AS Media Exam May 2019

Remember: AS exams are different to A-level exams! 

AS is a shorter, 1 year version of the course with much of the content removed, and this exam should NOT be seen as indicative of your final exam! However, the kinds of questions that come up are very similar. Simply put, an A-level student should be able to complete an AS paper. So it makes for excellent exam practice! For a bit more information, check out the AS subheading on the 'past papers' section of this blog (click here)

MEDIA STUDIES – AS Component 1
Investigating the Media
1 hour 45 minutes

Answer all questions in both sections.

SECTION A: INVESTIGATING MEDIA LANGUAGE AND REPRESENTATION

• Question 1 is based on the audio-visual resource: a television advertisement for Amazon, released in 2016.
• You will be allowed one minute to read Question 1.
• The advertisement will be shown twice.
• First viewing: watch the advertisement and make notes.
• You will then have five minutes to make further notes.
• Second viewing: watch the advertisement and make final notes.
• Once the second viewing has finished, you should answer Question 1.

Media Language

1) Explore how media language creates meaning in this advertisement. [10]

Representation

Question 2 is based on both of the following:

• the print resource: the front page of The Sun, published on the day of the 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum

• the set front page of the Daily Mirror you have studied, published on the day after the 2016 US presidential election.

2) Study the print resource carefully and use this newspaper front page and the set newspaper front page you have studied when answering the question. Compare how representations of events are constructed in these two front pages.

In your answer, you must consider:

• how events are represented through selection and combination
• the similarities and differences in the representations of events
• how far the representations relate to political contexts. [25]

SECTION B: INVESTIGATING MEDIA INDUSTRIES AND AUDIENCES

3 (a) Give one example of a global video gaming publisher. [1]

3 (b) Briefly explain two ways in which gaming publishers market their games. [4]

In Question 3(c), you will be rewarded for drawing together knowledge and understanding from across your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts.

3 (c) Explain how social and cultural contexts influence video game production. Refer to Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation to support your points. [10]

4 (a) Identify two different audiences for Late Night Woman’s Hour. [2]

4 (b) How might audiences respond differently to radio? Refer to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support your points. [8]

MEDIA STUDIES – AS component 2
Investigating Media Forms and Products
2 hours

Section A: Television

Option 2: Humans

How far might audiences respond differently to representations in the set episode of Humans? Refer to Stuart Hall’s reception theory in your response. [20]

Section B: Magazines

Option 1: Woman

How important are images in communicating meaning in magazines? Explore the front cover and one article from the set edition of Woman in your response. [20]

Section C: Online Media

Option 2: Zoella

(a) Briefly explain the impact of digital technologies on media audiences. Refer to Zoella in your response. [5]

(b) Explain how digital technologies are used in the production and distribution of blogs and vlogs. Refer in detail to Zoella in your response. [15]