Today's task

Hi all,
Aims:

• To understand and explore the conventions and narrative structures of soap opera
• To experiment with using digital cameras and Windows Movie Maker to tell a story

It's been 2 weeks since last we met, and your task today is going to be a practical one. You are to use the notes and ideas you got on the conventions of soap operas for homework, to construct your own soap opera this morning, telling the story or stories in one of the episodes through a series of still images, which you will put onto Windows Movie Maker and create a short stills film.

Lesson 1:
Planning, setting up the shots and storylines, taking the photos

Lesson 2:
Working in the Library ICT suite to get the photos online, then put them onto WMM. You can then add text / sound etc.

It's very important that you work well as a group here, organising yourselves so that you use the time efficiently- we've only got this lesson and homework to get it complete and ready to show next lesson.

I'll be in C5 lesson 1, and the Library lesson 2, so come to see me if you need batteries or anything.

Mr Boulter

Cover work from Monday 8th lesson

Hi chaps,
sorry I missed your lesson on Monday. I just want to clarify the work you should be doing which was set as cover work. You should have collected a handout of the Structuralism lecture notes, which you need to read through, and do all tasks. Feel free to work in pairs/groups to provide support to one another. You also need to have a go at the Binary Oppositions task - picking a Branded product and stating what that product is NOT in order to work out what it IS. There are two examples on the sheet to help you understand the task better.

Next week we will recap on this work, finish off the Postmodernism stuff, and launch into either Narrative or Genre (haven't decided yet!). Keep looking on here in case I have any brainstorms of things you need to prepare for the lesson!

Please note - if you were not in Monday's lesson you still need to pick up the worksheets and do the work - as always.

Review of 5th October and HW

Hi all,
This week's session was based initially on the Uses and Gratifications theory, and we saw 4 presentations on different aspects of the theory. We considered how the audience might be considered to use the media for one or more of the following:

Surveillance
Personal Relationships
Personal Identity
Diversion

We then went on the consider the role of parody and satire in representing TV news. We discussed the conventions of TV news, before reading an episode of the parody 'The Day Today' (1994).

Your homework is to continue to explore the important notion of texts being defined by conventions. You need to:

• Check your understanding of what is meant by 'Conventions' when referring to media texts (a dictionary / te internet will help you here).
• Watch an episode of a popular soap opera, and make a list of the features of it that could be counted as 'conventions'.
• Read and make notes on this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1087193 to add to your understanding
• Bring to the lesson an idea for a new soap, which shows the conventions from the article- you'll need to use your imagination here, and I need to see some written notes to support your idea- it's not enough to have the idea 'in your head'!

Thanks, and remember to contact me if you have any difficulties with this,

Mr Boulter