A Level Media Studies
Overview:
The media is the many forms of mass communication. It pervades everyday of our life. Everything we watch, read or interact with often is connected to the media. It tells us the news, entertains us and shapes the way we perceive the world around us. Studying it allows us to debate how and why those forms of communication can be used to challenge, control and influence society as a whole.
In A Level Media Studies we engage with multiple media forms. We explore the power and importance of a free press and how the news industry is evolving from its traditional analogue roots of the past into the modern digital
age. We analyse how magazines, music videos and advertising construct social representations that inform and connect to present day social debates. We examine the industries of film, video games and radio and undertake a
comprehensive case study in long form television drama.
The aim of the course is fro students to learn how the many means of mass communication shape the way we see our world.
Course Structure and Content:
- Topic 1 - Newspapers Students examine how newspapers are constructed and how their representation of reality shapes the way people see the world around them.
- Topic 2 - Music Video, Magazines and Advertising Students explore and analyse these media forms looking at media language and representation.
- Topic 3 - Film, Radio and Video Games Students study set texts and explore the history and industries behind these major media industries including why audiences love them so much.
- Topic 4 - Long Form TV Drama All the elements of the course are pulled together in a big study involving our set texts 'Stranger Things' and 'Deutschland 83'.
- Topic 5 - NEA A big practical project where students make a product and matching website from a range of briefs using cameras, Photoshop and video editing.
Click here to download a course flyer
Assessment:
At the end of the Lower 6th, students sit an exam on all of the Lower Sixth content. This does not count towards the final grade, but assesses the content at this half-way point before progression to the Upper Sixth. The final assessments at the end of the Upper Sixth are as below:
- Paper 1 Media Messages - 35% 2 hour written paper based on Themes 1 and 2 (70 marks).
- Paper 2 Evolving Media - 35% 2 hour written paper based on Themes 3 and 4 (70 marks). NEA Making Media - 30%
Examination Board:
The course followed is the Cambridge OCR A Level Media Studies (H409A)
OCR A Level Media Studies (external link)
Future Career Opportunities:
This course can lead to a wide range of careers and areas of future study including: Journalism, Film and TV Production, Radio Production, Video Games Design, Web Design, Marketing and Advertising, Events Management, Graphic Design, etc