You have used a lot of technology over the last few months.  Technology that has helped you research, plan, produce, edit and then evaluate your progress.  It is hard for one technology to exist completely on its own – it usually relies on another one, although it is worth considering how Converged Technology (i.e. your phone) is able to do multiple tasks (film, edit, collaborate, organise…)

In this CCR question technology is split into 3 categories:  hardware, software and online.

• Hardware:  DSLR, Point and Shoot, Phones (converged technology), Studio Lights, Desktops, Chrome Books etc
• Software:  Adobe Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Bridge.
• Online: YouTube, Edublogs, Google Drive, Voicethread, Wevideo, Screencastify, Prezi, Pinterest, Gomoodboard, Lucidpress Mindmaps…etc

A few of these technologies have been used in isolation as they have very specialist functions, such as InDesign, but most have also been used in conjunction with other technology – their reliance on each other provides a synergy – they compliment and work with each other. For example your shots taken on a DSLR camera (hardware) were then uploaded to the Desktop (hardware) and then onto the programme Indesign (software). The Adobe suite is also a converged technology, changes made in Photoshop automatically update in InDesign.

Most of these technologies are part of a chain and rely on other technologies to perform their task.  You have integrated them into your production process – almost without thinking and some you have used at multiple stages of the production process i.e. YouTube in Research and Planning and also in Evaluation as a platform to show your WeVideo.

Your challenge is to create a FLOWCHART to show the process of different technologies and how they have been integrated with each other as you made you magazine.

• You need to categorise which group the technologies belong to and explain how and where you used it – mentioning a specific example of how it impacted on your product.
• You need to indicate how it links in a chain to another or several other technologies in a short comment.
• You then need to link it with an arrow to show how it synergises with other technology to show how they are all integrated within the production process.
• You need to highlight which stage of the production process you used it in: Research and Planning, Production, Post-Production, Evaluation
• You can use:  lucidpress mindmaps on chrome.
• You will need to colour code your annotations/comments into the 3 categories – hardware, software and online and create a key.
• You should also weave in the word INTEGRATE or synonyms for this i.e. added, linked, connected, converged, coupled, joined etc and highlight every time you use these words.

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

You have reflected on your skills , just like Napoleon Dynamite

You have thought about and evidenced your production journey in Cambridge International A Level Media Studies and all of the reflection is in your blog – in Creative Critical Reflections (all the green posts in the league), Print Preliminary Tasks and Music Magazine.

Most of the work for this question has already been done! So…Hooray & Hoorah!

This CCR will require you to reflect on how far you have come this year. In particular it will require you to reflect on the production skills you have acquired and how they have helped you become a more skilled (both technically and creatively) media producer – such as photographer, Photoshop(er), designer and journalist….

Moreover, you have also learnt some valuable production skills that will easily transferable to other parts of your life, education and ultimately career:

• Time management
• Directing and Management
• Communication & Collaboration
• Writing skills
• Research and Planning

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TASK 1

You will write a letter to a future A Level Media Studies student in order to prepare them for what lies ahead. You need to advise them to learn from your experience and perhaps also your mistakes.

TASK 2

Create a slideshow and create the following slides.

• An Introduction – Dear Future A Level Media Student etc
• Technical Skills
• Creative Skills
• Transferrable Skills
• A sign off and good luck.

Advice

You will need to use the comment box underneath each slide in order to make notes for your presentation

Much of the content for this is already on your blog so just copy and paste it in initially and then edit to answer the question – which is the most important lesson learned in each moment of reflection.

Be sure not to make it a list – instead ensure each skill has an example attached to it and how that skill specifically impacted on the product – how it affected star image, or genre, or narrative, or the audience.

Once you have written your letter and included specific skills and most importantly EXAMPLES OF HOW THAT SKILL IMPACTED ON THE PRODUCT.

TASK 3

Develop each slide with screen shots, logos, photos and captions that add visually to your letter by illustrating your points. Much of this work has already been done in your blog so you have the examples & screenshots already.  You can copy your letter underneath each slide but you will need to print them out along with the slides.

This is a very, very boring exemplar. Make yours lovely and illustrative.

• Slide 1 – record the question and introduce yourself
  • and – record the opening of the letter: (example – do not copy this but do your own) 
    • Dear Future A Level Media Student, hold on for a rough ride but a very rewarding one. If you decide to take A Level Media Studies you will really expand your skills, both technically and creatively and also many of the production skills will transfer to other areas of your life.
• Slide 2 – example with inserts and script – For example, one of the main transferrable skills you will learn is how to communicate effectively.  I learnt the hard way. Booking my studio, getting the photographic equipment and finding all the costumes and make up for my model was time consuming. But then on the day of the shoot she texted me to say she couldn’t turn up as she didn’t know about the shoot. As a result the day was wasted and we had to reschedule.  We created a Whats App group so that the same thing did not happen. It was has a hard lesson in communication.
• Slides 3 onwards – subsequent – examples of other production skills.

THIS DOCUMENT HAS A VARIETY OF IDEAS ON WHAT YOU SHOULD MENTION IN YOUR LETTER.

Save the presentation as a pdf.

TASK 4

Recording your letter.

• Open a Voicethread account voicethread.com/register
• Import your presentation as a pdf.
• Print out your letter notes/script.
• Record your letter over the slides so that the commentary coincides with the visuals.
• Save and embed on your blog.

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How to begin your letter

Example 1

Dear Future Media Students

I just thought it would be good to advise you on how Media Studies is going to introduce you to a huge range of production skills – both technical, creative and transferrable.

XXXX

So, be prepared for a journey. A one full of frustrations, highs and lows but one that you will equip you for any number of roles in employment or in further education.

Best wishes

Jess, current CiE A Level Media Studies student.

Example 2

Welcome aboard matey,

Be prepared for a rough but rewarding journey.

A Level Media Studies has introduced me to a huge range of  new skills that I can now use creatively, technically and in many other areas of my life.  

For example….

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

There are a number of concepts that need to be addressed to answer this question fully.

1. Who is you audience?
2. How did you fulfil your audiences needs and expectations?
3. What is meant by distribution?
4. Who owns and controls magazine distribution
5. How are real media texts distributed in the online age?

Audience

You must define and describe your audience in these ways.

1. Demographics and Psychographics – audience segmentation
2. You should also use your Yougov findings to explain what other media texts they consume as well as other information.

Uses & Gratification

1. You should link specific elements of your magazine (contents, bands, representation, language, design (fonts / graphics) to specific uses and gratifications that you think your audience have.

Distribution

1. Complete this work sheet in order to explore magazine ownership & distribution.
2. Read the three articles below (also in the work sheet) in groups in order to research the business of magazine distribution and the challenges created by the internet & social media.

Research Articles

• Article from journalism trade rag on decline in magazine sales.
• How print is surviving in the digital age.
• Facebook & Google – a digital duopoly?

Institutional (Distribution) Issues

• Quality (factual) journalism is expensive and so is traditional print and distribution.
• However, it’s hard to make money out of online content. Most of it goes to FB & Google, leaving everyone else scrabbling for the scraps.
• Exclusives remain ‘exclusive’ for about 10 seconds before it’s all over social media.
• How do you square this circle?

TASK:

A Dragon’s Den style sales pitch to a distributor for your magazine:

You must address the following questions:

• Describe your brand values / mission statement?
  • How will your magazine be distinct from or similar to others?
• Who are your target audience?
  • Use Yougov, image and profile + other details.
• Why would that audience buy your magazine?
  • Must link to Uses and Gratification.
• Who would you want to work with to distribute your magazine?
  • Which of the big magazine groups would you hope to work with?
  • How does your magazine fit with their existing publications?
• What sort of advertiser would you hope to attract?
  • Link to your two selected ads & explain.
• What strategies do you have for distribution? How will you link your print content with online content?
  • How can a print magazine survive in digital world?
  • Some answers & thoughts 
    • Increasingly sensational celebrity gossip stories – Churnalism (cheap and easy)
    • Freebies.
    • Reduce cover price (free) & rely on ad sales.
    • Link to enhanced digital content on website.
    • Employ social media to promote our brand.
      • Audience participation & interaction (Uses and Gratification)
    • Link digital content back to print, whet the audience’s appetite, require the audience to buy print version to get full details.
    • Use a paywall for online content.

How does my product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

This question is asking you to be a detective. There are two elements to this case:

1. What are the clues in my magazine?
   • The clues are the conventions
2. What meaning is suggested, implied or connoted through those clues?
   • The meaning is the representation.

We have done work on the conventions of magazine and you may need to revisit the lessons in the departmental blog blog and the important posts in your own. These will refresh you memory about the key concepts and terminology you need to use in the reflection.

The work we did on identifying conventions (clues) are in these posts:

• How the camera makes meaning
• Writing the article.
• Magazine Page Layout
• Your Analysis of the Front Page of a Magazine

The work we did on representation (values, attitudes & beliefs) are in these posts:

• Your Mission Statement
• Representation and The Star
• Mise-en-scene (Designing your star)
• Textual Analysis (Album or Tour Poster)

Task 1:

Identify all the (conventions) clues on your magazine pages.

Task 2:

Using your mission statement, your design ideas for your star & analysis of your own magazine pages, develop a list of 15-20 adjectives which can be used to describe the values, attitudes and beliefs of your magazine and stars.

Task 3:

Present your ideas using Prezi.

1. Sign up to a free account
2. Copy and rename this prezi

1. Replace the images in the presentation with examples from your own magazine (use the snipping tool).
2. Replace the words in the presentation with…
   • …description of your examples (used or developed) and
   • …analysis the representational meaning the examples communicate.

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Some additional resources that may help:

• Conventions of a music magazine
• The Paradox of the Star – Star Image – Metanarrative – Richard Dyer
• Star Building – the metanarrative – the big picture

Read this document on how to create your Creative Critical Reflections for your blog posts.

Your first reflection is on your Skills base.

Using your group brainstorm on technical and transferrable skills, consider where you are and where you might be through taking Media Studies.

Use the ideas on the brainstorm to create a reflective blog post that is not too long, looks attractive (bullet points and paragraphs) and is proofed for typos.

Create a collage with a minimum of 15 – 20 pictures that illustrate what you read, watch and listen to.  In other words what media do you consume? When you watch, listen and read, you are called a CONSUMER.

Also, what media do you contribute to?  What apps, blogs, social media do you add texts, status and click and likes to?  When you interact and contribute to the media, you are called a PROSUMER.

Here is the exemplar we showed you in class: Click on the thumbnail to get a bigger version.

Then using the Uses and Gratification terms from Blumler and Katz, indicate which of these media you use for ENTERTAINMENT, PERSONAL IDENTITY, SOCIAL INTERACTION or  EDUCATION AND INFORMATION.  Just add in a E, PI, SI, I – remember some of them you engage with for multiple reasons.

You only need about 6 of these to show that you understand how media is used for various reasons.

You should complete the collage using a google slide and then save it as a pdf – it will be your first blog post!

BLOG POST

Remember always to introduce the post but do not be tempted to start ‘in this task we did….’.  Try and weave in some personal observations, reflections and most of all some terms to show you ‘get it’, you understand why you have completed this piece of research and what you have learnt from it.