Conference

Chewing Gum For The Brain? Why Do People Talk Such Rubbish About Media Studies?

Homer Simpson - "Angry parents accuse school of 'dumbing down' English by showing The Simpsons in class". - Daily  Mail

"Tories to tackle Media Studies menace" - The Independent

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

"entry rates for Media A-Level in 10 years have increased by 160%" - Micheal Gove - The Guardian

"A Mickey Mouse subject" - 'Dons despair as students spurn science in favour of "media studies' - Martin Baker

"It wont get you a job!" - 'Students "misled" over jobs in the media' - 'Media Graduates finish up as clerks and cooks' 

Matthew Arnold - book on working class threats

Literature against Pop Culture - book - Frank & Queenie Leavis

"Saving innocent kids from violence. tobacco, alcohol, sex and obestiy. - Caused by the media

Online Media, Cleggmania and the Cowell Factor.

How do online media and convergence impact on the ways audiences and producers use and create media?

Convergence - "We're talking about a converged interaactive media industry. There's an increasin interplay between gaming, online, TV and films - its all coming together". - Jon Kingsbury - NESTA 

Media 2,0 - allows democracy to flow - interactivity with audiences around the world. UGC - allows people to express their own opinion and produce their own content.

"Only Democracy gives us that right" - Tony Benn 

Dan Gillmore - Book "We The Media"

People To Read;

• David Gauntlett
• Sonia Livingstone
• David Buckingham
• Annette Hill
• Michael Wesch
• Dan Gillmore
• Graeme Turner

Perfecting Your Production Work

Research 

• really look at examples
• keep evidence of all your research
• research every angle
• conventions, audiences, institutions

Planning

• plan for all eventualities - what could possibly go wrong?
• record all your planning
• show the process of your 'journey'

Blogging

• a blog allows you to link examples, ideas and inspiration
• keeps a record of the process of your project's journey

Evidence

• storyboards, animatics, recce photos
• flatplans, all your original images
• screengrabs of your manipulation of material - digital editing, photoshop etc.

Ideas

• keep ideas simple
• have a workable concept
• try the '25 word pitch' or the 'lift pitch'

Get Feedback

• at all stages from peers, teachers and others
• keep records of all stages
• take notice of it and respond to it

Logistics

• people, places, props, costumes
• get it done early - you may need to do it all again
• rehearse and prepare
• share contact details of all involved

Equipment

• practice on it
• prepare it, get to know it
• make the most of it
• are all the parts there before you use it?

Production

• always shoot extra for coverage
• organise your material before editing
• organise with the big picture
• fine tune the detail later