Mr Nicolle's A2 Induction Lesson - Trailers

Today's lesson and Tasks

Resources
Trailers booklet (below)
Trailer hyperlinks (below)
Analysis Grids (printed and in room)

Objectives
Read the booklet below up to page 5 making sure you complete the questions on page 3.
Analyse TWO trailers using the grid on page 5.

Outcomes
Understand the requirements and options regarding A2 coursework.
Two completed analysis grids on trailers
An understanding on the construction and appeal of trailers.

Starter

For your A2 Coursework you will produce:


 a media portfolio, comprising a main and two ancillary texts

 a Blog presentation of your Research and Planning

 an electronic Evaluation

MAIN TASK:

A promotion package for a new film, to include:

• a teaser trailer

PLUS two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film;

• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;

• a poster for the film.

Activty One
 
Read through the booklet below and complete the questions on page 3. Email your responses to m.nicolle@lc.leics.sch.uk
G352 Trailers Induction

 
Activity Two
 
Use the printed trailer grids to complete your analysis of any TWO of the following trailers
 
The Air-bender

Twilight:
500 days of summer:
Saw V:
Precious:
Street dance:
Bridget Jones’ Diary:

 You will need to bring these with you to your next lesson with Mr Nicolle.

A2 Music Video Theory Blog

At A2 you will be studying Music Videos in preparation for your coursework. I have set up a brief blog which covers the basics of theory which you'll need for both your coursework and exam. This means that a potential 75% of you A2 grades are available for learning and applying these theories.

The link for this blog is HERE

Those of you in my class should be familiar with Steve Neale's belief that 'genres' are instances of repetition and change, essentially that is what we'll be examining at A2. To get you thinking watch the clip below by Australian comedy trio 'Axis of Awesome', you should recognise 90% of the 'same' songs.

Mrs Somel's Group

All the PowerPoints have been emailed to you.

Ten Tips for making a music video

Ten Tips

View more presentations from petefraser.

Theory

If you are struggling for theory/theorists for Section then read this

Media Theory

Codes and Conventions of Short Films and Trailers

Here is a series of links to websites which discuss codes and conventions of short films.

http://www.britfilms.com/resources/shorts/

http://www.bfi.org.uk/education/teaching/realshorts/intro.html

http://alexjowetta2media.blogspot.com/2009/10/codes-and-conventions-of-short-film.html

Making short films: the complete guide from script to screen

Below is a student written essay which neatly sums up conventions of trailers and short films. The student does make generalisations about the genres but it's still worth a quick read.Codes and Conventions of Short Films and Film Trailers

Short Film Theory

This website offers an insight in to short films. The essay itself is quite lengthy but is worth a read.

http://pov.imv.au.dk/Issue_05/section_4/artc1A.html

a2 Production Blog Checklist Compressed

Examiners report with tips!

06 A2 Media Studies UnitG325 PrinicpalsReportJan2010

What Next In Media - Presentation on tyhe future of social networking etc

Whats Next In Media

View more presentations from Neil Perkin.

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

You must answer both 1(a) and 1(b).

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 how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate
how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your
answer to show how these skills developed over time. [25]

In question 1(b) you need to choose one of your media productions to write about.
(b) Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions. [25]
Section A Total [50]

63/100 response. OCR A2 Media studies

Another exemplar from OCR. Once again no idea of the questions. I assume 1a relates to creativity whilst 1b relates to genre.
OCR Exemplar. A2 G325 Candidate A

Full Marks response. OCR A2 Media studies

The exam board have supplied us with this full marks example. See question above. Full Marks Examplar Essay From OCR A2 Media

Editing - the invisible art

In film-world editing is known as "the invisible art" - and it's probably the hardest to teach. After the director, the editor is the next most important person on the production side of making films. Once the film has been shot the editor gets to work and the process of shaping and creating a story out of a film's thousands of miles of footage can take months - and sometimes years!

Most of the terms you need to understand for editing in TV drama can be found in the link below. This link has most of the BASIC information on editing you need to know.

For practice in seeing how editing works in TV drama we can view a few sequences to identify the main types of edits and how they create meaning and narrative in a sequence from a TV drama.

Meanwhile, have a look at these abridged Youtube sections from "The Cutting Edge: the magic of movie editing". This is a "must see" for understanding the "invisible art". In Hollywood "the more invisible the cuts the better the editor".

Taken from AS and A2 Media Studies blog

Exam Tips for Question 1a and 1b courtesy of Longroad Media

Longroad Media are one of the premier Media Colleges in the country, the link below is to their blog on the G235 exam (questions 1a and 1b only).

Postmodern Media - Julian McDougal

POSTMODERN MEDIA : Julian McDougall (OCR Media Conference 2009)

View more presentations from rikhudson.

Media Matters Blog - designed for Teachers and Students

http://petesmediablog.blogspot.com/

Great tips on theory, theorists and the exam.

Useful Narrative ideas/theories

For anyone aspiring to the higher grades you'll need to be able quote and evaluate eminent thinkers in the field of narrative. Below are an assortment of key ideas from some major theorists.


These fist two summarise what a narrative is.

“NARRATIVE REFERS TO STORYMAKING AND STORY STRUCTURE. THE NARRATIVE OF A PROGRAMME OR AN ARTICLE IS NOTJUST ITS STORYLINE. IT IS ALSO HOW THE STORY IS ORGANISED AND ABOUT HOW THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE READER IS ORGANISED BY THE WAYS IN WHICH THE STORY IS TOLD” (BURTON, 1990)


“FILMS HAVE A PRIMARY FUNCTION OF TELLING A STORY. THE IMAGES ARE ORGANISED AND MADE SENSE OF AROUND THIS FUNCTION. ESPECIALLY FEATURE FILMS WHICH ARE GIVEN A ‘TREATMENT’ IN TERMS OF IT’S PLOT LINE AND THIS IS PERCIEVED AS BEING WHAT THE FILM IS ABOUT” (ROWE, 1996)


The following are multi discipline, they can be used for questions which cover narrative as well as those which are concerned with audience.


“NARRATIVE REFERS TO THE STRATEGIES,CODES AND CONVENTIONS ( INCLUDING MISE-EN-SCENE AND LIGHTING) EMPLOYED TO ORGANISE A STORY. PRIMARILY, NARRATIVE CINEMA IS ONE THAT USES THESE STRATEGIES AS A MEANS OF REPRODUCING THE ‘REAL’ WORLD, ONE WHICH THE SPECTSTOR CAN EITHER IDENTIFY WITH OR CONSIDER TO BE WITHIN THE REALSM OF POSSIBILITY” (HAYWARD)



“NARRATIVE DEVELOPS ON THE BASIS OF ‘CAUSE AND EFFECT’. AS EXPERIENCED FILM GOERS WE LEARN TO EXPECT AND ANTICIPATE THIS CHAIN” (ROWE, 1996)


“OFTEN WHAT WE CALL SUSPENSE IS NO MORE THAN THE DELAYED FULFILLMENT OF AN EXPECTATION” (BORDWELL AND THOMPSON, 1979)

Scribd documents for A2

Most of you should have joined scribd during the past year. What scribd offers you is the opportunity to 'subscribe' to contributors who interest you, one particular individual to subscribe to is this mysterious person.

http://www.scribd.com/api_5814_user340683

I've not had chance to read and assess the quality of what they've produced but that shouldn't stop you from reviewing their work. You are primarily interested in anything labeled G325.

Narrative and your text

How do audiences decode the narrative of your text?

Organisation of your answer
Essay form - somewhere between 800 and 1000 words is good. If you're stuck for ideas try this structure.

Introduction
What is the decoding process? How do audiences engage in it consciously/unconsciously? Does your narrative follow conventions or challenge existing conventions

Main body paragraphs
In the order that you think is appropriate, you should write a paragraph on each of the following

• Your text and Todorov - how do you play with/follow the audience's expectation of the equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium pattern?
• Your text & Barthes - how do action and enigma codes work within your text(s)? How do they help drive the narrative on?
• Your text & Propp - What are our expectations of character? How do your characters fullfil Propps character roles?
• Your text & Levi-Strauss - What binary oppositions are present in your text(s), and how do they help our understanding of it? Does the audience's grasp of right/wrong change? (Clue: make strong connections between this paragraph and the one on Propp or Barthes depending on how this has been achieved)
• Your text and Symbolic Codes - Does each sequence has a memento - a significant object which provides a link forward and back? How do these objects help us understand the narrative (fabula) ie how can they be said to help construct it?

Conclusion:
How DO audiences decode the narrative? Why does it make sense?

Length: 800-1000 words