Monday 9 May 2016

learner response

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

- You actually show you know the case studies pretty well BUT..
-..you don't answer the question. In fact, I still don't know which Q you answered: 5 or 6
- key words were: Q5- convergence   Q6-narrative 
- you don't use either word in your essay. 

2) Did you succeed in meeting or exceeding your target grade in AS Media? If not, how many additional marks do you need across Section A and Section B to achieve your target grade?

-No, its evident that in my essays I know all the content but I struggle to apply it to the question. Also, i lack in having a strong structure, which flows through out. 

3) Read through the mark scheme. Pay particular attention to pages 5-8 that has anticipated content for each of the questions in Section A. How many of these potential points did you make? Did you successfully answer the questions?

-

4) Which was your strongest question in Section A? Why did you do better in that particular question?

-I personally think my strongest question was  question 1, which was : How is the camera work used in the trailer to show the excitement of playing ' Call Of Duty Ghost'?. In this question I utilized several media terminology to explain few points and make it flow. But the issue I had their was I drifted off and never based it all on what the question was asking.


5) Which was your weakest question in Section A? Again, try and identify why this happened. Did you misinterpret the question? Did you run out of time?

- My weakest question in this exam was perhaps the institution question, which was : How are the links with other brands and media products used in the trailer to promote ' Call Of Duty Ghosts' . This is because I had issues explaining the different brand identity it offers. At this moment I didn't really understand what brand identity really was. 

6) Rewrite your answer for your weakest question in Section A. This should now be a detailed, three-paragraph 12-mark response.

Question:  How are links with other brands and media  products used in the trailer to promote ' Call of Duty Ghost?

Firstly, Call of Duty is a first person shooter game franchise. The series began on Microsoft Windows and expanded onto consoles and handheld. The developers of Call of Duty are Sledgehammer. The developers companies are shown at the end of the advert under the game title and the release date. This shows that 'Call of Duty' has contributed with Sledgehammer. This promotes the developers because the viewers would know they created it. For instance; more people would watch it, then people would buy the game and finally the developers would get more recognition and fame.

Monday 21 March 2016

Independent Case study




Spectre Film Trailer: 

1)     The film nameSpectre, is also known as the twenty-forth James Bond film is directed by: 

Sam Mendes. Notable stars include Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes.

2)  Spectre was released in 26 October 2015 in the UK, and 6 November 2015 in the US.

3) Spectre film genre is Action, Adventure and Thriller. However the dominant genre that we see is Action, which intrigues the audience. 

Ill Manors e-media: website analysis

  1. What examples can you find of the Ill Manors brand on the Ill Manors website homepage screengrab above?
  2. How does the website encourage the audience to buy or interact with Ill Manors products?
  3. Look at Plan B's official website. How does it use social media in terms of content and design? 
  4. Scroll back through the wall to look at posts from around the release date of Ill Manors. How does this statement on Ill Manors link to other texts we have studied as part of this case study? Do you agree with his claim that he "won't justify" the riots? 
  5. Why do you think social media is overtaking official websites in terms of film promotion?
1. There are signs of the iLL Manors logo all over the page which are easily identifiable alongside the cast of the film on the right hand side. There is also the use of graffiti which is used on the wall and has the film iLL Manors tagged on the wall with the graffiti. 

2. The website is promoting the film and telling the audience to purchase the film and also interact with them through the use of the social media website Twitter by using the hash-tag which says #ILLManors.

3. Plan B uses the use of videos on his website is, there is also the promotions of his twitter that is seen throughout the website and also uses Instagram on the website. 

4. The article is over three years ago and Plan B doesn't justify the riots but understands that people are going to react back to this 'broken Britain' which has been referred to in previous articles and the cause of the riots which happened to start in Tottenham isn't justified but is a key factor in the reason that they starred.

5. I think social media is taking over than the websites for films as people are more inclined to be on social media on a daily basis. The audience will be able to interact on social media and the film websites promote their social media page which means it's easier for the audience to access the social media page rather than going onto the website.

Friday 11 March 2016


1) The British film industry: Media Factsheet questions
2) Institutional context of the British film industry: Factsheet questions
3) Ill Manors: film review
4) Ill Manors: trailer analysis
5) Ill Manors: music video
6) Ill Manors: TEDx lecture
7) Ill Manors: broadcast platform concluded
8) Ill Manors: print platform (newspaper interviews)
9) Ill Manors: print branding
10) Ill Manors: e-media Tag London campaign
11) Ill Manors: e-media social networking research
12) Ill Manors: official website analysis
13) A Field In England: reading, research and questions
14) Ill Manors & A Field In England: institution research



1. The magazine talks about how the film was released and why they used this specific way of releasing the film on more than one platform. It was done for promotional purposes and to generate as much profit as the film could make as it targeted a niche audience who would go out and spend the money on the film for cultural purposes. 

2. A field in England was released in July , it was released not only in the cinema but on more than one platform in the same day. It was released in the cinema, DVD. 

3. The advantage of releasing the film on the same day on more than one platform is that people would be more inclined to be the first ones to buy the film on DVD as it could be a limited edition copy 

4. The disadvantage of this is that people may not want to go out and spend the money on buying the film on DVD or even going to the cinema and watching it. As the film was also released on TV if it was on a channel such as BBC One which is available to everyone they would watch it on that rather than paying money. 

5. The target audience for this film would be a niche mainly middle class audience , they are more likely to be this target audience due to the film being set in a historic setting. Also, the black and white theme which is used throughout the film would be more appealing to an older audience. 

6. I think films in the future won't be released in this way as it was a good way for an Arthouse film to maximise profit this way but also had a lot of disadvantages. Hollywood films will be generating more money as the film would have been promoted more and for a longer time than Arthouse films 

A Field In England: the appeal of arthouse film

1. One of the audience pleasures of watching an arthouse film is that it is different to your usual Hollywood film, there is a difference with the narrative of the film as a Hollywood film will always be predictable. 

2. One struggle with arthouse films is that sometimes the films are in other languages and there are subtitles at the bottom of the screen which draws the audiences attention to the subtitles rather than the film itself meaning they miss what's happening in the film or what's been said.

Another struggle is that the arthouse theme doesn't fit in with Todorovs equilibrium theory which is there is a equilibrium, the equilibrium is then distrusted causing something to happen but at the end there is a new equilibrium which has been created. 

3. Arthouse films are seen to be those who are elderly but also those who are of a middle class status. This is because of the films being in other languages or the fact that it requires more intelligence and more thinking in order to understand what is going on in the film and what exactly it's about. 

4. I think that 'A Field In England' would appeal to a more elderly middle class audience as they respect more historical films. Also, the film being in black and white would discourage a younger audience as they want to see more modern films but also films that are in colour.

Monday 7 March 2016

Institutional research

Ill Manors: Funding and production budget
  1. What was the estimated budget for Ill Manors?
  2. Where did the money come from? List the different organisations and companies that contributed funding to Ill Manors.
  3. How did the Ill Manors budget compare to a Hollywood blockbuster such as Skyfall?

1- £100,000

2- uk distribution company revolver entertainment distributed ill manors. it also had a filmaking arm, Gubnslinger, that helped produce ill manors as well as similar Urban films.  

3. The budget for the film Skyfall is estimated to be around $200,000,000 which is a lot larger than the budget for the film iLL Manors when comparing both of these films together.

A Field In England: Funding and production budget



  1. What was the estimated budget for A Field In England?
  2. Why did A Field In England manage to secure a higher budget than Ill Manors?
  3. Where did the money come from?  

1. The estimated budget for the film A Field In England is around £316,000.

2. A Field In England received more money than iLL Manors did due to it having P&A support from the BFI.

3. Shifty is another film which is similar to the film iLL Manors, they are both based in run down urban areas and the common theme which seems to appear is drugs and violence. The main character of the film Shifty is also in iLL Manors. The main difference between both of these films is that with iLL Manors there is more of a individual and his life whereas with Shifty the film is to do with two friends and the storyline is based on both of them.

Film London and Microwave Film

  1. What is Film London and why does it exist?
  2. What is the purpose of Microwave Film?
  3. Choose one film funded by Microwave film and explain how it compares to Ill Manors (similarities and differences)


1. Film London is a non profitable association which is supported by the national and regional government. It's aim is to support those who are making low budget films.

2. Microwave Films is there to help talented film makers who are staring to make a name for themselves and supporting them.

3. One film that is also funded by Microwave Films is Shifty, it is similar to the film iLL Manors as both films are drug related and the main character for the film Shifty also plays the leading role in iLL Manors. The main difference between the two films is that iLL Manors is more to do with the life of one main character whereas Shifty is a film based on two friends who take on an adventure which happens to have the involvement of drugs.