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Area of study 1 : Representation

Media representations

The media plays an important role in shaping society and the values and beliefs of the audience. The construction of media products suggests a sense of realism and naturalism that belies their nature as codi ed representations that re ect the values of media makers and audiences at the time, location and context of their construction.

Representations rely on a shared understanding of media forms, codes and conventions and the processes of selection, omission and construction. Representations are in uenced by social, industrial, economic and technological factors existing at the time, location and context of their creation, production, distribution and consumption.

Students are introduced to the concept of audience and what it entails. They consider how audiences engage with the media to construct and negotiate understandings of the world and themselves through their participation in the consumption, reception, production, curation and distribution of media products.

Notions of identity and self are implicit in the ways audiences select, create, share, engage with and read media products. Through the examination of a range of media forms and products, students consider how representations of self and identity are constructed, distributed, engaged with, consumed and read. Students consider different readings of media products and how meaning is suggested through the complex relationships between content creators and producers, media forms and audiences.

Outcome 1

On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain how media representations in a range of media products and forms, and from different periods of time, locations and contexts, are constructed, distributed, engaged with, consumed and read by audiences.

  • Area of Study 2  Media forms in production

  • Representation, the construction of meaning, distribution, audience engagement, consumption and reception of the media provide the inspiration for students to explore ideas and develop media productions.

  • Students work in two or more media forms to design and create media exercises or productions that represent concepts covered in Area of Study 1. Students evaluate how the characteristics of their selected media forms, which they design and produce, infuence the representations and construction of the productions.

     

  • Outcome 2

    On completion of this unit the student should be able to use the media production process to design, produce and evaluate media representations for specifed audiences in a range of media forms

Area of Study 3 Australian stories

Stories have always been a pivotal part of culture. Australian media is built on ctional and non- ctional stories that re ect our local, national and global cultural histories. Media creators and producers develop an individual style through the use and crafting of narrative and structures that engage different audiences and their interests. Audience readings of meaning are mediated through a shared understanding of the media codes and conventions used to construct narratives in media products.

The creation of narratives in media is contextual. Institutions and individuals involved at each stage of production constrain and shape narrative development in response to the cultural, institutional, economic, social and political constraints in which they work. Factors including government regulation, nance and the economic sustainability of production play a part in the development and distribution of Australian narratives. These factors are most evident in ctional works, games, photography, print and non- ctional narratives such as news and current affairs, podcasts and advertising.

Students study a range of narratives in two or more media forms, exploring the context and features of their construction and how they are consumed and read by audiences. Narratives selected for study must be by Australia media creators and producers with primarily Australian content.

 

Outcome 3

On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse how the structural features of Australian ctional and non- ctional narratives in two or more media forms engage, and are consumed and read by, audiences.

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