Feedback on section A and tips on improving

REFER TO THE MEDIA STUDIES BLOG FOR A DETAILED ESSAY PLAN BY THE CHIEF EXAMINER FOR SECTION A.

After reading your mock exams I have the following points for you to consider and incorporate into your work;

For question 1a.

1. DO NOT just describe how your skills have developed. You need to say how these, developed, skills have benefit ted your production. For the mock - how did it make your product more creative? Did you challenge anything? Did you push boundaries? Did you create and incorporate something unique (your own style?)

2. How did you develop the skills? What benefit did you get from online tutorials? Using blogspot? Using Youtube to watch clips and gain inspiration?

3. Did the nature of the brief allow you to develop your skills? e.g. the prelim was very prescriptive hence you couldn't exercise a great deal of creativity........the A2 brief was much broader allowing for more creative scope.

This question must be about reflecting on your skills and how these skills have developed and ultimately improved the products you've made. Be specific and provide specific examples from your work.

For question 1b.

You needed to oultline in you introduction that you know what narrative theory is - what do theorists say? (look at alisonmedia.net, text books - go to the library and find some quotes from media theorists) Think about what Roland Barthes wrote about narrative, Todorov, Propp, Strauss and other structuralists. Top grade students would research structuralism in their own time to provide added depth to their work.

Then you need to discuss how you product is sturtcured - how is your product usually structured? why? what's it's purpose? does it depart from Todorov's structure? Why? What story is your product telling? How is that apparent to the viewer? Are their narrative expectations confirmed? Do you use typical narrative set pieces? Is your text built around the expected binary opposition (strauss)? Or does it challenge this? Have you used archetypal characters? Do they fit Propps theory of character types?
How does the audience make sense of your narrative - look up Roland Barthes (on the narrative powerpoint). Think about how media texts are ploysemic (Stuart Hall) and can be interpreted in a variety of ways (as according to him audiences are not passive). Does your text rely on a point of cultural reference? (Barthes).

In short....you must answer the question directly it was asking about how you used narrative and how would your audience make sense of it.