GCSE MEDIA OVERVIEW
How am I being assessed?
Component One: Television and Promoting Media Exam (70 Marks, 1 hour 45 minutes, 35%)
Component Two: Music and News Exam (70 Marks, 1 hour 15 minutes, 35%)
Component Three: Creating Media (30 Marks, Coursework, 30%)
What am I studying?
Component One: Television and Promoting Media
There are two sections:
- In section A: Television, students engage with an in-depth study of Cuffs and Avengers, responding to questions covering the whole of the theoretical framework and a range of media contexts.
- In section B: Promoting media, students study The Lego Movie illustrating the media forms of film, advertising and marketing, and video games.
There are two sections:
Component Two: Music and news
- In section A: Music, students engage with one in-depth study covering MOJO Music Magazine, a comparative study of music videos Little Mix's Black Magic and The Vamps - Somebody to You and a study of contemporary radio (Radio One Live Lounge).
- In section B: News, students engage with one in-depth study of online news (The Guardian), including its social and participatory media. Students also study contemporary and historical newspaper front pages of The Observer and how they illustrate changing social, cultural, historical and political contexts.
Component Three: Creating media
Students apply their knowledge and understanding of media language and representations to create media products of their own (a music magazine), using the theoretical framework to express and communicate meaning to an intended audience.
Students apply their knowledge and understanding of media language and representations to create media products of their own (a music magazine), using the theoretical framework to express and communicate meaning to an intended audience.
What will my exams look like?
Component One: Television and Promoting Media Exam (70 Marks, 1 hour 45 minutes, 35%)
- You will watch an extract from either Cuffs or The Avengers. You will watch it FOUR times with time to make notes.
Component One: Television and Promoting Media Exam (70 Marks, 1 hour 45 minutes, 35%)
- You will watch an extract from either Cuffs or The Avengers. You will watch it FOUR times with time to make notes.
Example Questions (these may differ but will follow a similar pattern)
Section A: Television
1. Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (5 Marks)
Student Example
One way sound is used in the extract is the use of non-diegetic music that connotes danger and a sense of the bottom falling out of your world as the large digger breaks through the shop window. This is emphasised by the sudden cut back to the calm, naturalistic sound world of the canteen where the officers are having lunch. Another way sound is used is the diegetic sound of the woman officer’s voice coming out of the walkie-talkie in the canteen. This has been altered to sound like it has been transmitted and the high-pitched sound of her voice with lots of background noise connotes panic and chaos.
2. Analyse how far the extract depicts the police’s point of view rather than the criminals’ point of view. In your answer you must:
analyse aspects of the extract using examples to support your analysis
judge how far these aspects depict the police’s point of view. (10 Marks)
Student Example
The extract mostly depicts the police’s point of view. The narrative follows two police officers as they have most of the screen time; the criminals are on screen for much less time – their main role in the extract is to ruin the police officers’ lunch. The extract starts with a series of close ups of some police officers, where the audience get to know them as individual characters. The criminals, on the other hand are only shown in long shot so the audience can only see shadowy figures inside vehicles or masked characters wielding weapons. The soundtrack has the sound of the police’s voices high up in the mix, so the audience can clearly hear what they are saying, which connotes that they are part of the conversation. When we hear the criminals, it is only to learn how threatening they are. The narrative is mostly about the relationship between the police characters, especially that between the hard-boiled older officer and the younger rookie and the emotions that this creates, for example, the insecurity of the younger officer. We also hear the panic in the voice of the PCSO as she calls in the robbery and we are invited to empathise with her difficulty in calling in the description of the vehicle while under threat – the mise-en-scène and camerawork combine to make the PCSO and the police officer look small and vulnerable as the actors used are smaller than those for the criminals. They are shot low down in the frame, sometimes with a high angle shot, and they are dwarfed by the yellow machine. The criminals, on the other hand, have no characterisation other than an easily read stereotype of the criminal: male, masked, working class and angry. In conclusion, in Propp’s terms, the police as a team are the hero, the criminals are the villain and the narrative represents the hero’s point of view.
3. In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts. How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'? In your answer you must:
analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'. (15 Marks)
The extract tries to create a sense of realism in its media language and representations. The media language is naturalistic – it doesn’t draw attention to itself. Most of the extract is shot outside on location, using the real Brighton area that audiences may recognise. The extract seems to use natural lighting throughout, which fits in with portraying ‘real life’. The actors cast all seem to look like ‘normal’ people rather than stars and the acting style is naturalistic as the roles are downplayed and there is no sense of exaggeration. The camerawork uses some documentary style features, such as handheld camera, e.g. as the PCSO and the police officer are chatting. It also uses open frame shots where people may move across the frame out of focus, e.g. as the pick up truck pulls into the precinct. The extract throughout uses continuity editing, which is designed to hide the artificiality of editing. On the other hand, there are some more stylised uses of camerawork, such as the two shots from the side of the moving car and the aerial shot of the interchange, which look more dramatic and less documentary style. The soundtrack is very naturalistic at times, such as the scene in the canteen with ambient sounds of background chatter and music playing, however, the use of nondiegetic music in the robbery scene and during the chase is rather more dramatic. However, the audience might accept this as portraying real life as the scenes are exciting. The representations try to look realistic. The police are shown as human beings who need lunch rather than as unrealistic heroes. The inclusion of Muslim, gay and black characters may be to reflect the multicultural context of modern Britain and thus to be more like ‘real life’, but this could be seen as an attempt to fit the PSB need for diversity rather than realism. In conclusion, the extract does try to suggest it is portraying ‘real life’ but also tries to entertain an audience with mainstream pleasures such as exciting chase sequences and nice characters to identify with, so is at times very dramatic to fit the uses and gratifications of a prime time audience. It also has to fit pre-watershed requirements, so isn’t as violent or sweary as the reality would probably be.
4. Describe what is meant by 'Public Service Broadcasting' (PSB). Use the BBC as an example in your answer. (5 Marks)
Student Example PSB is television or radio broadcasting that has to meet requirements set by Ofcom, the regulator for TV and radio. These include the need for distinctive, high quality programmes, the need to reflect the diversity of Britain, and making original programmes rather than just importing cheaper American programmes. The BBC is owned and paid for by the British public, so it has extra responsibilities to be distinctive, including its mission to ‘inform, educate and entertain’ as laid down in the Royal Charter. ITV is also a PSB channel but is a commercial channel. Both the BBC and ITV have to have mixed schedules covering a range of genres and informative programmes such as news and documentaries, as well as more popular programming
5. The Avengers Explain how social contexts influence television programmes. Refer to The Avengers from 1965 to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Social contexts influence television programmes by influencing the people who make programmes, the people who watch them, and the subject matter of the programmes. For example, The Avengers was made at a time when very few women or ethnic minorities were working in television and the programme reflects this. The patriarchal context of the 1960s is shown in the way that Emma Peel is treated as a sex object in the programme - she is a ‘damsel in distress’ in `The Town of No Return’ episode and Steed slaps her bottom in a way that would now be condemned as sexual harassment at work. The very white context of 1960s Britain on television is shown in the lack of ethnic minority characters. Audiences living in white-dominated, patriarchal Britain would accept these representations as normal, whereas they look more strange today. Gay characters in the 1960s were usually smuggled into television programmes as male homosexuality was still illegal and closeted, so, though The Avengers is quite camp, it could not feature ‘out’ gay characters in the way that current television does. However, the 1960s was also a time of ‘sexual revolution’ led by a younger generation rebelling against the older generation and these social tensions are apparent in the television of the time. The Avengers shows both sides of the ‘generation gap’ by partnering a traditionally British older man with a sexually confident, Pop-art loving younger woman, who both work together as a team. Emma Peel may be represented as a sex object, but she is also represented as a confident, educated woman who can hold her own in a man’s world, sometimes saving Steed in some episodes of The Avengers. In this way, the programme may reflect some of the concerns of the time.
Section B: Promoting Media
1. Identify the organisation that 'age rates' video games in the UK. (1 Mark)
2. Explain two reasons why a film company would release a video game linked to a film. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Releasing a video game keeps the brand – the film – in the public eye for longer so increases the publicity for the film. This would help sell DVD or streaming releases of the film. This diversifies the company – if it is making money from more than one media form it spreads the risk that there always is in releasing a film that you might lose money
3. Explain at least two uses and gratifications of video games using Blumler and Katz's theory. Refer to The Lego Movie Video Game to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Blumler and Katz argued that there are many uses and gratifications that audiences gain from the media and these make the media successful. Personal identity, social integration and integration, entertainment, and surveillance are four types of uses and gratifications. Video games offer entertainment: The Lego Movie Game, like most games, allows the player to enter a fictional world that means they can escape from their everyday life. It allows players to re-experience entertaining aspects of the original film, such as its humour and silliness. As players work their way up the levels they can feel the satisfaction of becoming an expert player. Video games offer social interaction/integration: many multiplayer games enable a worldwide community of players to come together in the game and communicate with each other; many gamers use online forums to discuss games with fellow fans. The Lego Movie Game is not a multiplayer game, but it does offer a set of characters that the audience already knows that they can interact with – this can give them a sense of belonging as if they are a member of a real community. Video games also allow people to escape from the people that they live with, if necessary, which may make it easier for them to live together. The more entertaining a game is, the better it can serve this purpose.
4. Analyse how genre codes have been used in The Lego Movie poster campaign to appeal to a family audience. In your answer you must also refer to relevant media contexts. (10 Marks)
NB - Due to copyright, we are unable to provide the images of the poster campaign here. However, the list below contains details of the images.
1 The main poster featuring an ensemble cast, running from danger (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver9.html)
2 Character poster of Vitruvius in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver3.html)
3 Character poster of Emmet in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver8.html)
4 Character poster of Lord Business in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver5.html)
5 Character poster of Wyldstyle in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver7.html)
Student Example
The poster campaign for The Lego Movie follows the genre codes and conventions of film advertising. The main poster with several cast members contains a tagline – ‘The Story of a Nobody Who Saved Everybody’ – that sums up the appeal of the film. In this case, the appeal is that the audience can follow an ordinary hero who is just like them and watch him triumph. This hero is designed to appeal to family audiences in that we can see both in the main poster and his character poster that Emmet looks vulnerable and small and not in control of events – children can identify with this and their parents can too. All the posters are brightly coloured and well lit to create strong visual images. This fits the conventions of family animated films and connotes a lightness of touch that will appeal to family audiences. The characters represented fit the conventions of action films to connote that the film will be easily understood by a family audience. There is a clear villain – Lord Business – as shown by his fierce expression and the way he towers over the other characters in the main poster. While Emmet doesn’t look like a typical hero, his central placing and larger size means that, together with the tagline, he can be easily recognised as such. The other characters, especially Batman and Wyldstyle, look like they should be helpers. Having a feisty woman as a helper fits the post-feminist context in which family films increasingly feature strong female characters. The wise older character, who could be a dispatcher, is voiced by a black actor who plays God roles in films – this reflects the anti-racist context in which Hollywood tries to sell films to a globalised audience. The use of named stars to appeal to a mass audience reflects the influence of the social and cultural context of celebrity culture. The posters suggest that the film will be a generic hybrid (e.g. comedy and superhero action) with a lot of intertextuality (e.g. references to Lego and Batman). This suggests that the film will offer a mix of pleasures to target a family audience.
Section A: Television
1. Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (5 Marks)
Student Example
One way sound is used in the extract is the use of non-diegetic music that connotes danger and a sense of the bottom falling out of your world as the large digger breaks through the shop window. This is emphasised by the sudden cut back to the calm, naturalistic sound world of the canteen where the officers are having lunch. Another way sound is used is the diegetic sound of the woman officer’s voice coming out of the walkie-talkie in the canteen. This has been altered to sound like it has been transmitted and the high-pitched sound of her voice with lots of background noise connotes panic and chaos.
2. Analyse how far the extract depicts the police’s point of view rather than the criminals’ point of view. In your answer you must:
analyse aspects of the extract using examples to support your analysis
judge how far these aspects depict the police’s point of view. (10 Marks)
Student Example
The extract mostly depicts the police’s point of view. The narrative follows two police officers as they have most of the screen time; the criminals are on screen for much less time – their main role in the extract is to ruin the police officers’ lunch. The extract starts with a series of close ups of some police officers, where the audience get to know them as individual characters. The criminals, on the other hand are only shown in long shot so the audience can only see shadowy figures inside vehicles or masked characters wielding weapons. The soundtrack has the sound of the police’s voices high up in the mix, so the audience can clearly hear what they are saying, which connotes that they are part of the conversation. When we hear the criminals, it is only to learn how threatening they are. The narrative is mostly about the relationship between the police characters, especially that between the hard-boiled older officer and the younger rookie and the emotions that this creates, for example, the insecurity of the younger officer. We also hear the panic in the voice of the PCSO as she calls in the robbery and we are invited to empathise with her difficulty in calling in the description of the vehicle while under threat – the mise-en-scène and camerawork combine to make the PCSO and the police officer look small and vulnerable as the actors used are smaller than those for the criminals. They are shot low down in the frame, sometimes with a high angle shot, and they are dwarfed by the yellow machine. The criminals, on the other hand, have no characterisation other than an easily read stereotype of the criminal: male, masked, working class and angry. In conclusion, in Propp’s terms, the police as a team are the hero, the criminals are the villain and the narrative represents the hero’s point of view.
3. In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts. How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'? In your answer you must:
analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'. (15 Marks)
The extract tries to create a sense of realism in its media language and representations. The media language is naturalistic – it doesn’t draw attention to itself. Most of the extract is shot outside on location, using the real Brighton area that audiences may recognise. The extract seems to use natural lighting throughout, which fits in with portraying ‘real life’. The actors cast all seem to look like ‘normal’ people rather than stars and the acting style is naturalistic as the roles are downplayed and there is no sense of exaggeration. The camerawork uses some documentary style features, such as handheld camera, e.g. as the PCSO and the police officer are chatting. It also uses open frame shots where people may move across the frame out of focus, e.g. as the pick up truck pulls into the precinct. The extract throughout uses continuity editing, which is designed to hide the artificiality of editing. On the other hand, there are some more stylised uses of camerawork, such as the two shots from the side of the moving car and the aerial shot of the interchange, which look more dramatic and less documentary style. The soundtrack is very naturalistic at times, such as the scene in the canteen with ambient sounds of background chatter and music playing, however, the use of nondiegetic music in the robbery scene and during the chase is rather more dramatic. However, the audience might accept this as portraying real life as the scenes are exciting. The representations try to look realistic. The police are shown as human beings who need lunch rather than as unrealistic heroes. The inclusion of Muslim, gay and black characters may be to reflect the multicultural context of modern Britain and thus to be more like ‘real life’, but this could be seen as an attempt to fit the PSB need for diversity rather than realism. In conclusion, the extract does try to suggest it is portraying ‘real life’ but also tries to entertain an audience with mainstream pleasures such as exciting chase sequences and nice characters to identify with, so is at times very dramatic to fit the uses and gratifications of a prime time audience. It also has to fit pre-watershed requirements, so isn’t as violent or sweary as the reality would probably be.
4. Describe what is meant by 'Public Service Broadcasting' (PSB). Use the BBC as an example in your answer. (5 Marks)
Student Example PSB is television or radio broadcasting that has to meet requirements set by Ofcom, the regulator for TV and radio. These include the need for distinctive, high quality programmes, the need to reflect the diversity of Britain, and making original programmes rather than just importing cheaper American programmes. The BBC is owned and paid for by the British public, so it has extra responsibilities to be distinctive, including its mission to ‘inform, educate and entertain’ as laid down in the Royal Charter. ITV is also a PSB channel but is a commercial channel. Both the BBC and ITV have to have mixed schedules covering a range of genres and informative programmes such as news and documentaries, as well as more popular programming
5. The Avengers Explain how social contexts influence television programmes. Refer to The Avengers from 1965 to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Social contexts influence television programmes by influencing the people who make programmes, the people who watch them, and the subject matter of the programmes. For example, The Avengers was made at a time when very few women or ethnic minorities were working in television and the programme reflects this. The patriarchal context of the 1960s is shown in the way that Emma Peel is treated as a sex object in the programme - she is a ‘damsel in distress’ in `The Town of No Return’ episode and Steed slaps her bottom in a way that would now be condemned as sexual harassment at work. The very white context of 1960s Britain on television is shown in the lack of ethnic minority characters. Audiences living in white-dominated, patriarchal Britain would accept these representations as normal, whereas they look more strange today. Gay characters in the 1960s were usually smuggled into television programmes as male homosexuality was still illegal and closeted, so, though The Avengers is quite camp, it could not feature ‘out’ gay characters in the way that current television does. However, the 1960s was also a time of ‘sexual revolution’ led by a younger generation rebelling against the older generation and these social tensions are apparent in the television of the time. The Avengers shows both sides of the ‘generation gap’ by partnering a traditionally British older man with a sexually confident, Pop-art loving younger woman, who both work together as a team. Emma Peel may be represented as a sex object, but she is also represented as a confident, educated woman who can hold her own in a man’s world, sometimes saving Steed in some episodes of The Avengers. In this way, the programme may reflect some of the concerns of the time.
Section B: Promoting Media
1. Identify the organisation that 'age rates' video games in the UK. (1 Mark)
2. Explain two reasons why a film company would release a video game linked to a film. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Releasing a video game keeps the brand – the film – in the public eye for longer so increases the publicity for the film. This would help sell DVD or streaming releases of the film. This diversifies the company – if it is making money from more than one media form it spreads the risk that there always is in releasing a film that you might lose money
3. Explain at least two uses and gratifications of video games using Blumler and Katz's theory. Refer to The Lego Movie Video Game to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Blumler and Katz argued that there are many uses and gratifications that audiences gain from the media and these make the media successful. Personal identity, social integration and integration, entertainment, and surveillance are four types of uses and gratifications. Video games offer entertainment: The Lego Movie Game, like most games, allows the player to enter a fictional world that means they can escape from their everyday life. It allows players to re-experience entertaining aspects of the original film, such as its humour and silliness. As players work their way up the levels they can feel the satisfaction of becoming an expert player. Video games offer social interaction/integration: many multiplayer games enable a worldwide community of players to come together in the game and communicate with each other; many gamers use online forums to discuss games with fellow fans. The Lego Movie Game is not a multiplayer game, but it does offer a set of characters that the audience already knows that they can interact with – this can give them a sense of belonging as if they are a member of a real community. Video games also allow people to escape from the people that they live with, if necessary, which may make it easier for them to live together. The more entertaining a game is, the better it can serve this purpose.
4. Analyse how genre codes have been used in The Lego Movie poster campaign to appeal to a family audience. In your answer you must also refer to relevant media contexts. (10 Marks)
NB - Due to copyright, we are unable to provide the images of the poster campaign here. However, the list below contains details of the images.
1 The main poster featuring an ensemble cast, running from danger (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver9.html)
2 Character poster of Vitruvius in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver3.html)
3 Character poster of Emmet in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver8.html)
4 Character poster of Lord Business in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver5.html)
5 Character poster of Wyldstyle in close-up (http://www.impawards.com/2014/lego_movie_ver7.html)
Student Example
The poster campaign for The Lego Movie follows the genre codes and conventions of film advertising. The main poster with several cast members contains a tagline – ‘The Story of a Nobody Who Saved Everybody’ – that sums up the appeal of the film. In this case, the appeal is that the audience can follow an ordinary hero who is just like them and watch him triumph. This hero is designed to appeal to family audiences in that we can see both in the main poster and his character poster that Emmet looks vulnerable and small and not in control of events – children can identify with this and their parents can too. All the posters are brightly coloured and well lit to create strong visual images. This fits the conventions of family animated films and connotes a lightness of touch that will appeal to family audiences. The characters represented fit the conventions of action films to connote that the film will be easily understood by a family audience. There is a clear villain – Lord Business – as shown by his fierce expression and the way he towers over the other characters in the main poster. While Emmet doesn’t look like a typical hero, his central placing and larger size means that, together with the tagline, he can be easily recognised as such. The other characters, especially Batman and Wyldstyle, look like they should be helpers. Having a feisty woman as a helper fits the post-feminist context in which family films increasingly feature strong female characters. The wise older character, who could be a dispatcher, is voiced by a black actor who plays God roles in films – this reflects the anti-racist context in which Hollywood tries to sell films to a globalised audience. The use of named stars to appeal to a mass audience reflects the influence of the social and cultural context of celebrity culture. The posters suggest that the film will be a generic hybrid (e.g. comedy and superhero action) with a lot of intertextuality (e.g. references to Lego and Batman). This suggests that the film will offer a mix of pleasures to target a family audience.
Component Two: Music and News Exam (70 Marks, 1 hour 15 minutes, 35%)
Section A: Music
1. Identify the regulator for radio in the UK. (1 Mark)
2. Explain one way in which music videos use media language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Music videos use media language such as the use of colour to create different effects to fit the meaning of the song and the musicians’ image. Uptown Funk and If I Were a Boy use very different post-production techniques. If I Were a Boy has been de-saturated in the editing process to create a monochrome effect. This effect helps to reinforce the serious narrative that is being explored. In contrast, Uptown Funk has a highly saturated look, where colours have been emphasised in post-production, to create a more vibrant look that fits with the up-beat, fun song.
3. Explain how and why producers of radio programmes target different audiences. Refer to the Radio 1 Live Lounge to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
There are a variety of reasons how and why producers of radio programmes target different audiences. I will refer to Radio 1 Live Lounge in my response, which has the same target audience as the rest of BBC Radio 1 (15-29 year olds). Radio producers have to appeal to a wide range of audience tastes and ages through mainstream and niche programming. Producers may look to focus on specialist tastes and produce programmes that target minority genres such as folk, country or classical or may target specific audiences through radio stations such as Absolute Radio 70s, 80s and 90s. Radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and 2 will use well known DJs such as Nick Grimshaw (Radio 1 Breakfast Show), Chris Evans (Radio 2 Breakfast Show) or Dermot O’Leary (Radio 2 Saturday Breakfast) who will bring them an inherited audience from other work that they have done. Commercial radio targets audiences to attract advertisers. BBC radio targets audiences to serve the whole of the British public. Listening figures for BBC Radio 1 are falling according to recent RAJAR figures (October 2017 quarterly figures), and so producers of radio programmes on this station have to rise to the challenge of reaching and maintaining audiences, particularly young audiences (15-20), in a time when young people are not listening to radio. One way that the producers of Radio 1 Live Lounge attempt to target their audience is by making the live acoustic sessions available to stream via their website and via the BBC Radio App in order to target a young audience who spend their time online. Sessions with Ed Sheeran and other popular musicians can be downloaded and listened to whenever. Using well known DJs such as Clara Amfo to present episodes of Live Lounge will appeal to a young diverse audience. The BBC has a responsibility to produce radio shows to appeal to a wide range of audiences and the contents of its broadcasts must follow the five public purposes of the PSB remit. The Live Lounge offers a form of niche radio that appeals to a more specialist audience that otherwise may not be served through its alternative music content such as acoustic sessions and genres such as electronica and folk. These genres are not as common on more mainstream radio channels such as the rest of Radio 1, which offers a more mainstream range of programmes and genres of music geared towards the audience of 15-29 year olds that Radio 1 is aimed at. Radio 1 Live Lounge is available to listen to online, which means that it can target a wide audience using technology and tap into the younger audience who are more likely to consume radio online than via more traditional methods such as a radio set.
4. Refer to Extract 1 in the Insert. Analyse the representation of musicians in Extract 1, which is from MOJO Magazine. (5 Marks)
Student Example
The magazine extract uses a simple colour palette of monochrome colours plus font in a dark red and yellow. This use of colour connotes a serious tone to the magazine, and that the magazine deals with the serious business of real music. This is further supported through the decision by the editor to use a black and white photo of the artist Ray Davies on the front, his head blocking the title of the magazine which again suggests his importance to the world of music. The content of the associated coverline ‘Arise Ray Davies, Rock’s Dark Knight’ suggests that he is of a high status, almost godlike, and that he is revered by the magazine and its readers. The magazine has quite a masculine feel to it, partly through its use of colour as mentioned above. This masculine feel is further developed through the choice of artists and bands identified on the front cover, which include KLF, The Stray Cats, Thin Lizzy and Suggs. All of the artists or bands are male dominated, apart from Blondie. This could suggest that the world of rock is male dominated and enjoyed by male readers, which is further reinforced by the monochrome colour scheme and block capitals for all coverlines. This feeling of masculinity is further emphasised by the choice of language used in some of the coverlines. Phrases such as ‘living dangerously’, ‘torment’ ‘extinguish’ and ‘saving his soul’ all connote a sense of struggle or a battle to live shared by many of the artists covered in the magazine; use of words such as these are stereotypically male. Finally, the magazine MOJO is challenging the stereotype that music is dominated by younger artists as it is representing ‘authentic’ music as being the domain of the older, more established artist such as Neil Young, Ray Davies and Bill Evans.
5. Refer to Extracts 1 and 2 in the Insert. How far is media language used differently in Extracts 1 and 2 to reflect genre conventions?
In your answer you must:
analyse examples of how media language is used similarly and differently in Extracts 1 and 2, which are from We Love Pop and MOJO magazines
make judgements and reach conclusions about whether there are more similarities due to genre conventions than differences in the extracts. (15 Marks)
Student Example
There are some clear similarities between WLP and MOJO Magazine in terms of their use of media language and genre conventions. Both magazines feature a range of musicians on the front cover, MOJO Magazine has a medium close up of Ray Davies whilst WLP contains a variety of images of artists including Little Mix and Zara Larsson. Both magazines follow a conventional magazine front cover layout through their use of relevant music-related cover lines. The use of cover lines and relevant images is a convention of most magazine front cover layouts and can be seen on magazines from a wide variety of different genres. Both magazines have a masthead although neither of them is displayed particularly prominently which is unconventional for magazine front covers. MOJO masthead is obscured by Ray Davies’s head and WLP masthead is in the top left hand corner rather than conventionally placed across the top of the magazine front cover. Although both magazine front covers follow the convention of having a simple colour palette there are also some very clear differences in the use of media language on the front covers. The use of colour and style of font are two of the most obvious differences. MOJO Magazine has a very monochrome, masculine colour scheme of black, white and red (with small splashes of yellow). This use of colour connotes a serious tone to the content of the magazine and is appropriate for the rock genre that the magazine is from. WLP uses a much brighter more saturated set of colours including neon pink, white and black which connotes a brighter more fun feel to the magazine. The use of font is also contrasting. MOJO Magazine uses block capitals in a sans-serif font throughout which gives the magazine front cover a formal less-cluttered look than WLP which uses a range of different fonts, some of which look like handwriting or paint splashes. The use of font on the front cover of WLP gives the front cover an informal tone and more cluttered layout. Although there are clear differences between the two magazines, I would argue that the similarities that these magazines have are due to the more formal conventions of magazine front covers in general, as regardless of the genre there are going to be shared conventions such as the use of images, the placement of cover lines, the use of a masthead and a range of content.
Section B: News
Identify one press regulator in the UK. (1 Mark)
Explain two ways that newspapers are funded. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Newspapers are funded in a variety of different ways. Two of the most obvious are income from advertising space sold to advertisers and the cost of buying the newspaper (cover price). Newspapers sell space in their newspapers to advertisers who then target audiences through the range of products and services advertised within the pages of the newspaper. The cost of the newspaper (cover price) also brings in revenue. Newspapers are increasingly moving to an online model with a pay-wall, which requires readers to subscribe to the newspaper in order to read the articles etc.
Refer to Extract 3 in the Insert. Analyse the use of media language to create meaning in the online Observer home page. Give two examples from Extract 3. (5 Marks)
The Observer home page uses media language to create meaning in a variety of ways. The layout of the home page is very linear in its mise-en-scène which connotes an air of formality and order. This is achieved through the neat and ordered boxes and columns that contain all of the content and through the clearly delineated sections of the home page, which include ‘features’ ‘sport’ and ‘interviews’. This sense of order is further reinforced through the use of a simple colour palette of a rich burgundy and dark blue, both colours that connote maturity and seriousness. This conveys to The Observer reader that they can trust the contents of the website
In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts. ‘The representations featured in the online Observer reflect its values and beliefs.’ Discuss how far you agree with this statement in relation to Extract 3, the online Observer homepage. In your answer you must:
analyse the representations featured in Extract 3 with reference to the online Observer’s values and beliefs
make judgements and draw conclusions about how far you agree with the statement. (15 Marks)
Student Example
The Observer and the online Observer are publications that sit towards the left of the political spectrum and as a result concern themselves with values and beliefs that are more socially liberal and not usually sensational in their content, unlike some tabloids. These values and ideals are shared by its sister paper The Guardian, which is also owned by The Guardian Media Group, and the choice of header for the website is identical in its colour and placement to The Guardian. This is done to remind viewers of their shared sense of values. The Observer website contains examples of common representations found in both the online and paper version. The website has an ‘international’ feel to it, with features discussing India, France, America, and Japanese cuisine. These articles reflect the online Observer’s interest in internationalism and how it values other cultures and people. Another example of the values of the online Observer can be found in the features section - the article on Jordan Peele - which discusses America’s problems with racism and racial tension. The Observer is known for discussing difficult issues such as this headon. They have chosen to place this article right at the top of the page to remind the reader of this. The homepage has quite an ethnically diverse representation of people on it, including reference to an item about Mumbai which includes an image of an Indian family and the above mentioned article about Jordan Peele. This mix of different cultures and ethnicities reinforces The Observer’s focus and interest in representing diversity. Finally The Observer online contains a real balance of different features and it is clear that it values culture as equally importantly as it does politics and hard news. The inclusion of a feature on choosing wine for a family gathering, reviews of expensive restaurants and an item on photography shows that it encourages spending and assumes that its audience are in a position to be able to spend money on luxury items such as these. This reinforces the somewhat ‘middle class’ feel that both the newspaper and the online version are associated with and provides some balance to the more difficult topics covered in the ‘features’ section. Through exploring the content of the online Observer I would agree that it reflects the news brand’s values and beliefs quite closely. There is clear evidence of the brand’s liberalism and social conscience balanced with its interest in culture and society.
Explain how broadsheet newspapers reflect the time and historical contexts in which they were published. Refer to the Observer front page from 6 November 1966 that you have studied to support your answer. In your answer you must also refer to relevant media contexts. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Newspapers are a historical document as they reflect the culture and times in which they were made. This is evident when exploring The Observer newspapers in the 1960s. What is clear is that the way women are represented in newspapers of the time is very different to today’s representations as there appears to be clear gender inequalities in the representation found on the front pages. The Observer front page from November 1966 has no reference to women in the news stories at all, which feature male politicians, lawyers and a criminal, although there is a small picture of a woman next to a heading about ‘knitted fashion’. Any mention of women is almost exclusively reserved for issues such as marriage and fashion. On one front page of The Observer we see two articles about marriage (Jackie Kennedy marrying for the second time and a member of the British aristocracy marrying for the first time). On two front pages there are front page advertisements for women’s underwear (Marshall and Snellgrove and Vanity Fair Lingerie), which suggests that women of the time were expected to look good for their husbands or future husbands and should concern themselves with this. The hard news stories that the newspapers carry are noticeable by their absence of any reference to women in them which suggests that women were not included in decision-making at a high level in British society during the 1960s. Newspapers of the 1960s also give an insight into the political issues of the day. Fear of the Cold War in an article about Russian spy planes and the tension between the Church of England and the state over changes to the divorce laws give some insight into the political agenda of the time. Worries about threats from other nations are something that has stayed pretty constant in news reporting since the 1960s and still features in today’s newspapers. In the 1960s there was a real threat from the Cold War and by choosing to feature an article that almost mocks the Russians for flying into our airspace through the inclusion of the series of images and likening the threat to a ‘game’ both reassures the reader but also warns them of the potential dangers at the time. The article about divorce and tensions between the state and the Church of England is illustrative of the influence that the state had over social issues such as divorce at the time.
Section A: Music
1. Identify the regulator for radio in the UK. (1 Mark)
2. Explain one way in which music videos use media language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Music videos use media language such as the use of colour to create different effects to fit the meaning of the song and the musicians’ image. Uptown Funk and If I Were a Boy use very different post-production techniques. If I Were a Boy has been de-saturated in the editing process to create a monochrome effect. This effect helps to reinforce the serious narrative that is being explored. In contrast, Uptown Funk has a highly saturated look, where colours have been emphasised in post-production, to create a more vibrant look that fits with the up-beat, fun song.
3. Explain how and why producers of radio programmes target different audiences. Refer to the Radio 1 Live Lounge to support your answer. (10 Marks)
Student Example
There are a variety of reasons how and why producers of radio programmes target different audiences. I will refer to Radio 1 Live Lounge in my response, which has the same target audience as the rest of BBC Radio 1 (15-29 year olds). Radio producers have to appeal to a wide range of audience tastes and ages through mainstream and niche programming. Producers may look to focus on specialist tastes and produce programmes that target minority genres such as folk, country or classical or may target specific audiences through radio stations such as Absolute Radio 70s, 80s and 90s. Radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and 2 will use well known DJs such as Nick Grimshaw (Radio 1 Breakfast Show), Chris Evans (Radio 2 Breakfast Show) or Dermot O’Leary (Radio 2 Saturday Breakfast) who will bring them an inherited audience from other work that they have done. Commercial radio targets audiences to attract advertisers. BBC radio targets audiences to serve the whole of the British public. Listening figures for BBC Radio 1 are falling according to recent RAJAR figures (October 2017 quarterly figures), and so producers of radio programmes on this station have to rise to the challenge of reaching and maintaining audiences, particularly young audiences (15-20), in a time when young people are not listening to radio. One way that the producers of Radio 1 Live Lounge attempt to target their audience is by making the live acoustic sessions available to stream via their website and via the BBC Radio App in order to target a young audience who spend their time online. Sessions with Ed Sheeran and other popular musicians can be downloaded and listened to whenever. Using well known DJs such as Clara Amfo to present episodes of Live Lounge will appeal to a young diverse audience. The BBC has a responsibility to produce radio shows to appeal to a wide range of audiences and the contents of its broadcasts must follow the five public purposes of the PSB remit. The Live Lounge offers a form of niche radio that appeals to a more specialist audience that otherwise may not be served through its alternative music content such as acoustic sessions and genres such as electronica and folk. These genres are not as common on more mainstream radio channels such as the rest of Radio 1, which offers a more mainstream range of programmes and genres of music geared towards the audience of 15-29 year olds that Radio 1 is aimed at. Radio 1 Live Lounge is available to listen to online, which means that it can target a wide audience using technology and tap into the younger audience who are more likely to consume radio online than via more traditional methods such as a radio set.
4. Refer to Extract 1 in the Insert. Analyse the representation of musicians in Extract 1, which is from MOJO Magazine. (5 Marks)
Student Example
The magazine extract uses a simple colour palette of monochrome colours plus font in a dark red and yellow. This use of colour connotes a serious tone to the magazine, and that the magazine deals with the serious business of real music. This is further supported through the decision by the editor to use a black and white photo of the artist Ray Davies on the front, his head blocking the title of the magazine which again suggests his importance to the world of music. The content of the associated coverline ‘Arise Ray Davies, Rock’s Dark Knight’ suggests that he is of a high status, almost godlike, and that he is revered by the magazine and its readers. The magazine has quite a masculine feel to it, partly through its use of colour as mentioned above. This masculine feel is further developed through the choice of artists and bands identified on the front cover, which include KLF, The Stray Cats, Thin Lizzy and Suggs. All of the artists or bands are male dominated, apart from Blondie. This could suggest that the world of rock is male dominated and enjoyed by male readers, which is further reinforced by the monochrome colour scheme and block capitals for all coverlines. This feeling of masculinity is further emphasised by the choice of language used in some of the coverlines. Phrases such as ‘living dangerously’, ‘torment’ ‘extinguish’ and ‘saving his soul’ all connote a sense of struggle or a battle to live shared by many of the artists covered in the magazine; use of words such as these are stereotypically male. Finally, the magazine MOJO is challenging the stereotype that music is dominated by younger artists as it is representing ‘authentic’ music as being the domain of the older, more established artist such as Neil Young, Ray Davies and Bill Evans.
5. Refer to Extracts 1 and 2 in the Insert. How far is media language used differently in Extracts 1 and 2 to reflect genre conventions?
In your answer you must:
analyse examples of how media language is used similarly and differently in Extracts 1 and 2, which are from We Love Pop and MOJO magazines
make judgements and reach conclusions about whether there are more similarities due to genre conventions than differences in the extracts. (15 Marks)
Student Example
There are some clear similarities between WLP and MOJO Magazine in terms of their use of media language and genre conventions. Both magazines feature a range of musicians on the front cover, MOJO Magazine has a medium close up of Ray Davies whilst WLP contains a variety of images of artists including Little Mix and Zara Larsson. Both magazines follow a conventional magazine front cover layout through their use of relevant music-related cover lines. The use of cover lines and relevant images is a convention of most magazine front cover layouts and can be seen on magazines from a wide variety of different genres. Both magazines have a masthead although neither of them is displayed particularly prominently which is unconventional for magazine front covers. MOJO masthead is obscured by Ray Davies’s head and WLP masthead is in the top left hand corner rather than conventionally placed across the top of the magazine front cover. Although both magazine front covers follow the convention of having a simple colour palette there are also some very clear differences in the use of media language on the front covers. The use of colour and style of font are two of the most obvious differences. MOJO Magazine has a very monochrome, masculine colour scheme of black, white and red (with small splashes of yellow). This use of colour connotes a serious tone to the content of the magazine and is appropriate for the rock genre that the magazine is from. WLP uses a much brighter more saturated set of colours including neon pink, white and black which connotes a brighter more fun feel to the magazine. The use of font is also contrasting. MOJO Magazine uses block capitals in a sans-serif font throughout which gives the magazine front cover a formal less-cluttered look than WLP which uses a range of different fonts, some of which look like handwriting or paint splashes. The use of font on the front cover of WLP gives the front cover an informal tone and more cluttered layout. Although there are clear differences between the two magazines, I would argue that the similarities that these magazines have are due to the more formal conventions of magazine front covers in general, as regardless of the genre there are going to be shared conventions such as the use of images, the placement of cover lines, the use of a masthead and a range of content.
Section B: News
Identify one press regulator in the UK. (1 Mark)
Explain two ways that newspapers are funded. (4 Marks)
Student Example
Newspapers are funded in a variety of different ways. Two of the most obvious are income from advertising space sold to advertisers and the cost of buying the newspaper (cover price). Newspapers sell space in their newspapers to advertisers who then target audiences through the range of products and services advertised within the pages of the newspaper. The cost of the newspaper (cover price) also brings in revenue. Newspapers are increasingly moving to an online model with a pay-wall, which requires readers to subscribe to the newspaper in order to read the articles etc.
Refer to Extract 3 in the Insert. Analyse the use of media language to create meaning in the online Observer home page. Give two examples from Extract 3. (5 Marks)
The Observer home page uses media language to create meaning in a variety of ways. The layout of the home page is very linear in its mise-en-scène which connotes an air of formality and order. This is achieved through the neat and ordered boxes and columns that contain all of the content and through the clearly delineated sections of the home page, which include ‘features’ ‘sport’ and ‘interviews’. This sense of order is further reinforced through the use of a simple colour palette of a rich burgundy and dark blue, both colours that connote maturity and seriousness. This conveys to The Observer reader that they can trust the contents of the website
In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts. ‘The representations featured in the online Observer reflect its values and beliefs.’ Discuss how far you agree with this statement in relation to Extract 3, the online Observer homepage. In your answer you must:
analyse the representations featured in Extract 3 with reference to the online Observer’s values and beliefs
make judgements and draw conclusions about how far you agree with the statement. (15 Marks)
Student Example
The Observer and the online Observer are publications that sit towards the left of the political spectrum and as a result concern themselves with values and beliefs that are more socially liberal and not usually sensational in their content, unlike some tabloids. These values and ideals are shared by its sister paper The Guardian, which is also owned by The Guardian Media Group, and the choice of header for the website is identical in its colour and placement to The Guardian. This is done to remind viewers of their shared sense of values. The Observer website contains examples of common representations found in both the online and paper version. The website has an ‘international’ feel to it, with features discussing India, France, America, and Japanese cuisine. These articles reflect the online Observer’s interest in internationalism and how it values other cultures and people. Another example of the values of the online Observer can be found in the features section - the article on Jordan Peele - which discusses America’s problems with racism and racial tension. The Observer is known for discussing difficult issues such as this headon. They have chosen to place this article right at the top of the page to remind the reader of this. The homepage has quite an ethnically diverse representation of people on it, including reference to an item about Mumbai which includes an image of an Indian family and the above mentioned article about Jordan Peele. This mix of different cultures and ethnicities reinforces The Observer’s focus and interest in representing diversity. Finally The Observer online contains a real balance of different features and it is clear that it values culture as equally importantly as it does politics and hard news. The inclusion of a feature on choosing wine for a family gathering, reviews of expensive restaurants and an item on photography shows that it encourages spending and assumes that its audience are in a position to be able to spend money on luxury items such as these. This reinforces the somewhat ‘middle class’ feel that both the newspaper and the online version are associated with and provides some balance to the more difficult topics covered in the ‘features’ section. Through exploring the content of the online Observer I would agree that it reflects the news brand’s values and beliefs quite closely. There is clear evidence of the brand’s liberalism and social conscience balanced with its interest in culture and society.
Explain how broadsheet newspapers reflect the time and historical contexts in which they were published. Refer to the Observer front page from 6 November 1966 that you have studied to support your answer. In your answer you must also refer to relevant media contexts. (10 Marks)
Student Example
Newspapers are a historical document as they reflect the culture and times in which they were made. This is evident when exploring The Observer newspapers in the 1960s. What is clear is that the way women are represented in newspapers of the time is very different to today’s representations as there appears to be clear gender inequalities in the representation found on the front pages. The Observer front page from November 1966 has no reference to women in the news stories at all, which feature male politicians, lawyers and a criminal, although there is a small picture of a woman next to a heading about ‘knitted fashion’. Any mention of women is almost exclusively reserved for issues such as marriage and fashion. On one front page of The Observer we see two articles about marriage (Jackie Kennedy marrying for the second time and a member of the British aristocracy marrying for the first time). On two front pages there are front page advertisements for women’s underwear (Marshall and Snellgrove and Vanity Fair Lingerie), which suggests that women of the time were expected to look good for their husbands or future husbands and should concern themselves with this. The hard news stories that the newspapers carry are noticeable by their absence of any reference to women in them which suggests that women were not included in decision-making at a high level in British society during the 1960s. Newspapers of the 1960s also give an insight into the political issues of the day. Fear of the Cold War in an article about Russian spy planes and the tension between the Church of England and the state over changes to the divorce laws give some insight into the political agenda of the time. Worries about threats from other nations are something that has stayed pretty constant in news reporting since the 1960s and still features in today’s newspapers. In the 1960s there was a real threat from the Cold War and by choosing to feature an article that almost mocks the Russians for flying into our airspace through the inclusion of the series of images and likening the threat to a ‘game’ both reassures the reader but also warns them of the potential dangers at the time. The article about divorce and tensions between the state and the Church of England is illustrative of the influence that the state had over social issues such as divorce at the time.
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