Media Exam PreparationMedia Exam PreparationYou have a 90-minute exam with four questions each worth 15 marks.These will be a combination of questions requiring you to demonstrate your independent, individual research into, and the knowledge and understanding developed of, the science fiction film genre, plus outlining your own proposal for a new sci-fi film and the marketing of this (especially online and through social media).You will be required to draw to demonstrate some of your ideas. Such tasks could include, as examples, a trailer storyboard, a promotional website or a poster. Your proposal must be clearly linked to your research.Audience analysis will most likely be a specific topic for one question.Overall, you will be required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, including specific terminology and media theories, linked to the four Key Concept areas (‘MARI’):

Media language Audience

Representation Institution [companies; the business/industry]

PREPARATION IN A NUTSHELLResearch the genre so you can explain, with clear and specific examples, the conventions

Focus on 2 or more recent main case studies (eg Avatar, The Force Awakens, Cowboys vs Aliens, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Terminator Genisys, Pacific Rim, Paul), but make notes of specific additional points from other films (including older examples)

Analyse marketing campaigns, including not just trailers and posters but websites and social media (tie-ins and product placement are also relevant)

GCSE Media Exam 1

When noting examples, use semiotic terms and note specific details of the media language used

Consider carefully how a specific audience has been targeted (niche/mainstream? Outline primary and secondary. Four quadrant?) Your brief is specifically for a FAMILY AUDIENCE – all the sci-fi film titles above have the same BBFC age rating bar one – you could usefully compare these

Analyse representations within sci-fi, especially of gender, age and nationality, but you can also consider social class, government, business/industry, privacy/democracy and military (does the threat/villain/antagonist [‘the other’] symbolise any current Western ‘threat’ or ‘enemy’, eg terrorists, Russia, Syria, or issues such as global warming, privacy, media power, AI/VR?)

Research the industry context (Institution): budgets/box office and the production strategies that reflect low budget Indie and/or high budget/tentpole studio/conglomerate/big six films: cast, franchise, hybridity, settings (what impact has the rise of China’s box office had?), the role of CGI/SFX and 3D/IMAX, targeting specific age ratings (BBFC/MPAA), the release date, etc.

Develop your own proposal which will need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of all four Key Concepts and demonstrate clear links to your research into existing examples. Pick one of the three film outlines, and remember this must be clearly for a FAMILY AUDIENCE (female, male, younger, older [parents]: the four quadrant strategy), including taglines, casting, director, budget, projected box office, choice of distributor, any franchise links or hybridity, basic plot (you can include narrative terms/concepts), key settings, key characters, how CGI/SFX will be used, the genre conventions this will reflect … and how this will be marketed using both traditional methods and online.

GCSE Media Exam 2

PAST EXAM PAPERSPAST EXAM PAPERSTo give you an idea of what to expect, here are some past exam papers. You can find the full paper and prelim materials (plus sample marked exam answers) in the shared folder. Here’s how the front will look, with its instructions:

GCSE Media Exam 3

GCSE Media Exam 4

GCSE Media Exam 5

GCSE Media Exam 6

STARTING POINT: DEFINING CONVENTIONSYou need to have a very clear grasp of the specific genre conventions for sci-fi films.You can use the readings and websites, plus playlists and other material, in blog posts to help with this (as well as your own research and reading – the Library has a good selection of useful books, you can buy books for ebook readers or in paper form of course!). Use the label:

http://gcsemeeja.blogspot.lu/search/label/sci-fi

TASK – FOR WEDNESDAY 4THIncluding DETAILED examples from any two or more of the films contained in the playlists, or sci-fi films of your own choice, prepare a PowerPoint using screenshots to demonstrate any point being made in which you set out your list of key sci-fi film genre conventions. Include key institutional information (where available) for any film you analysed: budget, box office, production companies, distributor, stars, director. Also include taglines and posters (you can refer to additional marketing material).

GCSE Media Exam 7