Monday's lesson:

Use the coursework schedule to see what you should be getting on with.  There is a link to this in the 'links list' of my blog.

Work through the schedule.

You can also use my recent blog posts to complete the next stages of the coursework e.g. band inspiration, reflection on your preliminary task, leaving constructive WWW and EBI comments on your peers' blogs, completing and taking surveys for your audience research.

Mock exams week is not an excuse to get behind with coursework.  Get on, and get ahead.

Representation Exam. Revision tools.

Use the blog to revise the key areas of representation and the 4 areas of textual analysis.  Here are some useful links to help you to revise:

• This link will take you to all the posts with the label 'representation'. Revise the key stereotypes.

• Re-read the detailed feedback on the bottom of your essays, as well as the feedback report on your essays, here.

• Revise key terms, using the big glossary, here.

• This article tells you how to write a successful representation essay.  Click to access.

• And click here for some example A grade answers, to inspire you.

Feedback Report - Representation Essays

Successful responses: used relevant examples, and clearly explained how they represented age/ethnicity in the extract. They also used accurate terminology for all four areas of textual analysis. Lots of relevant examples were used to support findings, and examples were clear and specific. Links to how their points challenged or met stereotypes were made consistently, throughout the essay.

EBI:

• Many of you did not make it clear how your examples helped to answer the question.  You must clearly explain how the extract meets or challenges stereotypes of ethnicity/age.  LINK to the question at the end of EVERY PARAGRAPH.  Use the words from the question to help you to do this.
• Do not assume the examiner knows what the stereotypes are.  Do not leave it as simply 'this meets the stereotypes of young people'.  You need to explain which stereotypes exactly.  Spell. It. Out.
• When analysing sound: many of you are being general and using phrases like "the sound in the interior scene helps to build tension." Use your knowledge of key terms - is it dietetic or non-dietetic sound?  If it is non-dietetic, how does it create tension?  Does the beat help? What is the pace like? Drums?  Describe the quality in some way so you are providing a detailed example.
• When analysing editing: when describing the change from one scene or shot to the next, use editing terms.  Do not write the scene 'shifts' or 'switches' to the next scene. Use your glossary to find the correct term.
• For the Hotel Babylon ethnicity extract, many of you omitted to analyse what the clip suggested about the characters' different positions or roles in society itself.  How does this meet/challenge stereotypical representations of ethnicity in the media?  Remember to see the bigger picture.
• Many of you used vocabulary that is far too informal for the context.  There is no excuse for using terms like 'mardy' or 'lad' in formal essays.  This cannot happen in the mock, or the real thing.

EBI accuracy:

  You can lose marks for intrusive errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

• We seem to have a big problem with remembering how to use possessive apostrophes.  Click on this link to revise how to use them accurately.
• Some of you did not use capital letters at the start of sentences or at the start of proper nouns. There is NO excuse for this.

Reflection on your preliminary task

Answer these questions in detail.  Post your responses to your blog.

1. How does your preliminary tsk represent particular social groups?
2. Who would be the intended audience for your product?
3. How did you attract/ address your audience?
4. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Band/Artist Inspiration and Style

Your magazine is obviously going to revolve around a music artist or band.  They are going to be a fictional artist/band.  You are going to be in charge of their 'look', their sound, and their name.

Post images and music videos of your artist/band inspiration.  Explain why your want to emulate your chosen videos/images/artists/bands in your magazine.
Remember - it needs to fit the genre of your magazine.

Leave Feedback

1. Read other class members' blogs.
2. Leave constructive feedback on their research and planning stage.

They will use this feedback to go forward, make changes and improve.  Make sure that you are writing specific feedback, designed to help.

Audience research. Questionnaire.

Conduct research about your TARGET AUDIENCE (not just anyone).

Create an online questionnaire to help you to do this.  Post to your blog, and get people to take it.

You can use Survey Monkey. for free.

Some ground rules to follow:

1. Only ask one question, per question.  Do not roll two questions into one
2. Do not ask questions that lead your audience to a specific response
3. If you are providing multiple choice answers, make sure you provide an appropriate scope of answers for respondents to choose from
4. Consider including an 'other' option, where respondents can type in their answer if you have not left them the answer they want
5. Do not include many, if any, answers where the respondents need to type long winded responses - these are difficult to analyse.  

Taking a photo. Composition. Rule of Thirds

Click on the image

Styling

Look again at some example magazines within your chosen genre.
Take note of the designers they feature, and the general 'look' they try to emulate when styling models.

e.g.

Dazed & Confused:

Featured article on Sibling's Autumn/Winter 2016 fashion (pics Daisy Walker)  Styled to fuse "military silhouettes" with a luxe sportswear look, for men:

OR 
I:D magazine

Recent styling of models in their articles is inspired by 'tiger of sweden' brand:

Looking through example magazines and going on their website will help you with this task.

Moodboards

Before you create your mood board you should have:

• analysed at least 3 magazines and their front cover, contents page and double page spread, register, colour palettes etc etc
• decided on the genre of your magazine
• researched the current existing titles in that genre
• come up with the title of your magazine
• researched and decided on the target audience of your magazine

To create your mood board you could use Photoshop.

Good examples from previous students:

Mood Board for Mediaa

UK Tribes: Audience Profiles

Click the image to go to UK Tribes.  You need to do this to build your target audience profile.

If you don't know what I'm on about, look at the example A grade blogs. e.g. this one (click here)

Preliminary exercise

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead.

Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

You need to do the following:

1. Come up with a suitable title
2. Draw a mock up (take a photo and post on blog - labelled Preliminary Exercise flat plan)
3. Take photos
4. Make the cover and contents page
5. Post on blog

Blog instructions

Web address:


yourfullnamelccw16.blogspot.com




Title of Blog:  Your full name Media Coursework Blog 2016


You need to add a link list gadget and a labels gadget down the right hand side. 


Post links to my blog and Mr Ford's blog to your blog.


Copy and embed the coursework schedule as your first blog post.

Music Magazines List

Just some (printed) music magazines:

Wonderland
I:D
Dazed & Confused
XXL
Vibe
Billboard
Kerrang!
Q
Rolling Stone
Base
The Source
Mojo
Sound
Mixmag
Pop
Clash
Fader
Wave
Vice
NME
Classic Rock
Rocksound
The Fly
Spin

There are more out there.  Research your genre properly and you will find them.

Analyse front cover, contents page and double page spread.

Analysis of the front cover, contents page and double page spread of 3 x existing music magazines.

1. Choose 3 examples
2. Do a little background research e.g
• When did the magazine start?
• Who is the target audience (age range, background, interests etc)
• What genre of music does it concern itself with?
• Who distributes it and what are the current circulation numbers?
3. Analyse the front cover, contents page and double page spread of each (you must use the links and examples below to help you to do this)
4. Analyse the fonts and colour palettes used for each magazine
5. Read the interviews/double page spread: what sort of register and language features are used? How is the text formatted?
6. Post findings to your blog using whatever software you wish

Websites to help you with generating colour palettes from a digital copy of a magazine (click to access): CSS Drive or Pictaculous 

Website to help you with font identification, and which publications use specific fonts (click to access) Fonts in Use

EXAMPLES

Vibe magazine analysis from asmediaf12

Vibe front cover 

Front cover colour palette (generated using CSS Drive)

Look at an A grade blog to how they have completed each stage - click links below:

Front Cover analysis

Contents page analysis

Double page spread analysis

AS Foundation Portfolio Brief

Preliminary exercise: using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead.

Additionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of the program.

Main task: the front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine.

All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate, minimum of FOUR images per candidate.

Coursework Schedule 2015-2016

AS Media Coursework Schedule 2015-2016 by neill ford