If you are interested in how the media influences and shapes the way we think about and react to the world we live in, then A level media studies may be of interest to you. You may already have some knowledge of the subject from GCSE but you don't need to have studied it already to do the A level course, though you should have a critical interest in media and good essay writing skills. Media studies A level complements subjects such as English Language or Literature, history and modern languages as well as social science subjects such as politics, psychology and sociology. It's useful for a variety of media related jobs and courses but will also give you a useful set of transferable skills that can be used in a range of careers. This course is a combination of analysing theory and developing creative media industry skills. You'll explore newspapers, magazines, television, online, social and participatory media as well as focusing on advertising and marketing, film, music video, radio and video games. You will discover the ways media industries operate and target global audiences and explore media products made outside of the UK and US, including non-English language television. You'll study audiences and the ways media impacts viewers, listeners and readers. You'll develop the skills of enquiry, critical thinking, decision-making and analysis. You'll engage in critical debate about academic theories of media and become proficient in the use of software and equipment for creating your own media products in either audio, visual, digital publishing or web design formats.