Media Studies A Level

Course summary

Media Studies involves the study of a range of areas including Film, Television, Video Gaming, Newspaper, Magazine, Advertising and Marketing, Radio and Online industries. It is focused on industry practices and involves looking at how and why products are produced in the manner they are. It also requires you to challenge your perceptions of the Media as a whole. The A Level course is made up of 70% examination work and 30% Non-Examined Assessment. In the first examination, learners will explore how media products are used by institutions and consumed by audiences, as well as looking at construction techniques and the representation offered in key products. This will involve looking at a range of media texts from a variety of different forms of media, including advertising, music video, video gaming and radio industries. The second exam paper involves looking at a series of debates such as censorship, changing technologies, sociological changes in audiences and postmodernism through a series of media texts from a historical perspective, global perspective and within the ‘digital age’. The course also involves a practical component which makes up the Non-Examined Assessment. This will involve students producing a series of linked media products, covering moving image production, print work, audio/radio broadcasting and the online medium. Media Studies offers you the opportunity to work creatively, practically, analytically and theoretically. The course allows you the opportunity to advance in your understanding of the media world and to become more aware of the intentions and effects created by one of the most dominant and influential forces in modern life. It can lead to a wide array of opportunities working within the media industry, or become a very strong opportunity to show universities and employers your range of skills and versatility when it comes to learning.