December mock exam: Learner Response blog tasks

WWW- A strong exam with some excellent answers

EBI- You are just lacking a little depth and explicit question focus on the higher mark questions


1.1- sound that is within the world the show is set


1.2- the plate hitting the table


1.3- • The opening shot in the extract focuses on the omelette in Will’s hand – almost a

close-up – with handheld camera movement following the plate to the table. This

focus on the food Will has cooked seems to establish him as the less dominant

person in the relationship. The medium shot of Lyra suspiciously looking at the food

reinforces this power imbalance in their relationship.

• The wide shot and slow dolly/tracking through the open doors shows both characters

together sitting at the table. This deliberately places both characters in the same

frame as the conversation becomes more friendly and less guarded. The

camerawork is communicating the growing friendship between Lyra and Will and

helps to foreshadow the suggestion (in the very next shot) from Will that they team

up and work together. The slow dolly/track at this point signals to the audience that

something important is happening; their relationship is changing. It works in a similar

way to a zoom.

• Will’s suggestion that they work together is made while Lyra is shown in a medium

close-up over-the-shoulder shot. This allows the audience to see her reaction – a

slight smile that suggests she is in favour of the suggestion and grateful to have an

ally after a lot of time alone.


1.4- • Lyra’s costume subverts feminine stereotypes. It is blue, practical and does not

emphasise her figure or draw attention. It helps to establish Lyra as a practical,

confident character who is used to surviving on her own.

• Finally, students may wish to argue that even this extract reinforces gender

stereotypes with Lyra grateful to team up with Will after travelling alone.


2- • Although the idea of ‘teenage’ was not new, teenagers as a distinct category

developed rapidly in the post-war years and was well established by 1963. The idea

of the ‘generation gap’ as a social issue was still new and much-discussed.

• In HDM it is the teens/young adults who lead the way in driving the narrative

forward. The adults tend to accept their more peripheral roles or discuss the

prophecy that revolves around Lyra. The teens are proactive, and the adults react.

• The Doctor is tetchy and patronising. Unlike Susan, he is dismissive and

disrespectful towards the teachers because of their intellectual inferiority. His

clothing signals that he is eccentric; it is more suggestive of the 1890s than the

1960s. Although a non-human, he appears to have very traditional and patriarchal

values. He refers to the ‘savage minds’ of American Indians (native Americans).


User generated content- content that a user of a platform posts


4- • Some media theorists have suggested that in the digital age it is audiences that have the

power rather than companies, industries or traditional celebrities. Social media and

YouTube levels the playing field and gives ordinary people the chance to create and share

content. This would suggest that celebrities and influencers do not have more power than

ever before and in fact the internet is a democratising force giving power to normal people.

• There is an army of influencers: social media users and celebrities with large, devoted

followings, who give their followers access to a carefully curated version of their lives. In

this “authentic” context, sponsored content, known as “sponcon”, has proved a potent tool

for selling products.

• By the end of 2019, the influencer marketing industry was worth some $8bn a year. One

recent report by Insider Intelligence predicted that it would grow to $15bn globally by the

end of 2022.


5- • it is difficult or impossible for national governments to regulate a global industry

• platform providers (eg Alphabet, Facebook) argue that they cannot be held fully responsible for

everything that users upload – they have been increasingly successful in devising automated

systems to detect and take down inappropriate or unlawful material

• in the UK, the main Internet Service Providers (including BT and Virgin Media) have agreed to

government demands that a number of categories of website should be blocked by default (though

in some cases customers can opt in to this material) – categories include dating, drugs, alcohol and

tobacco, drugs, suicide, self-harm, gambling, file-sharing and weapons.


5/10


Timing

Exam technique 

Focusing on question

Comments