Media Studies

Due to the impact the Media has on the lives of many people and the way technology is continually changing, Media Studies is a relevant and interesting subject that students enjoy and can engage with. The subject helps students understand how the Media works and the influence it has on the world.

At Greenacre we offer Media Studies at A Level through OCR. For the new specifications beginning September 2008, at both AS and A2 level, students do two units.  They both have one practical coursework unit and one unit that is assessed with an examination.

The coursework tasks are the Front cover, contents page and a double page spread for a new Music Magazine at AS; and to produce a Film Trailer, plus two ancillary products to help promote their film, at A2. They will both be accompanied by a secondary media product that will be completed as a preparation task for the main one. Coursework will be worth 50% of the AS grade and 25% of the final grade at A2. Planning and logging of coursework procedure will be electronic.   Students will create a blog or power point presentation about how they researched, planned and evaluated their coursework.

The new AS written examination is divided into two sections. Section A involves the analysis of the languages and technical conventions of media forms, using a short unseen moving image extract. Section B involves assessment of the candidates’ media textual analysis skills with reference to Audiences and Institutions. There will be a choice from six specific media industry case studies: Film, Music, Newspapers, Radio, Magazines & Video Games. This unit is worth 50% of the AS grade and 25% of the final A2 grade.

In the new specifications, The A2 written examination also involves two sections. Section A is a theoretical evaluation of their advanced production. Candidates answer two compulsory questions which describe, evaluate and link their production work to a theoretical concept. Section B is based on contemporary Media issues. Candidates answer one question from six topic areas of: Contemporary Media Regulation, Global Media, Media and Collective Identity, Media in the Online Age, Post-modern Media or We Media and Democracy.   This unit is worth 25% of the final A2 grade.