About the Exam

AS Unit G322 Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (TV Drama) (50 marks)

The purpose of this unit is to assess your media textual analysis skills and your understanding of the concept of representation using a short unseen moving image extract (AO1, AO2)

HOW THE EXAM WORKS

This is the first half of a two-hour exam (including 30 minutes for viewing and making notes on the moving image extract) in which you answer two compulsory questions. The exam is marked out of a total of 100, with each question marked out of 50.

There are two sections to this paper. This page looks at what you need to do for Section A.

A 5-minute ‘unseen’ extract from a TV drama will be shown to you four times with one compulsory question. The question will ask you to discuss four key technical aspects of the languages and conventions of moving image media (below). You will be asked to link this analysis with a discussion of some aspect of representation within the sequence.

You must cover the four aspects below as equally as you can:

Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition 

Mise-en-Scène 

Editing 

Sound 

You need to analyse how the extract you are shown creates meaning for an audience, focussing on the creation of representations of specific social types, groups, events or places.

The question will ask you about one of the following 7 social groups: 

Gender

Age

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Class and status

Physical ability/disability

Regional identity

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation 

You should be prepared to analyse and discuss the following: technical aspects of the language and conventions of the moving image medium, in relation to the unseen moving image extract, as appropriate to the genre and extract specified, in order to discuss the sequence’s representation of individuals, groups, events or places: 

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition 

Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these. 

Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle. 

Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom. 

Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls. 

Editing 

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems. 

Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert. 

Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects. 

Sound 

• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective. 

Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound. 

Mise-en-Scène 

Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties. 

Lighting; colour design. 

How the exam works

1. You will be allowed two minutes to read the question for Section A before the extract is screened.
2. The extract will be screened
four times.
3. First screening:
watch the extract; no notes are to be made this time.
4. Second screening:
5. There will be a brief break for note-making.
watch the extract and make notes.
6. Third and fourth screening:
7. Your notes for Section A are to be written in the answer booklet provided and must be handed in at the end of the examination. Rule a diagonal line through your notes afterwards.
watch the extract and make notes. 

PAST PAPERS QUESTIONS