes and conventions. Final group planning. Production filming and sound recording. Start Post-production editing, sound mixing. Complete Post-production editing, sound mixing. Evaluation (individual work, 700-800 words). Students to select work for submission maximum 12 pages of planning and research. Begin further research into the TV and Radio Industries, including visits to media producers or visits to classroom by media professionals. Workshops by professionals if possible, Q&A session about industry roles if possible. YEAR TWO Term 4: Unit 4 Brief and Research into Media Industries Give students the Unit 4 Brief, acting as the client. Discuss preliminary ideas, but then allow time for research. Analyse texts to demonstrate possibilities. Unit 4 Planning Students to use their research and their knowledge of production skills to plan their response to the Brief. Create treatment to be completed two to three weeks before Christmas. Presentation of treatment to client. Evidence the feedback from the client, and how this is used to develop ideas further. Term 5: Unit 4 Production and Evaluation Creation of two final products. Evaluation Hand work in for assessment some weeks before Easter, to allow staff time to mark, moderate and send to AQA by 7 May. Unit 1 Topic As far as possible integrate Unit 3 teaching with Unit 1 teaching, using the Unit 1 topic as one of the media industries for Unit 3. Introduce Unit 1 topic, using guidance from AQA about the topic to inform the delivery of the sessions. Investigate the topic in relation to the key concepts, ensuring that students have access to a variety of texts. They will need to consider style, presentation, values, audience and representation within these texts, and develop an understanding of codes and conventions. Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 10

How new technologies are involved in the consumption and production of the specific media form (also useful for Unit 3). Current debates and audience issues, as well as issues of bias and representation (also useful for Unit 3). Give opportunities to create pre-production and production work in response to the topic. Revise scripting, storyboarding, print and website design skills. Remember that AO2 Analysis and Response is not being tested in this paper. Staff should complete the marking and moderation of Unit 2, preparing the folders for submission to the moderator, with the Candidate Record Form (CRF) explaining the assessment by the centre ready for submission on 7 May.. Term 6: Unit 1 External Assessment: Preparation for Set Brief (48101/PM) Teaching about the Unit 1 topic (as above) will continue until the Brief is released by AQA in May (eg 7 May 2013 - the date for the 2014 topic Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games is to be confirmed). After this students will work independently on their response to the Brief. Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. The date for 2013 is Thursday 6 June pm. The date for 2014 is to be confirmed. Revision of media industries Teachers will lead revision of two selected media industries, paying particular attention to each of the five areas of the industries identified in the specification. Unit 3 External Assessment (Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. The 2013 date is 13 June pm. The date for 2014 is to be confirmed). End of course 11 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Option Three: GCSE Media Studies (Single Award) Two Year Course Teachers will have five terms to deliver the course, with the final term being dedicated to preparation for the set topic for the Unit 1 exam. In this model students are introduced to the Key Concepts of Media Studies using a variety of texts linked to the intended Assignment Bank choices. They will also reinforce their practical skills via a series of mini workshop activities. The emphasis is on developing theoretical and practical skills in the media forms chosen for assessment. For the Single Award, the course needs to cover: the four Key Concepts the three Unit 2 Controlled Assessments taken from set assignment banks the knowledge and understanding required for Unit 1 Year One Term 1 Media Language & Pre-Production skills Audience Year Two Term 4 Unit 2: Assignment 3 (Moving Image) Mock Exam for Unit 1 Term 2 Unit 2: Assignment 1 (Print) Representation Term 5 Revision of Key Concepts Unit 1 Topic (eg 2014 Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games) Term 3 Institutions Unit 2: Assignment 2 (Advertising and Marketing) Term 6 Unit 1 Set Brief preparation Unit 1 Exam (eg 2014 Gaming: Promotion and Marketing of Video Games) YEAR ONE Term 1: Media Language, Pre-Production Skills and Audience Film language, to include shot sizes, camera angles and movements, editing, sound etc. Use film openings as the main texts for analysis linking in to the subject chosen for Assignment 3. How language creates meaning (denotation and connotation). Narrative. Storyboarding and scripting skills. Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 12

Print and Website language, to continue use of camera and framing, but also fonts, layout, colour, graphic devices, navigation, etc. Narrative in print. Deconstruct a magazine front cover and identify its audience. Targeting an audience, audience profiles, positioning. Mode of address. Genres and codes & conventions. How genres and audiences are linked. Why codes and conventions are important. Print layout planning. Term 2: Unit 2 Assignment Bank 1 and Representation Unit 2 Assignment 1, students to complete as individual coursework. Analyse the covers of two editions of a popular magazine (not connected to the topic of the Unit 1 exam). How do they use Media Language to appeal to their audiences? Design the cover of one edition of a new rival magazine to the one they have analysed, aimed at a specific audience. Explain their intentions with reference to their use of media language and how the cover appeals to its target audience (total assignment approx 500-700 words). Mise-en-scène. Representations of people, places and ideas: gender, social class, ethnic groups, ideology. Analyse the opening of a major film for the representation of the protagonist and antagonist, social groups, the location and the issues within the film. Analyse the representation of people within a radio advert (not connected to the topic of the Unit 1 exam) vocabulary, syntax, pace, casting and use of gender, accents, use of other sounds to convey information, etc. Scripting radio adverts. Term 3: Institutions and Unit 2 Assignment Bank 2 How media form influences product: adaptations to different media, how was the radio advert s campaign dealt with in other media? Synergy. Production processes and industry roles. Finance. Scheduling, distribution. Advertising Codes and legislation. Unit 2 Assignment Bank 2, students to complete as individual coursework. Compare two advertisements for the same product or service across two media (one print, one radio), looking specifically at Representation and Institutional Issues (such as budget, advert placement, the need to work across media platforms). The product or service cannot be connected to the topic of the Unit 1 exam. Produce a mock-up design for a billboard advert, and a script for a radio advert for the same product. Explain how the adverts use a common idea in two different media, and how they deal with representation and institutional issues (total assignment approx. 1000-1200 words). 13 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

YEAR TWO Term 4: Unit 2 Assignment Bank 3 and Mock External Assessment Unit 2 Assignment Bank 3, Moving Image. Students to complete the practical work in groups of no more than 4. This production cannot be connected with the topic of the Unit 1 exam eg no music videos for students sitting the Music Press exam in 2013. Continuity editing 180 rule, 30 rule, establishing shot, master shot, shotreverse-shot etc. Analyse a text to demonstrate. Skills workshop using a video camera and editing to create a simple sequence such as entering a room and sitting down. Evaluate sequences to learn from mistakes. Research and Planning (individual evidence needed): research into film opening sequences and their audiences (inc. screen grabs?), planning inc. script and storyboard (possibly set/location sketches). Group assessment of ideas and checking for use of codes and conventions. Final group script and storyboard. Production filming and recording sound. Post-production editing, sound mixing and titles. Evaluation (individual work, 700-800 words). Students select work for submission max. 12 pages planning and research. Mock exams are often timetabled in this term. If so, set a mock exam (written by the teacher) on a film genre related to Unit 2 Assignment 3. A specimen paper is available from AQA along with the mark scheme. These can be adapted to cover the topic used for Assignment 3. This means that students should not need additional preparation on the overall topic of the exam as they should already have carried out research into this medium for their assignment. At this point there would be two weeks for students to prepare their response to the mock exam brief before sitting the exam itself. During this term, teachers should be collecting resources to support the Unit 1 written paper, eg newspaper/online news reports, reviews relating to the topic, DVDs, podcasts, URLs. Term 5: Revision of Key Concepts and Unit 1 Topic Revise the Key Concepts of Language, Representation, Audience and Institutions, asking students to apply them to the medium for the Unit 1 written paper. Introduce Unit 1 topic, using guidance from AQA about the topic to inform the delivery of the sessions. Investigate the topic in relation to the key concepts, ensuring that students have access to a variety of texts. They will need to consider style, presentation, values, audience and representation within these texts, and develop an understanding of codes and conventions. How new technologies are involved in the consumption and production of the specific media form. Current debates and audience issues, as well as issues of bias and representation. Give opportunities to create pre-production and production work in response to the topic. Revise scripting, storyboarding, print and website design skills. Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 14

Bear in mind that AO2 Analysis and Response is not being tested in this paper. Term 6: Preparation for Unit 1 Brief Learning about the Unit 1 Topic can continue until the Unit 1 Brief is released by AQA in May (eg in 2013 this will be 7 May 2014 date to be confirmed). Students are then to work individually on their preparation for the Brief. Unit 1 External Assessment (Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. In 2013 it will be 6 June. The date for 2014 is to be confirmed). End of course 15 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Option: Three GCSE Media Studies (Single Award) One Year Course This delivery model would be undertaken over 2 1/2 terms and would allow for coverage of Units 1 and 2. The suggested choices from the 3 Assignment Banks are intended to allow students to cover the requisite range of key concepts and media, but are by no means the only possible combination. Year One Term 1 September October November December Introduction to the Single Award/Understanding of Key Concepts and Skills development Unit 2 Assignment 1 (Web-based Media) Assignment 1 completed; begin Unit 2 Assignment 2 (Moving Image Promotion) Unit 2 Assignment 2 completed Term 2 January Begin preparation for Unit 1 (eg The Music Press: Print and Online for 2013) Begin Unit 2 Assignment 3 (Print) February Continue Unit 1 preparation March Continue Unit 2 Assignment 3 Term 3 April Unit 2 Assignment 3 completed Final preparation for Unit 1 exam May Unit 1 External Assessment Term 1: Students will be introduced to the Key Concepts of Media Studies using a variety of texts linked to the intended Unit 2 Assignment Bank choices. They will also reinforce their practical skills via a series of mini workshop activities. The emphasis will be on developing theoretical and practical skills in the media forms chosen for assessment. At this stage, when students are learning the skills and concepts, rather than creating their controlled assessment work, teachers could use examples related to the Unit 1 topic to reinforce learning for Unit 1. However, some teachers may feel this confuses Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 16

their students about what they are permitted to do within each Unit 2 assignment, and may prefer not to use this approach. Examples of coverage based on the Assignment Bank choices indicated in the above model could be: Web-based Media Deconstruction of a popular website home page, identifying the characteristic features and audience appeal. Film Using a comparison of two campaigns (one blockbuster movie, one independent film) identify how they differ in terms of production values and the representation of the content. Print Examine a lifestyle magazine front cover and a double page spread from the same magazine and how effectively it meets the needs of its target audience. Unit 2 Assignment 1: Web-based Media (The websites must not be linked to the topic of the students Unit 1 exam eg no music websites when students will sit the Music Press exam, or no games websites when students will sit the Gaming exam). Analytical Task Analyse the home pages of two popular entertainment websites. How does each site engage the interest of its target audience? Research and Planning Task Design a home page for an entertainment website targeted at a specific audience. Explanation of decisions made in research and planning task, in relation to media language and audience. Unit 2 Assignment 2: Moving Image Promotion Analytical Tasks Compare the impact of two promotional methods used by one film, eg poster; and cinema, television or viral trailer. (Investigate the different impacts of the two different media forms, and their shared impact, and account for these). Research and Planning Tasks Print or web-based/new media mock-up design for a poster for a film (give a narrowed selection of genres). Audio-Visual media devise a storyboard for a trailer promoting the same film. Explanation of decisions made in research and planning task in relation to institutions and representation. 17 Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Term 2: Preparation for Unit 1 Teaching and learning about the topic for the Unit 1 exam, covering the four Key Concepts in relation to that topic. Unit 2 Assignment Bank 3: Print The magazines must not be linked to the topic of the students Unit 1 exam eg no music magazines when students will sit the Music Press exam, or no games magazines when students will sit the Gaming exam. Production Task Four pages (including the front cover or front page) for a magazine aimed at a specific audience. Collaboration for print work no more than two candidates producing 4 pages each. Term 3: Unit 2 Assignment 3: Print (continued) Explain and evaluate own production. During the later part of the spring term and the first half of this term all the internal marking and standardisation of candidates work should be completed in order to meet the deadline for controlled assessment to be sent to the moderator which is 7 May. Preparation for Unit 1 Prior to the release of the stimulus materials it would be advisable to recap the key elements of the study already undertaken. The materials will be released 4 weeks prior to the external assessment date, giving candidates time to research and plan for the examination. In 2013 the materials will be released on Tuesday 7 May. Remember that during this period the teacher may advise, but formal teaching should cease. Unit 1 External Assessment (Please note: the date of the exam will be set each year by AQA. The date for 2013 is Thursday 6 June pm) End of course Copyright 2012 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 18