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EXPLANATION, ANALYSIS, ARGUMENT [EAA] USE OF EXAMPLES USE OF TERMINOLOGY TOTAL Q1A MARKS OVERALL A2 GRADE BOUNDARIES: A = 80%+, B = 70-79, C = 60-69, D = 50-59, E = 40-49, U = 0-39
MARKSCHEME: Level 3 (C/B)
Explanation/analysis/argument (6-7 marks) Candidates demonstrate the ability to relate their own creative outcomes to some ideas about [MANGeR topic] drawn from media theory. Use of examples (6-7 marks) Some relevant and convincing examples from the production are offered and these are handled proficiently. Use of terminology (3 marks) The answer makes proficient use of conceptual language. Relatively straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, Level 4 (A/A*) Explanation/analysis/argument (8-10 marks) Candidates demonstrate a clear understanding of [MANGeR topic] and can relate concepts articulately to the production outcome, describing specific elements in relation to theoretical ideas about how media texts are produced, distributed and exchanged according to generic categories. Use of examples (8-10 marks) Candidates offer a broad range of specific, relevant, interesting and clear examples of how their product can be understood in relation to theories of [MANGeR topic]. Use of terminology (4-5 marks) The use of conceptual language is excellent. Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
TOTAL SECTION A (Q1A + Q1B) MARKS: 50 (ie double mark /25; for rough grade x4)
Use these examples to gain a better understanding of what type of points you should be using, how to structure your response, the range of points to raise, etc.
NB: the question wording is standardised; the only thing that (might!) change is which of the MANGeR areas your essay is on
1 Past Q1a exam essays + examiner marks/feedback
The sample answers below include E+, C, B and A/A* (with one full marks example). These are the examples the exam board have provided as of April 2014.
3 examples of C-A range from June 2011, 2 teaser trailer 1 music vid. NB: this includes a FULL MARKS example
EXAM BOARD COMMENTARY: Stronger answers to this question were able to do three things well. Firstly, they set up the concept of genre for discussion, with reference to writing on the subject from the likes of Altman, Buckingham, Buscombe, Neale, McQuail, Stam, Boardwell, Miller, Goodwin or in some cases, with varying relevance, Propp and Todorov, Mulvey and Barthes, Strauss and Saussure. Level 4 answers generally offered references to writing about the particular genre in question as well as the more general work. Secondly, these higher-marked answers went on to apply these ideas to a range of specific elements of their own chosen production. And thirdly, the extent to which the ideas in the referenced writing fit with the product being analysed would be discussed. Mid-range answers would more straightforwardly list generic elements of the work with less reference to theoretical material. Lower level answers would neglect theories of genre altogether and/or lack specific examples. To what extent the production in question adhered to or challenged genre conventions is, at least, required in order for Candidates to be credited for both understanding and applying the concept. An alternative approach is to deal with more institutional aspects of the workings of genre and format. Many answers dealt with narrative theory which is, of course, appropriate as it is so closely linked to genre providing Candidates explicitly make this connection for the examiner, so it does not have to be inferred in the marking. Clearly, to prepare for all the concepts which may arise in the exam and then to condense understanding and application into thirty minutes of writing is challenging.
slasher films portrayed someone else as the killer so that the audience dont actually know who the killer is, or the suspect that the wrong person until is revealed at the end of the film; this is strereotypically done in horror films to create tension, suspense and even a narrative enigma. On some shots of the killings eg. When the killer is following Abby one the girls friends down into an underground tunnel, you have a point of view shot in the perspective of the killer walking behind Abby with the view of her back, we also tried to create yellow tinted lighting, using colour filters as we also found that this was a common code and convention of horror also with the colour blue. Through using these different lighting effects I have tried to anchor the preffered reading so the audience can tell what the genre of the film would be but also to connote that something bad is about to happen to that specific character. There were many more signifiers throughout our media production that would have signified the genre to the audience however it was difficult with having to create a piece that lasted between 60-90 seconds and due to the fact that we are young film makers we dont have big Hollywood film funding budgets. We only have small budgets to go on make-up and costumes. Had we had larger budgets though we would have been able to create a production a lot better. So there were limitations which could have had an effect on the genre. EAA 6, EG 7, T 3 (16 = C)
music videos artists take themselves very seriously, however we combined the sexy performances with the comic editing and cut aways to five the characters a human feel in the make believe world. For example we used what was originally going to be an outtake, where one girl shakes her bum from side to side, and we matched it to the beat, giving it a comic edge. You can apply Lyotards theory of meta-narratives to our video since it blurs the lines between reality and fantasy using the key signifier of a mirror in the opening narrative. I think the my music video successfully conveys its genre while still maintaining enigma. The Reception Theory can be applied, since from feedback, many people had different interpretations, which is what this genre is all about. Looking at it objectively I would say that it is a fun, interesting video that invites playability and successfully promotes the song, which is the aim of a music video. EAA 7, EG 8, T 4 (19 = B+)
chest. This shot moves clockwise and slowly zooms in to force the audience to see what the hang (woman) has done. In our final two shots we finish the trailer with the male anti hero being lifted off the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth which causes the audience to assume no one survives because the final girl is stabbed by her friend accidentally which quickens the pace and adds tension but she is the survivor who as Carol Clover suggests will be terrorised throughout the film and finally overcome the monster. This plays with the audiences emotions and links back to the horror genre well by creating our own style of horror. Andrew Sarris argues because it encompasses so much and is key to explaining a film. Genre is the ideas that collectively make a particular recognisable style that draws in its existing target audience. My horror trailer had expressionist camera angles as the female victim desperately trips over the camera and we see her running above it as well as close ups of her facial expression that causes us to identify with her fear and therefore makes us scared. This meant the audience also were forced to objectify the female victim from the high angle camera shot down her top in which we can see her breasts slightly after watching other Hitchcock movies which use the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey to force us to take a males viewpoint. In my trailer we also used an iconic symbol of the noose because obviously as a hangwoman she needed the prop but also as a female the circular shape suggested female power and this is something the horror genre often does but for male characters using guns etc as phallic symbols which we also used as the male anti hero takes out a knife and stabs his friend frantically when she walks up behind him. The horror trailer was made much darker in Final Cut Pro using the brightness and contrast menu and also dragged the saturated colours towards the blue in order to create a dark, dusky night time atmosphere a generic convention of horror trailers. The generic conventions we chose to use were all important to the success of our product and since distributing it on YouTube we have over 4000 which I am really pleased with and gives me the confidence that we obviously stuck to the genre enough to capture our intended target audience but were creative enough to make people want to keep watching the trailer and virally sharing it with others. Genre places a media text into a grouping giving it an identity which can be recognised by the mainstream society and I believe my product is successfully fitted to the horror genre using the narrative that todorov argued was important to the horror genre by following an equilibrium at the beginning then a problem which in our case was the male anti hero playing a joke on the soon to be female victim making jump running after him causing their separation then a pathway to resolution as they attempt to find each other and then a new equilibrium at the end which we deliberately left as an open ending to capture our audience effectively. EAA 10, EG 10, Term 5 (25/25)
However, an oppositional reading to the film could be that Myles is too lazy and selfish to be using such an amazing gift for lazy personal gain reasons like catching a bus. The audience may expect Myles to do something much more meaningful like prevent deaths or wars. In conclusion I provided for my target audience in a number of ways (including music, casting, mise en scene to give the happy Disney-esque vibe and plot) duting the creation of Spinning Time. The piece is for entertainment as opposed to creating moral panic, and hopefully offers audience members the opportunity for self discovery and social integration through discussing what theyd do if they had a time controlling watch. This is a level 3 response. Some elements are proficient and some are competent. Proficient the ability to select one piece of work and to relate it to theories of audience / effects such as moral panics and preferred readings (though these are not attributed to Cohen or Hall / Morley). Competent the examples are clear and the theoretical analysis is straightforward in this sense the understanding of audiences reading the text is insufficient for the higher mark level.
This is a level 3 response. The question is answered directly and theories of audience / reception are coherently and intelligently applied to one chosen text. There are flaws - Winships theories do not relate to girl power in this simplistic sense and at times audience theory is reduced to appealing to the audience and these shortcomings prevent the script from accessing the level 4 mark range.
interests as fully as possible. I also asked for audience feedback on my first drafts which allowed me to make improvements based on the opinions of 20 18-30 year olds. The told me to exaggerate gore and violence more and use more threatening music which I then incorporated using iMovie so that me audience was tempted to watch my piece. I aimed my piece at a low social status as my trailer was a version of British teenagers experiencing the American slasher experience. I used strong language, popular music for soundtrack and fashionable clothing to hopefully attract this group. This is a level 3 / level 4 borderline response Level 4 qualities coherence, range of useful examples, ability to answer the question in sustained manner, relating of theory to practice. The understanding of Halls encoding / decoding model in relation to own work. The discussion of effects early on is clear and relevant. Level 3 qualities the application of audience theories (insufficiently developed for level 4 eg the use of Mulvey, in the same paragraph as the use of questionnaires for feedback).
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