Key Concepts [1/4] Representation (AS Media Studies)
Hello!
Welcome to the first in the series of videos which is going to look at the requirements
for OCR AS Media Studies course.
The course is split into three units.
Two of which are assessed by a two-hour written examination, which comprises 50% of the total
mark and then, the further Practical unit, wherein students create their own media product;
then, that is also worth 50%.
In this video, we are only going to be dealing with the areas of study in their exam.
We are going to start off looking at the Four Key Concepts which govern the study of media.
First of this is Representation, which is often related to ideas about stereotyping.
The next is Media Language, then Audience and Institutions.
The understanding of Representation and how Media Language is used to inform it will be
assessed in Section A of the exam.
Audiences and Institutions are assessed in Section B.
Representation refers literally to how different elements of society are portrayed in the media.
In the case of the specific unit, you will look at how they are portrayed in British
television drama.
For example, you may be shown of a clip of anything from Waterloo Road to Dr. Who.
Then, asked about how various characters, types of characters are portrayed in it.
So, we have recent extracts in the exam looking at the portrayal of women from the drama,
Merlin.
Then most recently, the portrayal of the disabled was looked at.
The manner at which these portrayals are constructed links us in to the other key concepts assessed
in Section A of the exam, which is Media Language.
We will go into more detail about these areas explored in the representation unit in a later
tutorial, but for now, we’ll look quickly about how the concept of Media Language links
in with it.
Media Language is a term that frequently confuses students.
But if you are able to get your head around the concept at an early stage, it won’t
simply make your A Level studies conservatively less perplexing, it will mean that you will
be able to, as the OCR specification requires and I’m quoting from Assessment Objective
1 here, “To write using terminology appropriately and with accurate, coherent written expression.”
The ability to discuss Media Language fluently is what will push you from the merely proficient
into excellent.
That’s the different between Cs and Bs, As and A*s.
Put simple, Media Language refers to the methods used by producers of different media, whether
they are the producers of television shows, newspapers or video games.
This is followed by how they create meaning.
The use of the term language is what seems to cause the most consternation for students.
But you should just look at it like this.
When you study English, writers use words to create meaning.
With non-fiction texts, other devices come into play like presentational features, different
types of sentence structures, paragraphs, sections, etc.
In our particular area of study which is the Visual Media, what we will be talking about
is analyzing how media is constructed in film and television.
In very basic terms, this is done through the careful selection of camera shots and
of course, what goes inside the camera shots, so how those images composed within the frame,
where the actors are placed, are they moved towards one another or away from one another,
the props, the lighting, the costumes.
All of these that come under the heading of mise-en-scene.
This is all how meaning is created within the frame.
Then these are arranged together in the editing process to create even more meaning.
This is of course, enhanced with sound.
So your dialogue and music and your sound effects.
In Section A of your exam, you’ll be analyzing how particular section of society: women,
racial minorities, the working class, disabled people on how they are portrayed, how they
are presented.
They will be done by you being shown a short clip which you then have to analyze in relation
to its representation of one particular section of society.
The way that portrayal will be created and what will allow you to understand the inherent
meaning behind the particular representation will be your understanding of how the media
language used in television works.
It is worth noting that in reality, television language is merely a watered down version
of what is called film language.
They both refer to how meaning is created visually.
However, due to the fact that there are other options of study on this course, not just
moving pictures, the exam board has to use the more general term, Media Language in order
to encompass all the different areas for studies.
In the next tutorial, we will look at the key concepts of audience and institutions.
Thanks for listening.
[End of audio – 05:29] Key Concepts [1/4] Representation (AS Media
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