Media Studies

Media Studies

GCE Advanced Level AS/A2

Course Content

Foundation Portfolio

• Produce a pair of products in one medium chosen from a series of briefs
• Research, planning and evaluation are submitted electronically (e.g. by blogging, audio commentary, DVD extras etc.)

Key Media Concepts

• Watch an extract of TV drama in the exam and analyse
  - its technical construction and
  - an aspect of representation within it
• Answer questions on a prepared study of a specific media industry in terms of production practices, distribution, use of technologies, marketing and audience consumption

Advanced Portfolio

• Produce three related products in two or more media chosen from a series of briefs
• Research, planning and evaluation are submitted electronically (e.g. by blogging, audio commentary, DVD extras etc.)

Critical Perspectives

• Describe and evaluate the development of your practical skills during the course
• Evaluate one of your productions in relation to a theoretical concept
• Answer one question on a chosen contemporary media issue

How it is Taught
Throughout the course, practical workshop sessions provide skills-based introductions to production work in a range of media, using industry-standard software. Analysis and deconstruction are learnt through individual, group and whole class activities, including some practical exercises. Individual and group research will make use of books, journals and online sources, as well as a variety of audience research methods. Writing skills are developed through short tasks, collaborative writing and practice exam answers. There may be occasional study days outside College.

Examination Details
The course is assessed through 50% coursework (the practical portfolio in each year) and 50% exams.

Examined units are taken as follows

Unit :Duration :Date

Key Media Concepts : 2 hours (inc. 30 minutes viewing and note-making) : 1st Year May/June

Critical Perspectives : 2 hours : 2nd year May/June

Useful/Common Subject Combinations
Media Studies combines well with a wide range of other subjects. There are potential links with Film Studies, Art & Design, Graphics, Performance Studies, English Language, English Literature, Sociology, Psychology, and Politics, but Media Studies can also provide a refreshing balance to a programme of other subjects.

Media Studies cannot be taken with AS / A2 Media: Communication and Production.

Careers and HE Information
There is a wide choice of media-related courses in Higher Education, ranging from practical to theoretical, specialist to general. Many media students from QE have progressed to university media courses, while those studying other subjects in Higher Education have found the skills they have developed in research, analysis, and presentation particularly useful.

To progress to future employment in the media, you will need to be able to show evidence of your creativity and technical ability, so it is important to develop a portfolio or showreel, as well as seeking practical experience.

Other Relevant Information
Students need to have a strong interest in learning about the media, the institutions that control them, the ways in which texts are constructed and in which they represent the world, and the role of audiences.

Students need to be creative and imaginative, able to work independently, to think analytically and to write in an advanced academic style.