Homework 28th January - Film Marketing

Sooooo - as part of your Ad & Marketing knowledge you need to research a couple of film marketing campaigns. Obviously we need to look at films not yet released so we can get an idea of the build up towards the release date. Clearly this is important - the more Awareness, Interest and Desire you create, the more people will take Action and go and watch the film when it's released. (AIDA!)
So. The first film we'll be looking at together is "Underdog" - a Disney film due to be released on 1st February - this Friday! In class I will have shown you a poster which was free at the Vue cinema. On the back of this poster are some games for kids to play, so it isn't just something to put on the wall. You need to keep your eyes peeled for all the trailers, teasers and other marketing you can find over the next couple of weeks. Does it come up on kids' tv news or anything? Also, look at the UK Disney website (US is pointless as they've already released it over there) - remember we are looking at the marketing of the film in the UK for a UK audience. Are there any tie-ins anywhere, or freebies on kids' magazines etc? Search high and low and be ready to report your findings! Keep detailed notes of course.

Secondly - you need to explore other films which are due to be released later this year, preferably before our exams! Choose one that you would like to monitor & research.

We'll be discussing Film marketing next lesson. This should help us move towards covering Institutions in more detail as well! Dull but necessary.

Oh, and GET YOUR ESSAYS IN BY TUESDAY OR I CALL HOME!!!!
Thanks
Mrs H

A message from Mrs Harte

Hello. Just wanted you to know I haven't forgotten how to use the blog.
I only received 4 homework essays on Monday. Could I please have the rest of them this week?! The title was "How are gender roles represented in UK adverts for alcohol". You had very clear guidelines on how to approach this essay so there should be no "I didn't know what to do" excuses. I'm sure there won't be as you are all brilliant students who work really hard and are keen to impress.
TTFN
Mrs H

Values and Ideology lesson review

Hello Everyone,

First of all, well done for the attitude and approach you all took in Friday's lesson on Values and Ideology- you were generally very focused and there was much intelligent discussion of the important and interesting concepts of values and ideology. Some of the things we should have learnt were:

• The definitions of values and ideology, and the differences between them


• We explored and defined our personal values


• We explored and defined the values expressed by various media texts (the Coke and Innocent Smoothie websites, the J17 front cover


• We discussed the idea of texts and institutions expressing 'surface' values, and the way that other, usually less positive values could be uncovered also in most texts


• We considered the definition of Ideology, and brought up the idea of Gramsci's theory of hegemony (more on this available online for extended reading)


• We applied these ideas to the BNP website, and then to the BBC's handling of Values and Ideology in their mission statement, and also the key episode of Spooks

Phew! We covered a lot of stuff here, and it's certainly worth your while reflecting on these ideas this week and in your SIS session on Weds.

Homework (and I'm sorry that I'm posting this on Sunday night and not earlier!), is to choose a media text (can be anything, eg a PS2 game, a music video, newspaper article etc), and to try to identify a clear set of values which the text displays. Be ready to present your findings to the class on Friday.

Well done again on a very promising lesson's work. Have a good week,

Mr Boulter

Lesson review and Homework: 11th Jan

Hi,

Friday's lesson was in two parts- the first was spent reflecting on the course so far, your recent essays (which were excellent) and, crucially, the skills and attributes required if you are to be really successful learners. Lots of interesting thoughts and ideas came from this, with the importance of independence and focus coming through strongly. We also discussed the idea of motivation, and how being motivated purely by the exam isn't really enough- this 'fear of failure' model won't encourage genuine engagement and enjoyment. Instead, we need to find interest and motivation in the learning itself, and see the knowledge and skills we are gaining as something which will enrich our lives generally. One body of research has summed up the features of a successful learner using the 5 Rs:
•Resilient
The Resilient learner sticks at it, has a positive attitude, finds interest in what they are doing, sets targets and practises, and sticks at it
•Resourceful
The resourceful learner uses imagination, learns in different ways, asks good questions and takes risks
•Responsible
The responsible learner knows right and wrong, gets on with it, plans ahead and helps others
•Reasoning
Can say which is better and why, gathers all the evidence, chooses the best method and takes time
•Reflective
Asks ‘why?’Stays calm, listens to different opinions, learns from mistakes

Now would be a good time to reflect on your own approach- how many of these features can you recognise in yourself? Which of them do you think you need to be more aware of in future?

All very interesting and important! The second half of the lesson was a bit more conventional, as we watched an episode of the BBC drama series Spooks and began an analysis using the Key Concepts. Of particular interest was Values and Ideology here- we'll discuss this next lesson, but this also informs your homework task, which is as follows:

Research the institution of the BBC. Focus your research on the following questions:

1) Who owns it?

2) What different types of media are produced by the company?

3) What does it mean to be a Public Service Broadcaster, and why is this important?

4) Identify the values and ideologies that surround the company, as well as bias and political/economical interest.

You should look to produce extensive notes on this, in any form that you wish. You need to use the web primarily- there's a good Wikipedia site on Public Service Broadcasting here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_broadcasting_in_the_United_Kingdom .

See me or leave a comment if any problems with this, and remember that this is a learning task- are you using the 5 Rs in your approach?

Mr Boulter

Supervised Independent Study lesson- 9th Jan

Welcome back everyone!
Your first SIS lesson of the term: how are you going to spend it? Some ideas for areas you might investigate (ie things you will be studying this term) are:

• Advertising
• Film and Broadcast Fiction, with a particular focus on Hot Fuzz, Spooks and CSI (so maybe some research into crime fiction?)
• Media Issues and debates

It would be sensible to choose one of these areas to investigate, but the questions that you need to ask yourself at the beginning of this session are:

• What do I want to know / be able to do at the end of this session?
• How can I achieve this- what resources do I need, and how can I record and remember the information?

One really good idea is to work on Mindmapping- look this up on the web to find out how to do it properly.

Get stuck in to this!

Mr Boulter