Revision tasks


The Guardian 13th May 2019
·        Audience and Readership- who, how are they targeted, what pleasures/uses (look at articles but also adverts) cut out and paste egs

·        Analysis The Guardian print – covers- look at hard news/soft news/news values/ratio text, image, look at representations and language

·        Look at first ten pages examples of news values/ topics/ of hard and soft news, when does soft news start and print eg

·        Guardian website – screengrab main stories and analyse, what are the links
·        Social media/twitter/fb/Instagram screengrab look at posts and comments choose some good examples

·        Guardian website screengrabs of each link (point out no comments underneath each story)

·        Print grab in the week in 1829, subscribe or contribute sections, what do they say, what are they there for


AND COMPARE WITH 

Daily Mail 13th May 2019
·        Audience and Readership- who, how are they targeted, what pleasures/uses (look at articles but also adverts) cut out and paste egs

·        Analysis The Daily Mail print – covers- look at hard news/soft news/news values/ratio text, image

·        Look at first ten pages examples of news values/ topics/ of hard and soft news, when does soft news start and print eg

·        DM website – screengrab main stories and analyse, what are the links (point out no comments underneath each story)

·        Social media/twitter/fb/Instagram , they also have loads more than Guardian screengrab look at posts and comments choose some good examples
·        Guardian website screengrabs of each link


News revision

D83 interview


https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/en/m/kul/mag/20702054.html

Deutschland 83: Interview with producer Jörg Winger


Goethe-Institut
Vereinigtes Königreich


TV drama Deutschland 83Foto: RTL
Goethe-Institut London: What can you tell us about the conception and development of Deutschland 83? What was the idea behind it?
 
Jörg Winger: The idea for Deutschland 83 came from my experiences in the 1980s when I was a conscripted Bundeswehr soldier in West Germany, intercepting messages from Russian troops in the GDR. The Berlin Wall had not yet fallen. I studied Russian for six hours a day and then we were put on big machines wearing big headphones and were asked to record important information. While we did this, we sometimes received messages back in which Russian soldiers greeted us personally. At that moment I realised that espionage always implies counter espionage.
 
I carried the story around with me for a while, wondering if I could make a comedy, crime story or thriller out of it. My wife Anna, with whom I co-created the series, had the idea of telling the story from the viewpoint of the mole - the GDR spy. That was the starting point. The year 1983 was chosen fairly spontaneously. It was the year in which German pop music became an international phenomenon - Nena’s 99 Luftballons went to No. 1 in the US and the Neue Deutsche Welle emerged.
 
It was only during our research that we realised how exciting 1983 had been politically. One of our military advisers told us that NATO had planned a big manoeuvre, simulating all movements of a nuclear escalation. In the heated atmosphere of the time, the Russians mistook this for a covert real nuclear attack and were sitting there with their finger on the button, considering whether they should shoot first. We were a hair’s breadth away from a nuclear catastrophe because the mutual mistrust was so deep. This historical background set the scene for us – the interplay between the flourishing of German pop and, on the world political stage, just having survived by the skin of our teeth.
 
 
Goethe-Institut London: So was it important to you that the series wouldn’t only be entertaining, but would also give insight into modern history?
 
Jörg Winger: Absolutely, yes. We spoke to Hans Otto Bräutigam, who was the West German ambassador to the GDR at the time. And with John Kornblum (former US Ambassador in Germany), who knew 80s West Berlin well. People knew they were living in a dangerous time but did not grasp quite how dangerous. We only really found this out by looking at declassified documents in autumn 2013.  

Goethe-Institut London: Deutschland 83 shows us different ways of life in East and West Germany and, for the 45 minutes of each episode, rebuilds the Wall in the viewers’ minds. When you look at Germany 1983 and Germany 2016, what similarities, differences, and comparable challenges do you see? 
 
Jörg Winger: I think overall it has become a much more modern, open and relaxed country. At least that is my impression. The Edel family in the series depicts a very patriarchal family structure that, in my opinion, is very much how it was in the 1980s: parents were strict, they were the children of Nazis and wanted to be good democrats but they still ruled in an authoritarian way. And then there were their children, who rebelled against them.
 
I feel that Germany has opened up and become much more liberal since then. It is also a country in which people speak their minds much more openly. This also means that the more extreme right-wing views become more visible. In relation to the current refugee crisis, I often wonder what it would have been like if one million Syrians had arrived in 1983s West Germany. I think reactions would have been much harsher.
 
You can also tell that Germany is talked about in a different way these days. As my wife is American, I have spent a lot of time in the US over the last 20 years and, in the beginning, many conversations ended up being about the Holocaust. Germany would often be discussed with a negative undertone. Now I think Germany’s image has turned into something positive. I am still surprised how often I hear people talk about Germany with a sense of admiration. Certainly Berlin as an international magnet has a lot to do with this. But it is probably also down to the changes in the European political landscape, making Germany a much more powerful player in the world.


Goethe-Institut London: As you know, the promotion of the German language is one of our main goals at the Goethe-Institut. So we are particularly pleased to see Deutschland 83 being shown here in the UK in German with English subtitles. Quite daring! Was it clear from the beginning, that you would show the series abroad in German and how did the decision come about?
 
Jörg Winger: I cannot take credit for the decision. As my wife is American, although her German is very good she writes in English, and so the whole writing process was in English. Afterwards I translated the screenplay back into German as it’s a German series commissioned by a German channel. It was never supposed to be an international series and we never expected it to go in that direction. It took on that dynamic after a colleague in London sent the English script to somebody at Sundance TV in the US. If the writing process had been in German, the script would have never made it to London or Los Angeles. We are so lucky that it just happened like that.
 
In terms of broadcasting, each channel decides if a show is dubbed or shown with subtitles. The English never use dubbing. But it was a great novelty that such a big channel decided to show a foreign language series at prime time – a bold decision by Channel4. I think it’s fantastic, but I didn’t personally have any influence on the decision.

 
Goethe-Institut London: Lastly, we have to ask if you can tell us a little bit about a possible sequel – “Deutschland 86”?

Jörg Winger (laughs): Deutschland 86… we are in discussions with the German channel RTL and Fremantle Media International, our London-based global distributor, with UFA Fiction and international TV channels. Unfortunately, I can’t say more at this point. We want to try, not at all cost, but there is definitely a desire to make a great second series. As soon as we feel we have something, we will continue.

Goethe-Institut London: We would be delighted and so would the British viewers. Thank you very much for talking to us!
 
Jörg Winger: Thank you very much.
 

Jörg Winger

UFA FICTION, Executive Producer

Jörg Winger, creator and executive producer of DEUTSCHLAND 83, has produced more than 300 episodes of multi-award-nominated prime-time series SOKO LEIPZIG (ZDF). Winger won an international Google/YouTube pitch with his crime channel TRIGGER. He sold the online series SERIAL KILLERS to RTL Crime, making it the first YouTube series to be sold to a German pay-television broadcaster. A new drama series based on Sebastian Fitzek’s thriller DAS JOSHUA-PROFIL is currently in development. Fitzek is one of the most popular German thriller authors at home and abroad.
 
Winger regularly gives lectures on the development and production of television series at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg. He lives with his family in Berlin.

Exam structure tips

Here are some helpful tips from A level media teachers, we'll keep adding to this.


1. Use the right media terms for that topic
2. Show knowledge and understanding by including stats and facts
3. Also by referring to other music videos and adverts that are not just the set texts to make your point
4. Don’t bother with an intro or conclusion unless it says make judgements (ocr told me that at inset)
5. Most importantly answer the Q at all times using key words from the question
6. Make 3 detailed points about the music video or advert rather than a thin list of ideas

  • Strong topic sentence, evidence and theory if applicable, concluding sentence that gives opinion - do these things as basic paragraph structure.
  • PEARL paragraphs - Point, evidence, analysis, relate to industry/audience, link to theory.
  • as MEDIA students they need to learn to write a response critically as a media student avoiding obvious comments that any student could potentially make - to do that the key thing is to use very specific examples linked to specific relevant media terminology for that question which also specifically references the question all the way through the response - do that and you will be on the way to a fantastic response


  • For the 30 mark essay question:
 It looks like representation is the key theme and the wording of the question appears to be very similar. The latest practise question uses a statement for students to discuss and asks a slightly different question about audiences but I think that generally, the question is similar to the SAMS one. Come up with a generic structure e.g, intro, point about LFTVD1, point about second one, analysis and evaluation then repeat! Working on strong topic and concluding sentences in each paragraph, with the need to stay on the question being key.


Point – What is your point?
A statement that answers the question
Evidence/Episode – Where is your proof (one episode)?
Evidence in the episodes
Analysis – Effect (connotations, representations)?
How that answers the question
Link to Context - Why?
Link to the Big Picture



Point
Evidence
Analysis
Context
Evaluate

examiners will be looking for the same principles when they mark student work, the most important thing to tell students is that it is very easy for anyone to write a media studies essay, I mean if you watch Stranger Things a couple of times anyone can write an essay on Stranger Things but as MEDIA students they need to learn to write a response critically as a media student avoiding obvious comments that any student could potentially make - to do that the key thing is to use very specific examples linked to specific relevant media terminology for that question which also specifically references the question all the way through the response - do that and they will be on the way to a fantastic response

Theory knowledge organiser


How to write a long form tv drama essay


How to write a Long Form TV Drama essay

3* ‘Representations of social, cultural and historical events can vary within long form television dramas from different countries.’ Discuss how and why audiences might respond to and interpret these representations differently.

In your answer you must:
·         consider the contexts in which long form television dramas are produced and consumed
·         explain how media contexts may have influenced different aspects of realism and audience response in the set episodes of the two long form television dramas you have studied
·         make judgements and reach conclusions about the differences in realism of social, cultural and historical circumstances between the two set episodes.

Paragraphs
Stranger Things
D83
Intro
·         Reverse the question
·         Define the representations you are going to look at.


1
·         Industry information about Stranger Things
·         The advantages of LFTVD and the Netflix model
·         Relate back to question


2

·         Industry information about Deutschland 83
·         The older fashioned production process and its advantages
·         Relate back to question

3
·         Budgets and their effects on filming and production.
·         Compare cinematography, editing ,sound and mise-en-scene and discuss context
·         Relate back to question

4
·         Narrative  - ST
·         How the story works.
·         How it is typical of LFTVD
·         Relate to question


5.

·         Narrative – D83
·         How does the story effect the viewer and position the audience?
·         Relate to question
6.
·         Representation 1 – (I would do gender)
·         Comparison between D83 and ST
·         Add theory – Van Zoonen? 

7.
·         Representation 2 – (I would do military/government)
·         Comparison between D83 and ST
·         Add theory – look at audience and Hall.
·         Relate back to question


Conclusion
·         How have I answered the question?
·         make judgements and reach conclusions about the differences in realism of social, cultural and historical circumstances between the two set episodes.


D83


News Values - CUPPTUNE revise these and apply them

Continuity - already in the news, continuation
Unexpectedness - a shock or out of the ordinary
Personalisation - human interest story
Proximity (closer to home)
Threshold - the bigger the impact and reach
Unambiguity - shock or out of the ordinary
Negativity - if it bleeds it leads
Elite persons/places



FACTS TO REMEMBER - after news 2 assessment!

Political contexts

  • Newspaper aligned to political parties or ideologies. Leveson report criticised links between politicians and newspaper producers.
  • UK has history of Press Freedom- no legal interference but permitted to be politically biased.
  • Power of online media- fake news, Cambridge Analytica. IPSO

THE GUARDIAN                                                
THE DAILY MAIL                                               
Broadsheet
Mid-market tabloid
Left leaning/Labour/Lib Dem
Right wing/Conservative
More Remain/Pro European
Pro-Brexit/Anti European
Middle class 18+ (uni paper)
ABC1
Middle aged, middle England C1C2D
Forward thinking, liberal
Traditional British and pro Royal values
Hard/World news with a specialty edition every day of the week ie creative, cooking etc well known guide to the arts
Sensationalises hard news, focuses more on soft and celeb news as well as local UK stories. Takes itself seriously with absurd stories.
Tends to be more objective –top journalism is a priority
Tends to be more subjective – takes liberties with the truth



Interesting facts:
  • Newspapers supporting Brexit before the referendum were Daily Mail (the most articles), Daily Star and Daily Telegraph
  • The new editor for the Daily Mail is Geordie Greig who always supported Remain when he led the Mail on Sunday
  • Newspapers supporting Remain The Guardian, Daily Mirror and Financial Times (not left wing)
  • The average reading age of the UK population is 9 years – that is, they have achieved the reading ability normally expected of a 9 year old. The Guardian has a reading age of 14 and the Sun has a reading age of 8.
  • 2017 saw a large number of ‘multiple’ complaints, where more than one similar complaint was made about the same article, which has contributed to the high number of complaints received. Unsurprisingly, newspapers with the largest circulations received the highest number of complaints with The Sun topping the list of most complaints received with 4,847 complaints, followed by the Daily Mail (4,176), Mail Online (3,536), Metro (1,500) and The Mail on Sunday (1,452).

Summer tasks

YEAR 13 SUMMER WORK

FIRSTLY MAKE SURE YOUR EXAM BLOGS ARE UP TO DATE, YOUR ASSESSMENTS AND DIRT SHEETS ARE ON THERE AND THAT ALL YOUR RESEARCH AND PRELIMS ARE ON YOUR NEA BLOGS with their reflections.


THEN… (TO GO ON YOUR EXAM BLOGS, LABEL CONTEXT)


INTRO TO CONTEXT – IN THE EXAM YOU MAY BE ASKED TO REFER TO ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, SOCIAL OR CULTURAL CONTEXT. THESE OF COURSE TEND TO OVERLAP. HERE IS A TASTER FOR YOU TO RESEARCH AND SUMMARISE. WE THOUGHT ECONOMIC WOULD BE A BIT TOO BORING FOR THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS BUT WE’LL RETURN TO IT.


BIG NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS
Create a timeline and description of the following events that took place 2017/2018 so that you understand the contexts around them. It would really help you if you found front covers from the main papers (Guardian, DM, Times, Mirror)
BREXIT – When did David Cameron announce referendum? Why did he do this? Who were the leavers/remainers? Analyse front pages of Brexit result https://www.theguardian.com/media/gallery/2016/jun/25/brexit-front-pages-in-pictures.


POLITICS
· After Cameron resigned who was running for the leadership? Who ran for recent Tory leadership? Who is leader of the Lib Dems?
· When was May chosen as leader of the Conservative party?
· General Election result and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn’s popularity.


ROYALS Engagements, Queen’s 90th, babies


TERRORISM and HATRED
· Westminster Bridge
· London Bridge
· Borough
· Finsbury Park mosque
· Manchester
· Jo Cox

SYRIAN WAR
· Brief summary, still ongoing, huge humanitarian issues, refugees


SPECIFIC UK ISSUES
- Brexit of course and May's downfall
· Grenfell tower – what issues did this event highlight?
· Windrush
· NHS – doctor’s strikes, worry over privatisation, waiting times
· Charlie Gard
· Football sex abuse
· Murray wins Wimbledon
· 2016 Great Britain Olympics success
· Immigration
YOUTH AGGRESSION – Acid attacks and spate of stabbings
TRUMP ELECTION – Lead up and Reaction
#METOO CAMPAIGN #BLACKLIVESMATTER


CULTURAL TRENDS OF 2017-2019 (and how other media has influenced a product) Spider diagram, Moodboard whatever you fancy to get an idea of the zeitgeist (look it up).
· Films
· Tv programmes
· Music
· Video games
· Youtube, memes, twitter storms
· Find three examples of intertextuality
· TOP CULTURAL FADS ie dab, fortnite and links to dance moves which footballers then took on in world cup


SOCIAL CONTEXT – changes in wider society find some egs in media for each
· DISABILITY (more publicity in Olympics), look at tv programmes that have tackled this, physical, mental and emotional issues have had more recent attention recently
· REGIONALISM – Made in Chelsea vs TOWIE vs Geordie Shore?
· CLASS – do chavs still exist? How are they represented? What is ABC1? Beyonce/Jay Z collaboration
· AGE – youth, elderly
· GENDER - look at #metoo and various gender identities on the rise
· ETHNICITY – look at The Carters Apes**t, This is America, Black Panther, North Korea and Kim Jong-Un reps, Immigration issue
· SEXUALITY – there has been a year on year increase in LGBT characters in the media, find three characters from different media in the last five years

Exam timings


Timings per question for your Media exams
Paper
Section
Q
Mks
Content
% of overall mark (exam and overall)
Time
(2 hours per exam)
Time with extra time (25%)
1
Media Messages
/70
A.
News
1.
10
·         Media Language theories
·         Representation theories
·         Technical language to describe newspapers
·         The ability to recognise stereotypes and representation
14%
7%
17 mins
21 mins
2. *
15
·         Difference between and genre traits of tabloid (popular) and broadsheet (quality) papers.
·         Media language used in tabloid and broadsheet papers.
21%
10.5%
25 mins
31 mins
3.
10
·         Political context of newspaper production (particularly Daily Mail and Guardian)
·         Social context of newspaper productions (DM and G)
·         Economic/business contexts of newspaper production (DM and G)
·         Front covers of our set DM and G, and basic content of news stories inside.
·         Regulation of newspapers
14%
7%
17 mins
21 mins
4.
10
·         Audience theories
·         Media Industries theories
14%
7%
17 mins
21 mins
B.
Media Language and Rep
5.
10
·         Representation in set music videos
·         Representation in set Big Issue covers
·         Representation in set advertisements
14%
7%
17 mins
21 mins
6.
15
·         How music videos can be intertextual and how the set texts are.
·         How adverts can be intertextual
·         How magazine covers can be intertextual
·         How the contexts of production influence the music videos.
·         How the contexts of production influence the adverts.
·         How the contexts of production influence the magazine covers.
21%
10.5%
25 mins
31 mins
2
Evolving media
/70
A.
Media Industries and Audiences
1.
15
·         Political, cultural and economic contexts influence the status of popular music radio programming
·         Political, cultural and economic contexts influence the promotion of the Jungle Book films
·         Political, cultural and economic contexts influence the status of Minecraft within the video games industry.
21%
10.5%
25 mins
31 mins
2.
15
·         How films are produced, distributed and consumed with reference to the Jungle Book films.
·         How popular music radio is produced, distributed and consumed with reference to the Radio 1 Breakfast Show
·         How video games are produced, distributed and consumed with reference to Minecraft
21%
10.5%
25 mins
31 mins
B.
Long Form Television Drama
3.*
30
·         Contexts of production for D83 (social, economic, political)
·         Contexts of production for ST (social, economic, political)
·         Representation in D83
·         Representation in ST
·         Narrative in D83
·         Narrative in ST
·         Theories as appropriate
42%
21%
50 mins
62 mins
4.
10
·         All theories in reference to LFTVD

14%
7%
17 mins
21 mins