• A few of you have been asking me recently about lighting effects and additional features of photo shop. We also have adobe lightroom installed on the computers now so why not ry experimenting with the lessons below to create dramatic effects

    https://kelvindesigns.com/free-lessons




  • WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE VIRTUAL REVOLUTION?


    TASK:
    1. WRITE UP NOTES FROM EPISODE 1
    2.  ANSWER 2 QUESTIONS FROM BELOW 
    ( approx 500  words for each  answer)
    1. Name some of the evidence from the programme that supports 
    Aleks KrotoskiAleks Krotoski’s statements that the Internet is ““The seemingly unstoppable levelling of power, culture and values that is having such an impact on our daily lives” and is the “ultimate empowering tool.”
    2. Do you agree with Al Gore’s statement that the Internet “…….is an empowering tool which has more potential than any other that human civilisation has ever developed.” Why?
    3. It is stated in the programme that the web was created by “social misfits who wanted to go on to being misfits” and Andrew Keen comments that “The most concrete legacy of the counterculture libertarian dream was the Internet.”
    Tim Berners LeeHow does the early history of the development of the web (Tim Berners Lee, The Well etc.) fit in with these the above two  statements?

    4.  Who put forward the notion of the web as a medium for buying and selling into direct conflict with the notion, supported by  Tim Berners-Lee and the people in the Well, that the internet was a medium for sharing?  Do you think he was right to be so angry when it appeared that people were sharing his software?
    5. Aleks also comments the web is “challenging business models and clashes with our innate desire to profit and control. How does the case of the Napster sharing music v. Music industry add to this debate?
    6. The programme comments “The web was deliberately structured in a way to resist authority because it was designed to give all users equal access. ….. It is the ultimate leveller.  No wonder it was set on a collision course with social order and hierarchy. ” What is the evidence for this?”
    7.  Consider this statement “The web is setting information free – it sets us all free. ……… ”
    It comes from the Declaration of the Independence John Perry barlowof Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow, who is an ex-member of The Grateful Dead (a 60s American rock band) and a cyberlibertarian political acitivst.  He was an early member of The Well and helped to start the influential Electronic Frontier Foundation.
    Does this statement still hold true?
    8. Is John Perry Barlow more accurate when he states “You can control what they believe if you can control what they have access to. If you can control what they can know the rest is a very simple matter?”
    After all Lee Siegel comments that the “Old hierarchies still there. They are just scrambling to adapt themselves to this new situation.”Lee Siegel
    • Do you think he is right?
    • How does the case of the Huffington Post support this viewpoint?
    • Do you know of any other evidence to support this view?
    There is some additional summary of the programme on the following powerpoint: The Virtual Revolution
    9.  Make notes from David Chapman’s comments in the Open University links below about the tension the tension running thoughout the series  between techno-utopianism and techno-dystopianism.
  • Great video here... pay attention to his advice on shot composition especially


  • Help for all of you trying to light your scenes without pro lighting rigs


  • So as a number of you are doing 'grime' magazines, I thought I would write a post about grime music  photography because so many of you take photos that are too dark and seem to not have the basic elements of photography such as mise en scène. Lets have a look at some examples..

    Even though Grime music tends to be a dark, urban, gritty, even dangerous style of music in terms of its content, lyrics and characterisations you can see that in magazine photography they still need to get strong light sources in to keep the image quality high:


    (I know this is from the 'shutdown' video but still!) 




    The use of props and costume can also be important. Not to mention the specific positioning of the models and the composition of the shot itself. 



    Facial expressions and close ups can also make the photo more engaging






    Hopefully these are some photos to get you thinking about what you can do, but remember use a strong light source (even daylight!) and think about what is going to make your photo be unique and not just two people standing in a stair well in the block!! 






  • How do these covers use, colour, lighting, simple props and costume, mood, body language and composition to create impact on the audience? 






  • Its getting to that time at the moment where all of our productions are starting to feel like we have been doing them for a long time. To get some fresh ideas into your production work start having a look at some quality creative pieces of video work here at Vimeo:

     https://vimeo.com/

    Start thinking about which ideas from these videos could inspire your productions!





  • So your pre production should be well and truly finished as we all need to be out filming now, but just as a final check if you blog has any hope of reaching the top level range of marks then as a general rule you need to have included:

    Target audience profile
    Target audience interviews and primary research
    Genre History and conventions analysis
    Secondary research of Genre : CD covers / moodboard etc
    Mise en scene analysis of real music videos
    Inspirations : analysis of real music videos
    Band Design work (sketches of fonts and band names, along with group props and costumes)
    Location research
    Health and Safety of locations
    Email record label to ask permission
    The pitch
    Video of the pitch
    Annotated Lyrics with storyline and ideas
    Narrative outline / map
    Casting decisions - photos of actors and character information
    Props and costume research
    Storyboards and Animatics
    Shot lists explaining the plan for the first few days of filming

    Phew! Thats it...


    ...But remember the posts need to be detailed, show real insight and use technical terminology throughout.
    Good luck
  • How did an openly racist, anti-muslim, misogynistic, disability mocking crazy man end up in the most powerful elected position in the world? It can't be just that every single person who voted for him was stupid. So how did he convince seemingly reasonable' people to vote for him.

    Maybe the Media has something to answer for. Read the article below and try to explain how Facebook and Google help polarize public opinion like never before:

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/10/facebook-fake-news-election-conspiracy-theories



     Facebook’s failure: did fake news and polarized politics get Trump elected?

    The company is being accused of abdicating its responsibility to clamp down on fake news stories and counter the echo chamber that defined this election

     “If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They are the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.”

    Many Guardian readers will have seen this quote, attributed to a 1998 interview with Donald Trump in People magazine, in their Facebook news feed.
    It’s a great quote, but he never said it.

    It typifies the kind of fake news and misinformation that has plagued the 2016 election on an unprecedented scale. In the wake of the surprise election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, pressure is growing on Facebook to not only tackle the problem but also to find ways to encourage healthier discourse between people with different political views.

    Rather than connecting people – as Facebook’s euphoric mission statement claims – the bitter polarization of the social network over the last eighteen months suggests Facebook is actually doing more to divide the world.















  • Year 13 students had 1 hour and 1 location in school to film a 30 second sequence that showed off their skills at manipulating mise-en-scene

    Props
    Costume
    Location
    Characters
    Colours
    Lighting
    Composition + framing

    The two groups had two themes: happens and sadness this is what they came up with:


    http://thahminamediaa2.blogspot.co.uk



  • Lesson resources:  IDEOLOGY


  • So far we have looked at Capitalism. Now lets have a look at some of the problems with this system and what alternative systems exist:



    The first of our Media theorists:





    As we watch these videos make a list of 'Criticisms of Capitalism'  and the 'Strengths of Socialism'

    You will need these for the next activity.

    Lets also make a third list: Criticisms of Socialism / Communism


    'Create a manifesto for how you would 'IMPROVE CAPITALISM' What are going to be your 5 best solutions.





    Why don't we revolt against capitalism?

    Can you create a plan for revolution? How could it be done? Does the Media have a part to play?


  • A couple of things to keep you busy:

    - Create a new blog (leave the url address as a comment on this post when you are finished)

    1st page:  Music Video  research
    - Start some initial Music video research. Post up 5 videos analysed as if it were the TV drama from last year (Mise -en-scen, editing, sound, camera).
    Choose videos that will act as some sort of inspiration for your project.

    - take photos of real locations that you think could make interesting settings

    - Postup some ideas for narratives and themes you might like to discuss or present in your videos

    2nd page: Theory research 
    - 1 Post for each of these terms that includes: definition, examples, ket texts and theorists and two media texts they relate to

    Capitalism

    Socialism

    Democracy

    Postmodernism

    'The Culture Industry' - Theodore Adorno

    Hegemony


    Ok good luck, remember you will need this when you get back

    Enjoy your break!
  • I'm not even making this up. I have proper proof and everything! Haggerston has the 5th best A level media results in the whole country!!  According to the oxford analytics school data for last year's exam results anyway it is... Get in!

    No pressure for this year's exam results then team!!

    Here's the proof:

     http://researchoxfordanalytics.org/?page_id=2902





  • http://www.slideshare.net/andywallis/a2-media-studies-revision-pack

    I have given a link here for a newer version of the revision pack that includes some exemplar answers

    This is only useful for question 1a and 1b as the other q2 bit is for collective identity although it has brilliant information around feminism and representations

    Good luck
  • Don't Panic, you exam is two days away but you have this in the bag don't worry.. just follow my simple advice below:


    So judgement day is nearly upon you. Will it be age, gender, sexuality or any of the other topics ? Will they ask you about digital technology? Will they ask you about ownership or globalisation? The answer is it doesn't matter what they ask ... you are well prepared !!
    Just remember...


    Q1 : TV DRAMA :


    1. Keep you points succinct.
    2. Always make sure they are focussed on the representation at hand
    3. Must use a technical term (not general terms like "the sound" or "the editing") 
    4. You must discuss the common stereotypes but also the counter types on show. Mention 4 characters 
    5. Dont do 'waffly' intorductions (or any introductions really) 
    6. Must focus on all 4 areas equally. mise en scene - sound - editing - camera (shots and movement).
    7. Dont rely on one thing in and don't repeat the technical terms (i.e don't keep mentioning camera shots.. for camera you could talk about shots length / angle / movement / focus)
    8. Talk about at least 4 different characters that all represent a different type of rep. (i.e strong man,  affeminate/weak man, blonde bimbo girl, strong masculine girl.) 
    9. DONT TELL THE EXAMINER WHAT HAPPENED (they have seen that clip thousands of times they know it better than you!) BUT DO TELL THEM HOW IT HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED USING TECHNICAL TERMS. 

    DO NOT FORGET SOUND AND EDITING - The terms you can definitely use: 

    Editing: 

    Screen time: if they are on screen longer they are important / more status. if little screen time they have low status.
    Shot reveres shot: used to show equality between two characters
    Eyeline match: where we see what the person who is important to the audience sees, shows status of that chracter
    Pace: more cuts = fast more frenetic (coudl symbolise busy  hectic low class stressful life) vs the opposite of slow cuts = calm peacful in control life. 
    Long take vs short take = (see above) 

    Now obviosuly there are more editiing techniques than this, but these 4 will almost definitley come up. so memorise them and apply them to whichever clip and representation comes up

    Sound: 

    Score: (the music) how dose it represent the character not the storyline (i.e dont say "the score was scary to increase the tension" in fact dont ever mention 'tension' no  one cares about how scared or not the audience may be. 
    Sound motif:  when a particular sound is used to represent a character (e.g jaws) usually this comes up in some way in the clips
    Dialogue / tone of voice: 
    Diegetic sound: Are there any key sounds in the scene that give an impression of the characters
    Ambient sound: how has the background sound been used to create teh feeling that a person is in control or high status or low class and busy / stressed etc

    Ok you will be fine on that question trust me, just remember the terms, concentrate on the representation they ask you to think about and apply them to the characters . 


    Q2. FILM INDUSTRY

    1. Underline the key focus of the question.
    Write a fairly short introduction that generally answers the question and uses a quote and a film example.

    The types of question that could come up will focus on of these areas:

    - Media convergence (how technology has come together to mean that audiences and industry can work quicker/faster etc) - so you need have some info on this for your case study films
    - Distribution and marketing (what are the differences in how your films were sold and sent around the world and how they were advertised and marketed
    - Media ownership (what is teh difference between being owned by a huge multinational conglomerate like warner bros vs being owned by a tiny Uk film company independent)
    - Globalisation / targeting local or national audiences: (how do hollywood films try to dominate in other countries and how to British films fight back against this and be successful in spite of this?)
    - Proliferation of hardware / technology: (how has the fact that technology and the internet is everywhere changed the way film makers make films and audiences watch films in both hollywood and the uk

    make sure you have something planned to talk about from each of your case study films for each of these questions.. if you dont then ask me or ask your friends on the course.. do not go into this exam without preparing for all of these options!



    1. Present your case studies but only in relation to the question.
    2. Dont go off track. If the question doesn't ask about production don't talk about it, unless its related to your larger point
    3. Use lots of terminology. (use the lists you have been given)
    4. Use lots of examples of films (try and name 6 films+ in your exam)
    5. Make sure you are presenting an argument to the question at hand and that is taking an approach that generally argues that hollywood dominates over and makes it difficult for independent british film (Holly. vs Indie) etc 
    6. Conclude with an answer to the question and say how it might change in the future. Talk about some of the success british film has had recently (we make good arty films, we make established franchises like harry potter and james bond etc) 


    Voila! Success is yours. Walk out of the exam hall like a boss because you have just owned Media ! Go straight to Mr Sloan's classroom and hand him the £50 note you have been wanting to give him out of sheer thanks and gratitude for getting you this far.


    REVISION GUIDES ARE HERE:
    http://haggerstonmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/year-12-incredible-film-revision-things.html


    EXTRA HELP: (if you really have nothing else then talk about gravity and field in england)



    CASE STUDY MATERIALS:

    http://mrsblacksmedia2.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/year-12-case-study-gravity/

    https://mrsblacksmedia2.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/year-12-wired-article-on-gravity/

    https://mrsblacksmedia2.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/year-12-a-field-in-england-distribution/





  • Hi guys so i'm going to be off for a couple of weeks which i know isn't ideal but a certain special delivery arrived today about 8 weeks before i was expecting him to so this really cant be helped... i feel bad that its the run up to exams but I will try and assist you in whatever capacity i can do from here. If you have any questions or things you really need to know then please leave comments here or email me on my school address: gregory.sloan@haggerston.hackney.sch.uk

    All of your coursework has been marked now so please don't make any changes to your blogs as it will be a waste of time. I will release those marks to you at some point over the next couple of weeks. 

    In terms of your cover work for your remaining lessons its obvious that no cover teacher we get in is really going to be assist you with content but you have been taught more or less everything you need to. Each lesson you should use like a private study lesson to produce something that can be marked and checked by me or by each other. I will post regularly on this blog post updated exercises for you to do in those hours. please let me see the types of things you have produced so that i can give you some feedback. I cant promise the marking will be done quickly as i have a very delicate situation at hospital that i need to keep running back and forwards from but still i will try and give you feedback before the exams thats for sure. 

    A2 Students i will be back before you exam so you have a bit more time, but still in the meantime please ask anything you want here or at that email address.
    remember past papers and examples from OCR are here:



    COVER WORK :

    Week starting Monday 9th May:

    YEAR 12: designing your film case studies and trying to produce your best possible answer (using notes and the internet) to the following question: 





    YEAR 13:  Divide an A3 sheet into 6  and write question 1A in the first panel. Leave that panel blank. In the other 5  spaces write at the top of each one of the following possible topics for that question:

    • Digital Technology
    • Creativity 
    • Research and planning 
    • Post-production 
    • Using conventions from real media texts


    Spend at least a lesson or two trying to create and essay plan for each possible question (but try and squeeze in everything your could possibly talk.

    Then spend the rest of the  time this week writing up each one into an essay and post your answers here as comments or email me.



    OK good luck!


  • So after Diana has requested a rough outline for how you could lay out the DPS interview paragraphs. I stress that this isn't necessarily how you have to lay it out its just one option. If you are writing an interview you could organise your paragraphs like this:

    1: Intro to location and day of interview
    2: How the artist/subject enters and what they are wearing
    3: How they became famous / what they are famous for
    4: Are the happy with life at the moment?
    5: Their first big hit / major breakthrough
    6: People that have helped them so far
    7: People that will help them in the future
    8: Talking about their new single / album
    9: Interests outside of music? Random interesting anecdote
    10: Celebrity friends?
    11: Hopes / dreams for the future



  • 21/4/16
    Target 1
    Target 2
    Zebie
    Improve text on Contents
    Complete DPS and insert picture
    Diana
    Post something onto blog
    Finish the contents page
    Dila
    Finish DPS from scratch

    Leah
    Re-do DPS

    Jessica
    Completely re –do  text on DPS (use professional example.. not the rita ora one!)
    Compare contents page to a professional example and write down 5 improvements .
    Maisha
    Put finished contents page on blog
    Add more detail to the questions for her interview on DPS
    Thahmina
    Put a finished contents page and the planning for it on blog

    Iqbal
    Must add a standfirst and pull quotes on DPS
    Must add more photos  to contents page (you need at least 3)
  • Having a great colour scheme will really help the quality of your overall product and make it look professional.

    Use this site to help you pick out a colour palette for your project

    http://colorhunt.co/


    These websites are also brilliant for designing your colour schemes: 

    http://www.design-seeds.com/by-color/

    https://coolors.co/

    http://www.color-inspirator.com/
  • https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/12/the-dark-side-of-guardian-comments

    This could potentially form part of your exam answer in the we media and democracy part of the exam. Examiners always like recent case study material or perhaps use it in the
    conclusion..
  • So its up to guys how you approach this really but you need to have at least 4 sides accounted 4 in this 'Digipack' which is really just a design for the packaging of a CD release of your single. It should have a consistent brand identity, have lots of original artwork/photography and contain the typical conventions of CD covers. (Track listings, lyrics etc). Browse the internet for good examples..








  • 29th April People.. the 29th April... 18 days .....432 hours until I send off the coursework marks...

    This is getting reidiculously late so I absolutely have to have these evaluations on your blogs by then otherwise you are going to get a bug fat zero.

    Evaluations: You have already been through this process last year for your AS work so its pretty similar to be honest. The only difference being is that you should know a lot more about critical theory and this should be applied to your text in the same way that we have been applying these theories to real media texts each year. Pick apart your music video and justify and explain just what you were trying to say to your audience. You need to do this for your CD covers and adverts also.




    Some fantastic examples are here:

     http://hazemediaa2.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/evaluation

    http://dimensionmedia3.blogspot.co.uk/   (there is annoying noise from one of Selcan's emaze presentations here  but don't let it put you off reading their evaluation!)


    The criteria is here:

    Construction of music video:
    Main Task
    Ancillary Task x2
    Level One
    0 – 14 marks
    0 – 3 marks
    Level Two
    15 – 23 marks
    4 – 6 marks
    Level Three
    24 – 31 marks
    7 – 8 marks
    Level Four
    32 – 40 marks
    9 – 10 marks
    Level 4
    The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
    • shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene
    • editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects
    • recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

    Where a candidate has worked in a group, an excellent contribution to construction is evident.

    EVALUATION
    In the evaluation the following four questions must be addressed:
    • In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
    • How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
    • What have you learned from your audience feedback?
    • How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

    Just to remind you all here is your brief (with ancillary task outlines):

    1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
    • a website homepage for the band; 
    • a digipak for the album’s release; 
    • a magazine advertisement for the digipak.


    One other things: I expect there to be evidence of audience feedback and good use of media/ict skills so think about how you could do this I would also recommend doing a 'directors commentary' style evaluation over the top of your production work. My own example is below:  password = genre



    Genre Apocalypse: - Directors Commentary from Haggerston Media on Vimeo.


  • 29th April 29th April 29th April.... Everything has to do be done by the 29th of April !!!

    We are cutting this fine and we have no possible way of extending this date people..

     EVALUATIONS:

    You have to respond and reflect on these 7 questions.
     You will be presenting this so I would suggest writing detailed analytical responses that are hosted on your blog first and then present a brief version of these later. (1 prezi/powerpoint for each question probably).

     QUESTIONS:
     1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real music magazines?
     2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
     3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
     4. Who would be the audience for your media product? (lots of detail here please)
     5 How did you attract / address your audience?
     6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
     7. What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from your preliminary task to the full product?


     Your assessment criteria from the exam board is below (5 criteria and I make a judgement on which level it is):




    EXAMPLES: 

    here are a couple of good examples from previous years: 

    http://funmimedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Evaluation   

    http://taylor-media.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/evaluation

    http://elisamedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/evaluation

    http://daramolamedia.blogspot.co.uk/     - excellent level of detail here in Yewande's work ! 

    http://safwanamedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/evaluation  - Safwana ended up getting an A*



  • Hi guys now unfortunately i'm not in today due to being struck down with a crazy flu bug yesterday afternoon, which i am blaming on the dodgy peanuts that Diana gave me. Anyway I can't make it in but that doesn't mean that your deadline does not apply. Today you have a double lesson and i will be checking from my sick bed at around 3.30pm today you should have on your blog :

    1 front page
    1 contents page
    1 double page spread

    It's really important that we meet this deadline as we still have a big evaluation to write (details of which i will post up here over the easter break)

    OK good luck and work hard!
  •  

    Right then class, we shoudl be onto our DPS now, so here are a couple of slides on the main conventions of these pages. You all must have some evidence of DPS research on your blogs and a awareness of the conventions. Do that now !!


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