Christmas Reading and Writing for Year 12 Media Students

Read and answer the questions contained in both study guides. Post the answers on your blog by the end of the holiday, January 7th 2013...read the Production guide first...merry Christmas...!

06 g322 section b distribution 2012 from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

05 g322 section b production 2012 from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

Work for Year 13 Media - Wednesday November 28th

03. g325 contemporary media issues - postmodern media aesthetics from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

12AC and AB - The Film Industry in Britain 2011

Here's the second study guide to the Film Industry. This one focuses on the British Film Industry in 2011 and the recent successes and failures. Work your way through the questions and post the answers onto your blog.

03 g322 section b the british film industry 2011 from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

Introduction to the Film Industry

Click on the link below and download the document to your computer. Make sure you save it onto your hard drive. Read through the study guide and answer the questions as you go posting the answers on your blog under the title - Introduction to the Film Industry - and labelling it under Film Industry.

02 g322 section b film industry introduction from Alleyn's School Media Studies Department

Homework 12AB and 12AC Media

Home work for 12AB and 12AC Media Sets

You'll need to download a plug-in (it's all safe and above board) but I'd like you to watch this documentary on the rules of Film Noir. Bogey, Bacall and Mitchum play it tough as Matthew Sweet celebrates the hardboiled world of noir movies. "This is the world of film noir. It's a dark, American place with a fancy French name. A place where the sun has died, and people get by with neon, where the only pleasure to be had is from Bourbon and the satisfaction of knowing that life is a cheap little game in which everyone plays dirty. It worked out its own rules. And tonight we are going to cast a little light upon them...but only a little."

http://veehd.com/video/4703661_The-Rules-of-Film-Noir-BBC-Documentary

It's about an hour long.

Here are screenshots of the rules for those of you who forget...

Lighting Advice Video

AS Film Openings Advice + Examples

Here is a link to the Chief Examiner's blog: Pete Fraser.  He posts lots of helpful material for students.

Look at this post on Film Openings. 

Also if you click on the 1st school mentioned you will be able to see lots of thriller openings. There are, of course, plenty of film openings on my youtube account too: amlegg

http://petesmediablog.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=film+openings+for+A+level

Also on our blog you can see the pages at the top of the home page which link to past student blogs. It is helpful to look at their planning, research and construction material.

AML

Media Homework for MFG

What are the cons (for institutions) and the pros (for the audience) of digital film piracy?

http://www.launchingfilms.com/who-gains

http://www.fact-uk.org.uk/

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/10022page=1&step=10&viewby=category&value=16980

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/4968765/Tackling-film-piracy-would-generate-614m-for-UK-economy.html

Year 12AB due in Thursday 18th October.

Year 12AC due in by end of first week of Half-Term.

Opportunity to Expand your Learning...

8 - 11 November 2012, York

The Aesthetica Short Film Festival is a celebration of independent film from across the world, and an outlet for supporting and championing short filmmaking.

As a dynamic player in the UK film festival circuit, this year’s festival will take place in the historic city of York from 8 - 11 November 2012. The screenings will cover a wide variety of genres and filmic styles, including: drama, documentary, animation, comedy, music video, thriller, experimental and artists’ film. Showcasing films across 15 distinct and historic locations from medieval halls to ancient city walls, the festival invites visitors to create their own viewing experience.

In addition to four days of screenings, there will also be a series of master classes, workshops, and networking with leading industry figures, as well as special events and opportunities to meet the filmmakers.

Click on the link for details:

Aesthetica Short film Festival 8-11 November 2012

Mr Grogan's homework task for Year 12 Media Studies

12AC and 12AB Media Classes

To do list by the end of Week 6 (Week ending 12th October)

1. Complete rough cut editing of 'The Package' and upload to YouTube and embed in your blog.

2. Storyboard, shoot and edit your Preliminary Task. This should be done in your free lessons.

You will need to include a match on action, show you understand the 180 degree rule, and a shot/reverse shot along with a line or two of dialogue.

You should use the top floor of the EAB as long as it is free. It is essential that you are impeccably behaved up there as future students won't be allowed the same privilege if you spoil it for them.



You can view other examples of prelims by former students on my or Miss Legg's YouTube accounts.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mfgrogan

http://www.youtube.com/user/amlegg

3. Complete updating your blogs with your 'What I have learnt so far...' entry. Write about your storyboarding, filming, use of technology and editing. Examples of particular details are useful.

4. Keep watching the izzyvideos to stay ahead of me so you can pretend to be really smart when using FCPX...

http://www.izzyvideo.com/final-cut-pro-x-tutorial/

Media Studies Trip to see Looper

It is important you have contemporary case studies to write about in your exam and thus I have organised a trip to see ‘Looper’ at The Ritzy Cinema in Brixton on Tuesday the 2^nd October. The film starts at 18:20 and should finish by about 21:00.

The film has received excellent reviews in the national press.

'A dizzying and exciting time-travel thriller in which an assassin has to hunt himself down'
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Henry Barnes, The Guardian Online: Rian Johnson's thriller about hitmen who assassinate targets sent from the future opened the Toronto film festival in fine style and runs rings around most recent sci-fi releases

'It’s impossible not to be tickled by the playful logic of Rian Johnson’s Looper, a fashionably sleek, unfashionably smart science-fiction film that tick-tick-ticks along with pocket-watch precision.' Robbie Collin, The Daily Telegraph
 

I will meet you inside the foyer of the cinema by 6 o/c and will release you to make your own way home after the showing. You will need money for travel and tickets (about £10) and other essentials like popcorn.

Looper: how to invent your own sci-fi: After having the idea about time-travelling assassins, Rian Johnson then got Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play two versions of the same hitman. 'I go to unexpected places,' admits the director http://gu.com/p/3agmh

Certification of Films

A good site for research into the certification guidelines. The British Board of Film Classification outlines the different certifications on their website.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/introduction/

You should justify your choice alongside your audience research.

AML

Another New Thriller...

'

'This black comedy about unhappy assassins who have hit hard times is a compelling comment on economic bloodletting in the real world.'  The Guardian

'Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt, is a bleakly electrifying hit-man thriller.'  The Telegraph

AS Media: New Thriller Out This Week...

...might be worth a visit...?

AS Film Opening Research

Some research for your portfolio.  Consider making some notes on any thriller films here that influence you for your blogs.

See the 25 most memorable opening scenes in film, according to 'The Film Stage'.

http://thefilmstage.com/features/the-25-most-memorable-opening-scenes-in-film/

AML

Basic Camera Skills

Basic Camera Shots

 

Camera Movement

 

 Camera Angles

 

  The 180 degree rule

Film Industry: Ed Vaizey grilled by MPs over impact of 4G on TV viewers

Culture minister questioned over the cost Freeview homes face from introduction of next generation of mobile phone services.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey was rounded on by MPs from all parties on Tuesday over the possible cost faced by nearly 1 million TV viewers due to the introduction of the next generation of mobile phone services.
Vaizey faced the angry barrage from the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee over the interference likely to be suffered by about 900,000 Freeview homes caused by 4G masts expected to be rolled out across Britain next year.

Click here to read more...

Film Industry: Google joins smart TV battle for the British living room

Films, music videos and live concerts – plus the whole world wide web – in July launch for £200-£300 Android set-top boxes

Google is making its long-expected assault on the UK television market with the launch in July of its first product – made by Sony – to let Britons surf the internet, play games and watch videos on TV. The move comes amid predictions that Apple too will move into the "smart TV" market, to compete not only with Google, but with Samsung, Sony and LG. All have been aiming to catch a nascent market that analysts say will become very important because it is one of the few bastions of entertainment not yet revolutionised by the internet.

Click here to read more...

The Film Industry in Britain - Questions

Watch the 25 min programme produced by Film Education and answer the questions below.

Production

How does a film start its journey to the screen?

What is a ‘package’?

What’s the role of the producer?

What drives the director?

What’s one of the main problems with ‘development money’ for potential investors?

What is a ‘pitch’?

What is a ‘treatment’?

What dictates the cost of a script?

Distribution

What is the main problem with distribution in this country?

What’s the great trick of marketing?

What determines the marketability of a film? When does it happen? What does it include?

What is the playability of a film?

What’s the first question that any film maker has to ask themselves?

What do marketing campaigns focus on?

What three techniques do distributors make use of to inform us about movies?

What is the most significant aspect of marketing after the opening weekend?

Exhibition

What is the importance of exhibitors?

How do cinemas play their part in the film journey?

What is the main target age range of cinema audiences and why?

What has encouraged the increase in cinema attendance since 1984?

How many people need to live within 20 mins drive of a 10 screen multiplex in order for it to be a viable business venture?

How are exhibitors attempting to differentiate?

How does a semi-independent cinema like the Ritzy attempt to stand out?

Do more cinema screens mean more choice? How did cinema audiences’ interpretation of ‘choice’ surprise the film industry in the late 1980s?

How does the location of a cinema affect the selection of films they exhibit?

Postmodern Media - Easter Viewing...

The Virtual Revolution

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n4j0r

The Great Levelling?

Watch on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXsf-EPiFss&feature=related

Twenty years on from the invention of the World Wide Web, Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the web's biggest names - including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web's inventor - she explores how far the web has lived up to its early promise.

In the first in this four-part series, Aleks charts the extraordinary rise of blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube, and traces an ongoing clash between the freedom the technology offers us, and our innate human desire to control and profit.

Enemy of the State?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX3-_kKSD04&feature=channel

Twenty years on from the invention of the World Wide Web, Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the Web's biggest names - including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web's inventor - she explores how far the Web has lived up to its early promise.

Here, Aleks charts how the Web is forging a new brand of politics, both in democracies and authoritarian regimes.

With contributions from Al Gore, Martha Lane Fox, Stephen Fry and Bill Gates, Aleks explores how interactive, unmediated sites like Twitter and YouTube have encouraged direct action and politicised young people in unprecedented numbers.

Yet, at the same time, the Web's openness enables hardline states to spy and censor, and extremists to threaten with networks of hate and crippling cyber attacks.

The Cost of Free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROvFWynd5xs&feature=relmfu

Twenty years on from its invention, Dr Aleks Krotoski continues her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives. She gives the lowdown on how, for better and for worse, commerce has colonised the web - and reveals how web users are paying for what appear to be 'free' sites and services in hidden ways.

Joined by some of the most influential business leaders of today's web, including Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon), Eric Schmidt (CEO of Google), Chad Hurley (CEO of YouTube), Bill Gates, Martha Lane Fox and Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix), Aleks traces how business, with varying degrees of success, has attempted to make money on the web.

She tells the inside story of the gold rush years of the dotcom bubble and reveals how retailers such as Amazon learned the lessons. She also charts how, out of the ashes, Google forged the business model that has come to dominate today's web, offering a plethora of highly attractive, overtly free web services, including search, maps and video, that are in fact funded through a sophisticated and highly lucrative advertising system which trades on what we users look for.

Aleks explores how web advertising is evolving further to become more targeted and relevant to individual consumers. Recommendation engines, pioneered by retailers such as Amazon, are also breaking down the barriers between commerce and consumer by marketing future purchases to us based on our previous choices.

On the surface, the web appears to have brought about a revolution in convenience. As companies start to build up databases on our online habits and preferences, Aleks questions what this may mean for our notions of privacy and personal space in the 21st century.

Homo Interneticus? Or the Addiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mANMbHEmAk&feature=relmfu

Dr Aleks Krotoski concludes her investigation of how the World Wide Web is transforming almost every aspect of our lives.

Joined by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Al Gore and the neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, Aleks examines the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and asks how they are changing our relationships.

And, in a ground-breaking test at University College London, Aleks investigates how the Web may be distracting and overloading our brains.
 

Electric Revolution

Joystick Generation
Watch on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/8323312

Three-part series presented by historian Benjamin Woolley about popular games in Britain from the Iron Age to the Information Age, in which he unravels how an apparently trivial pursuit is a rich and entertaining source of cultural and social history.

In the final part, Woolley explores the journey games have taken from the board to the screen, reflecting the rapidly changing history of modern Britain.

In the 1980s, the power of our imagination was harnessed in early video games like Elite, putting the audience at the heart of a space adventure they could influence. The British boom years of the 90s introduced characters like Lara Croft to a world beyond video games and players were propelled into the internet age.

Woolley's investigation leads to the present day, where he finds our morality tested in the world of Grand Theft Auto and our identity becoming transported to the digital domain with virtual realms like Runescape and World of Warcraft.

Gameswipe
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n1j8q

Charlie Brooker sets his caustic sights on video games. Expect acerbic comment as he looks at the various genres, how they have changed since their early conception and how the media represents games and gamers. Features interviews with Dara O Briain, sitcom scribe Graham Linehan and Rab and Ryan from Consolevania.

Watch on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/zthemusic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvNuzx-aqWs&list=PLC613893F6AA8823B&index=1&feature=plpp_video

Upgrade Me
Duration: 1 hour

Watch on DVD…

Poet and gadget lover Simon Armitage explores people's obsession with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry.

Upgrade culture drives millions to purchase the latest phones, flatscreen TVs, laptops and MP3 players. But is it design, functionality, fashion or friends that makes people covet the upgrade, and how far does the choice of gadgets define identity? Simon journeys across Britain and to South Korea in search of answers.

How Facebook Changed the World: The Arab Spring (Parts 1 & 2)

Episode 1: The story of how the Arab world erupted in revolution, as a new generation used the internet and social media to try to overthrow their hated leaders.

In the first of this two-part series, Mishal Husain charts events in Tunisia and Egypt by meeting those who led the revolts and showing the unique footage they shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTcb1L9gkwA&list=UUxG3EU0ghoFM5i5Lzi3XkdQ&index=51&feature=plpp_video


Episode 2: The story of how the Arab world erupted in revolution, as a new generation used the internet and social media to try to overthrow their hated leaders.

In the last of this two part series, Mishal Husain meets those who spread the revolt to Libya and Bahrain, and those who are still fighting the Syrian regime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seYvH-kzX2s&list=UUxG3EU0ghoFM5i5Lzi3XkdQ&index=50&feature=plpp_video


Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeOlO_2nddY&feature=related


In just seven years, Mark Zuckerberg has gone from his Harvard college dorm to running a business with 800 million users, and a possible value of $100 billion. His idea to 'make the world more open and connected' has sparked a revolution in communication, and now looks set to have a huge impact on business too.

Emily Maitlis reports on life inside Facebook. Featuring a rare interview with Zuckerberg himself, the film tells the story of Facebook's creation, looks at the accuracy of The Social Network movie, and examines Facebook's plans to use the personal information it has collected to power a new kind of online advertising.

Secrets of the Superbrands: Technology (Ep.1 BBC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU9Fv_o25xA&list=PLA7B5D2EA3E468090&index=1&feature=plpp_video


The first of a 3-part BBC series where superbrands are investigated. In part 1, Alex Riley explores the world of the technology superbrands - how they get us to buy their stuff, trust them and even idolise them. He meets the supergeeks who are inventing the future and finds out how some of the most powerful companies in the world really make their billions.

Fiction, Satire and Comedy

Black Mirror
Charlie Brooker, the writer of E4's Dead Set, returns with a suspenseful, satirical three-part mini-series that taps into collective unease about our modern world.

Watch both on DVD…

15 Million Merits
The second episode is a satire on entertainment shows and our insatiable thirst for distraction set in a sarcastic version of a future reality. In this world, everyone is confined to a life of strange physical drudgery. The only way to escape this life is to enter the 'Hot Shot' talent show and pray you can impress the judges.

The Entire History of You
Last in the series of Charlie Brooker's dark dramas. In the near future, everyone has access to a memory implant that records everything they do, see and hear - a sort of Sky Plus for the brain. You need never forget a face again... but is that always a good thing?


Nathan Barley
Series 1, Episode 1
Watch on 4oD:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/nathan-barley/4od


Baffled human wreck Dan Ashcroft watches in horror as his world is over-run with 24 carat berks, led by a strutting, brainless cock-of-the-walk called Nathan Barley, who, distressingly, has designs on Dan's sister Claire.

Nathan Barley is 26. He is a Webmaster, guerrilla filmmaker, screenwriter, DJ and in his own words, a 'self-facilitating media node'. Dan Ashcroft writes searing columns for Sugar Ape. He's considered astonishingly cool, but only by those he despises.Claire Ashcroft, 27, is Dan's sister. She is furious that no one will fund her hard-hitting documentary about a choir of reformed junkies. Nathan, Dan and Claire work in the industrial conversions of Hosegate. They are about to become spliced together in a three-way split. A happy ending is not guaranteed...

Spaced
Series 2, Episode 5
Watch on 4oD:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/spaced/4od#2921686


Surreal cult sitcom starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson - and more pop culture references than you can shake a light sabre at…

A night on the town for Tim and Daisy turns into a fight for survival as the dynamic duo come face to face with an old enemy (not to mention a few new ones).

Creativity - G325 Section A

An interesting article in The Guardian on creativity for you to read:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/jan/02/top-artists-creative-inspiration

Web 2.0 and New Media technology

Background information - useful watching for G325 Section A exam on digital technology:

David Gauntlett (Professor of Media at University of Westminster) discusses the influence of new media and web 2.0 in everyday life:

Coursework Guidance - Mark Schemes

G324 advanced portfolio mark schemes and evaluation

View more documents from Alleyn’s School Media Studies Department.

A2 Coursework - Ancillary Tasks Powerpoints

A2 media film poster analysis short version

View more presentations from Alleyn’s School Media Studies Department.

A2 media empire magazine cover and review1

View more presentations from Alleyn’s School Media Studies Department.

Exemplar film british posters

View more presentations from Alleyn’s School Media Studies Department.