Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 marks)

You will answer two compulsory questions.

The first requires you to describe and evaluate your skills development over the course of your production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio.

The second asks you to identify one production and evaluate it in relation to one theoretical concept.

Question 1(a) Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate your skills development over the course of your production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio.

“Where candidates have produced relevant work outside the context of their A Level media course, they are free to additionally refer to this experience”.

The focus of this evaluation must be on skills development, and the question will require you to adapt this to one or two specific production practices. The list of practices to which questions will relate is as follows:

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

JUNE 2014: duration – 2 hours Section A: 50 marks - 1 hour (theoretical evaluation) Section B: 50 marks - 1 hour (one essay question on postmodernism/collective identity)

POST PRODUCTION EXAMINER REPORT: “Where candidates were able to explain the significance of post-production and apply this to a range of incrementally developing examples from AS and A2 and map post-production decisions to textual outcomes (ie what difference the decision made to the final text), candidates were awarded the higher levels. These candidates gave a wide range of precise examples - describing and evaluating their intentions in relation to, for example, effects/filters and the effect of their post- production decisions on the audience. A surprising number of candidates wrote about pre-production (research and planning) instead of post-production. A further significant minority included feedback and online promotion, re-filming and evaluation as post-production, which examiners disregarded unless there was a clear connection to the ‘core business’ of postproduction.”

WHAT IS POST PRODUCTION? The work done after principal shooting has taken place Editing, colour correction, special effects, etc.  In other words, it is during postproduction that the data that has been captured is cut up, moved around, filtered, and shaped into a finished work.

PRELIMINARY TASK Choose 3 post production techniques you used. Briefly describe how you did this Identify why you used these: Audience Narrative Genre Representation Ideology Language Institution How successful was this?

POST PRODUCTION DECISION AUDIENCE NARRATIVE GENRE REPRESENTATION IDEOLOGY LANGUAGE INSTITUION

AS Main task Choose 3 post production techniques you used. Briefly describe how you did this Identify why you used these: Audience Narrative Genre Representation Ideology Language Institution How successful was this?

POST PRODUCTION DECISION AUDIENCE NARRATIVE GENRE REPRESENTATION IDEOLOGY LANGUAGE INSTITUION

A2 Ancillaries Choose 3 post production techniques you used. Briefly describe how you did this Identify why you used these: Audience Narrative Genre Representation Ideology Language Institution How successful was this?

POST PRODUCTION DECISION AUDIENCE NARRATIVE GENRE REPRESENTATION IDEOLOGY LANGUAGE INSTITUION

A2 Main Task Choose 3 post production techniques you used. Briefly describe how you did this Identify why you used these: Audience Narrative Genre Representation Ideology Language Institution How successful was this?

POST PRODUCTION DECISION AUDIENCE NARRATIVE GENRE REPRESENTATION IDEOLOGY LANGUAGE INSTITUTION

Question 1(b) requires candidates to select one production and evaluate it in relation to a media concept. The list of concepts to which questions will relate is as follows: • Genre • Narrative • Representation • Audience • Media language Media language refers to the ways in which media producers make meaning in ways that are specific to the medium in which they are working and how audiences come to be literate in ‘reading’ such meaning within the medium. For example, the ‘language of film’, print layout conventions, web design and navigation conventions and rule economies in gaming. These medium specific languages will often be closely connected to other media concepts such as genre or narrative and candidates are at liberty to make such connections to a greater or lesser extent in their answers. In the examination, questions will be set using one of these concepts only. In some circumstances, candidates will be expected to select the production that appears to relate most effectively to the specific concept that arises in the exam question. However, the requirement for candidates to evaluate one of their productions in relation to a concept does not assume that the concept will necessarily always fit easily and in an orthodox way. Thus in some cases candidates will be describing their productions in terms of them not relating straightforwardly to the concept. For example, a candidate producing three websites over their two portfolios might describe ways in which websites cannot be understood easily through applying conventional narrative theory. Whether the candidate applies the concept to the product or uses the production to challenge the concept, it is essential that candidates are sufficiently knowledgeable about the concept for either approach. Candidates may choose to write about work undertaken at AS or A2, main task or preliminary/ancillary.