Year 8
Students will study one lesson a cycle of Media Technology in Y8, focusing on learning how to use the following technologies:
- iPads
- Apple Mac computers
- Adobe Photoshop
- Blogging
- Digital stills cameras
As Photoshop is such a complicated, yet essential programme for students to fully comprehend to access the higher grades at GCSE, the course will revolve around students learning how this programme works and making their own Media products through using this. They will also have the opportunity to work with other technologies (listed above)
The topics of the SOW will be:
Term 1: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Producing a Print Advertisement
Term 2: Using Special FX on PS and Producing a Print Film Marketing Campaign
Term 3: Manipulating Images on PS and Producing a Magazine
GCSE (AQA)
Year 9 (& Year 10 specialist option)
Students have the opportunity to start their GCSE Media Studies course at the start of Y9 at CBSC, this means they will have four lessons per cycle (if students opt to start in Y10 they will have 6 lessons a cycle). It is essential that students begin with an introduction to Media Studies to allow them to fully understand what the Media is all about, as well as dispelling popular, incorrect, assumptions about the course. In the first half term students will be taught the fundamentals of Media Studies: Forms and Conventions, Audiences, Institutions, New Technologies, Representation and Media Language, this will be accessed through contemporary and relevant case studies. Student will also have access to technology for research purposes, as well as logging their learning and progress. Each concept will be expanded on through the various assignments which the students will cover for their coursework and examination.
Once the foundations have been covered, students will move onto starting their coursework in the second half term beginning with Assignment 1: Advertising and Marketing (this is chosen from a set bank of assignments offered by AQA). In this unit students will explore the world of advertising and marketing and examine how advertising works on a commercial and social level. Students will analyse a variety of print advertisements exploring how effective they are in selling their products and then progress to designing and producing their own. This will continue into the first half of the Spring Term.
Students then move onto completing the next assignment, Assignment 2: Film Promotion. In this unit students will explore the institutional practises around global and national film marketing, further developing their knowledge of Audience and institutions, along with new Media technologies. Various relevant and contemporary case studies will be examined, with students gaining an insight into how the business works, exploring theories of synergy and convergence. After analysing several case studies, students will explore and compare the impact and effectiveness of two promotional methods, they then progress to designing and producing their own promotional campaign for a fictional film. For both of these units students will produce their final piece of work for their coursework folders under controlled conditions in the examination hall. Prior to this they will get feedback from teachers and suggestions about how to improve their work (see controlled assignment conditions for more details)
By the time the final half of the summer term arrives students should have completed Assignments 1 and 2, and their teacher should have collated their grades to assess whether they should continue with the course for the next two years, or progress to the accelerated learning group which will complete their GCSE by the end of Y10. Students who continue to the end of Y11, will have the opportunity to revisit their assignments and consolidate their knowledge to improve their coursework. Students who are placed in the accelerated group will complete the course in two years and start a new GCSE course in Film Studies in Y11.
Year 10 Accelerated Group/ Y11
At the start of this year students will begin with their last assignment, Assignment 3: Print Magazine Production. In this unit students can either work individually or with one other student (ideally students should be of similar ability if they chose to work with one another) the end result of this assignment is each student produces four professional looking magazine pages. During this assignment students will explore the magazine industry focusing on the forms and conventions of different genres, alongside audience gratifications theories, to ensure they can produce their own professional standard magazine. Students will further develop their Photoshop skills during this assignment and carry out a detailed evaluation of their work at the end.
When all three coursework assignments are complete (and word limits for each are adhered to) they will be collated in each students’ coursework portfolio folder and marked in accordance to AQA guidelines (and moderated within the department). This folder is worth 60% of the students’ final grade; therefore it is essential that all students achieve (ideally) at least one grade higher than their TMG in the subject.
After the Christmas term students will begin their work on their examination unit; these change each year* for 2012 the topic is TV Crime Drama (with the accelerated group they will have some foundation work to carry out in the summer holiday between Y9 and Y10 to prepare them for this unit) it is essential that students do not carry out any coursework assignments which clash with the controlled test**. For this unit students will look at each of the key concepts and apply them to the specific topic, they will also use their production skills to create a Media text which fits into the topic.
* Topics:
2012- TV Crime Drama
2013- The Music Press: Print and Online
2014- Promotion and Marketing of Computer Games
2015- Television News
** Y9/Y10 – no music magazines for Assignment 3 (clash with controlled test for 2013), this does not apply to accelerated group (RG) as they will be sitting 2012 GCSE
A Level (OCR)
Year 12
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