15 Textual Investigation 2 exemplar

Textual Investigation 2

Learning objectives:

• To grade examples of textual investigations using mark schemes.
• To agree on a concept, narrative or representation, and a title for Textual Investigation 2.
• Key words: 

• Analysis of narrative or representation within a TV advert will be good practice for the exam.
• You could also choose to investigate a film trailer or an opening sequence from a TV drama.
• If websites interest you then you could investigate representation within a site of your choice.

Task 1: Copy the following neatly into your orange books:

Textual Investigation 2 must involve a text that is audio visual or interactive.

For narrative, you need to consider:

 narrative construction and the role of editing in creating narratives (to include different types of montage)
 implied narratives – visual organisation, hierarchies and compositional codes
 narrative structures (based for example on equilibrium, disequilibrium and restoration of equilibrium; binary oppositions and their resolution; open & closed narratives; interactive narratives; linear and non-linear narratives; multi-stranded or flexi-narratives)
 character functions within narratives
 settings and locations in which narratives take place.

For representation, you need to consider:
 what makes representations - images plus points of view about them
 the processes of 're-presenting' mediated versions of the 'real' world. Anchorage and omission.
 stereotypes and representations - processes of categorisation, identification and recognition
 the way people and groups of people are represented in the media - in terms of gender, ethnicity, cultural diversity, age and nation
 the way events and issues are represented in the media.

You should also write about organisations within this textual investigation.
We will go over this next week when you have submitted your proposal forms.

Media Organisations: Marketing and Promotion, Regulation and Control issues, Intrusion and Privacy issues

For media organisations, candidates study the ways in which media organisations create, sustain and expand their markets and the way they are regulated and controlled. 

They will also ask questions about issues of intrusion and privacy in an increasingly convergent media world.

(a) Marketing and Promotion

 For marketing and promotion, candidates study through their investigation and production work:

• the ways in which media organisations (such as film organisations, television channels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, websites, social networks and individuals self promoting) market, promote and

brand themselves in a commercially competitive environment.

Consideration can be given to such issues as:

• competition

• use of stars/celebrities in marketing

• cross-media campaigns

• schedules and ratings

• audience/user research and targeting

• distribution strategies.

(b) Regulation and Control

 For regulation and control, candidates study through their investigation and production work:

• how different types of media are regulated and controlled

• the reasons for media regulation and control and the problems of

regulating within an increasingly global media environment

• the way individuals can manage their own media.

Consideration can be given to copyright and fair use, initiatives such as the

'creative commons' and taste and decency.

(c) Personal, Social and Ethical Dimensions

For Personal, Social and Ethical Dimensions, candidates study through their investigation and production work:

• conflicts between individual freedoms and media organisations

• the personal, social and ethical dimensions of online environments. 

Below are some examples of Textual Investigations based on these concepts:

Representation: Katy Perry.

Task 1: 

Using the WJEC mark scheme provided, assess the following submission which is based on the concept of representation. (11 Unit 2 - Candidate 4)

Write a paragraph in your Orange books:

Unit 2
Representation exemplar work -
Level Awarded -
Comment -

Task 2:

Using the WJEC mark scheme provided, assess the following submission which is based on the concept of narrative. Write paragraph in your Orange books.
Unit 2
Narrative exemplar work -
Level Awarded -
Comment -

Task 3:

You are required to complete the Textual Investigation proposal form provided which requires you to choose a concept; narrative or representation and a text to investigate. Also consider choosing other texts to research and compare with, think about conforming or challenging the conventions you have learned.

Your proposal must be discussed with your teacher prior to starting work.

Deadline for Textual Investigation 2 is Friday 30th January.

15 Approach to Textual Investigation 2

Approach to Textual Investigation 2

·         You will work on choosing a title and a format for your Textual Investigation.

Key Terms: 
Controlled Assessment
This is the work you do in class that counts towards your final GCSE grade. The assessments are controlled in that you must complete them in class under your teacher's supervision.
They are also controlled by the WJEC, the awarding body, as they set the titles from which you must choose.

Illustrated Essay
This is a written piece of work that includes images. For example, if the topic of your investigation is to do with narrative  conventions in film trailers, you may include screenshots to make your point clearer.

Conventional points of view
This means that the representation in the text is what is expected by an audience. For example the representation of the woman in horror genre films is as a victim.

Challenged
If you choose a title which asks how conventions are challenged, the expectation is that you will be investigating a media text that shows a different representation from the usual ones.
For example, a music video that shows a more realistic example of a young woman or an example of a narrative that is not a simple linear structure.

At this stage of the course you should be ready to complete your second and final textual investigation.
Your first investigation was based on genre.
Your second investigation must be based on narrative or representation.

There are rules you must follow in completing your textual investigations:

• One must be print based.
• Neither textual investigation can be based on the topic you have chosen for production.
• Only one  textual investigation can be based on the exam topic (in your case advertising, print based or TV).
• The two investigations must be on different topics and media forms.
• One  textual investigation must be based on genre.
• One  textual investigation must be based on narrative or representation.
• Your investigation must refer to one main text but refer to examples of other texts to clarify your points.
• Your investigations must be between 400 and 850 words.
• You can present your textual investigation as an essay, an illustrated essay or a Power Point presentation.

You MUST choose from one of the following titles:

Narrative

• Explore how narrative is constructed in (your chosen text)
• Explore the structure of narrative in (your chosen text)
• Explore how conventional the narrative structure is in (your chosen text)
• Explore how far the narrative structure in (your chosen text) challenges conventional narratives.

Representation

• Explore how gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, place, events or issues are represented in (your chosen text).
• Explore how far the representation of one of the following is challenged in (your chosen text): gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, place, events or issues.
• Explore how far the representation of one of the following reinforces conventional points of view in (your chosen text): gender, ethnicity, age, nationality, place, events or issues.

Below are 4 different responses to the textual investigation:
Explore how narrative is constructed in Vera and CSI Miami.

Underneath the responses are clips from the two texts being investigated, it is not important that you are familiar with these texts but you can take a quick look.

Task 1: 
Using the given handouts, you should indicate the media terminology that has been used. 
Even if you aren't sure about some of the terms, put them down anyway. We will recap on narrative over the next week or two.

Response 1

Response 2

Response 3

Response 4

Vera

CSI Miami

Year 11 GCSE Media Studies 2015

Terms for Textual Investigation

Name___________________________________________

Response number	Media term	Meaning
1	Linear Narrative	Follows a straight line — starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story.

December 8th Task - TV ad, Irn Bru

Learning Objective:
To analyse an audio visual ad, identifying codes and conventions and target audiences'

Key words: Technical codes, Audio codes, Representation, Target Audience.

Task 1: Watch the TV ad for Irn Bru shown below.

ON A WORD DOCUMENT SAVED TO YOUR HOME AREA AND NAMED IRN_BRU

List: 
What is being advertised?
-Product
How are technical and audio codes being used?
Sound; diegetic/non diegetic. Editing style. Framing. Lighting.
What areas of representation are shown and how? 
Think stereotypes, age, gender, nationality.
Who is the target audience for the ad?
Uses and Gratification theory.
How are they being attracted?
Slogan, logo, mode of address, narrative, codes and conventions.

GHD Assessment Task

• You will apply narrative theory to relevant texts with consideration given to codes and conventions of print based ads: 

Key words: Logo, Slogan, Representation, Target audience.

Red Riding Hood. GHD. Analysis:

GHD are a brand of hair and beauty tools. The ad agency RKDR produced a cross platform ad campaign called Twisted Fairy Tales. The campaign consisted of print based ads and an audio visual ad which was broadcast during the final of X-Factor 2010.

the ads depict traditional, Brothers Grimm, fairy tales subverted to create ideologies of female strength, independence and power.

Representation: 
Red Riding Hood is not a passive victim but is in control of her life.
She is a strong, tough, independent role model. 
This is shown through; 
Costume. Black leather boots and gloves. Could be considered sexualised but we see that the girl is in control. 
Direct mode of address and body language implies confidence. A key value to attract the young, aspirational, female target audience.
Colour; bright red is an intertextual reference and implies the importance of the female.

Narrative:
Use of Intertextuality draws upon familiar fairy tale requiring foreknowledge of the Little Red Riding Hood narrative. However, the ending has been rewritten to show an empowered hero rather than a passive victim.
Composition and lighting means the female is defined as heroic antagonist rather than the victim.
The girl is holding an axe and we can see a dead wolf in the shot. There has been a reinstatement of equilibrium and the hero has fought off an outside challenge from the antagonist.
Setting is an intertextual reference to the isolated woods, however it is no longer a threatening environment due to the use of GHD products.
Binary opposition can be seen; the woods with/without GHD.

Task 1:

Analyse and annotate the texts shown below.

Focus specifically on the key concepts of representation and narrative.

You need to link to visual and technical codes.

Consider the key values that are promoted by the GHD brand. 

For example; rebellion.

Advertisng intro

What is Advertising?

Advertising is a process, not a medium in its own right, although it uses different media forms to communicate. Advertising, in its simplest form, is the way in which the vendor or manufacturer of a product communicates with consumers via a medium, or many different media.

Advertising = messages

Advertising can be a simple “For Sale” card placed on a supermarket noticeboard:

The vendor is giving notice that a product is for sale at a given price to people who might be interested in buying it. This can be compared to the earliest forms of advertising, when exotic new goods shipped into Europe from the Far East and India (eg tea and spices) needed to be brought to the attention of potential buyers.

However, even a supermarket noticeboard might be considered a crowded marketplace as there may be other desks offered for sale, and other advertisements for customers to read. In order to attract a customer's attention to this particular advertisement, the person offering the desk for sale has to make it eye-catching, possibly by adding some colour.

They also have to emphasise the benefits of the product they are offering. There are only two basic benefits that a product has when compared to others of a similar sort. It can be described as being better or cheaper(or both!):

They might also add an image of the desk - a picture is worth 1000 words after all - in order to persuade the consumer still further that this desk is the right desk to buy. They might add a headline or slogan to their ad, to announce exactly what it is that is being sold. Thus they have all the basic elements of print advertising: a catchy slogan, an image, and copy text. This advertisement will hopefully fulfill its purpose which is to provide information which might influence someone to buy the desk. It has done this by linking the vendor of the desk to people who are looking to buy a desk. The link appears in the medium of the supermarket noticeboard, and the vendor pays the owner of the medium to place it there. The vendor has chosen this medium because the kind of people who buy the kind

Therefore advertising is:

• A message from vendor/manufacturer to consumer
• Intended to give information which will influence consumer choice
• Aimed at a known audience
• Paid for

Marketing  and Promotion strategies put simply:

Audience; 

The people who will buy the media product, the ones the product is aimed at.

Sport for boys, romance for women, the Times for business people.

Genre;

A type of media style for a media product.

Science fiction, romance, comedy, thriller, rap music

Marketing;

Creating a need to buy a product in other people. 
Media texts are luxuries and so films must be marketed to get people to go out to the cinema.

T-shirts, mugs, toys, product placement, posters, books, interviews with stars, publicity stunts, hype, labels, bottle tops.

Advertising;

A method of selling a product to people by paying for a poster or a page in a magazine.

Trailers, television shorts, posters, advertisements.

Ads that are attached to mobile phone apps.

Ads that are on YouTube before the film.

Viral ads across the Web.

      Merchandising 

      is essentially using a third party to produce material for further promotions and activities

      such as toys, clothes, foodstuffs

      This is often called organisational synergy

      Where two or more parties benefit from the promotional activity

      Such as MacDonald's and toys from films

Narrative theory - Todorov

Learning Objective: To apply Todorov's narrative stages to the film The Wrong Trousers

Key words: Todorov, Equilibrium, disruption, repair, message

Todorov's Narrative Stages

There are five stages:

1. Equilibrium – the setting is established, key character(s) are introduced and

the storyline has begun to be set up.

2. This is then followed by a disruption whereby an oppositional character(s)

appear and the story takes a particular direction

3. Then there is recognition of disruption, in that the lives of characters and

events are interwoven. Tension builds throughout this section, which is often

the longest.

4. An attempt to repair the disruption is at the highest point of tension within

the film after which there is a change in the dynamic.

5. Finally, there is a re-instatement of equilibrium where matters are sorted

out, problems are solved and questions are answered. The equilibrium can be

described as new as the story has been resolved but the events have

possibly changed people.

In the animated feature film Toy Story the events would be: 
1. Woody being the leader of a group of toys. 
2. Buzz Lightyear arrives. 
3. Sid picking them up with “The Claw” and trying to destroy them. 
4. Woody and Buzz try to escape with the rocket. 
5. Woody and the toys have Christmas in Andy’s new home.

In the animated feature film Shrek Todorov's stages can be applied 

A children’s film based on an ‘alternative’ fairy tale, it has a relatively basic storyline and it fits well with Todorov’s theory. 

1. At the beginning of the film we find Shrek, the ogre, living quite peacefully in his house in the woods Equilibrium has been established. 

2. Soon there is a disruption to the equilibrium when Shrek finds that his home has been overrun by fairy tale creatures, which he soon finds out have been sent by the King, Lord Farquaad. 

3. This is where Shrek identifies the disruption by going to Lord Farquaad and asking for his home to be returned to its normal state. 

4. Upon arriving at Farquaad’s castle, there is an agreement between Shrek and Farquaad that Shrek’s home will be returned to normal after he goes on a dangerous quest to save a princess; an attempt to repair disruption.

5. After much danger and adventure along the way, Shrek and his partner Donkey finally resolve the issue and resolve the problem which was causing disruption to equilibrium, thus ‘saving the day’ and restoring equilibrium to his life and to the land of Dulac.

Shrek learns the lesson of tolerance. This is the message of the text.

Task 1: Apply Todorov's theory of equilibrium to the short animation, The Wrong Trousers