KS5 GCE Music

What will I learn?

Studying this subject will mean you study a comprehensive range of media theory and practice.

There is a strong focus on new technologies and you will look at the audience as both consumers and

producers of media texts. There are opportunities for you to investigate an area of the media that

interests you, as well as having the opportunity to carry out practical production at both AS and

A2.

As a candidate you will learn the basics of deconstructing Media Forms by looking into Media

Representations, Institutions, Audiences, News Values, Moral panics, Semiotics, Structuralism and

post-structuralism, Postmodernism and its critiques, Gender and Ethnicity, Marxism and Hegemony,

Liberal Pluralism, Colonialism and Post-colonialism, Audience Theories, Genre Theories.

The Media Platforms studied include Broadcasting, Digital/web-based media (e-media) and Print

Media. There is also the opportunity to learn how to capture moving images effectively and use up

to date editing software to compile it all into an original piece.

How will I be assessed?

At AS (year 12) you will study two units;

Unit 1:

‘Investigating Media’ concludes with a two hour written examination,

consisting of four compulsory short answer questions and a choice of essay topic.

Unit 2:

‘Creating Media’, this is a practical unit where you produce two linked

production pieces taken from two of the three media platforms studied in unit 1, followed by a 1500

word evaluation.

At A2 (year 13) you will study two further units;

Unit 3:

‘Critical Perspective’ which concluded in a two hour written examination,

consisting of three
compulsory questions on an unseen stimulus (piece of media) and a choice of essay topic.

Unit 4:

‘Research and Production’, this is a practical unit where you complete a

critical investigation and a linked production piece.

The assessments in both AS and A2 surround a coursework module which allows the student to be

creative. This can include filming, still camera work, radio presenting and website creation. There

is also an exam in AS and A2 which surrounds the themes and ideas which would have been discussed

during the year based upon specific examples of media texts.

What are the entry requirements?

Future opportunities?

The opportunities which are available for those students who study Media can lead to Higher

education; Newspaper design; Magazine design; Journalism; Television production; Radio production;

Marketing; Editing; ‘New media’ jobs; e-media; Development; Teaching and Lecturing as well as many

other vocations.

Examination board: AQA