Textual analysis

Blogs - is your link working?

Have a look for your name over on the right hand side of this page - does it successfully link to your blog? If not, you haven't given us your blog URL yet and need to do that TODAY. Mr Bansal will be checking these throughout the day and can help you with any blog problems if needed.

Textual analysis: today's task

Find three film or TV clips on YouTube and embed them in a new blog post called ‘Textual Analysis’.


Below EACH clip, write a textual analysis using the three headings we have learned today: Genre, Audience and Platform.

Example:

Nike 2014 World Cup 'Winner Stays On' extended advert

Genre
The genre for this media text is television advert. The sub-genre would be sportswear advertising although the extended length of the film means this is unusual for a TV advert.

Audience
The target audience for this Nike advert would be a large, mass-market global audience. This would appeal mainly to football fans due to the famous players involved but there are other clues regarding a more detailed target audience. The 'unknown' players on the park pitch at the start give us an idea about the main target audience - younger males from a variety of ethnic and social class backgrounds. However, there are many aspects to the advert that would appeal to a wider audience of both males and females, as well as older people (for example, the use of football and sports stars from the past creates enjoyment for older fans). The clips from people watching around the world emphasise this is a global game and therefore Nike is a global brand - it reinforces the power and popularity of the company.

Platform
Although this is primarily a TV advert, the extended version would mainly be watched online, particularly YouTube. The full four minute advert would not appear on TV (an edited 30 or 60-second version would be used instead) so this extended version would mainly be watched on PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. With a younger target audience in mind, tablets and phones would perhaps be the main devices used to access the advert.

You need to produce textual analysis similar to the example above for THREE YouTube clips. Embed them in your blog and use the headings we have learned in today's lesson.

Finish for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson - due next Wednesday.

Welcome to new GCSE Media students!

We are delighted you have chosen GCSE Media Studies and confident you will not regret it. Over the next year you will produce some amazing production work, learn a huge amount about analysing the media and end up with an excellent GCSE grade. All you need to do is put the work in!

Your first job is to start your GCSE Media blog. You can find step-by-step text instructions here. Once you have your blog URL, post it as a comment below with your name clearly written next to it. For example:

Mr Halsey's blog: http://mediamacguffingcse.blogspot.co.uk/ 

IMPORTANT: It is absolutely essential you remember your log-in details for this blog - it is basically your Media work book for next year. Make sure you do the following:

1. Add your mobile phone number so you can get a code by text if you forget your passwork
2. Email your log-in details to yourself using your SCHOOL email address
3. Write a reminder of your blog URL, log-in and password in your planner

First blog task

When you have set up your blog, it's time for your first blog post! Important: make sure you click on 'New Post' and NOT 'New Blog' when starting this process - it is a common mistake.

You need to answer the following questions (detailed, full sentences) as your first post:

1. Why did you choose GCSE Media Studies?
2. Which part of the course are you looking forward to most?
3. What knowledge and skills do you hope to learn in Media?
4. What grade are you realistically hoping to achieve in Media?
5. What was the last TV programme or film you watched?
6. Why do you think that TV programme or film appealed to an audience?
7. What technology have you used to access the media in the last 24 hours? (Radio, TV, phone etc.)
8. What device do you use most to access the media?
9. What is the main news story on the BBC News website currently? Why do you think it is the main story?
10. What is the main news story on the Guardian website (guardian.co.uk) currently? Why do you think it is the main story?

Finish these questions for homework if you don't manage to get through them in the lesson - due Friday.

If you DO finish everything - well done! Spend some time looking through our Media blog, particularly at last year's Media student blogs.

GCSE Media students 2013-14

Thanks to all our GCSE Media students from this year - it was a pleasure working with you and we look forward to seeing you on results day.

Remember, if you want a copy of your music video then pop by after school with a USB and we'll copy it over no problem.

Good luck with your new options and don't forget to choose A Level Media when it comes to the sixth form!

Greenford Media Team

Final revision session

Thanks to everyone who turned up to this afternoon's final revision session - I know many of you had a Chemistry exam but hopefully most people got something out of the session. If you couldn't make it, here's what you missed:

The basics:

• Notes cannot be taken into exam
• 1hr 30mins total
• Four tasks worth 15 marks each

Be equipped:

1. Pens
2. Pencils
3. Coloured pencils
4. Fine liner
5. Ruler

The tasks we are expecting:

1) There are lots of ways to market video games. We think the best campaigns:

• Make an emotional connection with the target audience 
• Use different media platforms to get their message across (including print, broadcast and e-media)
• Use different strategies pre- and post-release.

From your work on video game marketing and promotion, explain how each of these ingredients can contribute to the success of a campaign. Give examples from at least two campaigns. (15 marks)

2) Tell us about the promotion and marketing campaign you have planned for your chosen game. Make sure you include the following:

• The unique selling point (USP) of your chosen game’s marketing campaign
• How you will generate a buzz and anticipation about the game before release
• How you will target families 
• How the campaign will reflect TR Interactive’s mission statement: Games for the body and the mind

 (15 marks)

3) How will your campaign use social networking sites and e-media to support the television advertisement? 

(15 marks)

4) We need to know what the marketing materials for your campaign would look like. Create a 30 second television advert to promote the game you have chosen, using the ten frame storyboard sheet enclosed.

(15 marks)

Task 1 case studies

• FIFA14
• Wii Party
• GTA V
• Planetside 2
• Candy Crush
• Your own independent case studies
• Wii Fit / DS Brain Training

Note: specific details from campaign required

Curveballs

The tasks that might come up - remember, we need to be prepared for anything because the questions could test any aspect of our campaign ideas or knowledge of the topic.

Task 2: curveballs

Task 2 could ask you anything about your campaign:

• Plans for pre/post-release
• The exam answer booklet may have a campaign grid or planning sheet you need to fill in with activities
• Slogan/tagline
• Celebrity endorsement
• Cross-platform plans (print/broadcast/e-media)
• Focus on health/lifestyle

Task 3: curveballs

Task 3 could cover anything else the brief suggests:

• How the campaign taps into TR Interactive’s mission statement: Games for the body and the mind
• How you would target a family audience
• The USP of the game/campaign
• How e-media can be used for sharing content / audience interaction

Task 4: curveballs

Firstly, Task 4 (the design task) may not actually be Task 4 – it could appear anywhere in the exam.

Secondly, it could ask you to design any aspect of the campaign:

• A print billboard advert (landscape design)
• A print magazine advert (portrait design)
• The website homepage for the videogame

Remember, whatever it asks, you will have planned most of the design elements anyway: logos, game cover, celebrity etc.

Final thoughts

We have produced some incredible work in Media this year. Regardless of what comes up in the exam, if you have prepared well, revised the case studies and developed an outstanding, creative campaign for EITHER Dancefloor OR The Detectives you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Good luck and go and get an A*!

GCSE Media: anonymous survey

At the end of the course, we like to ask students to complete a survey to tell us what they thought of GCSE Media. This allows us to reflect on how we teach the course and make improvements for next year. The survey is completely anonymous so we will have no idea who writes: 'Mr Halsey should really look to get another job if he still can't teach after all these years. Give up!'

Please click on this link to access the survey and be completely honest - we need to know any detail that will help us improve our teaching for next year.

Thank you for your time and for being fantastic Media students. We hope to see you in future studying A Level Media in the sixth form!

Final exam preparations - GTA V feature

We are now down to the last few days before the exam. By now you should have planned a comprehensive, creative marketing campaign to launch either Dancefloor OR The Detectives for an Autumn 2014 release.

For Task 1 of the exam, you will need to refer in detail to your case studies of existing videogame marketing campaigns. In class, we have looked at FIFA14, Wii Party, Planetside 2 and Candy Crush. You have also completed two independent case studies on marketing campaigns of your choice. Luckily, issue 47 of Media Magazine has an excellent feature on the marketing campaign for Grand Theft Auto V - which gives us another example to use in the exam next week.

If you're not in the lesson, you can find the article on the school's VLE at the following location:

VLE > Departments > Media Studies > Shared documents > Media Magazine > MM47

The article is on page 54 and is entitled 'Trails and Teasers: Marketing Grand Theft Auto Five'

Once you have read the article (and underlined/highlighted/annotated if you have been given a printed copy) answer the following questions on your blog:

GTA V campaign questions

1. How long before release did the GTA V campaign begin?
2. How did the institution want existing GTA fans to react to the early trailers?
3. How did the steady release of trailers build excitement and hype about the game?
4. How was the launch used to generate news coverage?
5. What effect did the strict embargo have on the audience?
6. In your opinion, why was the campaign for GTA V so successful?

If you don't complete the questions in the lesson time you are given, make sure you finish for homework BEFORE the exam next week. Good luck!