Category: Year 13 Coursework

Your Gregson Submission

Help & Information, Year 13 Coursework

The Golden Gregsons are coming:

  • Where – The Performing Arts Centre
  • When –  Tuesday 4th April 2023 (6.30 – 9.00 PM)

We want to submit your music promo package into one or more of the award categories.

To do this you must submit your final product as follows:

Create a new folder in your project folder in the D Drive called…

“The Name of Your Song, Album, Artist: Individual names of group members” For example:

“Love is Blind, Blinkered, JoySkopt: Ed Gregson, Jess Cobb, Charlee Hales”

Folder Content

  1. In this folder you should put:
    1. A copy of the whole video
      • (file name = the song title MP4)
    2. A 20 second clip to be played of your video in the nominations
      • (file name = the song title 20 sec clip = MP4)
    3. 4 x JPEG copies of the four panes of your digipack.
      • (file names = front, back, right, left, spine (if applicable))
    4. 4 x JPEG screen shots/ snips of your social media page
      • (file names = SMP1, SMP2, SMP3 & SMP4)
  2. Copy this whole folder into: P:\Awards 2023\Year 13 Music Package

Remember, a lot of this has already been exported.

AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO EXPORT THE 20 second SEQUENCE:

Use the work space marker at the top of the sequence to select your chosen section. When you go to export, make sure you select ‘Work space’ as opposed to ‘Entire Sequence’

Final advice – last couple of days

Year 13 Coursework

Before you leave for Xmas you must do the following:

On your home page upload:

  • The music video and introduce it – xxx by xxx
  • The digipak –  4 panes preferably on one A3 and then linked to the pdf’s and panes labelled.
  • The social media page – screen shot of home page and linked to the actual site with a slideshare presentation of all the posts, stories in case it gets taken down.
  • Upload your CR essay in the CR Category – 4 questions at the top but no questions in the body of essay. It should start with the branding question and then include the conventions, representation and then audience section last.

Over Xmas:

  • If you want to amend, complete any blog posts then please do so.

But once we are back at school, the coursework has to be put to one side as we have a LOT OF GROUND TO COVER and NEW MATERIAL – so you will need clear heads and clear desks.

Good luck – one last push.

 

 

 

FINAL CR ESSAY – PRESENTATION

Critical Reflection, Year 13 Coursework

Submit you Critical Reflection Essay as a blog post:

  • Cut and paste with screen shots into the blog post itself – do this from the grid or the template – whichever you have used.
  • Make sure it is formatted well and that the images have text wrapped around them and placed appropriately (close to where you are discussing the example in the essay).
  • Include the 4 x questions at the start –  in this order. However, do not include them in the actual essay.
    • How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? 
    • How do your products represent social groups or issues? 
    • How do your products engage with the audience?
    • How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
  • Make sure that your different sections ‘blend’ and move between each section easily – you may have to add in some ‘connecting’ sentences.
  • PUBLISH.

CR Essay – Conventions (MV) and Representation (DP)

Critical Reflection, Year 13 Coursework

The Brief:

Candidates must write an evaluative essay of around 1000 words. This critical reflection of their work should be guided by the following compulsory questions:

  1. How do your products represent social groups or issues? – 250 words
  2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
  3. How do your products engage with the audience?
  4. How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? – 250 words

This critical reflection must be completed individually, even if candidates had collaborated in the creation of their products.

 

Task: Initial Brainstorm

You have already done a huge amount of research, planning & design as you made you multi media marketing package for the release of an album

As a whole class we completed the round robin and you are going to think about how you would answer these 2 questions using your own specific products:

  1. How did your research inform your music video and the way it uses or challenge conventions?
  2. How does your digipack represent the star and the issues they are concerned about?

You should describe and analyse your products with reference to specific examples and use terminology (just cite the theorist) to describe how those conventional features have been used, developed, challenged (designed) by you to construct/represent a specific set of ideas, which is: your brand or mission statement! 

You must then go on to say how your representation (ideology) of your star and issues raised in digipak were shaped by you.

Task 1

  • Recap what conventions means?
  • Recap what representation means?

Task 2

  • Read the template, draft sheet.

Task 3

  • Then begin to make your own submissions regarding conventions in the music video and regarding representation in the digipak.
  • @ 250 words for Conventions and 250 words for Representation.
ADVICE
  • The conventional design features in your video, include examples such as lighting, framing & composition, camera movement  mise-en-scene, editing styles, filters, effects along with narrative structure and themes and also technical conventions such as lip syncing, edit to the beat.
  • The representation of social groups or issues in your digipak: include ideas such as star image, genre, brand – use of filters, fonts, body language, MES, imagery etc. And representation of issues – genre, the ‘vibe’ of the genre – anarchic, rebellious, contemplative, organic, upbeat?

To ensure you are addressing the question – bold or highlight or underline every time you use:

  • the terms use, develop, challenge, copy, emulate, follow etc
  • the terms represent, portray, convey, infer, imply etc
  • every time you have an adjective in the analysis of how the groups/issues are represented.

These are the assessment objectives – so keep it in mind when you are writing your response.

 

CCR – How do your products engage with the audience?

Critical Reflection, Year 13 Coursework

A Recap on Marketing

Use the template to draft a response to the question.

Focus on the Social Media Page as this is where engaging the audience is tackled on so many levels and through the various products and across various platforms.

ESSENTIAL THEORY

Think about those key ideas from the Uses and Gratification Theory – Blumler and Katz.

They described the active audience and the pleasure (gratification) and utility (use) they seek in the media they consume.

  • Entertainment
  • Information
  • Personal Identity
  • Social Interaction

‘AIDA’ – The Marketing Mantra

The goals of all marketing campaigns. AIDA…

  • attract
  • interest
  • desire
  • (call to) action

You might also weave in some key terms like encode, decode, target audience, demographic, ideologies, beliefs, representation etc.

Your Critical Reflection Planning

  • Find two examples from the Social Media Page.
  • Describe their clear purpose of engaging the (interactive) audience.
  • Attach the key terms to them.
  • Cite the theorists.
  • Answer the question!

CR Essay – how do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

Critical Reflection, Year 13 Coursework

THE BRIEF

  • How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’? @ 250 words – 2 specific examples

What is Branding?

Use your mission statement which should be an overall picture/image of who your star is!

Make sure you include your 5 x descriptors you did for your brand image (should also be in your mission statement) as the guiding lines for what your aim was to create coherency across the products.

  • Theory of the Active Audience: preferred / negotiated /oppositional reading (Hall)
  • Stars Image, Ideology & the Metanarrative (Dyer)
  • Semiotics & Structuralism (Barthes)
  • Narrative: Structure, themes, chronology, positioning: (Propp / Todorov, Strauss)
  • Genre: conventions (blueprint), predictable pleasure (contract) & marketing (label) (Altman)
  • Prosumers – line between producers and audience is now blurred – Shirky.

Combine these questions with those below for the Branding question. Make sure you have covered all corners.

  • How do the products reflect the ideology (values, attitudes and beliefs) of the artist or band?
    • Dyer – star image – metanarrative
  • How are the products designed to create a particular (preferred) reading and fit with the audience’s needs and expectations?
    • Hall – theory of the active audience
  • How do the designs of the digipack and the social media page fit in with the visuals &/or themes in the video?
    • Barthes – semiotics, Todorov – narrative, Strauss – binary oppositions
  • What are the institutional/business purposes behind the 3 products?
    • Altman – label, predictable pleasure & similarity / difference
    • Other links and relationships. You should however try to show how there is a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship between the three products and how this is achieved.

Terms/theories:

  • Genre – label, blueprint, contract, repertoire of elements, audience expectations – Altman
  • Star image – representation, extraordinary, ordinary, absent, present, metanarrative – Dyer
  • Audience – preferred reading, decoding, encoding, active audience, psychographics, demographics, cultural experience – Hall
  • Media Language – signs, symbols, codes, semic, symbolic, cultural, narrative and action codes, active audience – Barthes
  • Narrative – themes, conflicts (Strauss), narrative arc (Todorov), repeatability, narrative characters (Propp)

ESSENTIAL THEORISTS IN BRIEF

COMPLETE THEORY BOOKLET

 

READ THE EXEMPLARS ON THE PREVIOUS POST AND IN THE TEMPLATE.

REMEMBER; ANSWER THE QUESTION WITH 2 – 3 CLEAR EXAMPLES, DON’T OVER COMPLICATE THE TASK – HOW DOES IT WORK AS A PACKAGE? You can be critical just justify your statements. 

Critical Reflection – Introduction and Overview

Critical Reflection

DO NOT COPY THE EXEMPLARS IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM

The Brief:

Candidates must write an evaluative essay of around 1000 – 1500 words. This critical reflection of their work should be guided by the following compulsory questions:

  • How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? (MV)
  • How do your products represent social groups or issues? (DP)
  • How do your products engage with the audience? (SMP)
  • How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’? (ALL)

This critical reflection must be completed individually, even if candidates had collaborated in the creation of their products.

Template.

Here is a link to a suggested template for your Critical Reflection. 

Task: Initial Brainstorm

You have already done a huge amount of research, planning & design as you made you multi media marketing package for the release of an album

As a whole class, complete a round robin and you are going to think about how you would answer these questions using specific products:

  1. How did you try to brand your star? (All three products).
  2. How did your research inform your music video and the way it uses or challenge formal & generic conventions?
  3. How does your digipack represent the star and the issues they are concerned about?
  4. How does your social media page engage with the audience?

Media Theory & Key Concepts

From now on we are going to be explicitly teaching media theory. Previously we have been teaching this implicitly (without naming specific theory or theorists (except Blumler, Katz & Dyer)) however from now on and in all your exams there is an expectation that you will recognise that Media Studies draws on a range of theorists’ ideas and that you must name them and use some of the terms they used to explain the key concepts in Media Studies, which are:

  • Language
  • Representation
  • Industry
  • Audience

This is also true for the Critical Reflection:

Here is a link to guidance on what theory to apply and in which sections of your Critical Reflection.

Remember all these theorists and more, which you need to learn for your exams, are in a menu at the top of the blog.

Application of Questions to Products

We are aiming for an essay of 1,000 – 1,200 words. You do not have time (300 words max) to elaborate on the details of all your products in each section and so we will be applying specific questions to specific products. See below for details:

Click to see details

EXEMPLAR CR ESSAY

DO NOT COPY THE EXEMPLARS IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM

It’s the Final Countdown!

Critical Reflection, Digipack, Music Video, Social Media Page, Year 13 Coursework

This the final week for lessons being devoted to production.  You must therefore make every effort to complete and update your blog with all the relevant products and research and planning tasks.

We will be using the last two weeks of term to focus on the Critical Reflection essay which is an important submission.  If there are still tweaks to the products then you can carry on using frees, lunchtimes and after school to improve them.

ABSOLUTE PRODUCT DEADLINE

By the last day of term – your final products must be on your home page under Component 3 The Brief. Done and dusted.

  • 1 X Music Video 
  • 4 x panes (with spines) JPEGS with PDFs attached of the DP
  • 1 x Social Media Page – screen shot of home page hyperlinked to the actual site
  • + 1 slideshare with screen shots of the SMP in case the site is removed (you should be collating these as you go, just in case and it has happened a couple of times)
  • Plus your Critical Reflection Essay in the category – formatted and proofed.

 

If you feel that there are tweaks you want to do to the blog over Xmas then feel free – HOWEVER, in our experience, if you leave it until then – it just won’t happen. You deserve a break but this will mean for several of you, you must put some extra time and effort in between now the the last day of term to ensure it is all completed and you are happy with it.

Next term we move on to the exams and this will be a whole new way of tackling your course – make the most of this 25% of your overall marks and do your

VERY BEST TO MAKE IT COUNT. 

Good luck.

Mr G and Mrs C

Draft 1 and Draft 2 SMP – Assessment – Check List for your Social Media Page

Social Media Page, Year 13 Coursework

You will only have to respond to one series of feedback, from your teacher only.

However we thought it would be helpful to itemise what elements of the social media page will be considered as part of the assessment criteria:

Below is a list of features, some of which we would expect to see on your social media page. You don’t need every single one of the list below. However, the first is essential and  including some of the others would show an understanding of how social media can be used to drive engagement, promote your star image, their paid for media and build a fan base.

SELF ASSESSMENT SHEET – TAKE A COPY

Draft 1:  Self assess in relation to the following criteria. Once you have half a dozen posts: USE THIS SHEET - MAKE A COPY AND THEN EMBED WITH THE RESPONSES.

Draft 2: @ 40 posts: including stories/reels/gifs etc:  Teacher will do a screen castify in relation to the following criteria.
Design coherence (Essential):

Does your social media page include the same (generic)  images, colour scheme, fonts, graphics that appeared in your digipak design and to a lesser extent your music video.

Content:

Is there additional (teaser) content such as gifs, images, audio…

Synergy:

Have you created links with other brands or products that would appeal to your audience

Timeline:

Is there a sense of building excitement leading towards the release date of your album

Cross Media Convergence:

Is there a sense that your star is creating converged links with other media or stars (Radio / TV interviews, computer game / film soundtracks, adverts, collaboration  with other musicians…)

Promotion of live events:

An album release would almost certainly combine with a tour or series of streamed (paid for) gigs / shows. Remember this is where many artists make most of their revenue.

A Call to Action:

There should be a clear link to point of sale (iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, You Tube…) for the music as well as link for audience to buy merchandise or concert tickets.

Ordinary / Extraordinary:

Is there an insight into the ‘real’ life of the star an opportunity to see them as an authentic person.

Interaction / Engagement:

The audience are looking for interaction with the star: Live chats, invitations to comment / engage.

Sell Physical copies:

The artist makes very little money from streamed listens. They would prefer you bought the album or vinyl. Are there promotions of physical versions of the music.

Issues & Charities:

Links to current political issues or charities close to the star’s heart is a useful way of developing a compassionate and engaged star image

This list is not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be a check list of essential items. However it’s a guide to the thinking and some of the expectations your teachers would have when marking this final piece of your cross media promotional package.

Design suggestions for your Social Media Page

Social Media Page, Year 13 Coursework

Now that you know what will go into your Social Media Page you need to start designing and populating it.

Use Canva to design the banner and other images.

You should use images / elements from your digipack to maintain a consistency of brand design.

CHECK LIST

  • About
  • Bio
  • Banner – Use Canva
  • Teasers
  • Gifs
  • Appearances
  • Photos – behind the scenes, contact sheets, own collection?
  • Merchandise – Create synergies between your star image and other brands
  • Tour details and link to a ticket site.
  • Interactive content.
  • Link to actual artists’ actual other sites?
  • Links to charities that show the social side of your artist

Assess these against the following criteria.  We need to do this, as we don’t have the examples yet. So shall we just set them some questions to self assess it?

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