TV Crime Drama - Media Representations

Media representations: how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups.

With reference to episode 1 of Cuffs you need to make notes on all the following:

• Events that take place in the episode (what are they?)
• Issues that the episode deals with (first decide what they are)
• How individuals are represented (first identify what individuals are represented)
• How social groups are represented (again, first identify what social groups the episode identifies)

You'll also be thinking about the following at some point soon:

1. Social Context – how media products reflect the society in which they are produced and that of their target audience.
2. Cultural Context – how media products reflect the arts and culture, including popular culture, of their time.
3. Historical Context – how media products reflect historical events and social changes.
4. Political Context – how media products reflect political viewpoints, messages, values and beliefs.

TV Crime Drama Conventions

The following are things that are normally seen (conventions) in TV crime drama:

• Car chase
• Villains
• Police jargon
• Rookie cop
• Experienced tougher cop
• Dramatic music
• Detectives
• Violence/ fighting
• Tension between characters and in scenes (both between cops and in knife fight)
• Teamwork
• Hierarchy - the bosses and the other ranks
• Victim
• Mystery - e.g.: who was the man at the end of the episode

Referring to episode 1 of Cuffs add examples to each convention.

Representation of teenagers - Mail Online/ Daily Mail

Research how teenagers are represented by the Mail Online.

• Google 'mail online teenagers' - see image above.
• Choose at least 5 different stories that cover a range of teenage issues and experiences.
• Save the images that have been used. Write about the types of images used and what they tell the audience about teenagers. Comment on how teenagers are represented in the images? 
• Read through the articles and list the positive and negative words and phrases used in each one. What do they tell us about the attitudes towards teenagers? Are these attitudes fair? What stereotypes are used? Who are the audience? How can you tell? Explain your thinking in as much detail as possible.

10W - work to do (Monday 3rd - Wednesday 5th June)

• Make sure all your research and planning is in your folder.
• Draw flat plans for your cover, contents page, and double page spread - use your research to guide the design decisions you make
• Start working on photoshop

1. Use the time properly
2. You should have workable drafts of your cover and contents pages by the end of Wednesday's lesson

Year 10 work - Google Drive

Click on the image to access the folder.

Monday 5th - Wednesday 7th June - Magazine research

Complete all the research tasks in the blog post below.

Extension task:

Draw flat plans of your cover, contents page and double page spread.

Magazine research: half-term homework

• Colour palettes-five examples of colour palettes you may use. Add examples from your genre.
• Fonts-five examples of the type of font you may use. Add examples from your genre.
• Audience research (UK Tribes)-which tribe would buy your magazine? They are the tribe/ target audience you are aiming your magazine at.
• Create audience profiles for a male and a female audience member.

10W - work to do

1. Complete the film poster work
2. Start researching magazines
3. Analyse a magazine cover, contents page and double page spread
4. Look at a full marks example

10WMS1 - Work schedule

Monday 24th April - Friday 5th May

• 5 lessons/ 5 hours to complete both film posters

Monday 8th - Friday 12th May

• 3 lessons/ 3 hours to complete your evaluation

Easter homework challenge

The following task is for the committed Media Studies students among you (it is optional):

Create a media journal to collect, curate or collate your creativity over the Easter break. This can take the form of a book, folder, blog or any other suitable format.

You could include the following:

• film or TV reviews
• music recommendations
• mood boards
• playlists or mix CDs
• drawings
• doodles
• lists
• short stories
• collages
• photos
• any other creative elements you can think of

10WMS1 - work schedule (2nd - 30th March)

Thursday 2nd March (Mr Ford)

Continue watching The Amazing Spiderman

Monday 6th March (Miss Marvin)

Finish watching The Amazing Spiderman

Wednesday 8th March (Mr Ford)

Analyse a scene from The Amazing Spiderman (finish for homework)

Monday 13th March (Mr Ford)

Analyse another scene from The Amazing Spiderman

Tuesday 14th March (Miss Marvin)

Finish analysing the second scene from The Amazing Spiderman

Thursday 16th March (Mr Ford)

Introduction to the essay question.

Read the exemplar essay.
Add sound and editing to your analysis.

Monday 20th March (Miss Marvin)
Start to compile a notes page to use when writing the essay.

Wednesday 22nd March (Mr Ford)
Finish compiling notes page for use in essay (complete for homework)

Monday 27th March (Mr Ford)

Essay lesson 1

Tuesday 28^th March (Miss Marvin)

Essay lesson 2

Thursday 30th March (Mr Ford)
Essay lesson 3

Year 10 Essay (B321)

The essay question you will answer is:

Compare how teenagers are represented in the action adventure films: The Hunger Games and The Amazing Spiderman.

As guidance, the essay should be approximately 800–1,500 words in length and this may be

divided into sections

You need to demonstrate:

• detailed and thorough knowledge and understanding of the texts studied
• thoughtful and insightful analysis and interpretation of the texts
• understanding of how texts represent social and cultural messages and values,
• including proficient identification and interpretation of those messages and values
• understanding of how texts use media language and areas of representation
• knowledge and understanding of the codes and conventions according to generic categorisations of media texts
• accurate use of technical terms and medium-specific terminology, as appropriate
• understanding of the effects of techniques on texts and audiences
• confident comparison of media texts, as appropriate
• appropriate use of some examples to support points made
• personal insights and engagement with objects of study and concepts.

The Amazing Spiderman - Peter's High School Life

Analyse this clip using the same criteria and terminology that you employed on the scenes from The Hunger Games here.

This clip is shorter and more action packed - so it should be quicker and easier to do.

Remember to include details on the representation of Peter Parker as a teenager.

Creative challenge - A themed music mix

Your task is to create a themed mix of music. The mix can tell a story, evoke a mood or represent a facet of your personality. You choose - it just needs to be themed.

There are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

• Theme your mix. No mix without a theme will be accepted.
• 90 minutes absolute max. CD's are dying but restraints are good.
• To present your mix use Spotify, Apple music (or other similar service) or burn to a CD.
• Email me the link or hand me the CD.
• Include a cover image. You must have some sort of artwork.
• Remember, make it great.
• There is a lot of this sort of thing on Pinterest and Tumblr - I'll leave you to discover those.
• There will be prizes for the best mixes and artwork.

Click on the image for additional ideas:

Representation of teenagers in The Hunger Games

You have one lesson to complete this task (period 1 Monday 30th  January). You should be able to complete at least Peeta and Katniss. 

• Think about the representation of teenagers in The Hunger Games. 
• Are the representations stereotypical or not? Offer examples from the film.
• Think about how male and female representations differ. Write down some of the differences.
• Is there anything in particular that you notice (think about what they wear, how they act etc) the representations ? 
• Do this work in your books - illustrate with images.

The characters you could include are:

1. Katniss
2. Peeta
3. Gale
4. Cato
5. Clove
6. Thresh
7. Marvel
8. Glimmer
9. Foxface

Representation of teenagers in action films

You have one lesson to complete this task (period 1 Monday 16th January). You should be able to complete at least one female and one male representation. Students who fail to do so will receive a detention.

• Think about the representation of teenagers in action films (e.g. Maze Runner, Divergent, Spiderman, The Hunger Games etc). 
• Are the representations stereotypical or not? Offer examples from any films you can think of.
• Think about how male and female representations differ. Write down some of the differences from the films you have seen.
• Is there anything in particular that you notice about the representations?
• Do this work in your books - illustrate with images.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is represented as being very resourceful. One example is that she is highly skilled at climbing trees. This helps her numerous times in the film, most notably when she flees from Cato's group whilst injured. She has the sense to tie herself to the branch so that she won't slip and fall if she drifts asleep. This shows the audience she is adept at surviving outdoors and that she should be taken seriously by the other competitors in the Hunger Games.

This should be one of many things you could write about Katniss. You need to do this, or similar for all the characters you write about. Some characters will require less detail than others depending on how important they are to the plot of the film.

10W - Work to do

Do the following:
Finish the 'What are the codes and conventions of Action Adventure Film?' task by the end of this lesson.
If this is unfinished then complete for homework (It's already on SMHW).
If you finish, move on to the extension task.

Extension task:

• Think about the representation of teenagers in action films (e.g. Maze Runner, Divergent, Spiderman, The Hunger Games etc). 
• Are the representations stereotypical or not? Offer examples from any films you can think of.
• Think about how male and female representations differ. Write down some of the differences from the films you have seen.
• Is there anything in particular that you notice about the representations?
• Do this work in your books - illustrate with images.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is represented as being very resourceful. One example is that she is highly skilled at climbing trees. This helps her numerous times in the film, most notably when she flees from Cato's group whilst injured. She has the sense to tie herself to the branch so that she won't slip and fall if she drifts asleep. This shows the audience she is adept at surviving outdoors and that she should be taken seriously by the other competitors in the Hunger Games.

This should be one of many things you could write about Katniss. You need to do this, or similar for all the characters you write about. Some characters will require less detail than others depending on how important they are to the plot of the film.

What are the codes and conventions of Action Adventure Film?

Narrative

• 12/15 certificate, maximising youth audiences. What certificate is your film?
• Often hybridised with Sci Fi/Adventure/Romance. What other genres are used in your film?
• Major Hollywood studio produced and distributed. Who produced your film?
• High production values including CGI FX. Fast paced editin.g Is CGI used in your film?
• Classic Hollywood 3 act narrative structure.
• Predictable chain of events – cause and effect. Describe the plot of your film.
• Single stranded, linear, closed narrative.
• Dramatic non-diegetic sound (soundtrack music). 
• Clear binary oppositions (good v evil). Explain in relation to your film.
• Star Marketing: Audience identification/expectations .(Cruise/Pitt/Johnson/Thurman/Jolie/Tatum/Craig/Di Caprio/Damon). Does your film feature any stars? Who are they? What types of film are they best known for?
• Generic Typecasting and Secondary Persona apply (stock characters). Are any stock characters Used?
• Romantic sub-plot, humorous dialogue. Does this apply to your film? When/ how?
• Relationships with new technology (youth audiences). Is this evident in your film? Give examples.
• Use of close ups.
• Dominant representation of gender: male/female action hero. Is the hero male or female? Does the hero conform to gender stereotypes?

• Narrative led films contain tightly woven story arcs, where the dialogue drives the plot rather than builds character.
• An action adventure film is essentially one long quest with a succession of different chase sequences, each one more death defying and seemingly impossible than the one before. The trick for the producers is to ramp up the tension as the film progresses to a storming end sequence. Will our intrepid explorers make it, or will the evil antagonist get there first.
• A strong story ark of a quest for treasure, or an incredibly valuable object, or an item which has occult power.
• Love interest that both hinders and supports the main quest.
• A fast moving narrative with constant set backs that are overcome one by one, leading to fairly complex plots.
• In many respects this genre of films derive their energy from being more exciting, more adult and much more dangerous versions of children’s stories of adventure such as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five or Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons.
• Thrilling action where the protagonist saves his fellow travellers through a variety of non realistic but apparently logical escapades.

Characters and locations

• These are not realistic films, although the characters must be believable. They are set in a stereotypical world of the not too distant past e.g the 1930s, or the fictional world of storybook adventures e.g. A high tech, futuristic maze. Where is your film set?
• A main protagonist who is a seen as a 'normal' person and who just happens to have amazing powers of endurance in the face of extreme danger, and is also very clever. James Bond is a Secret Service agent. Captain Jack Sparrow is at first an ordinary good for nothing pirate with incredible agility and luck, although he later takes on supernatural powers.Explain how the main character or characters in your film are 'special'.
• There are always helpers who are a team of innocent characters who happen to get caught up in the action. Who are the helpers in your film? Explain what they do to help the main character.
• Humorous dialogue often diffuses taught and sometimes frightening situations.
• The characters take the twist and turns of the plot very seriously as they are often in mortal danger from an assortment of unusual animals, machines and monsters orchestrated by an evil antagonist. Describe some of the situations the characters find themselves in.
• Exotic locations where the characters have to contend with extremes of climate, as well as evil forces.What locations were used in your film? Describe some of them.
• The aim is to please the audience by keeping them on the edge of their seats through a series of mind-boggling chases, exotic locations and hair-raising adventures in historically inaccurate but somehow elementally possible settings. How was your film exciting?  Describe some of the exciting moments in your film.
• Action Adventure films are designed to create an action-filled, energetic experience for the audience who can live vicariously through the exotic locations, conquests, explorations, struggles and situations that confront the main characters.

Task: Having read through this description of the action adventure genre (characters and locations), apply each area to an action film of your choice. 
The questions are in red in the first and final section. In the middle section you need to apply them on your own.

The film must be from the last 5 years.

Explain your points, using examples from the film as evidence to support your ideas.

Christmas homework - create a font specimen sheet

Your homework is to create a font specimen sheet. You need to have a different font for each letter. You can use the ideas in the Chip Kidd book (above) or you can take the fonts from any appropriate source - this may include the following:

• magazines
• newspapers
• takeaway menus
• tickets
• flyers (one sheet print adverts)
• pamphlets
• carrier bags

When you return after Christmas you will have a page with 26 letters, A-Z - all in a different font. Yours will hopefully look similar to the one above.

Deadline: Thursday 5th January

10W - Work To Do (Monday 5th December - Thursday 15th December)

This week (5th - 7th December) your lessons are with Miss Marvin (Monday period 1) and Mr Ford (Wednesday period 5).
Next week (12th - 15th December) your lessons are with Mr Ford (Monday period 5 & Thursday period 3 ) and Miss Marvin (Tuesday period 2).

You should have already done the following:

• Completed all the research tasks here
• Completed audience profiles here
• Flat plan/ mock up of both posters (teaser and full)
• Added all your text to both posters
• Found an appropriate background image to use on both posters
• Found appropriate images of actors (make sure images are large)
• Added the images to your posters (pay attention to size of each image)
• Decided who your own star will be
• Taken photos of your star (take at least 20 photos)
• Added the star image to  your posters

You need to use the first three lessons this fortnight to finish your draft posters.

The final two lessons will be devoted to answering the draft evaluation question.

ALSO

1. Remember to use your checklist - tick off the different pieces of work as you complete them and add them to your folder.
2. Keep looking at real posters for ideas
3. Keep looking at real posters for size comparisons of text and images