Y12 exam - Media Paper 2: Learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to). 

clear and detailed but ensure you fill all the space

very good knowledge of key industry elements but needs to be a more sustained response

2) Read the mark scheme for this exam carefully, paying particular attention to the 'indicative content' for each question. Firstly, focus on the unseen question (Q1) and identify two points that you could have written in your answer.

• the skyline of contemporary/futuristic skyscrapers are signifiers of the city, banking/finance etc;

this is reinforced by the costumes which suggest white-collar professionals

• the grey skies are portentous, signifying a feeling of impending doom

• the relative size of the figures in relation to the buildings signifies a super-human aspect to the

characters, suggesting their omnipotence

3) Look at the indicative content for Q1 again and make a note of any theories or examples of media terminology you could have used in your answer.

semiotics

4) Now focus on the TV 25-marker. Use the mark scheme to note down:

- three general comments on the TV industry and cultural/economic contexts

• Increasingly global nature of media companies has enabled access to a range of

international media products, suggesting a move away from the national and local.

• Developments in technology have provided a range of media platforms and screens for

viewing.

• Shift to self-scheduling – enabled by technology and cultural changes – away from

industry-controlled viewing.

- three points for Capital

• Fremantle (international production and distribution company), Pivot TV (US) and BBC

Worldwide all in deals to distribute the series globally.

• The series was targeted at an older audience, with week-by-week scheduling, adapted

from a literary novel and minimal opportunities for interactivity – suggests the endurance of

traditional media strategies and the importance of defining types of audience in evaluating

shifts.

• The mix of drama, political engagement and the crime drama elements suggest the

enduring appeal of genre forms, little changes by other shifts.

- three points for Deutschland 83

• Distributed by Fremantle, a British production and distribution company, subsidiary of RTL

media, a global company which is designed to target an international audience –

characteristic of media companies’ responses to economic contexts.

• AMC and RTL were able to develop the series in the context of new opportunities for

distribution and exhibition – eg the Walter Presents platform in the UK, which is a subsidiary

of C4, exploiting broadcast and digital opportunities.

• The focus on young, visually appealing male and female leads to market the programme

suggest that cultural contexts haven’t shifted greatly, pleasures of consumption haven’t

changed.

5) Finally, identify three things you need to revise for Media Paper 2 before your next assessment or mock exam.

Developing my answers more

theorists

timing