Media Conference - 21/10/2010

Why do people talk such rubbish about Media Studies?

Homer Simpson - Article - "Angry parents accuse school of 'dumbing down' English by showing The Simpsons in class" (says the Daily Mail)

"Tories to tackle Media Studies Menace" (says the Independent)

Michael Gove (Education Minister) says - "entry rates for Media A-Level in 10 years have increased by 160%

Barnaby Leman (from The Guardian) - "'Worthless' qualifications give false hope to state pupils says Harrow Head"

Google article - "Media studies is shit"

Martin Baker - "Dons despair as students spurn Science in favour of 'Media Studies'"

Matthew Arnold (Headteacher of Rugby) - wrote a book about working class threats

Frank and Queenie Leavis - book - "Literature against pop culture"

Cause by the Media - Saving innocent kids from violence, tobacco, alcohol, sex and obesity

Tony Benn - "Only Democracy gives us that right"

Jon Kingsbury - "We're talking about a converged interactive Media industry. There's an increasing interplay between gaming, online, TV and films - it's all coming together"

Converged Media is more interactive...

Stuff to read

- David Gauntless
- Sonia Livingstone
- David Buckingham
- Annette Hill
- Michael Wesch
- Dan Gillmor
- Henry Jenkins
- Graeme Turner

Perfecting your production work

- Research and planning
- Blogging and evidence
- Ideas and feedback
- Logistics, equipment and production

Research

- Really look at examples
- Keep evidence of all your research
- Research every angle
- Conventions, audiences and institutions

Planning

- Things will go wrong
- Record all your planning in visuals
- Show the process of your 'journey'

Blogging

- Always use a blog (it allows you to link to examples)

Evidence

- Storyboards
- Animatics
- Recce photos

Ideas

- Keep the ideas simple
- Have a workable concept with realistic plans
- Try the '25 word pitch' or the 'lift pitch'

Feedback

- At all stages, get feedback from peers, teachers and others

Logistics

- People, places, props, costumes
- Get it done early - you may need to do it all again
- Rehearse and prepare
- Share contact details for all involved

Equipment

- Practice on it
- Prepare it

Production

- Always shoot extra for coverage
- Organise your material before editting
- Start with the big picture

Useful websites

www.artofthetitle.com - helps you create a nice flashy title
www.petesmediablog.blogspot.com - lecturer's media blog (very helpful apparently)