Friday, 22 November 2013

Essay Due Friday 29th November

Can you have a go at this essay for Friday's lesson please?

“Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Remember what we've been saying about providing a clear answer to the question - the wording of this question should make that easy for you, and the contrast between the two case studies should make it easy for you to argue for both sides. In your conclusion you should try to come to a final position in relation to the statement. Use as many specific examples and as much terminology as you can.

Please make a proper effort on this - it may be the last essay I mark for you before the mocks. It would be a good idea to attempt to write it in 45 minutes (perhaps with planning done beforehand, or planning included in the 45 minutes - I'll leave that up to you).

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Work for Period 4 and 5 on Friday 15th November

You should have completed the digital distribution task by now. Anyone who hasn't done so or has failed to submit - or made a poor effort on - the media ownership essay (Stephen, Roshni, Rhianna) can expect a Cause for Concern form, I'm afraid.

In Friday's double lesson, there are three things I'd like you to start working on (in whatever order you like) to be completed by next week:

1. The following essay:

Discuss the ways in which media products are produced and distributed to audiences, within a media area which you have studied.

This is probably the easiest essay title yet to appear on the exam, and you should be able to have a good stab at it. You can plan an answer together in the lesson and write it at home. You should use the two case studies - Skyfall and The King's Speech - and highlight the contrasts (and similarities?) in how a mainstream Hollywood and an independent film are produced and distributed. Remember to be as specific as you can in your examples; use as many of the terms you've learned as possible; and answer the question clearly and explicitly, shaping your case study knowledge directly to the question.

2. Find out as much as you can about one of the following independent exhibitors: Everyman, Curzon, or Picturehouse:

- what cinemas they own;
- the history and background of the chain;
- their ethos and what makes them unusual;
- their approach to programming (what sort of films they show and why);
- how they have had to adapt since the dawn of digital.

You can post your findings in whatever format you like.

3. It would be no harm to have a third, more up-to-date case study for the exam, to supplement Skyfall and The King's Speech. I suggest you use Gravity, and, in this lesson, find out everything you can about...

- who funded/produced the film;
- who distributed it;
- the director/writers and the cast;
- what's unusual about how it was made;
- how the film has been marketed and what was its target audience;
- what sort of release it has had across the world so far (and is there anything unusual about this);
- how successful it has been so far, critically and commercially.

Again, you can post your findings in whatever format you like.

All of this work should be completed fully by next Friday 22nd November. If the essay could be hand-written, I'd prefer that - it's easier to mark that way.
 
Again, any work not submitted on time will lead to a Cause for Concern. You all need to work harder.
 
Mrs O'Shea should be in to check on you.

Enjoy.

Friday, 8 November 2013

How has digital technology changed film distribution?

Your task is to find out exactly how the advent of digital technology has changed film distribution.

What was the role of a film distributor before the birth of digital technology? 

How has film distribution changed since the birth of digital?

Present your findings in whatever format - film, Powerpoint, podcast, etc. - you like.

Post your work to your blog by Friday 15th November.