Year 11 Media Studies
Course Description
Teacher in Charge: Ms S. Mohekey.
You will learn a mixture of soft skills, technical ability and knowledge. In particular you will learn about the significance of media in our world and our relationship to the media.
You will explore the creation, design and production of media products.
You will critically read and analyse film texts and discover how genre relates to us as audiences and producers of media products.
Part of the course will involve group or individual planning of a short PSA film, learning to script and write a screenplay for it and filming and editing your PSA.
You will also look at the elements that make up a feature film and how they convey ideas and information through studying a scene from "Little Miss Sunshine".
As a class we will study the dystopian film genre, particularly teen dystopians, and their relationship with audiences and producers of media products as well as how they can reflect social change. You will choose from a range the teacher offers which aspects and which films you want to focus on.
Where does it lead?
It will lead to Media Studies Level 2 and Level 3 and, if you choose, to sitting scholarship in Media Studies. Beyond school, Media Studies is a gateway to a huge range of degrees, training courses, and careers including broadcasting, journalism, advertising, marketing, film making, public relations, entertainment and communication.
As both a creative and an analytical subject it teaches you soft skills, so you can work as a team member, as well as allowing you to grow as an individual. It is also a subject which will build your literacy skills using both visual and written texts.
Course Outline:
"Framing Film" - You will learn how elements combine in feature films to communicate ideas and information to audiences by viewing and studying the feature film "Little Miss Sunshine", then focussing on how elements create meaning in one scene.
Media production - You will work in small groups or solo to learn the production process. You will plan, write and complete an original PSA for an audience of your peers.
Step one - “Plan to Succeed” - complete a design and plan for a PSA film using a range of conventions.
Step two - "Write on" - write a screenplay for your PSA with your target audience in mind.
Step three - Storyboarding
Step four - “Media Product” - complete your PSA film by shooting and editing it.
Media Genre Study - “Dystopian Films”. You will study this film genre by viewing, discussing and analysing examples, and demonstrate your understanding of the Dystopian film genre; particularly those aimed at teenagers.
What should I have already done?
What should I have already done?
Although it builds on skills and knowledge from Years 9 and 10, you can successfully pick up Media Studies at Level One.
It would be useful if you had an interest in and curiosity about the media and how we, as people, interact with it. It will also be helpful if you have engaged with films, television, magazines and other media types and wanted to be able to understand them more and to create your own. We try our best to work with individual interests and skills, so in the senior school you will be able to pitch to create a wider range of media products.
Pathway
Media Studies is an enjoyable subject which allows you to be both creative and analytical. It leads to a range of careers from film making to journalism, from teaching to sociology, from communications and marketing to being a press secretary.
Credit Information
You will be assessed in this course through all or a selection of the standards listed below.
External
NZQA Info
Media Studies 1.4 - Demonstrate understanding of characteristics of a media genre
Pathway Tags
Animator/Digital Artist, Advertising Specialist, Copywriter, Sales and Marketing Manager, Art Director (Film, Television or Stage), Artist, Artistic Director, Film and Video Editor, Sound Technician, Journalist, Graphic Designer, Communications Professional, Technical Writer, Editor, Data Entry Operator/Transcriptionist, Graphic Pre-press Worker, Radio Presenter, Market Research Analyst, Photographer, Television Presenter, Marketing Specialist, Trainer, Early Childhood Teacher, Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Primary School Teacher, Kaiwhakaako Māori, Nanny/Child Carer, Tertiary Lecturer, Private Teacher/Tutor, Youth Worker, Secondary School Teacher, Teacher Aide,
Disclaimer
Courses will only run based on minimum entries
Selecting a course does not guarantee entry into this course
You may apply for an exemption if you do not meet the prerequisite of a course or if the course requires this for entry
Standards offered can be altered at the discretion of the HOD of the Department
Some standards in NCEA courses might be optional depending on student strengths
Course contribution may vary slightly by the start of 2025