1. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
St Mary’s Sixth Form &
Leadership Centre
Subject Name
“Be What Tomorrow Needs”
“Building Our Futures Together”

2. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Specific Entry Requirements
• What are the entry requirements?
•
• Although it is not a necessity, having completed a GCSE in
Media studies will put you at an advantage. You should have a
GCSE in English Language of C or above to join this course as it
involves a lot of written work, including essays, evaluations
and analysis.
•
• A2 Entry Requirements: Satisfactory progress at AS Level. A
Grade C at AS.
“Building Our Futures Together”

3. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Course Content
• Type of course
• AS/A Level
• Course level
• Level 3
• Exam board specification
• OCR
• Length of course
• 2 years
• How the course is assessed
• 50% Coursework; 50% Exam
• Description of course
• This course enables candidates to develop a critical awareness and understanding of the media and its role in
building and moulding society and its attitudes through the exploration of the products of media production
processes (media texts), the institutions which produce them and the audiences which respond to them. At
AS, candidates engage in the construction, deconstruction and critical analysis of a range of media texts and in the
study of texts in relation to media institutions and media audiences. At A2 level, candidates have the opportunity
to extend their knowledge within the conceptual framework through an independent research project and
engagement with a range of contemporary media issues and debates. A distinctive feature of the course is the
practical production element at both AS and Advanced GCE. This enables candidates to put theory into practice by
creating their own media products, thus affording opportunities for engagement in creative, imaginative and
aesthetic activity.
“Building Our Futures Together”

4. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Assessment
• AS
• Unit 1 – Foundation Portfolio (100 marks)
• Example of FP task:
• Video
• Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting
down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task
should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule
• Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes
• ALL VIDEO AND AUDIO MATERIAL MUST BE ORIGINAL, PRODUCED BY THE CANDIDATE(S), with the exception of
music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
• Research and Planning – 20 marks
• Construction – 60 marks
• Evaluation – 20 marks
• Unit 2 - Key Skills and Concepts (100 marks)
• 2 hour exam, including a 30 minute unseen sequence
• 2 essay questions in 90 minutes
• Q1 – close textual analysis of an unseen sequence, linked to an issue of representation
• Q2 – case study into issues of production, distribution, marketing and exchange in a contemporary media industry
• A2
• Unit 3 – Advanced Portfolio (100 marks)
• Unit 4 – Critical Perspectives (100 marks)
•
“Building Our Futures Together”

5. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Subject Specific
Information/Expectations
• Media Studies is a fast growing subject that will teach you to analyse communication in the world around you. It is an exceptionally interesting and lively
contemporary subject and is a popular choice at A-level.
•
• It will prepare you for Higher Education or the world of work by developing the following skills:
•
• · Group work
• · Critical analysis
• · Practical production skills
• · Organisational skills
• · Research skills
•
• On this course you will learn about:
•
• Media products – films, TV programmes, videos, newspapers, radio programmes and the World Wide Web.
•
• Media Institutions – the companies and organisations that control the production and distribution of media texts.
•
• Production processes – how media texts are made in the industry. You will have the opportunity to make media texts yourselves – for
example, magazines, newspapers and short videos.
•
• Media audiences – who watches media texts, how they are targeted and how they are encouraged to consume them.
•
• Media debates – such as ownership and control of the press, film censorship, etc.
•
• To be a successful Media Studies student, you must be:
•
• An active consumer of the media who reads newspapers and enjoys film, video and television.
• Self-motivated and able to work under your own direction.
• Able to think critically, and never be satisfied with a superficial understanding.
• Able to communicate clearly in extensive written work.
“Building Our Futures Together”

6. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Employment Sectors
• Advertising, Communication, Journalism, Media studies or
Creative Industries, Public relations, Film, TV broadcasting,
• video, multimedia….
Degree Courses
• There are an increasing number of new courses such as Media and
Business, Marketing, Advertising and Broadcast Media. We offer guidance on
future choices during the course. Work experience in local media industries is
encouraged.
• Media studies offers skills that are highly transferable to many areas of
employment. Degrees in media, journalism qualifications, games design and
practical film making courses are very competitive, and many universities and film
schools will require a portfolio of your work along with your application.
“Building Our Futures Together”

7. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
What is the difference between Media
Studies and Film Studies?
• Media Studies is more practical and
technically challenging than Film. The practical
work in Media Studies will involve a lot of IT
work – developing skills in Adobe In-
Design, Photoshop and I-Movie/ - ‘Shotgun’
• Final Cut film editing software. Media also
deals with a range of texts whereas Film
purely focuses on Film. ‘Laser’
“Building Our Futures Together”

8. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
“Building Our Futures Together”

9. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
“Building Our Futures Together”

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“Building Our Futures Together”

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“Building Our Futures Together”

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“Building Our Futures Together”

13. St Mary’s Sixth Form & Leadership Centre
Learning with a smile at St Mary’s
“Building Our Futures Together”