We live in a media-saturated world. From video clips on your phone, to TV ads to blockbuster movies, to posters at the bus stop, to the music in your ears, you are surrounded by media messages for most of your waking hours. How do you make sense of them?
Media plays a vital role in our society and is increasingly having more influence on our day-to-day lives. Every day we are bombarded with digital narratives that have the sole purpose of influencing our thoughts and behaviours. At the heart of Media Studies is the question ‘how does our society work and how do people behave within it?’ Understanding ideology and hegemony transcend Media Studies as a subject area, therefore our exploration of these concepts contribute to the wider curriculum and aid in developing well-rounded, thoughtful, and informed individuals.
Students will develop the knowledge and skills when studying Media that will enable them to deconstruct various media products, which will then inform their own development of media products. They will also learn to harness their creativity and to use their imagination to develop near professional standard products, such as magazines, music videos, and adverts. In order to develop these excellent products, students will learn to use professional standard hardware and software, such as Adobe Lightroom, which will ensure they are well-equipped to enter into the industry with knowledge and skills that are relevant.
Whilst studying Media, students will also develop key life skills, such as time-keeping, resilience, good team work, and communication, through activities such as presentations, group production work, individual production work, exams, and written assignments.
Media Studies not only allows students the opportunity to create fantastic media products, but it allows them the chance to explore important topics, such as representation, genre, industry, and narrative. These topics are fundamental and underpin the subject, but more than that, they allow students to gain a deeper understanding of society, politics, and history. Students will benefit from gaining the knowledge and skills they need to deconstruct music videos, film advertising, TV shows, newspapers, and radio, whilst applying various audience theories, and theories of representation.
Media is a multifaceted subject drawing from English, Sociology, History, Psychology, and Art. Audience behaviours are put under the spotlight, media producers words are unpicked, and the power of the media is exposed.
Curriculum Overview – GCSE BTEC Creative Media
Year 10 Overview
| Dates | Content | Assessment |
| Autumn 1 | Component 1 – Learning aim 1 – Media products, audiences and purpose. Focus on audience definitions, including socio economic groupings. Learning aim B1: Genre, narrative, representation and audience interpretation. B2: Media production techniques. Focus on genre conventions and narrative across a range of media. Technical and visual codes explored. | Presentation – Target audience for two different magazines. Who and how do we know? Extended writing assessment –Close analysis of film extract looking at genre. |
| Autumn 2 | Learning aim 1 – Media products, audiences and purpose. The purpose of categorising audiences. Key theory, such as uses and gratifications model. Learning aim B1: Genre, narrative, representation and audience interpretation. B2: Media production techniques. Representation of gender, age, ethnicity, class, and place. The relationship between genre and representation. Technical and visual codes explored. | Presentation – video games and their target audience and appeal. Extended writing assessment –Close analysis of representation in a music video. Assessment – extended BTEC assessment for component 1. Assignment sheet handed to students. |
| Spring 1 | Component 1 – Assignment brief. Google Page and portfolio work. | Assessment – extended BTEC assessment for component 1. Assignment sheet handed to students. |
| Spring 2 | Component 2 – Developing Digital MediaProduction Skills – A1: Practical skills and techniques The planning process, including; Developing, Narratives, Screenplays, Storyboards. Learning aim B: Apply media production skills and techniques Creating flatpacks, editing music video scenes, and taking photographs for magazines. Learning aim C: Review own progress and development of skills and practices – Evaluating what success looks like. How do we respond to errors or where work doesn’t meet the brief. | Video presentation – photography for a magazine. Assessment – edit a pre-existing film trailer. |
| Summer 1 | Component 2 – responding to the assignment brief. Students to work on assignments, ensuring they meet all deadlines. Work will be presented through a variety of ways, including; video, print, and web. | BTEC assignment |
| Summer 2 | Component 2 – responding to the assignment brief. Students to work on assignments, ensuring they meet all deadlines. Work will be presented through a variety of ways, including; video, print, and web. Evaluation. | BTEC assignment |
Year 11 Overview
| Dates | Content | Assessment |
| Autumn 1 | Launch of Component 3: Create a Media Product in Response to a Brief. How do we respond to a brief? Revisit key knowledge from Component 1 and 2. | Presentation – What is the process when working on a media project? Extended writing – controlled written assessment focused on Component 1. |
| Autumn 2 | Component 3 – respond to BTEC brief. Students to work independently on their project. | BTEC assignment |
| Spring 1 | Component 3 – respond to BTEC brief. Students to work independently on their project. | BTEC assignment |
| Spring 2 | Component 3 – respond to BTEC brief. Students to work independently on their project. | BTEC assignment |
| Summer 1 | Reflective work focused on knowledge and skills developed. |
| Summer 2 | Exams |
For any further information, please contact the Head of Department, Mr Barrett at rbarrett@fxs.org.uk