Tasks

G322 Key Media Concepts

Section B is a compulsory question that focuses on media industries, institutions and audiences. Students will write a prepared case study.

Section B

MEDIA INDUSTRIES

Institutions and Audiences

The exam in unit G322 has a second compulsory question. This is fully explained here.

The Exam

Candidates have to prepare a case study of a specific media industry, from a choice of six topic areas offered by OCR. The study has to be written up in 45 minutes as an exam response. Candidates will choose ONE of the following topic areas, in advance of the examination.

The topics are wide but the brief is specific – candidates must choose a CASE STUDY FROM ONE MEDIA INDUSTRY. The case study needs to be seen in the context of the industry, and be fully up to date.

This second part of the exam could be covered in half a term - 5 /6 weeks

How to teach Section B of the exam

You are asked to teach this part of the module in terms of:

How the institution produces and distributes its media products or services and how this is consumed by audiences.

Selection of an appropriate case study is so important. Choose a topic area and a case study that is suitable to your students’ interests, and is relevant to the strengths of the centre. Consider how this section on institutions and audiences can be included in some or most of the AS work.

For Example…

A study of the video games industry or newspapers or radio could lead into A2 production work and be developed in relation to the G325 – Critical Perspectives unit.

• Make sure the case study is right up to date and detailed, and covers a range of examples within the industry.
• For example: in the video games industry you should cover at least 2 games manufacturers, although one may be prioritised as the main case study. Playstationand Wii should be discussed. Cover key concepts such as convergence and synergy, and cross media ownership.
• Students need to understand why media companies are in a constant state of change due to working with new technologies, and more demanding audiences in a world of fluctuating financial conditions.
• To keep to this brief you will need to introduce the importance of audience early on in the study, and see it as part of the whole relationship between institution, product andaudience.
• There is a possible scheme of work for this unit on the OCR website.

What sort of question will be asked?

The question will be a generic one. This Section B is a learned response.

Candidates are expected to spend 45 minutes answering the question using the industry case study they have prepared.

Week 1 Class Work

Decide which of these industries you would like to study and start in straight away on that topic. Most of the initial work for this exam should be done by the students.

You may want to offer the topics to the whole class and let them decide which they study. It could be more efficient to chose only two topics and divide the students into groups according to their choice.

You will need to guide the students in their original research, then in collating suitable facts, and figures and to be able to structure a coherent learned response for the exam.

OCR says candidates should be prepared to demonstrate:

‘understanding of contemporary institutional processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange/exhibition at a local, national or international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption’.

What does this mean?

They also want some emphasis on the students’ own experiences of being media audiences. The overall topic area is Institutions and Audiences so these key concepts should be at the heart of the case study.

These are the industry topics…

FILM

This could be a study of a specific studio, or a production company such as Working Title that targets a British audience. This includes Hollywood, Bollywood, and UK film.

Could they study for example New Line Cinema, the US company which is part of Disney, and is the producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy?

I believe this would be suitable because of its strong British links with these and other films. This should involve how the films are distributed including digital cinemas, DVD, HD-DVD, downloads, the internet, and their impact upon production, marketing and consumption.

MUSIC

This could be a study of a particular record label , that targets a British audience. The case study should look at the production, distribution, marketing andconsumption by audiences.

The impact of the internet is an important aspect of the music business, and the study should look at some of the strategies used by record labels to counter the practice of file sharing. See the case study of EMIfurther down.

NEWSPAPERS

This study could take an overview of the newspaper market and the ways in which technology is helping to make newspapers more efficient and competitive despite dwindling audiences.

This should be accompanied by a study of a specific online version of a national/local newspaper, and the issues that are raised for the production, distributionand consumption of news.

RADIO

This could be a study of a particular national or local radio station, or media group, that targets a British audience, examining how it produces and distributes its product, as well as audience consumption.

This should be accompanied by study of the impact of new technology such DAB, and digital radio studio production and transmission technology such as touch screen playing of music.

Also look at internet broadcasting and marketing and British audiences. A nearby local radio station is likely to be very helpful with this case history. A BBC local station will have an archive of its history, as well as displaying modern technologies. It may be able to recommend local people who can talk about how the station began. BBC local radio in the UK only began in 1969.

MAGAZINES

A good place to start is with the study of a successful magazine available in the British market.

As with all the topics, the study should show the magazine’s patterns of production, distribution, marketing and consumption by audiences.

It should include a study of the use of online magazine editions, and the issues that they raise foraudiences and institutions.

VIDEO GAMES

A study of the production, distribution andmarketing of a specific game within one, or across various gaming platforms, including its reception by a variety of British audiences.

The study should include the impact of next generation capabilities such as HD, Blu-Ray, online services etcon the production, distribution, marketing andconsumption of games.

Week 1 Research Task

In small groups create a shared research portfolio Look in the business sections of newspapers in print if available and online for articles about your chosen industry. Check theBBC’s business sections in the NEWS page at http://www.bbc.co.uk

Week 2 Class Work

There is scope for general teaching to the whole class on essential elements of the topics. Start with the concept of production:
for example in the music business, look at how a song is created by an artist, and recorded with heavy input from a music producer.

Arrange to visit a local music production company to examine the sound mixing desk, or a modern church often has a sound mixing unit, and discover what can be done to audio. Find out how a simple guitar and voice song can change through the production process.

Listen to the introduction to Leona Lewis’s Bleeding Love – how does that influence the song, and why? You could discover how the mixing desk adds electronic echo, uses digital samples, alters pitch and why the use of multitracking changed the record industry in the sixties, and what technologies are changing the production process now.

Week 2 Research Task

Find out as much as possible about the production of the product in your chosen industry. Candidates studying newspapers can visit a local newspaper offices and see how a paper is produced. Local radio will be pleased to involve students in the radio production process. Candidates are gong to have to reproduce details in their exam answer, so taking notes and pictures is essential to remember the details of the production processes in their industry.

Activity

Create a media diary of the media products, including television programmes, that you consume for the duration of this half term – candidates should be precise about names and quote detailed EXAMPLES.

Week 3 Class Work

Consider distribution and marketing as a whole class topic. This also introduces the idea of how the product reaches its audience. The music industry is interesting in this area as its marketing model is changing fast. The industry discussion over illegal file sharing, digital distribution, downloads and the possible demise of the CD offers plenty of material that the exam requires.

Several website discuss the actual cost of making an album. Many consumers, including no doubt the candidates, question the apparent cost of distributing and marketing music – is their a better system such as that pioneered by Radiohead - interestingly it has emerged that very many more people illegally downloaded Radiohead’s latest album, than paid for it at the nominal rate – what does this say about how the music.

Week 3 Research Task

Follow a song, film, newspaper, or magazine through the marketing maze and make sure students discover how successful the product was – or not. You do need facts and figures for this exam.

Activity

Students create an audio profile of a record label/film or magazine company/newspaper group using Audacity – this could be a short radio programme with excerpts from the music and details delivered as if by a DJ. Talking though your research helps to fix it, and the resulting audio product can be used as a revision aid.

Week 4 Class Work

Whole class lecture on audiences and institutions – quote your favourite audience theories but not in great detail. It appears this exam does not require more than a rudimentary knowledge of audience theories. The case study should look at the relationships between audiences and the institutions that produce the products – good idea to look at examples of ownership and institutions from newspapers and magazines. (Interesting to look at how aggressive in marketing and acquisition terms is the supposedly saintlyGuardian Media Group).

You need to make sure the class understand relevant technical and industry related terms and language.

E.G. Convergence – the coming together of multimedia digital data technologies allowingwords, audio, video, graphics and animation to be linked and routed together viabroadband to create interactive two way communications. This leads to media products such as pay per view films on the internet, blogs, citizen journalism, interactive gamesand sharing sites such as Facebook. The new mantra for media products is produce, distribute and share.

Synergy – very similar to convergence but used to describe how companies can pool their resources and exploit products in many different markets. A film that does not do well at the box office can still produce profits by consumers paying for online downloads or DVDs, if marketed to the right audience.

Week 4 Research Task

Make a family tree illustrating who owns what for one large global player in your chosen industry. Look at the News International website to see how one of the major media companies is constructed. Look at the Sony website for music and film.

Impress upon each group the need to be able to remember details, facts and arguments, so they need to break them down into manageable chunks.

Week 4 Discussion Topic

What is cross media ownership and how does it work in your chosen industry?

All the major media industrial groups own different forms of media products –newspapers and radio stations for example.

Why is this a good economic model, but may not be a satisfactory audience model?

Discuss how the political power of large media groups is on the wane as audiences seek to produce their own material via blogs etc. and investigate alternative sources on the web. Most media industries have cross-media strategies for production and promotion.

Week 5 Class Work

Preparing for the exam

It is a good idea to teach a structure to answering this prepared question. Signpost the key issues for candidates to explore. The question is generic, and will allow candidates to use all their prepared knowledge.

Practice writing an essay under timed conditions of 45 minutes. Some candidates will need lots of practice to get enough written down in this time.

Some teachers ask students to create a blog to note websites and augment their research as well as share details with other students. This seems a good idea.

Candidates should look for contemporary examples in their industry and be able to write a paragraph about:

• the processes of production – how the product is created
• the methods of distribution – how does the product reach its audience
• marketing – methods, and processes of marketing as they relate to the institutions
• the way audiences consume the product
• the relationships between audiences and institutions
• issues raised by media ownership within your topic
• convergence and new technologies in production, distribution and marketing & its importance for institutions and audiences
• issues raised by global institutions targeting British audiences

Week 6 Class Work

More exam preparation. Students should have done all their research by now and be concerned with editing their data and creating a structured case history.

An important aspect of the brief is the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption, and how this relates to patterns and trends in audience behaviour.

Candidates will be expected to focus on a particular medium, but refer to related media where relevant.

Make sure candidates have updated their media diary with relevant products that they have recently consumed – with all details.

Check candidates have learned their case studies.