Chatham and Clarendon Media Studies Blog
Friday, 14 November 2025
Sunday, 9 November 2025
REVISION QUESTIONS
Source A Daily Mail Front Cover + Source B Daily Mirror Cover
How far have media conventions been used to construct viewpoints and ideologies in Sources A and B?
In your answer you must:
- outline the conventions of the front pages of tabloid newspapers, including use and style of headlines and images
Tabloid newspaper front pages follow clear and recognisable conventions designed to grab attention quickly and appeal to a mass audience. They typically feature bold, dramatic headlines—often using puns, emotive language, or alliteration—to provoke an immediate emotional reaction. The layout is usually visually driven, with large, central images that often dominate the page and are chosen to be eye-catching, sometimes sensational or intrusive. Headlines are often short, punchy, and placed directly over or near the image to anchor its meaning. Stories tend to focus on celebrity, crime, scandal, or human interest rather than in-depth political reporting. The use of colour, uppercase text, and rhetorical language is common, along with minimal text on the front page to entice readers to buy the paper. Mainstream UK tabloids such as The Daily Mail or The Daily Mirror rely on these conventions to entertain as much as inform, reinforcing their populist tone and appeal.
- analyse the contrasting use of symbolic, technical and written conventions in the sources
- make judgements and reach conclusions on the way in which media conventions construct viewpoints on ideologies.
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Music Videos - Set Texts
Monday, 3 November 2025
Affinity Photo 2: Experiments and Tutorials
There is no deadline on these tasks as we're all getting used to the program together and we will come back to it until we are all feeling comfortable with the way that Affinity works. Below is a list of things that we need to be able to do with Affinity Photo. Find a tutorial for each of the following things and post either a link or an explanation in the comments section below.
1. Open an A4 document making sure that the resolution (dpi) is high enough to ensure that text will be smooth.
2. Add an image to the document and resize it to fit the document.
3. Add text to the document. Change the size, colour and font of the text.
4. Create two interesting/unusual text effects.
NB: That's it for now, but I will add more as we go along and there will also be a range of tasks coming for use with Affinity Designer 2.
Monday, 27 October 2025
Brief 3: Music Video + Lighting + Behind the Scenes
This is a fairly complicated brief, so read it carefully.
IMPORTANT: For this task you may work in groups of up to three people. If you work as a group, you may produce three different and distinct pieces, or you may share some footage across the group. However, you MUST produce YOUR OWN EDIT of BOTH ELEMENTS.
Brief: You work for an independent video production company. You have been tasked with producing an extract from a new music video (ELEMENT ONE) for an artist aged between 16 and 21. There is no restriction on genre, but the production company have insisted that the video must be set in a UK school and must include representations of at least two different social groups. In addition, you must also produce a 'behind the scenes' documentary (ELEMENT TWO) of the video shoot.
1: Even if you intend to shoot on your own camera, find a FREE app that allows you to control the exposure triangle (Aperture / Shutter Speed / ISO) when shooting video on your mobile phone. Most of you already found Blackmagic Cam and that works really well.
NB: The task will need at least two cameras (or phones) working together.
2: Find 5 music videos to use as INSPIRATION.
Consider some of these reasons why it might make for worthy inspiration.
- It uses a genre of music that is similar to the song you have chosen.
- It is by the same artist as the song you have chosen.
- It is aimed at the same audience as the song you have chosen.
- It is set in a school.
- It has some stylistic features that you find interesting and might want to replicate.
- It has some technical features that you find interesting and might want to replicate.
- A performance element (Lip Syncing) shot from at least two different angles or shot lengths.
- A narrative element (Lip Syncing optional).
- At least one of the performance shots must use a single, controlled, light source (Ledzilla or Light Panel) and no other.
- An attempt at racking focus.
4: ELEMENT TWO Produce a 'making of' video about the production of the music video (60 - 180 seconds).
You will need to include:
- Director's commentary.
- Behind the scenes footage.
- Reference to the technical resources that you used in the production.
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MUSIC VIDEO
MARK SCHEME |
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Lang: Genre |
Production demonstrates understanding of codes and
conventions of existing examples of the genre. |
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Lang: Mise |
Production constructs meaning through use of mise en
scene. |
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Industry |
Production promotes artist/song |
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Representation |
Representation is consciously constructed to appeal
to target audience |
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Audience |
Production is consciously constructed to appeal to
target audience |
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CONVERGENCE |
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Industry |
‘Making Of’ video promotes artist and encourages
audience to view the video |
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Audience |
‘Making Of’ video is consciously constructed to
appeal to target audience |
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1: Minimal 2: Limited 3: Adequate 4: Good 5: Excellent
PREPARE FOR MARKING
REVIEW YOUR STATEMENT OF INTENT
Return to your Statement of Intent and check that it accurately reflects your intentions. To some extent your final mark is contingent upon:
i) The quality of your intentions.
ii) The extent to which you have fulfilled those intentions.
Look at the following advice and make any relevant changes to your Statement of Intent.
1st: Formatting.
Your SOI should start with the following question:
How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? ( approx. 400 words)
You should then have the label Production - Music Video or Production - Magazine
This should be followed by approximately 200 - 250 words about your intentions regarding your production.
Next you should have the label Website
This should be followed by approximately 200 words about your intentions regarding your website.
Next, you should have the following question:
How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)
This should be followed by approximately 100 words about your intentions regarding digital convergence between your productions and your website.
2nd: Contents - Question 1.
To help you write this section, consider the following questions:
1: What conventions of existing media have you selected to include in your production?
NB: These should cover Media Language, Representation and Audience Theory and should be directly related to your research.
2: What conventions of existing media have you chosen to break/subvert in your production?
NB: These should also cover Media Language and Representation, but your choice to break or subvert the conventions should be directly related to audience.
Take a look at page 15 or 16 of the briefs to see some of the things that the exam board suggests you should be considering.
3rd: Contents - Section 2
To help you write this section, consider the following questions:
1: What is the industrial relationship between your production and your website?
2: What will you include in your production to direct your audience to your website?
3: What will you include in your website to direct your audience to your production?
4: What will you include across both to establish clear brand identity?
Take a look at page 17 of the briefs to see some of the things that the exam board suggest you should be considering.
4th: Third Party Check
Have another member of the class read through your SOI. They should be looking for clarity, for formatting and to check if your intentions align with your research. Once they have checked it and given you the thumbs up, go to the top of your post and write COMPLETE.
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Friday, 19 September 2025
Brief Two: Image and Anchoring Text - Applying Hall
The purpose of this brief is to give you more experience using your phone camera, but to also give you the opportunity to apply Hall when creating your own work.
Task 1:
Choose at least two social groups to represent and research the stereotypes attached to that social group. Define the elements of the stereotype and find three images for each social group that contribute to the construction of this stereotype.
Task 2:
Create an image of your own that is designed to challenge or subvert the stereotype for each social group. Think very carefully about:
Mise En Scene, Shot Type, Lighting, Anchoring Text (NB: You will be writing about your choices)
Task 3:
Create a PowerPoint presentation in which you:
a) Explain the stereotype making reference to the way that the images you have chosen attempt to 'fix' a hegemonic preferred meaning around the representation of your chosen social group.
b) Explain how you have used Media Language to encode a countertypical representation of your social group.
Task 4:
Submit your work.
a) Create a post in the 'Practice Tasks' section of your blog.
b) The title should be: Brief Two: Image and Anchoring Text - Applying Hall.
c) Embed you PowerPoint presentation, making it the content clear.
MARK SCHEME
CRITERIA
Candidate shows XXX understanding of the way that media language is used to construct stereotypical representations of social groups in existing media.
Candidates shows XXX skill in the use of technology to create countertypical representations of social groups.
Candidate shows XXX skill in the use of media language to construct countertypical representations, including Mise en Scene, Lighting and Anchoring text.
Candidate shows XXX ability to communicate their understanding effectively using PowerPoint.
Candidate demonstrates XXX ability to apply Stuart Hall to the analysis of their creation of countertypical representations.
1: Minimal 2: Limited 3: Adequate 4: Good 5: Excellent
Wednesday, 17 September 2025
EVALUATE - HESMONDHALGH
Question: Evaluate the usefulness of Hesmondhalgh for analysing Long Form TV Drama.
Step 1: Correctly characterise Hesmondhalghs theory (as defined by OCR).
Take 15 mins and post in the comments section below.
Step 2: Write your paragraph about different forms of integration - Vertical/Horizontal/Multi-sector and post below.
Step 3: Give/Get advice about how to improve your paragraph. Post advice as a reply to the first paragraph.
Step 4: Rewrite based on the advice and then reply to the advice below your first paragraph.
Step 5: Write a paragraph about risk mitigation - You may wish to include...
Genre: Both shows use tried and tested genres.
D83 - Espionage Thriller - Homeland and The Americans were both popular in the U.S. subverting the genre by challenging the conventional hero narrative. Does Hesmondhalgh allows us to analyse the subversion of genre?
Stranger Things - Sci Fi, Horror, Teen Drama, Adventure - The wide range of genre types captures a wide audience. Also, Netflix use of granular digital surveillance would allow them to identify popular genres. This may have influenced their choice to commission a genre hybrid show of this nature. Does Hesmondhalgh provide insight into why such a show might be so popular?
Write your paragraph and post beneath your previous paragraphs. Try to use the advice to get it right first time.
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Brief One: Photography 101
The purpose of this brief is to get you to think carefully about lighting and focus and to work out what is possible with the equipment you have available.
STEP ONE
Find and download a Free App that will allow you to control the Iris (f-stop), Shutter Speed and Film Speed (ISO) of the camera on your phone.
STEP TWO
Search online for THREE examples of EACH of the following:
- High Key Lighting
- Over Exposed Lighting
- Low Key Lighting
- Shallow Depth of Field
- Deep Depth of Field
- Monochrome
- Back lighting
- Chiaroscuro
STEP THREE
Using your phone (or any other camera if you have one) replicate ONE of each type. The main challenge here is to try to replicate the image as accurately as possible.
STEP FOUR
Create a post in the Practice Briefs section of your blog called PRACTICE BRIEF ONE: PHOTOGRAPHY 101. Display your inspiration and your own work in a way that makes it clear what you are presenting (I won't give you any more instructions than that).
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25 – 21 |
Excellent
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20 – 16 |
Good
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15 – 11 |
Adequate
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10 – 6 |
Limited
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5 – 1 |
Minimal
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Tuesday, 2 September 2025
CREATING YOUR BLOG
Hello everyone and welcome to Media Studies at CCVI. This first task can be a little bit fiddly and I can virtually guarantee that some of you will have a problem with blogger, but we'll go ahead steadily and have it up and running as soon as possible.
So, you're about to set up your blog. Follow the steps below as best you can. I'll be there to help if you get stuck. It's boring but have patience...
Step 1: Create a gmail account. NB: Make your password and email easy to remember
Step 2: Go to Blogger.com
Step 3: Create an account using the following format:
URL for your blog - Surname First Name CHS mediablog
Account Name - First Name Surname Media Studies Blog
Step 4: Choose THEME from the left hand menu and look for Awesome Inc.
Step 5: On the left, click on layout, find side bar right 1, add a gadget, labels.
Step 6: (This might take a while) Create a series of labelled posts so that your labels read:
01 Coursework Brief
02 Statement of Intent
03 Research - Production
04 Research - Website
05 Planning - Production
06 Planning - Website
07 Completed - Production
08 Completed - Website
Practice Briefs
Step 7: When you have finished, post you address in the comments section of this post.
Monday, 1 September 2025
NEWSPAPERS - QUESTION 1 MARK SCHEME
USE THE FOLLOWING MARK SCHEME TO HELP STRUCTURE YOUR RESPONSES TO THE UNSEEN QUESTION AT THE START OF PAPER ONE.
1. Correctly characterise the theory [0,1,2]
Your first paragraph should be two or three sentences long. It should correctly describe the theory.
2. Answer the question [0,1,2]
Every question has a core. In your answer you should carefully address that core and use the same language in your answer.
For Example,
Question: Analyse the different social representations in Source A and Source B.
In the answer to this question you should analyse the different social representations and make it clear that you are doing that by using the phrase 'social representations' repeatedly.
Question: Analyse the way that Media Language is used to present social and cultural contexts in Source A (The Daily Mail) and Source B (The Guardian Online).
In the answer to this question you should analyse the presentation of social and cultural contexts and make it clear that you are doing that by using the phrase 'social and cultural contexts' repeatedly.
3. Use specific and detailed examples [0,1,2]
Carefully select examples from the text to write about. There may be times when you approach it slightly differently, but as a rule of thumbs approach in this order:
i) Look at the main image and anchoring text.
ii) Look at the main headline and sub headline - consider typography and language
iii) Look at anything else of interest on the page
4. Uses the theory to analyse the examples [0,1,2]
After you have presented the example, apply the theory to analyse it.
5. Use Media Studies terminology [0,1,2]
Finally, and throughout, try to use as much terminology that is specific to Media Studies as you are able. (You'll get better at this as you progress).
1. THEORY [0,1,2]
2. QUESTION [0,1,2]
3. EXAMPLE [0,1,2]
4. ANALYSIS [0,1,2]
5. TERMINOLOGY [0,1,2]

