8 Top Tips from Chief Examiner at this week's Media Studies Annual Conference

Some tips to bear in mind as you complete your AS and A2 studies:

1. Organise your blog to make it 'examiner-friendly'. This will gain you marks before you even start! Put your finished work at the top, with links to your three tasks if you're doing A2.
2. A2 - if you're doing a magazine cover or advertisement, look at REAL magazines (I've bought some to bring into class this week). If you Google these things, you'll get lots of previous student work, and much of it is not very good!
3. Look back on your research and make sure it feeds into your finished work.
4. AS - make sure your title sequence task is on your blog - examiners LOVE it and it informs your own film opening.
5. Take screenshots of your progress EVERY DAY from now until you finish, and post each day.
6. Bear in mind that the examiners have HIGH expectations, so go the extra mile - if creating a webpage, do the whole site (Well done, Holly and Lizzie). A2 - use Photoshop and, if possible, InDesign or Quark for your magazine layout - it needs to look professional.
7. A2 Exam - remember the examples you use must be CONTEMPORARY - mention Kony, the Levison Inquiry...
8. AS and A2 evaluations - really REFLECT on what you have done, and make your evaluations varied and interesting. Avoid PowerPoint and text documents - use podcasts, video, greenscreening...

Enter the Young Film Critic of the Year 2012 Competition!

The competition for Young Film Critic of the Year, run by Film Education, has just opened. Click the link to download an entry form. Your review can be in writing, video or podcast and there are lots of previous winners to view and give you ideas: http://www.youngfilmcritic.org/?utm_source=Edlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Edlines_2012-03-23

Closing Date is 21st December 2012.