Representation of Age - Assessment Point

Representation of Age - Assessment Point

Discuss the ways in which the extract below constructs the representation of age using the following:

• camera shots, angle, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scene

Here is an exemplar opening to this essay. Your task is to write the next section of the essay, focussing on the representation of age as constructed through the character of the maths teacher. 

Read my opening first before then continuing the essay. Begin with the sentence highlighted at the end of my opening and move forward from there. 

Exemplar Opening

This extract constructs representations of differing age groups.

At the very beginning of the extract a representation of middle-age is constructed through the character of the strict teacher. This representation is that of middle-age as possessing authority and power, with the character having control over other characters who are both teenaged and young adult.

A sense of enigma is created on this character's first appearance as we see a tracking shot of feet walking through tables from a low level. The absence of non-diegetic sound allows us to focus clearly on the noise of the character's footsteps. A cut to two teenage boys clearly shows them as behaving in a suspicious manner before we cut back to the feet steadily approaching. This juxtaposition constructs meaning for the audience as it becomes clear that the boys are keen to hide from the approaching adult, suggesting that he has authority over them. 

A series of quick cuts adds pace to the scene before we see the middle aged teacher's face for the first time in close-up. The use of a close-up allows us to see an expression that has connotations of enjoyment as he passes judgement over the boys. He puts the boys under pressure by asking where they were as everyone else was 'suffering the screening'. This dialogue, an aspect of diegetic sound, helps to further construct his character as being a somewhat disillusioned and cynical representation of middle age. The composition of the shot where he questions the boys gives him power as he is anchored in the centre of the shot with the boys either side of him. 

His character is developed through his use of sarcasm in the delivery of lines of dialogue such as when he finishes the first boy's sentence by saying 'holding his hair..' The actor's tone of voice, an element of mise en scene, is patronising and this character is developing into a very negative representation of his age group. His use of non-verbal commands, such as the clicking of fingers, and commands using the imperative tense, 'Give it!', ensure that the audience are aware of his authority, a fact supported through the character's costume with his suit, shirt and tie having connotations of power. Further interactions between the character and a young adult teacher reinforce his representation as middle aged authority.

Maths Teacher

A different representation of middle age can be seen at the end of the extract through the character of the maths teacher. When we first see him, there is non-diegetic hip hop music playing. The hip hop music indicates that he is trying to look "cooler" or even look younger. He says "are they meant to be like that" to the woman who is trying to help him. This shows that he doesn't know anything about fashion of the younger generation and that he cares of what others think of him. The woman replies to him saying "yeah!, its fashion innit?" showing that he cares of what others think of him. 2 students which are girls come along and start to laugh at him and saying "nice threads sir, i bet you robbed them off a year 10 didnt you?" this tells the audience that he may be dressing like a year 10 to look a bit more like a teenager. He then replies by saying "wonderful" this shows us that he is a laughing stock already and that he doesn't like the way he is dressed but it is possibly the best he is going to do.

At the start of the scene, the camera is at a low angle and then moves up revealing what character is actually dressed how they are and the use of non-diegetic sound manipulates the audience into thinking that the person is young but when they find out it is a middle aged maths teacher, the audience may possibly laugh because it was unexpected. The audience then finds out that he is trying to impress another teacher. We can see this because when she walks past he says "Eleanor, Eleanor is everything alright?" As he is walking besides her he does a different walk than we would normally expect from someone like him. He does this to try and 'show off' his new outfit. When she finally notices his outfit she replies with " you look ridiculous." This shows that he cares what people think about him. The caretaker then comes along and takes a look at the math teacher and says "Woah, you can't go into class looking like that!" The math teacher then admits that he looks ridiculous and that he has made a laughing stock of himself, the caretaker is trying to help him out and this can be seen when he says "bin that lot and stick to what your good at, Maths"    

The maths teacher is seen as a complete polar opposite to the old teacher at the beginning, he is seen as a caring, kind and soft hearted person.He can also been seen as a character who cares about what others say about him in terms of  what people say to him because when the 2 students start to laugh at him for what he is wearing, then he looks uncomfortable and a bit upset because they are not being nice to him. Whereas the strict teacher doesn't really care of what others think of him. Also when Eleanor says that he looks ridiculous, he looks even more upset and possibly annoyed because when the caretaker comes along, he says he has made a fool of himself and that he has possibly blew his chance. The caretaker can be seen as being caring as well because he advises the maths teacher to just be himself and to get rid of the ridiculous clothes he is wearing.  

What To Do Whilst The Extract Is Shown

Representation of Age - Extract from "Waterloo Road"

Watching The Extract - The Sequence Used In The Exam

The 7 Areas Of Representation

The 7 Areas Of Representation

Physical Disability / Ability

Disability tends to still be represented in terms of stereotypical characters.  For example:

• Physically Disabled / Disfigured – often shown as outsiders, unable to do normal things
• Mentally disabled – Often shown as strange, odd, childlike, outsiders
• Able Bodies / Minded – often shown as “normal” and “ideal”.

Characters with disabilities are often portrayed in TV Dramas as being outsiders, strange, unable to do everyday activities, immature, weaker than “able bodied, able minded” characters, less attractive etc.  Traditionally in films, villains were often given a disability or deformity to make them seem scarier or more evil.  Although our association of disability with “evil” has since declined, society often still links disability to weakness and makes disabled characters objects to pity.

If you get “disability” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify who is able / disabled in the clip?
• Are people with disabilities shown as different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours from people who don’t have disabilities?  If so, how?
• Is their disability represented as being important in their life?
• Are people without disabilities represented stereotypically as being normal / better / more powerful?  If so, how?
• Are people with disabilities represented stereotypically as being abnormal /weak/ pathetic?  If so, how?
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters with disability?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about sexuality?
• Don’t ignore the able bodied characters as they need to be analysed too!

Ethnicity

The representation of people from different ethnicities has changed massively over the years.  This is probably because the population in Britain has become much more diverse recently and current society is much more used to mixing with people from all different cultures and backgrounds.  
Here are some examples of very negative generic stereotypes that used to be seen (and in some case still are) in film and tv:

• White people – often shown as good, pure, heroes, strong, or sometimes racist
• Black people – often shown as exotic, strange, tribal, criminal, poor
• Asian people (Chinese, Korean etc) – often shown mainly as intelligent, submissive (quiet and shy), nerdy, interested in technology
• Indian people – often shown as being poor, living in large families, very traditional, working in corner shops
• Middle Eastern people (arabs etc) – often shown as being terrorists, violent, aggressive, rich
• Immigrants – often shown as being a drain on society, criminals, illegal, bad for Britain, taking British jobs

People often note that in TV drama, people from particular ethnicities have storylines that all centre around their culture.  For example, Indian characters often battle with the clash between British culture and their traditional culture eg: arranged marriages etc.  They rarely have storylines that don’t have something to do with their ethnicity.  People also have commented that often people from minority ethnic groups (eg non white) are often portrayed in a very negative way.

If you get “ethnicity” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify what ethnicities people are?
• Are people from different ethnic backgrounds shown as different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their ethnicity represented as being important in their life?
• Are people from particular ethnicities portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from particular ethnicities portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?  
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different ethnic backgrounds?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about ethnicity?
• Don’t ignore the white characters as they need to be analysed too!

Sexuality

Sexuality tends to still be represented in terms of stereotypical characters.  For example:

• Gay Men – camp, feminine, funny, outrageous OR very attractive, and sleep around
• Lesbian Women – Butch, manly, blunt, man haters

Despite changing equality laws and a wider acceptance of different sexualities within much of society, TV has always remained quite conservative as they are scared of offending their viewers.  Heterosexual (straight) characters are represented as the “norm” and homosexual (gay) characters are often represented as being different, strange, or separate from mainstream society.  Some critics say that when TV does feature gay characters, they are never just characters that “happen to be gay.”  Their sexuality always plays a key part in their storylines and they don’t seem to have any issues outside of their sexuality.  

If you get “sexuality” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify what the sexualities of the characters are?
• Are people of different sexualities shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their sexuality represented as being important in their life?
• Are particular sexualities represented as being normal / powerful / better?  If so, how?
• Are particular sexualities represented as being abnormal?  If so, how?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about sexuality?
• Don’t forget that “straight” is a sexuality too.  Don’t ignore the straight characters as they need to be analysed too!

Class and Status

The representation of people from different classes has changed massively over the years.  Up until the 1950’s, the upper classes were the class mainly shown on tv and in film.  This is because they were some of the only people able to afford to go to the cinema and own a television.  As more and more people from working class background watch TV, more and more TV programmes feature working class characters.  

Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different classes:

• Upper Classes (eg Made in Chelsea) – often shown as rich, clever, snobby, very posh
• Middle Classes (eg My Family)– often shown as “normal”, good family values, well behaved
• Working Classes (eg Coronation Street) – often shown as poorer, less happy, less intelligent, but with strong community links
• Lower / Under Classes (eg Shameless) – often shown as being criminals, no family values, no community links, bad parents etc

People have often noticed that in many TV shows, people of different classes, don’t mix.  And when they are shown together, they are often shown as clashing and being very different.  

If you get “class” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify what class characters are?
• Are people from different classes shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their class represented as being important in their life?
• Are people from particular classes portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from particular classes portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?  
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different classes?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about class?

Age

The representation of people of different ages has changed massively over the years.  Up until the 1950’s, there were really only two age groups shown in films and television (adult and child).  This was because that most children left school at a young age and went straight to work and became adults.  In the 1950’s more young people started staying in education and began leading very different lives from both children and adults and so developed the idea of the “teenager”.

Having said that, there are still some stereotypes associated with different ages:

• Children – often shown as being young, innocent, naive, pure, sweet, helpless, powerless
• Teenagers – Often shown as being aggressive, moody, lazy, criminals, hate school, 
• 20’s-30’s – Often shown as the ideal age for love, parties, fun, making money, being glamourous and attractive.  In films the heroes are often this age group.
• Middle Aged – often shown as being past it, unattractive, not aware of popular culture, uncool, boring lives, dominant over others, no real connection to their kids, grumpy.  In films the villains are often from this age group.
• Elderly – often shown as being unattractive, slow, weak, ill, confused, pathetic, powerless, not important, dependent on others.

If you get “age” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify what approximate age the characters are?
• Are people from different age groups shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their age represented as being important in their life?
• Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from particular age groups portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?  
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different age groups?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about age?

Regional Identity

Regional Identity refers to the part of the United Kingdom someone is from.  It could refer to a general area such a “north” or “south”, a country such as “English” or “Scottish” or specific towns such as “London” or “Manchester.”

There are several regional stereotypes widely seen on television:

• Scottish – often shown as being money obsessed, won’t pay for anything, drinks a lot of alcohol, loves the outdoors, wears kilts, eats haggis, quite aggressive and violent
• Welsh –Often shown as living in the middle of the countryside, with people making jokes about them “shagging sheep”
• Irish – often shown as living in the countryside, working in rural areas such as farms, being very religious, being good at dancing and singing, very friendly but less intelligent
• English – often shown as being racist, obsessed with beer and football living in London.  Sometimes the stereotype goes in the opposite direction of showing English people as very rich, posh, happy, living in castles and being very “royal.”
• London – There are 2 main stereotypes of Londoners.  One is that they are often shown as being rich, posh, snobby, upper class, Hugh Grant types from central or west london.  The other is that they often shown as being from north, east or south London, poor, common, lower class, criminalistic, violent “Kidulthood” style
• Manchester / Newcastle / Liverpool – Often shown as being “chavs”, wearing fake designer labels, or tracksuits, drinking a lot, being aggressive, uneducated, criminals
• Essex – often shown as being glamourous but cheap, footballer’s wives, lots of partying, being quite stupid
• Yorkshire – Often shown as living in rural countryside, with rolling hills and cobbled streets, being quite old fashioned
• Cornwall / Somerset – Often shown as being “backwards”, living in rural areas, working on farms
• South England – often shown as being the centre of culture, modern, classy, clever, sunny, richer, doing middle class jobs such as managers etc
• North England – often shown as being poorer, bad weather, lower class, aggressive, less culture, less clever, doing working class jobs such as builders etc

If you get “regional identity” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify where the characters are from within the country?
• Are people from different areas shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their regional identity represented as being important in their life?
• Are people from particular regions portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from particular regions portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?  
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters from different regions?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about regional identity?

Gender

Gender Identity refers to whether the characters are men or women.  It could also include transgender, transvestite, and androgynous characters.

There are several gender stereotypes widely seen on television:

Male Stereotypes

• Traditional masculine man – often shown as being muscly, strong, brave, heterosexual, working in manual jobs such as building, plumbing etc.  They are often aggressive, tall, and dominant over women, works to provide for family, does no cleaning, cooking or childcare
• New Man – Often shown as being less masculine but still heterosexual, very peaceful, looks after the family, stays at home to look after family, does cleaning and cooking etc, shown as equal to women
• Gay Man – Often shown as being very feminine, weak, working in jobs such as fashion or hairdressing, bitchy, etc

Female Stereotypes

• Traditional feminine woman – often shown as being girly, likes pink, wears dresses, does feminine jobs such as working in fashion, hairdressing or stays at home to look after the children, needs a man to cope, weak, scared of things, needs rescuing, pure and innocent
• Sexy woman – very flirty, dresses in a revealing way, more powerful than traditional women, uses men to get what she wants, no loyalty to other women, bitchy
• Lesbian Woman – Often shown as dressing in a masculine fashion, doing masculine roles, hating men, looking masculine

It is important to remember that not all characters will fit into these categories and you may have characters that are mixtures.  All you need to do is work out what the technical elements say about them.  If you get “gender” as an issue in the exam, you should be thinking about the following things when watching the clip:

• Can I identify what gender the characters are in the clip?
• Are people from different genders shown as having different interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours?  If so, how?
• Is their gender represented as being important in their life?
• Are people of different genders portrayed as being better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from different genders portrayed as being abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?  
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters of different genders?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about gender?

Television Drama Terminology

Other transitions 

dissolve
an act or instance of moving gradually from one image or scene in a film to another.

fade-in
an image is made to appear gradually.

fade-out
an image is made to disappear gradually.

wipe
which an existing picture seems to be wiped out by a new one.

superimposition 
to put one image on top of another so that both can be seen

long take 
an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace, usually lasting several minutes 

Short take
In filmmaking, a short take or oner is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much shorter than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting a few seconds.

Slow motion

the action of showing film or playing back video more slowly than it was made or recording, so that the action appears much slower than in real life.

Ellipsis and expansion of time

is the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the read to fill in the narrative gaps and you are making the duration of the video sequence longer than real-time.

Post-production

post-production is part of filmmaking, video production and photography process. it occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography and digital art. It is a term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work.

Visual effect 

in filmmaking, visual effects are the processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shot. Visual effects involve the integration of live action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, expensive, impractical, or simply impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer generated imagery has recently become accessible to the independent filmmaker with the introduction of affordable and easy-to-use animation and composition software.computer generated imagery.

Camera shots

Establishing shot
sets up/establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects.

Master shot
film recording of a dramatised scene from start to finish from an angle that keeps all the players in view. 

Close-up
Where the camera tightly frames a person or objects features

mid-shot
A shot taken at a medium distance

long shot
shows the entire object or human figure

wide shot
Camera is positioned to observe the most action in the performance

two-shot
two people can be seen together

aerial shot
shot taken from a height such as a plane,helicopter or a person on top of a building

point of view shot
Shows what the character can see

over the shoulder shot 
shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.   

Angle
high angle
When the camera looks down on the subject

low angle
camera is positioned low on the vertical axis, a low angle is anywhere below eye line looking up.

canted angle
A camera angle that is deliberately slanted to one side.

Movement

Pan
When the camera is being moved on a vertical or horizontal axis. Usually to film a panorama.

Tilt
When a camera is stationary and rotates in a vertical or 'tilting' plane. This camera movement is similar in a way of someone nodding their head.

Track
When a camera is following a character or object. Such as the camera following a moving car. It can be moved with a camera dolly, handheld camera operator or on a tripod.

Dolly
A dolly is a wheeled platform that pushed along rails for a smooth camera movement.

Crane
When a shot is being taken while the camera is mounted on a crane or jib. This allows for a shot from above to view a whole scene.

Steadicam
A steadicam is a type of camera stabiliser which helps for a smooth shot even when moving quickly or over an uneven surfaces.

Hand-held
When a camera is shooting while being operated by a cameraman as he is holding it in his hands as apposed to being on a tripod or any other base. This allows for a greater freedom of motion.

Zoom
When the zoom effect is used on a camera to get a clearer view of a target in the distance.

Reverse zoom
A reverse zoom is when the camera is zoomed out to get a clearer view of an object.

Composition

Framing
Framing is the presentation of visual elements in an image. This is to make a target the centre of attention to the audience.

Rule of thirds
This is a guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images. This helps to place objects in the right place for a tidy and ordered shot.

Depth of field
Depth of field is a characteristic of a camera that can be used to enhance the image composition of the photo. Depth of field means the sharp area surrounding the point of focus.

Cutting


Shot/Reverse shot 
a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.

Eyeline match 
film editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing.

Graphic match
a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which objects in the two shots graphically match, often helping to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots metaphorically

Action match
refers to film editing and video editing techniques where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that matches the first shot's action.

Jump cut
an abrupt transition from one scene to another.

Crosscutting
A technique in film editing in which shots of two or more separate, usually concurrent scenes are interwoven.

Parallel editing 
Parallel editing (cross cutting) is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations.

Cutaway 
a shot that's usually of something other than the current action. It could be a different subject (eg. this cat when the main subject is its owner), a close up of a different part of the subject (eg. the subject's hands), or just about anything else.


Insert
An insert shot is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot. Inserts core action already covered from the master shot but emphasise a different aspect of that action due to the different framing.

Sound

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sound

Diegetic is the sound that is heard in the scene and non-diegetic is the opposite.

Synchronous/asynchronous sound

Synchronous is occurring or existing at the same time and asynchronous is the opposite.

Sound effects

a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, or other broadcast production.

Sound Motif

Is a short musical idea.

Sound Bridge

Sound bridges are one of the most common transitions in the continuity editing style, one that stresses the connection between both scenes since their mood (suggested by the music) is still the same.

Dialogue

The words that are being said from the people in the scene

Voiceover

A voice that tells you what is going on in the scene.

Mode of address/ direct address

Modes of address can be defined as the ways in which relations between addresser and addressee are constructed in a text.

Sound Mixing

In sound recording and reproduction, audio mixing or mixdown is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, for instance 2-channel stereo.

Sound perspective

Sound perspective refers to the apparent distance of a sound. Clues to the distance of the source include the volume of the sound and the balance with other sounds, the frequency range (high frequencies may be lost at a distance), and the amount of echo and reverberation.

Soundtrack

The music accompanies a film.

Score

Notation used by musicians.

Incidental Music

Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical.

Themes and Stings

A sting is a short musical phrase, primarily used in broadcasting and films as a form of punctuation. Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the intro, during title sequence and/or ending credits.

Ambient Sound

Ambient music is a genre of music and includes forms of music that put an emphasis on tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm.

Mise-en-Scene

Product Design

overall look of a filmed event and it is one of the key creative roles in the creation if motion pictures and television. 

Location

In media, the locations are the areas in which filming goes on and film sets are shot.

Studio

The studio is an alternative name for a film or television production company.

Set costume Design

The setting of a scene and the objects (props) visible in a scene. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood, which has physical, social, psychological, emotional, economic and cultural significance in film.

Costume and Make up

Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters. And the Make up establishes the time period, reveal character traits and signal changes in character.

Lighting

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting can influence an audience’s understanding of characters, actions, themes and mood.

Colour Design 

Early films were shot in black and white but the cinema soon included color images. These images were initially painted or stencilled onto the film but by the 1930s filmmakers were able to include colour sequences in their films. Apart from the added realism or glamor that a color image could provide, colour is also used to create aesthetic patterns and to establish character or emotion in narrative cinema.

media studies exam

Year 12 Media Studies Exam

50% of your final AS grade will come from a single examination in summer 2012. 

There are two sections to this paper:

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (50 marks)

Section B: Institutions and Audiences (50 marks) 

The purpose of this exam is two-fold:

first to assess your media textual analysis skills and your understanding of the concept of representation using a short unseen moving image extract (AO1, AO2);

second to assess your knowledge and understanding of media institutions and their production processes, distribution strategies, use of technologies and related issues concerning audience reception and consumption of media texts (AO1, AO2):

The examination is two hours long(including 30 minutes for viewing and making notes on the moving image extract) and you will have to answer two compulsory questions. 

The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with each question marked out of 50

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation 

You will be shown an ‘unseen’ moving image extract with one compulsory question dealing with textual analysis of various technical aspects of the languages and conventions of moving image media. You will be asked to link this analysis with a discussion of some aspect of representation within the sequence.

We will start preparing for this part of the examination in January using a range of examples from British television drama. We will learn how to undertake a textual analysis of the following technical areas of moving image language and conventions in relation to the unseen extract you will get in the exam: 

1. Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition

Mise-en-Scène 

Editing 

Sound

 Section B: Institutions and Audiences

One compulsory question to be answered by candidates based upon a case study of the film industry.

The exam board explanation of what should be covered are in italics below:

Through specific case studies of the centre’s choice, candidates should be prepared to demonstrate understanding of contemporary institutional processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange/exhibition at a local, national or international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption. There should also be some emphasis on the students’ own experiences of being audiences of a particular medium. 

Some of you seemed a little unclear about what you have to learn in preparation for this part of the exam. Here is a breakdown:

In the exam, you need to understand and be able to discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions in the film industry. 

You also need to understand and be able to discuss the nature of audience consumption and the relationship between audiences and institutions in the film industry.

You have to show knowledge of:

• the issues raised by media ownership the importance of cross media convergence and synergy, in production, distribution and marketing of films
• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, marketing and exchange in the film industry
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences
• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international and global institutions
• the ways in which your own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.