Thursday, 15 December 2016

Classwork - 15th December 2016

Find as many online newspaper articles as you can from the mainstream press (Guardian, Mirror, Telegraph, Mail, etc) that include interesting or noteworthy representations of women. Create a document or blog post that includes all your links along with a brief description of what the article shows and why you chosen it. You will need lots of these for the exam.

We will look at these in greater detail after Christmas.

Thursday, 8 December 2016

Last Tango In Paris Controversy

This is referred to in the previous article:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/04/last-tango-in-paris-director-says-maria-schneider-butter-scene-not-consensual

Article on TV treatment of rape

http://variety.com/2016/tv/features/rape-tv-television-sweet-vicious-jessica-jones-game-of-thrones-1201934910/

Homework - due Thursday 15th December

Research Sally Wainwright, the writer of Happy Valley and produce biography of her as a television writer, especially focusing on her creation of strong female parts. Also, include a section on the critical response to Happy Valley (particularly season 1) and quote your sources.

You will need to read lots of different sources to do this effectively. Online reviews, newspapers and interviews will help.

Factual information can be found on IMDB as well as Wikipedia.

Thursday, 10 November 2016

Homework - Due Thursday 17/11/16

Answer the following essay question:

How are women represented in the film Bridesmaids?

Thursday, 3 November 2016

Classwork & Homework 3/11/16

Please work in groups of 2/3 to produce a detailed, professional looking PowerPoint presentation on the representations of one of the main characters (Annie, Helen, Megan or Lillian) or a group of minor characters in Bridesmaids.

For your selection, please focus on:


  • gender stereotypes
  • deviations from this
  • the use of Media language in this representation
  • references to gender theory in relation to this representation
The work is due in next Thursday 10th November.

Groups:

1. Meg, Erin & Tom - Annie
2. Rach & Kate - Helen
3. The lads - Lillian & possible minor characters
4. Holly, Charlotte & Dan - Megan

Monday, 10 October 2016

Media/Feminism/Representations of Women Links

First of all, here's The Guardian's Media briefing for yesterday. These pages are required reading for your A-Level:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/oct/10/jacqui-oatley-strictly-ratings-womans-hour?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Secondly, Jaqui Oatley on work opportunities for women and girls in the media:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/oct/09/jacqui-oatley-footbal-presenter-bbc-itv-womens-sports-media-interview?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Finally, the same Jaqui Oatley is dealing with misogynistic online abuse:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/09/bbc-sports-presenter-jacqui-oatley-forced-to-call-police-over-online-threats?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other


Wednesday, 5 October 2016

Classwork and homework - 6/10/16

Classwork for today and homework: be prepared to share your notes on Monday.

Task 5 :  POST-FEMINISM
Do you agree with the argument that feminism is no longer necessary?
Use the internet to research women’s pay and the number of women in positions of power in Parliament, the judiciary and in top paid jobs.
What role do you think the media now plays in making certain roles, jobs and attributes seem ‘natural’ for women?

Find some textual examples to support your points.

Task 6 :  Judith Butler (1999)
A contemporary approach to gender representation has been introduced by Judith Butler (1999).
Carry out some research into her study – what are her key findings?
How does her approach differ from some of the other perspectives you have looked at?
Butler refers to ‘gender trouble’. What does she mean by this? Give some examples to support your answer.

Thursday, 29 September 2016

Homework

Choose any short example of The Male Gaze and analyse how the man appears to have the power and the woman is portrayed as a sexual object for him.

Please hand this in for marking on Monday. Reference the YouTube link.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Column on representations of women in advertising

Some interesting videos in this:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/28/hm-advert-diversity-ad-women?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Sunday, 25 September 2016

Another interesting article on pay equality

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/24/gender-pay-gap-wont-close-until-2069-says-deloitte?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Homework - 22/9/16

Research the way contemporary feminists express their views online and how others respond to them. Bring evidence and be prepared to discuss it on Monday.

A link that might be a helpful starting place. The Guardian have done loads on this including a huge campaign of their own:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/25/yvette-cooper-leads-cross-party-campaign-against-online-abuse

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Homework for this week

Please complete the following two tasks, started in class, and be prepared to discuss them first lesson next week. You can work in pairs if you want to, but you both need to have written responses:

Task 1 : Fact Finding
One of the first groups to draw attention to the politics of representation in the media were the feminists of the late 1960s and 1970s, who pointed out the limited range of representations of women in the media.

What were their key arguments about the representations of women in the media, and the impact this had on the perception and role of women in society?

Task 2: Feminist Theory
Laura Mulvey’s (1975) influential work ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ argued that mainstream Hollywood film was the product of a male-dominated and controlled industry.
What films formed the basis of her research?
What were her findings?
Explore what the following terms mean :
Voyeurism
Narcissism
Scopophilia

Thursday, 8 September 2016

Year 13 Homework

Welcome Back everyone.

As I said in the lesson, we are going to be working on Media and Collective Identity for this term and specifically on representations of women in the media. Please complete the following task for Monday and be prepared to discuss it:

Identify two representations of women in the media, one positive and one negative. Write at least 400 words for each on the following:


  • what the representation is
  • how it was created
  • what your own opinion is on it

Due Monday 12th September.

Thursday, 19 May 2016

Year 13 Revision

There's a revision pack online here that has some useful stuff in it - especially the grade-related glossary of terms at the end:

http://www.slideshare.net/andywallis/a2-media-studies-revision-pack

Sunday, 15 May 2016

Year 12 & 13 Exemplar Answers

On the following link you will find exemplar answer for both the two AS questions and the two A2 questions. These also include the examiners' comments and the mark schemes. It would be very useful for you to benchmark your own work against the Level 3 and Level 4 answers:

http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/179236-example-candidate-answers-from-june-2013.pdf

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

Revision Resource

Further to all the resources I've put on the student area of the network, this website covers all the key media concepts you need to know for the exam:

http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/

Year 12 Revision

All my teaching and revision materials from the whole year, plus extras are on the student network. Please download onto memory stick the ones you need and see me for extra 1:1 teaching after school if you feel you need it on any particular area.

Year 12 Institutions & Audiences Exam Preparation

Here are some past questions on this half of the paper; for each one you need to make detailed reference to the case study material to support the points made in your answer (remember we've studied film as our media area):

June 2014

"The increase in hardware and content has been significant in recent years. Discuss the effect this has had on institutions and audiences in the media area you have studied."

June 2013

"Evaluate the role of digital technologies in the marketing and consumption of products in the media area you have studied"

January 2013

"What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied?"

June 2012

"Cross-media convergence and synergy are vital media processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences. To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your chosen media area?"

Your task is to do further research into the production, marketing and distribution of films that can be applied to these questions. Contemporary examples might be Disney's purchase of both Marvel and Lucasfilm to create the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the new Star Wars films. Also look at the synergy used with these products.

You could also find examples of how films are distributed after cinema release, focusing on how streaming, Netflix, Sky, etc are taking over from sales of DVDs and Bluray.

Monday, 18 April 2016

Year 13 Homework - due tomorrow

Write a paragraph for each of the following media theories as they apply to the texts you have looked at for the exam:
1. Stuart Hall
2. Foucalt's archeology
3. Audience Reception Theory

Year 12 and Year 13 Past Papers

You can access past papers, mark schemes and examiner's reports (where the examiner points out what people did well and where they struggled) through this link:

http://www.ocr.org.uk/i-want-to/download-past-papers/

Select the following in the drop downs:

Subject - Media and Communication
Type - AS/A Level GCE
Qualifiation - Media Studies
Series - select the relevant past paper, mark scheme or examiner's report

I strongly recommend you use all of these resources to help you prepare for your exam. As ever, if you want support with this, see me to arrange a 1:1 tutorial.

Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Year 13 Homework

Your timed exam questions are due back to me by the end of today. Over Easter and Spring Break, you can practice writing a timed response to the other questions from this week:

1. Media and collective identity - how does one affect the other?
2. "Media simply reflect collective identity; they don't create it." How far do you agree with this statement. Refer to one or more groups of people in your answer.


Year 12 - Easter/Spring Break Homework

Both case studies need to be fully completed by the first day back after Spring Break. Also, you need to have actually studied the full documents and know them inside out to the point where you can write about them in the exam. We will be reviewing them and focusing on how they are examined in the first lesson back.

If you need a paper copy of either case study, please see me as soon as possible.

Year 12 Warp Films Case Study - Submarine

http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Warp-Films.jpgInstitutions and Audiences – Case Study 2

You are going to put together a detailed case study on Warp Films and Submarine.

There is some information already contained within these notes, but you need to work through it and highlight the key areas. Any information that is missing you must research yourself and add to this case study.

Your deadline for this is …….


RESEARCHING WARP FILMS
You need to have a good understanding of how the company works so make sure that your case study includes the following information..

O     How is Warp Films set up ? – is it part of a conglomerate? A multinational company? A subsidiary company?

O     What competition does it have in the marketplace? Who is their main target audience?

O     How has globalisation helped the company to expand and widen its target audience?

O     Can you find any examples of industry convergence?

O     Have there been any recent film trends in their production? How successful have they been? How successful are they in maximizing the potential of their film products through synergy?

O     What distribution methods do they use? Have they done anything innovative with digital distribution?


Warp Films is an independent film production company based in Sheffield & London, UK, with a further affiliated company Warp Films Australia based in Melbourne, Australia.

History
Warp Films was established by Warp Records founding partners Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett. It was initially created with financial support from NESTA and had a remit to produce a number of short films.
After the death of Rob Mitchell in 2001, Beckett decided to continue with Warp Films and enlisted the expertise of Sheffield friend Mark Herbert (who had just produced the critically acclaimed first series of Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights for Channel 4) to run the company.
The first film, Chris Morris' My Wrongs#8245-8249 & 117, was shot in 2002. It won the award for Best Short Film at the 2003 BAFTA Film Awards and became the first short film DVD single in the UK market.
Through the star of My Wrongs, Paddy Considine, Herbert met director Shane Meadows and asked them to generate an idea for a film. Herbert raised the funding and the result was Warp Films debut feature, Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Shane Meadows in 2004.
Shot in 22 days on a tight budget, and produced from Warp Films’ Sheffield office (at that time a shed in Herbert’s garden), it earned a BAFTA nomination, was nominated for a record eight British Independent Film Awards, won the Hitchcock D’or at the Dinard Festival, and won the Southbank award for Best Film. It received strong critical acclaim and has been hailed as a landmark in British cinema. It was ranked #27 in Empire magazines list of the best British films ever
Film
Year
Director
Notes
2002
Short film
2004

2005
Short film
2006
Paul Fraser
Short film/Music video
2006

2007
Richard Laxton

2007
Short film
2008
Chris Waitt

2008
Chris Waitt

2008

2008
Oliver Blackburn

2009

Curtains
2009
Short film
2009

2009

2009

2009
All Tomorrow's People & Jonathan Caouette

2009
Dom Rotheroe

2010

2010
TV
2010

2011

2011

2011
TV
The Organ Grinders Monkey
2011
Jake & Dinos Chapman
Short film
2011
Warp Films Australia
The Minor Character
2012
Richard Curson Smith
TV
The Snipist
2012
TV
Care
2012
Amanda Boyle
TV
Swimmer
2012
Short film
2012
TV series
2012

2013
Documentary
2013
TV
In 2005, Warp Films produced Rubber Johnny, an experimental short and 42-page book by director Chris Cunningham, featuring music by Warp Records artist Aphex Twin. To this day it continues to shock and amaze audiences.
Warp Films breakout success came with Shane Meadows’ This Is England, the story of Shaun, a boy who is adopted by a local skinhead gang after his father is killed in the Falklands war. Since its release in early 2007 it has gained many awards including the Best Film at the British Independent Films Awards, the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and Best British Film at the BAFTAs.
At the same ceremony, Warp Films received its third BAFTA as Paddy Considine’s directorial debut Dog Altogether won the Best Short Film award.
Three months after This Is England was released in cinemas, Warp's third feature film, Grow Your Own, was released by Pathe. The film was Warp's first collaboration with BBC Films. The film was directed by Richard Laxton and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Carl Hunter, developed from stories Carl had uncovered in his documentary work about the travails of immigrants. Produced by Barry Ryan for Warp Films, Luke Alkin for BBC Films and Carl Hunter for Art in Action.
In 2004, Warp Films made a significant expansion in its capacity. Robin Gutch joined Mark Herbert and Barry Ryan to devise the Warp bid for the Low Budget Film Scheme tender put out by Film4 and UK Film Council. The Warp bid was backed by Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire and EM Media. Warp won the tender against stiff competition and Warp X was formally set up as Warp Xin 2005 as a low-budget digital ‘studio’ to develop and produce films with focus on new talent and commercial potential.
During the Richard Ayoade’s debut feature Submarine starring Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins and Paddy Considine premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 and was released in the UK during March 2011 by Optimum Releasing. It was distributed in the US by The Weinstein Company.
The film was met with high critical acclaim, and featured original songs by Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner, in his first effort as a solo artist. Submarine has won many awards worldwide, including the Best Screenplay award at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards. Richard Ayoade was nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards
Warp Films / Warp X productions, Tyrannosaur, Kill List and Submarine were nominated for a total of 18 awards at the 2011 British Independent Film Awards.
Warp Films successfully ran a crowd-funding campaign to fund four short films shot at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival by Vincent Moon, using the website Kickstarter.com. The project reached its funding goal on 15 October and the films are currently in post-production.

Company
Warp X was founded in 2005 and produces feature films[2]It is a digital film studio that produces feature films in the UK with budgets usually between £400,000 and £800,000.[2] The studio serves as a format for new film directors to create movies for the first time on a lower budget scale with less expectation for high box office revenues on their initial feature foray.[3]
The film studio began with support from organizations including Warp FilmsFilm Four, the UK Film Council, EM Media and Screen Yorkshire.[4] The intent of the film studio's creation was to add energy and vitality to the film industry in Britain.[5]

Warp Films and sister company Warp X produce innovative and distinctive content which is both commercially and critically successful. Their features, shorts and music videos share a unique voice and an identifiable, loyal audience.

Alex Marshall, Chief Operating Officer at Warp, explains why they wanted to get involved in Take 12: “Everyone is talking about digital and what it means for the film industry and we wanted to develop our understanding of these issues. We were particularly keen to find out more about the potential for digital distribution and how it could change the way we do things at Warp.”


Exploring partnerships
The Warp team has been working with its innovation partner to explore distribution ideas outside of traditional theatrical and DVD ‘windows’. Part of this process involved conducting interviews with people working in different sectors, covering areas including games development, PR, blogging and direct mail strategy. These interviews gave them valuable insights into how digital distribution works, the different players involved in the process and the potential for partnership working.
“We learnt that there are no simple answers and that everyone is in the same boat, trying to understand the digital environment and what it means for their business”, comments Alex. “One thing that we were surprised by is how little monetisation there really is in digital at the moment.”


Developing test cases
Warp has developed a digital distribution and marketing plan for low-budget rockumentary Le Donk, which premieres at the Edinburgh International Festival in June 2009 prior to release in September. The plan includes audience targets for each digital media activity, to allow the team to explore the kind of audience that the film appeals to and the tools it can use to understand its audiences better.

Low budget studio Warp X – an initiative of The UK Film Council, Film4, Screen Yorkshire and Optimum Releasing – is also dipping a toe into the digital pool with All Tomorrow’s Parties, a music documentary produced by Luke Morris of Found Films. Warp and Found are creating an online portal through which audiences can access the film when it is released in September 2009.

Getting closer to the audience
“The main question for us is how we can use digital to find and get closer to our audiences”, says Alex. “Le Donk and All Tomorrow’s Parties are acting as live case studies, giving us a chance to test out ideas, measure effectiveness and assess the impact on sales targets. The insights and data we gather will enable us to develop an overall digital customer relationship management strategy.”

Kate Fewins is managing the distribution and marketing of both films for Warp. She says: “This is an exciting time for us. We’re really enjoying working with Huge in channelling our creativity into these alternative release strategies. We want to prove to others in the market that there are opportunities to monetise digital content. With the right strategy and the right partners, we’re confident that we can make this happen.”

http://kickinghorseculture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/submarine-movie-poster-02.jpg

RESEARCHINGSUBMARINE (2010)…..
You need to look into all aspects of the film production process including the following:

O     Initial idea and pitch – where did the idea for the film come from? Source material?
O     Target audience – who was the film aimed at primarily? Why do you think this target group was chosen?
O     Investment in the idea – contributors? Who ‘bankrolled’ the idea?
O     Budget-do you know how much was spent on distribution and marketing?
O     Cast and crew – any notable ‘stars’? Production background and credits?
O     Production – how was the film shot? Any special FX used? What technology was employed during the production of the film?

O     Post-Production – was CGI used in the post-production process?
O     Distribution – who distributed the film? When was this decision made – at the pitch stage or did the producers need to find a distributor once the film had been completed? How did this come about?

O     Marketing – how was the film marketed? Evaluate the marketing campaign. Did the distributors choose to go down the viral marketing route? How far did the distributors use new technologies to market the film? Where there any cross media marketing tactics used? How did they use new media technologies to target their audience more effectively?

O     Synergy / Merchandise / Tie Ins / Spin Offs – did the distributors utilise any of these options? How successful were they?

O     Release of the film – How was the film released? Was this a successful strategy?
O     Box office success – how successful was the film on its opening weekend? How successful was the film in the UK? How successful was it globally?



SUBMARINE (2010)

Submarine is a 2010 coming-of-age comedy-drama film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne. The film was written and directed by Richard Ayoade, and starred Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, and Sally Hawkins. Submarine is Ayoade's directorial debut.
Cast
    Craig Roberts as Oliver Tate
    Yasmin Paige as Jordana Bevan
    Noah Taylor as Lloyd Tate
    Paddy Considine as Graham Purvis
    Sally Hawkins as Jill Tate

Production
The film was produced by Warp Films and Film4 Productions. Principal photography began on 26 October 2009 and filming finished in December 2009. Andrew Hewitt composed the score and musician Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys contributed five songs.
Casting
Around 100 actors submitted video auditions for the roles of Oliver, Jordana, and Chips. Michael Sheen and X Factor contestant Lucie Jones were originally cast in the film but dropped out due to other commitments.
Release
The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010.Following a generally positive reception it was picked up by The Weinstein Company for a North American release.The film also played at the 54th London Film Festival in October 2010 and was played out of competition at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in January 2011. It was also screened along with 400 other films at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the next month.
Reception
Critical response
Submarine received very positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 87% based on reviews from 142 critics, with the consensus: "Funny, stylish, and ringing with adolescent truth, Submarine marks Richard Ayoade as a talent to watch." At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 76 based on 37 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars saying "Submarine isn't an insipid teen sex comedy. It flaunts some stylistic devices, such as titles and sections and self-aware narration, but it doesn't try too hard to be desperately clever. It's a self-confident work for the first-time director, Richard Ayoade, whose purpose I think is to capture that delicate moment in some adolescent lives when idealism and trust lead to tentative experiments. Because Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige are enormously likable in their roles, they win our sympathy and make us realize that too many movies about younger teenagers are filtered through the sensibility of more weathered minds."
Box office[edit]
The film grossed $467,602 in the USA, plus $397,057 outside the USA, for a combined gross of $864,659.
Music
Main article: Submarine (soundtrack)
Original songs were written and performed by Alex Turner, the Arctic Monkeys frontman. The soundtrack charted at 35 in the UK Album Chart.
The original score was composed by Andrew Hewitt, long-time collaborator of Ayoade, recorded at Air Studios with The Composers Ensemble orchestra.


MOVIE MARKETING MADNESS: SUBMARINE
We’re all just a collection of our various learned and inherited quirks, aren’t we? We react this way or that to whatever situation we find ourselves in based on how we’ve been taught through one means or another to react. Sometimes that’s in what are deemed socially acceptable ways and other times it’s not so much that. 

Nowhere do those quirks come to the forefront, particularly for guys, as when we’re dealing members of the opposite sex. The pressures put on us when a girl is in the room are extraordinary and so we wind up dropping silverware, tripping over our own two feet and otherwise making an ass out of ourselves. The good news is that this only lasts from age 10 to I’ll Let You Know When Even.
The quirks of one particular romance are explored in the new British film Submarine. Teenager Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is trying to explore the ways of love with his classmate Jordana (Yasmine Page) but he is so genuinely odd that it’s a bit difficult. Part of his odd nature comes from what he perceives to be the demise of his parent’s (Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins) marriage. So with a mix of insecurities, misinformation, ego and charisma Oliver sets out to woo Jordana in the best way he can.

The Posters The movie’s poster shows Graham half underwater, a wide eyed, bewildered look on his face. There’s not much to it but it’s clear that we’re watching his story of discovery in the movie. A slightly revised version was released later on that added critic quotes but other than that it’s essentially the same image.
The Trailers The first trailer, which debuted just after it showed up at Sundance, introduces us to Oliver as a very strange young man who likes to pretend he’s being filmed as he goes about his life. We see lots of his flirtation with Jordana but there’s also lots about his parents and what their story is going to be, both on their own and in their interactions with him. The trailer has all sorts of fast, unique cuts that build to a crescendo with the French music that plays in the background and it comes off as really interesting and funny.
In the second trailer, which is much more straightforward, we meet Oliver as he’s searching for some idea of who he is or who he’s supposed to be. He’s tried a number of quirks and such on for size but none have stuck. Then he meets Jordana and the two begin an offbeat and unusual romance, including his clumsy and preposterous attempts to seduce her, something that seems to be largely what he thinks he’s expected to do. It’s clear in the trailer that there’s the prerequisite period where everything goes somewhat south for the couple but hope is presented at the end that they work things out because their own version of love is just too strong and unique to not exist. It’s funny and amusing and works quite well.
Online There’s not much on the official site. The trailer is there and you can click links to some reviews of the movie on outside sites, visit the studio’s Facebook page and read about the source book but that’s about it.
Advertising and Cross-Promotions Nothing that I’ve seen.
Media and Publicity The movie premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it picked up some good word of mouth for director Ayoade and for Roberts’ performance in the lead role. That was followed by reports that after the Weinstein Co.’s purchase of the movie it was undergoing some serious recutting at the hands of Harvey Weinstein himself, who was apparently concerned the movie didn’t play as well for general audiences as it did for the festival crowd.
Overall There’s not much to this campaign so the overall effectiveness is going to be judged by the two components of its Sundance appearance and the trailer that was released. By those measures it’s a pretty good effort, getting people talking at the film festival and then working that general awareness into something more with the trailer. It certainly seems to have a unique rhythm, which as a movie is its greatest asset in terms of finding an appreciative audience. I wish there had been a bit more marketing work done but instead this seems like one of those movies that’s picked up after festival buzz and then unloaded into theaters on a wing and a prayer.