Skip to content ↓

Newlands
Girls’ School

KS5 - Media Studies

Why Study A-Level Media Studies?

The modern world is dominated by media; due to technological developments and the ubiquity of internet-enabled devices, we are constantly bombarded with content.  The unrelenting nature of modern media can make it difficult to process and make sense of.  This is where Media Studies comes in; the subject is all about understanding media texts – from the social, historical, and economic contexts in which they are produced, to the ways in which they create meaning, to how audiences respond to and are affected by them. 

In A-Level Media Studies, we thoroughly analyse a plethora of disparate media texts from different periods in history, including: newspapers, magazines, print adverts, television adverts, television programmes, films, radio programmes, computer games, and online media.  We consider them from a multitude of different viewpoints.  In addition to this, our students are challenged with using what they learn to create their very own industry-standard products. 

A-Level Media Studies equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to really understand how media works in the modern age.

Course Content

Year 12

Term 1 – Component 1:  Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Media language theory and terminology, including:
    • Semiotics – Roland Barthes
    • Narratology – Tzvetan Todorov
    • Genre theory – Steve Neale
    • Structuralism – Claude Lévi Strauss
    • Postmodernism – Jean Baudrillard
  • Representation theory and terminology, including:
    • Theories of representation – Stuart Hall
    • Theories of identity – David Gauntlet
    • Feminist theory – Liesbet van Zoonen
    • Feminist theory – bell hooks
    • Theories of gender performativity – Judith Butler
    • Theories around ethnicity and post-colonial theory – Paul Gilroy
  • Media industries theory and terminology, including:
    • Power and media industries – Curran and Seaton
    • Regulation – Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt
    • Cultural industries – David Hesmondhalgh
  • Audiences theory and terminology, including:
    • Media effects – Albert Bandura
    • Cultivation theory – George Gerbner
    • Reception theory – Stuart Hall
    • Fandom – Henry Jenkins
    • ‘End of audience’ theories – Clay Shirky

Term 2 – Component 1:  Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Set text: Tide Print Advertisement (1950s) – Knowledge and analysis of Tide Print advertisement poster (1950), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts
  • Set text: Kiss of the Vampire Film Poster (1963) – Knowledge and analysis of Kiss of the Vampire film poster (1963), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media contexts
  • Set text: Daily Mirror Newspaper (13th March 2019) – Knowledge and analysis of Daily Mirror newspaper (2019), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
    • Media Contexts
  • Set text: The Times Newspaper (13th March 2019) – Knowledge and analysis of The Times newspaper (2019), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts

Term 3 – Component 1: Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Set text: Formation Music Video by Beyoncé (2016) – Knowledge and analysis of Formation music video by Beyoncé (2016), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media contexts
  • Set text: Riptide Music Video by Vance Joy (2013) – Knowledge and analysis of Riptide music video by Vance Joy (2013), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media contexts
  • Set text: WaterAid Audio-visual Advertisement (2016) – Knowledge and analysis of WaterAid audio-visual advertisement (2016), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts
  • Late Night Woman's Hour: Home, 28 October, 2016 Radio Programme (2016) – Knowledge and analysis of Late Night Women’s Hour (2016) radio programme, including:
    • Media Industries
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts
    • Analysis of Late Night Woman's Hour: Home, 28 October, 2016

Term 4 – Component 1: Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Black Panther Film (2018) *Note* This is an analysis of the business and marketing side of the film, not the film itself – Knowledge and analysis of Blank Panther film (2018), including:
    • Media industries
    • Media contexts
  • I, Daniel Blake Film (2016) *Note* This is an analysis of the business and marketing side of the film, not the film itself – Knowledge and analysis of I, Daniel Blake film (2016), including:
    • Media industries
    • Media contexts
  • Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Computer Game (2012) – Knowledge and analysis of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation computer game (2012), including:
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts

Term 5 – Component 1: Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Revision of course in preparation for Year 12 Media Studies Exam.

Term 6 – Component 1: Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Preparation for Non-Exam Assessment (practical media production). This is subject to the briefs released annually by the WJEC/EDUQAS exam board.

Year 13

Term 1 – Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • Completion of Non-Exam Assessment (practical media production). This is subject to the briefs released annually by the WJEC/EDUQAS exam board.
  • The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst Television Series (2015) – Knowledge and analysis of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst television series (2015), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
    • Media contexts

 

Term 2 – Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • Knowledge and analysis of No Burqas Behind Bars Television Documentary (2013), including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
  • Vogue Magazine (1965) – Knowledge and analysis of the July 1965 edition of Vogue, including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences

Term 3 – Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • The Big Issue Magazine (2016) – Knowledge and analysis of the October 2016 edition of The Big Issue, including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
  • Zoella Vlog – Knowledge and analysis of the Zoella vlog, including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences

Term 4 – Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • Attitude Online Lifestyle Magazine- Knowledge and analysis of Attitude online lifestyle magazine, including:
    • Media language
    • Representation
    • Media industries
    • Audiences
  • Revision of course in preparation for A-Level Media Studies Exams.

Term 5 – Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • Revision of course in preparation for A-Level Media Studies Exams.

Assessment

Component 3: Cross-Media Production

  • Component 3 is a Non-Exam Assessment (practical media production).
  • It is worth 60 marks (30% of you’re A-Level)
  • It is subject to the briefs released annually by the WJEC/EDUQAS exam board.

Typical Non-Exam Assessment Brief

A cross-media production to market and promote a new film in a genre (or sub-genre/hybrid) of your choice. The cross-media production must not include a complete short film, film sequence or trailer.

Create cross-media advertising products for a major film studio (either Columbia or Universal), targeting a mainstream audience of 30-49 year-olds with an interest in your chosen genre of film. Your advertising products must include print marketing materials for a new film and associated audio/audio-visual or online material to promote the same film.

Print products must include:

  • A DVD or Blu-ray front, back cover and spine.
  • A poster for theatrical release (portrait format).
  • A banner poster (landscape format, for example for display on the side of a bus).

Online products must include:

  • A new functioning website to promote your film to its target audience, including:
    • A working homepage.
    • One linked page: either a ‘Characters’ or a ‘Story’ page.

Component 1:  Media Products, Industries, and Audiences

  • Component 1 is a 2 hour and 15 minute exam.
  • It is worth 90 marks (35% of your A-level).

Section A: Analysing Media Language and Representation

  • Section A is worth 45 marks.
  • You are advised to spend approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes on Section A.
  • This section assesses media language and representation in relation to two of the following media forms: advertising, marketing, music video or newspapers. There are two questions in this section:
    • One question assessing media language in relation to an unseen audio-visual or print resource.
    • One extended response comparison question assessing representation in one set product and an unseen audio-visual or print resource in relation to media contexts.

Section B: Understanding Media Industries and Audiences

  • Section B is worth 45 marks.
  • You are advised to spend approximately 45 minutes on Section B.
  • This section assesses two of the following media forms – advertising, marketing, film, newspapers, radio, video games - and media contexts. It includes:
    • One stepped question on media industries
    • One stepped question on audiences.

Component 2:  Media Forms and Products in Depth

  • Component 2 is a 2 hour and 30 minute exam.
  • It is worth 90 marks (35% of your A-level).

Section A: Television in the Global Age

  • Section A is worth 30 marks.
  • You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on Section A.
  • There will be one two-part question or one extended response question on The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015) and No Burqas Behind Bars (2013).

Section B: Magazines: Mainstream and Alternative Media

  • Section B is worth 30 marks.
  • You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on Section B.
  • There will be one two-part question or one extended response question on Vogue (1965) and The Big Issue (2016).

Section C: Media in the Online Age

  • Section B is worth 30 marks.
  • You are advised to spend approximately 50 minutes on Section B.
  • There will be one two-part question or one extended response question on Zoella and Attitude.