Y11 General
Rationale
The Media Production and Analysis General course aims to prepare all students for a future in a digital and interconnected world by providing the skills, knowledge and understandings to tell their own stories and interpret others’ stories. Students learn the languages of media communication and how a story is constructed using representations. Students are encouraged to explore, experiment and interpret their world, reflecting and analysing contemporary life while understanding that this is done under social, cultural and institutional constraints. Students as users and creators of media products, consider the important role of audiences and their context.
Digital technologies have had an impact on and extended, the capacity that the media play in all Australian lives. Through new technologies, the role of the audience has shifted from a passive consumer to a more active participant, shaping the media through interaction and more accessible modes of production and dissemination of media work. Students’ interaction and opportunity to use technologies enables them to engage with current media and adapt to evolving media platforms.
The creation of convergent and hybrid media means that the system of communication changes as new media are developed. The local and global media contexts are continuously interacting, making audiences global consumers of media products. Through the consumption of global media work, awareness of global issues creates a collective consciousness and sense of responsibility, giving rise to the notion of audiences also being global citizens. Through the process of investigation, students are able to engage with topics, issues and themes which have global and local relevance and artistic movements and styles which in turn, create new notions of media aesthetics.
The production of media work enables students to demonstrate their understanding of the key concepts of media languages, representation, audience, production, skills and processes as well as express their creativity and originality. When producing media work, students learn to make decisions about all aspects of production, including creative choices across pre-production, production and post-production phases. This provides an opportunity for students to reflect on and discuss their own creative work, intentions and outcomes. Within this process, skills are developed enabling students to manipulate technologies which simulate industry experiences.
Course outcomes
The Media Production and Analysis General course is designed to facilitate achievement of the following outcomes.
Outcome 1 – Media ideas
Students use critical awareness and cultural understandings to explore and develop media ideas.
In achieving this outcome, students:
· understand how media communicate ideas in particular contexts and for different audiences and purposes
· explore technologies, codes and conventions to create meaning and develop ideas
· present ideas, designs and/or production plans.
Outcome 2 – Media production
Students use skills, techniques, processes, conventions and technologies to create media work for audience, purpose and context.
In achieving this outcome, students:
· use media skills, process and technologies
· use media codes and conventions for audience, purpose and context
· fulfil a range of production roles and responsibilities.
Outcome 3 – Responses to media
Students use critical, social, cultural and aesthetic understandings to respond to, reflect on and evaluate media work.
In achieving this outcome, students:
· understand how meaning is constructed in media work
· understand interrelationships between media work, cultural contexts and audiences
· use strategies to investigate and comment on media work and evaluate media productions.
Outcome 4 – Media in society
Students understand the role of media in society.
In achieving this outcome, students:
· understand the impact of technological developments, and controls and constraints, on media production and use
· understand the influence of social, historical and cultural contexts on media production and use
· understand how cultural values are influenced by the media and in turn influence media production.
Structure of the syllabus
The Year 11 syllabus is divided into two units, each of one semester duration, which are typically delivered as a pair. The notional time for the pair of units is 110 class contact hours.
Unit 1 – Mass media
Within this broad focus, students reflect on their own use of the media, common representations, including the examination of characters, stars and stereotypes and the way media is constructed and produced.
Unit 2 – Point of view
In this unit, students will be introduced to the concept and learn how a point of view can be constructed. They will analyse media work and construct a point of view in their own productions.