Attack The Block

Youth
Gangs
Vulgarisms
Violence/Assault
Crime
Weapons
Clothing
Location
Class
Clothing
Respect
Drugs
Music
Youth presumed in the wrong

1. Deviancy Amplification Spiral - Cohen, Acland - "Media representations of youth maintain social order/hegemony" (the ones in control have the most influence), "Youth becomes an empty category in media representation" - Giroux

2. "The media do not just offer us a transparent window on the world, but a mediated version of the world" This relates to Attack the block as it uses stereotypes and assumptions of youth to create a narrative conforming to common views of the group. This shows that the youth's representation is mediated.

3. "Identity is now consciously constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us construct our identities." - Guantlett. This relates to Attack the Block because the producers have attempted to create an identity for the youth category by the way in which they have presented it. From here, spectatorial viewers can make their own judgements and viewpoints in order to construct an identity of their own.

4. Structuration is the process in which human agency and social structure and in constant relationship, the social structure is reproduced by the repetition of acts by individuals (and can therefore change). In relation to Attack the Block, a societal, hegemonist structure is maintained as the youth category is represented as being low in the social hierarchy (this is shown through the location, props, characters etc.). This contrasts significantly from historic texts such as The Young Ones. In more dated texts such as this, the youth category are structurally higher in society, as they are presented as being active citizens rather than anti-social criminals as in Attack the Block, reflecting their high social class.

Section 1

G325 Exam preparation section 1.

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production You must answer both 1(a) and 1(b).

2014

In question 1(a) you need to write about your work for the Foundation Portfolio and Advanced Portfolio units and you may refer to other media production work you have undertaken.

1 (a) Describe the most important post-production decisions you made for your different media productions and explain why these decisions were significant. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how your skills in post-production developed over time. [25]

In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media coursework productions.
(b) Apply the concept of genre to one of your coursework productions. [25]

2013


In question 1(a) you need to write about your work for the Foundation Portfolio and Advanced Portfolio units and you may refer to other media production work you have undertaken.

1 (a) Explain how your skills in the creative use of digital technology developed over time. Refer to a range of examples from your media productions in your answer. [25]

In question 1(b) you must write about one of your media productions.
(b) Apply the concept of representation to one of your coursework productions. [25]








The purpose of this unit is to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates, through their understanding of one contemporary media issue and their ability to evaluate their own practical work in reflective and theoretical ways.

The examination is two hours. Candidates are required to answer two compulsory questions, on their own production work, and one question from a choice of six topic areas. The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with the two questions on production work marked out of 25 each, and the media theory question marked out of 50.

There are two sections to this paper:
Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 marks) Section B: Contemporary Media Issues (50 marks)



Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

Candidates answer two compulsory questions. The first requires them to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The second asks them to identify one production and evaluate it in relation to one theoretical concept.

Question 1(a) requires candidates to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The focus of this evaluation must be on skills development, and the question will require them to adapt this to one or two specific production practices. The list of practices to which questions will relate is as follows:

· Digital Technology

· Creativity

· Research and planning

· Post-production

· Using conventions from real media texts

Post production is an ambiguous term for some media areas and thus examiners will credit candidates’ ability to demonstrate their understanding of the term in relation to their own. For example, the manipulation of copy and images Using Indesign and Photoshop should be considered as post production in print. For film: post production will include visual editing (treatment, Luma curves, clip transitions, white balance correction, and sound editing). Candidates should explain their use of the term in their answers in the examination to aid the examiner.






In the examination, questions will be posed using one or two of these categories.

Question 1(b) requires candidates to select one production and evaluate it in relation to a media concept. The list of concepts to which questions will relate is as follows:

· Genre

· Narrative

· Representation

· Audience

· Media language

Media language refers to the ways in which media producers make meaning in ways that are specific to the medium in which they are working and how audiences come to be literate in ‘reading’ such meaning within the medium. For example, the ‘language of film’, print layout conventions, web design and navigation conventions and rule economies in gaming. These medium specific languages will often be closely connected to other media concepts such as genre or narrative and candidates are at liberty to make such connections to a greater or lesser extent in their answers.

In the examination, questions will be set using one of these concepts only.

In some circumstances, candidates will be expected to select the production that appears to relate most effectively to the specific concept that arises in the exam question. Candidates may choose to write about work undertaken at AS or A2, main task or preliminary/ancillary.



Section A



UNIT G325 SECTION A teaching theoretical evaluation of production 



Digital Technology



· What software was used?

· What equipment was used?

· What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?

· In what ways was technology used to create the production?

· In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to be developed?



Creativity



· What was the intended outcome of the production?

· How were these outcomes achieved in terms of page layout and camera shot choices?

· What stylistic techniques were used to appeal to the audience?



Research and Planning



· What primary and secondary research was undertaken? How did it inform the production?

· What quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were employed? How did the results from these inform the production?

· How effectively were storyboards and magazine flat plans followed?






Post-Production



· What editing decisions were made? How did they inform the production?

· What particular editing tools were used and to what effect?

· How did the post production process enhance the overall production?

 

Generic Media Conventions



· In what ways were media conventions adhered to? For example did a music video have fast paced editing? Did the performers act to the camera?

· What media theories were utilized? Were the representations involved appropriate to the product?





Students should be looking at charting the skills development from their initial state in the Foundation Portfolio (year 1) to the level they have attained in the Advanced Portfolio (year 2)



· Specific and in depth descriptions of the skills in question must be included i.e. how was the three way colour corrector used in Premier Pro to edit a clip placed on the timeline?

· Explicit descriptions of progress between the 2 units MUST be shown.








UNIT G325 SECTION B teaching theoretical evaluation of production



For this question students have to choose one of their productions, either the AS production, the A2 main task, or any of the 2 ancillary tasks.



This question will relate to one of the following media concepts:

1. Genre

2. Narrative

3. Representation

4. Audience

5. Media Language



Genre



What genre is the production?

· what are the codes and conventions of the production?

· how is the genre established?

· how does the mise en scene support the genre?

· what is the role of the specific elements of the mise en scene? Refer to props, costume, makeup, location, theme etc.

· have generic conventions been adhered to or subverted?

· how will the generic elements of the production appeal to the audience?



Narrative



· what is the narrative structure of the product?

· how do the specific elements of the production relate to the narrative structure ?

· does the production adhere to or subvert narrative conventions?   how does the narrative support the establishment of the chosen genre of the production?

· how have narrative techniques been used to appeal to the audience? Refer to Enigma, multi strand, restricted, unrestricted, Propp, Strauss, etc.



Representation



· identify characters, events or issues within the production to discuss

· what representational concepts are highlighted? i.e. race, gender, cultural attitudes , etc.

· what representations have been generated?

· discuss the specific elements of character representation i.e. mode of address, facial expressions, clothing, behavior etc.

· have any stereotypical representations been generated?

· does the production conform to or subvert any dominant ideologies?








Audience



· who is the target audience for the production? Define by age, race gender, social class etc.

· what are the social classifications of the audience i.e. ABC1, youth, age, ethnicity?

· why will the production appeal to this target audience?

· what techniques and lines of appeal has the production used to attract the target audience?

·  how does the production use narrative theory? i.e. uses and gratification, hypodermic needle, etc.



Media Language



· identify the elements or ‘signs’ within the production that are going to be discussed.

· what connotations and significations are apparent?•  what codes and conventions have been used?

· what semiotic techniques have been used to generate meaning?

· identify and describe the meanings generated.



Remember Media language refers to the ways in which media producers make meaning in ways that are specific to the medium in which they are working and how audiences come to be literate in ‘reading’ such meaning within the medium. For example, the ‘language of film’, print layout conventions, web design and navigation conventions. These medium specific languages will often be closely connected to other media concepts such as genre or narrative and candidates are at liberty to make such connections to a greater or lesser extent in their answers. Example a crime genre may follow particulary conventions in terms of pace, enigma code, social realism, you therefore will need to access information on narrative theory and, editing and so on to demonstrate in communicating the media language of a e.g. a film opening/poster that you have created.

You will be used to associating the word ‘text’ with something written or printed. In Media Studies, the word ‘text’ is used to describe any media product such as television programmes, photographs, adverts, film, newspaper adverts, radio programmes, web pages etc. ‘Texts’ are therefore the main point of our study in understanding how media languages create meaning. One of the keys to understanding the meanings in text is the use of codes. KEY TERM CODES Rules or conventions by which signs are put together to create meaning.

Media language will include in the case of film: how you used



Mise en scene, framing, camera angle, camera shot (MS,CU, etc.) lighting, nonverbal communication and so on…



Semiotics = the study f signs



Useful link

http://www.slideshare.net/reigatemedia/revision-guide-a2-media-ocr?next_slideshow=1

http://www.slideshare.net/reigatemedia/revision-guide-a2-media-ocr

http://www.slideshare.net/andywallis/media-language-6842843

Media and Collective Identity Essay

Explain what is meant by Collective Identity and the role of the media in its construction

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hoodies-louts-scum-how-media-demonises-teenagers-1643964.html - GOOD

Collective Identity - Collective identity refers to a person's sense of belonging to a group. The identity of the group, or the 'collective,' becomes a part of the person's individual identity. The idea here is that by participating in social activities, a person can develop a sense of belonging and an identity that goes beyond the person.
David Buckingham (2008) argues identity is complicated/complex.

Baudrillard - The media presents a simulation of the world that is artificial and 'hyperreal'

                    - Some audiences consider this hyperreality to be reality - leading to hypersexuality etc

Mediation - The ways that the media represent and reconstruct reality, sometimes creating an idea that is not truly representative of the real subject.

                 - Selection vs Rejection, Focussing, Organisation 

Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.       

             - The representation of media is mediated through the media (War reporting e.g)

Stan Cohen (1972)

• Moral Panics - Leads from deviant behaviour
• Deviance Amplification - A cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of undesirable behaviour, leading to a moral panic. Police/Politician involvement etc.
• Folk Devils - groups of people who can be seen as a threat to society

Gerbner - Cultivation Theory. People who watch a lot of TV over estimate the amount of crime in the real world (Mean World Syndrome). One text has little effect whilst when the media show the same thing again and again it has a large effect. 

Gramsci - Marxist - Society (and the media) is run by an elite who just want to make sure they keep their position. (hegemony - the political predominance of the running of a state) 

Acland - Media representations of youth maintain social order/hegemony (the ones in control have the                

most influence)

             - Ideology of protection

Giroux - Youth becomes an empty category in representation and reflects adult concern

Typing - used in media (often films) to allow the audience to quickly familiarise with the character.

The Hypodermic Needle Model - Suggests that people just take in media passively (believing everything)

Explain what is meant by Collective Identity and the role of the media in its construction

Collective identity refers to a person's sense of belonging to a group. The identity of the group, or the 'collective,' plays a large a part of the person's individual identity. The idea here is that by participating in social activities, a person can develop a sense of belonging and an identity that goes beyond the person. Tajfel proposes that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belong to are an important source of pride and self-esteem and that groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world (1979). This shows us the importance of 'identity' and how many people rely on belonging to a 'collective' in order to feel that they are a part of a wider group. Many of these groups suffer from misrepresentation in the media, due to mediation (the ways that the media represent and reconstruct reality, sometimes creating an idea that is not truly representative of the real subject.) The media is highly influential in that it can affect the way a group in seen in society. This can be explained by the Hypodermic Needle Model (1930's) which suggests that people take in media passively, as well as Baudrillard's theory that the media presents a simulation of the world that is artificial and 'hyperreal'. Youth and Gender are examples of groups that are frequently misrepresented, causing societal views to be affected.

Firstly, youth as a group are often misrepresented in the media. At the same time, a survey conducted by The Independent in 2009 of nearly 1,000 teenage boys found 85 per cent believed newspapers portray them in a bad light. As a result of the negative press, 80 per cent felt adults were more wary of them now than they had been a year ago. In addition, statistics complied by the Youth Media Agency propose that 76% of the reporting of young people in the media is negative. Common stereotypical characteristics that are reinforced in the media are that youths are violent in nature and engage in criminal activity. An example of where this is fortified is in the film Ill Manors set in East London (2012), which follows a group of four drug dealers, and presents themes of violence and prostitution throughout. The characters in this film are archetypes of youths, used in media (often films) to allow the audience to quickly familiarise with the character. The danger of this however is that it could be inferred from spectatorial viewers that all youths follow this character type. Gerbner's cultivation theory reinforces this, as it explains that as a result of frequently consuming films of this nature, people who watch a lot of TV over estimate the amount of crime in the real world (Mean World Syndrome). This could lead to a youths being seen as 'Folk Devils' (a threat to society) and could cause youth's to become an empty category in society (suggested by Giroux). 

Another example of this is Bullet Boy, directed by Saul Dibb. In this film set in an urban London location, a young black male serves time in prison for stabbing, before being released and planning to turn his life around. Upon his release and then throughout the entire film, we are presented with a group of violent natured black youths who appear to only have drugs and crime on their agenda. Throughout the film, we see numerous examples of anti-social and impudent behaviour, vulgar language and sexual activity. The story ends with the main character being involved in another murder, suggesting that he is incapable of staying away from criminal behaviour, reinforcing many of the negative stereotypes of the demographic. To a spectatorial viewer consuming this media text, it may be presumed that the characters involved in the film may be representative of the demographic as a whole, which would then reinforce societal fears and lead to further marginalisation and a moral panic (all theorised by Cohen). Both of these examples could strengthen Gramsci's theory of hegemony, that suggests that the media and society is run by an elite that aim to keep their position in power.

Exam Prep: Section B

Media and Collective Identity

- How do the contemporary media represent: nations, regions and ethnic/social/collective groups of people in different ways?

- How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

-What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?

-To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?

Candidates may analyse the representation of and/or the collective identity of one or more group(s) of people

National cinema, television representations, magazines etc.
gender, youth and youth culture, post -9/11, Representation of Islam, absence/presence of people with disabilities in at least two media.

Explanation/Analysis/Argument (16-20 Marks)

Show examples of collective identity, analyse the example and show how it relates to media theory relating to representation and Collective Identity. - Must use historical (5 years +) and contemporary texts (Less than 5 years).

Use of Examples (16-20)

Be very clear in the examples used e.g "Calvin Klein 1994 advertisement of CK-One shows gender ambiguity"

Examples of theories, texts and industry knowledge are clearly connected together in the answer. Compare past to present!

Use of Terminology

Use contemporary media theory and the command of the appropriate conceptual and theoretical language is excellent.

Whichever question you answer, you must refer to examples from at least two media areas in your answer. You should include reference to historical, contemporary and future media. Media and Collective Identity 6. Explain what is meant by ‘collective identity’ and the role of media in its construction. [50]

Extract from Candidate Script 1 I have been researching teenagers and their identity. I’ve been looking into how the media shown teenagers. I will relate this to Misfits and Fishtank, and explain their collective identity. Misfits is a british TV series based on a group of teens who are all facing community service. We learn all there individual identity’s and are made to believe they have no hope. We meet 5 teenagers who are all stereotypically shown with anti-social behavior. In the group there is a party girl, sports runner, cocky one etc. Tajfel and turner quote that ‘people tend to categorise themselves into groups which they then build their identity’s’. I disagree with this as these have been emerged together as they have all been in crime. These include drugs, drink driving, fighting etc. Historically this can relate to Skins and grange hill, these are all school based although skins covered more controversial issues. We see petty crimes which aren’t as serious as the ones in misfits. Tajfel and turner quite is related to skins as they are all a group of friends and they build there identity together. Fishtank a 2009 film, teenagers are portrayed differently. We get to see Mia a 15 year old girl who has no hope. She has a dream of dancing but with young single mothered mum who shouts and swears at children she has a poor family structure to help her. David Buckingham quotes that the media don’t just offer a transparent window of the world but a mediated one. Mia smokes, binge drink and has underage sex. The audience are made to believe that all teenagers are like this. He young mother who gets a boyfriend, he wants to help Mia and find her identity. He often asks her to dance to his favourite song although when she does we see them having sex. David Buckingham quote can be related to misfits, we are made to believe that all teenagers have convicted crimes. In Bullett Boy we see a gang of boys who are all involved in drugs and crime. The media show teen culture in a very bad way. Misfits is released on TV past the water shed times as they all swear etc. It is shown on both E4 and channel 4, their website contains games, podcasts, blogs etc. On the blogs you can communicate with other fans. They have a facebook and twitter page with all individual accounts. David Gauntlett explains that identity’s are complicated however everyone thinks they have one. In Fishtank her mothers boyfriends finds a dance event she can attend Mia then believes she made have found her identity when she gets there she is called up on stage for which she didn’t know it was pole/lap dancing. The media then show how teenagers have no hope or luck. Historically this could be related to Dawson’s creek as we are made to look down on the anti-social behaviour teens. It could also relate to Waterloo road which is a tv series on a school who the youngens follow the action of the olders. We then get to see the mother having a party in her council estate flats with family and friends. Her two children aren’t invited an stay upstairs. This shows the lack of family structure at home. We meet Mia’s little sister tyler with a friend both who are swearing and smoking. The audience are left to believe all young mums live in broken britain and teenagers have no hope at all. Mia was kicked out of school and they receive a letter which is accepting her to a place in an anti-social behaviour school. In both misfits and fishtank the media have stereotypically shown teenagers and portrayed them very negatively. We are made to believe that all teenagers are into anti-social behaviour, drinking, drugs, smoking etc. The media will only shown the negative sides of teen culture so everyone will believe teens do this in everyday life not the positives that they do. Level 2 - 23 marks? The answer attempts to answer the question but is limited in the theory used and the explanations. However, there are a range of examples used. Level 2 Explanation/analysis/argument (8–11 marks) 8 Candidates offer a response to the topic area with limited ability to adapt to the specific requirements of the chosen question. A partially coherent, basic argument is presented. Use of examples (8–11 marks) 10 The answer offers some examples of theories, industry knowledge and/or texts and debates, with some basic evidence of an attempt to connect these elements. Inclusion of history and/or the future is limited. Use of terminology (4–5 marks) 5 Some of the material presented is informed by contemporary media theory, articulated through a basic use of theoretical terms. Some simple ideas have been expressed in an appropriate context. There are likely to be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar of which some may be noticeable and intrusive.