An Introduction to AS Media

Chelsea Jaine Pettifer


Geography A*
English Language C
English Literature B
Maths B
Philosophy and Ethics A
Science A
Additional Science B
Resistant Materials A
Physical Education  A
Information Technology A


Hobbies:
In my spare time I listen to a lot of different types of music, watch a variety of film and documentaries and I have also been playing football for the past 9 years, I now play for Mulbarton Ladies.


Print Media:
I read newspapers quite often, I read the independent, the guardian and BBC news. I read these newspapers to keep up with current affairs and I am particularly interested at properties and the latest information about the environment and global warming. I read these via the internet because I think it is just a lot more convenient and it is cheaper than going out and buying a newspaper. I only look at magazines when I'm browsing through a shop, sometimes NME magazine or something like a Film magazine.


Radio Media:
I don't really listen to the radio often, only when i'm looking for some new music. I listen to radio 1 and 1xtra and sometimes kiss if i'm going to somewhere in the car.


Music Industry:
I love music, I'm pretty much listening to it constantly whether I'm at home or I'm on the move walking about. I don't have one particular favourite genre of music but I do love acid techno, hardtrance, jungle, drum and bass, dubstep, grime, hip hop, rock and finally reggae. I enjoy all this music because I love all the variation of sounds and beats, I especially enjoy this music to be played very loudly.
I don't belong to a band, but I did learn to play the guitar very briefly, it was quite difficult to get into it as it was a lot harder to learn than I first thought it would be.
I access all of my music through the internet on sites such as youtube, MTV, and Facebook. I know and appreciate that illegally downloading is bad, but I do it anyway. The main reason for this is that because I have such a large music collection it would cost me so much to own all of my music, as it is usually 99p a song, and I have over 5,000 songs in my music collection. The music industry could influence people's dress because many bands have their own individual style, people would try to copy that. The music industry might also affect people's attitudes because some music sets a positive example but some sets a negative example which in turn could make people take the wrong choices, for example drugs are heavily associated with some kinds of music.


Video Games:
I used to play video games quite frequently, games like call of duty and tekken are a couple of my favourites. I sometimes used to play games on the computer such as tetris and little arcade games to kill my boredom! I do however love playing grand theft auto on the PlayStation 2 because it is a great amount of fun running round with a little machine gun killing everyone, although it isn't the best example of a video game that is promoting good things as it incorporates stealing, drugs and murder. I'm not really sure how video games influence people's attitudes because at the end of the day it is the person consuming the game's decision as to what they act upon when they see/play a game.


New Technologies:
Many different forms of technology have increased my understanding of the world, simply because due to the internet I have been able to access a lot of media from all around the world. New advances in TV technology have enabled users to access the latest information such as news all at the touch of a red button. The newest TV's out also allow users to access the internet and enjoy the viewing experience in 3 dimensions. Forms of gadgetry I own such as a laptop and a PlayStation 3 which are examples of technological convergence at it's finest. An LCD TV  also allows me to view different forms of media, for example if I wanted to watch something on my laptop, with the help of a hdmi cable I can stream the media to my TV. Social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter can be held accountable for the mass socialising that happens around the world, this enables people to share information such as photos, emails and even video conversations via Skype. Having a laptop also enables me to access a vast range of media such as films, music and television programmes. Due to the internet I can view and download pretty much anything when I want, this is much better than television because I can see anything at any time. Due to laptops and computers developing their technological capabilities it is now very easy to create your own form of media, I can easily create a poster, video or even a song. The availabilities of new software applications have made it very easy for people to create media, examples such as Microsoft office, Photoshop and advanced movie editing software.


Television:
Ooo, my favourite television channel would have to be e4 because it offers a very wide variety of genres, such as comedy, documentaries, reality TV shows and news. A documentary that made me watch channel 4 was one called graffiti wars, it showed an ongoing conflict between two of London's finest street artists, King Robbo and Bansky. Another one was how hip hop changed the world, it was about generations of hip hop, starting from the roots and working it's way up to the hip hop of the world today. e4 is my favourite channel  because I can find Made in Chelsea, the inbetweeners and skins here, I enjoy these because they demonstrate typical teenage lifestyles from all around the UK, it is also quite funny some of the things people get up to. Finally my third favourite channel is the discovery one, I enjoy this because some of the programmes are interesting to watch and I usually learn something from them, my favourites are Bear Grylls and how it's made. I don't have a particular favourite of television genre but my all time favourite TV programme is grand designs, I just find the complexity of design when it comes to ordinary things such as houses is truly inspirational. My five favourite memorable TV programmes are Skins, 90210, Made in Chelsea, Grand Designs and finally shameless.


Feature Film:
I would have to say my favourite genre of film is action, I just love the fast paced, violent and adrenaline fuelling actions. Films such as the Bourne series, kill bill, snatch and pulp fiction are just a handful of films which I really enjoy watching! A film which I find outstanding is fight club, this film is everything a weird action should be, it holds an element of mystery and it includes some of the world's best actors, particularly Brad Pitt. Another film which is outstanding to me is million dollar baby, I just love this film because it makes the viewer empathise with the characters and it feels like your emotions are being tested, because the film is very sad. It is also directed by one of the world's best, Quinton Tarintino. My final outstanding film is Man on Fire, it has one of the world's most praised actors, Denzel Washington playing a man trying to alter actions of the past, it also presents an emotional background which caused me quite a few tears! I prefer to consume films in the comfort of my own space, in my bed all nice and comfy watching it through my laptop onto my tele, this is pretty chilled. I don't really have a favourite cinema, because I find the seats are quite uncomfortable and awkward! If I had to pick a favourite cinema it would be vue in castle mall because it's reasonably cheap and they sell pretty tasty sweets. I prefer to watch films with a few of my friends, I do watch some on my own but definitely not horrors as they scare me quite a fair bit! It's just nice to chill out with everyone in a warm and cosy place.


Are you a media producer?:
Sadly I have had a tiny amount of experience with producing media, but I am wanting to learn how to!


Conclusion:
A film that has really offended me is Four lions, it shows a group of friends that turn out to have a plan to suicide bomb London, it's not the fact that they wanted to do it, it was the fact that the friends didn't value their own lives at all, it's quite sad actually to think that they would just throw their lives away. However a piece of media that has inspired me is Al gore's documentary on global warming, it outlines the major threats us as humans are having on the planet, and it also is a wake up call to us, as it projects global warming. A piece of media text that has altered my view on the things around me is Harry Potter, I just think it's quite trippy to think that there could be a world of wizards around me, doing fancy things with wands and it being part of the dynamic equilibrium.


If I was asked to construct a piece of media it would probably be a music video, one which I could incorporate my own thoughts and brain into, and put my own little style to it, I would look to convey a political message within this and add a bit of culture into it.


I have chosen media studies as an option for my AS levels because I am extremely interested in everything to do with technology, film, TV and the music industry. I also want to take the time and hard work to learn the foundations of such a large subject of media, I then want to hopefully develop on this throughout year 13 and really advance my understanding of media.