AS/A Level Media Studies

AS/A LEVEL MEDIA STUDIES

WHAT IS MEDIA STUDIES?
This subject gives you an opportunity to study many different examples of media - new technology, TV, film, magazines and newspapers. As an academic subject the course critically explores issues such as representation in the media. You also develop research skills and practical skills in order to successfully produce your own media products for specific audiences.

WHY SHOULD I STUDY MEDIA STUDIES?
We are all exposed to media and this course allows us to investigate the role of the media in our lives. If you want to develop analytical, research and practical skills then this may be the course for you.

USEFUL SKILLS & INTERESTS
You are expected to keep up to date with media events. Reading newspapers and watching the news regularly will help you. The more interested you are in media texts the more relevant the course will be to you.

COURSE STRUCTURE & CONTENT
The course begins by introducing media concepts and exploring media texts to build up your understanding of how they are produced and how audiences understand them. You will then develop practical and creative skills in Desk Top Publishing, graphic design, digital photography and photo editing / manipulation. The rest of the course prepares you for the examination modules and covers key media concepts the purpose is to develop your awareness of media concepts as well as your ability to analyse and evaluate texts. Details of the examinations are listed below

If you decide to progress to the second year of the course, A2 Media Studies follows a similar format to the AS course but requires much deeper analysis and awareness of media theories and concepts. The coursework at A2 is a video production.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?
In the first year of the course fifty percent of the assessment is examination based and fifty percent portfolio based. In the AS the examination is split into 2 sections. The first section focuses on key media concepts. Through studying specific television genres you will recognise the technical codes and conventions of television learning audio / visual terminology and analysing the meaning behind the use of certain techniques. You will consider issues of representation within the text and explore how producers encode messages into texts and how audiences decode them. The second part of the exam is based on an in-depth case study into one example of a media industry such as music, film, video games, newspapers or radio.

You will conduct your own research in order to find out more about the industry and then apply your findings to an exam question. Both sections require you to write essay answers. For the coursework at AS you will develop practical and creative skills in Desk Top Publishing, graphic design, digital photography and photo editing / manipulation. You build up a portfolio of work producing articles, photo shoots and the front covers for different types of magazines as well as supporting written analyses and research evidence.

The coursework portfolio at A2 requires you to produce your own film and supporting print work. You are also required to produce a presentation of the research, planning and evaluation of your work. The exam is split into 2 sections the first section refers to your portfolio work and requires you to discuss your practical production in relation to media theories and concepts. This is something that you will have considered at length during the production of your coursework and be able to discuss in an exam essay. The second section deals with contemporary media issues where you will study areas such as post-modern media, we media and democracy (such as blogging, podcasting), collective identity and the media, global media, media in the on-line age and regulation of the media. You are required to answer one essay question on one of these topics in the exam.

COURSE COMMITMENT
You are expected to attend all lessons and be prepared to meet strict deadlines. All homework must be completed.

COURSE COSTS
We estimate that costs on this course will reach no more than 20.

PROGRESSION ROUTES
Past students have gone on to study a range of course at University. Media production and media studies courses are particularly popular, but the subject supports many other degree courses such as English, Sociology, Journalism and Graphic Design.