Teaching and learning

Outcome 1

Explain the construction of media representations in different products, forms and contexts, including how audiences engage with, consume and read these representations.

Examples of learning activities

• As a class or in groups, select, identify and organise media representations from a broad range of media forms. These representations could be advertisements from print or broadcast mediums, episodes of television series, or shots, scenes and sequences from feature-length films. Consider providing prompts for the various groupings that the representations could be sorted into. These could include categories of intent, such as representations constructed to inform, entertain or sell products; or categories of media form, for instance television commercials or video game characters. Discuss the construction of these representation through the manipulation of technical media codes, such as camera, acting, editing, lighting, sound and text.
• Compare media representations from a range of cultural and historic contexts, discussing how the depiction of ideas, people and concepts is shaped by the views and values of the media creators. Compare how these representations combine multiple technical codes to construct narrative conventions, such as seeing or character.
• Work in groups to identify the intended meaning or message of a particular representation. What is the intended emotion or idea that this representation communicates?
• As a group, reverse-engineer one selected representation, identifying the recipe of technical media codes used to construct it. How are the identified technical codes used to convey symbolic meaning?
• Focus on one technical code, such as mis en scene. Identify a range of representations and compare the different symbolic use of mis en scene to convey ideas and emotions. Repeat with the other production elements such as camera, sound, editing, lighting and text.
• Compare representations from different historical or cultural contexts and identify how they combine multiple technical codes to construct narrative conventions, such as setting or character.
• Discuss the common occurrence of cinematic clichés, stereotypes and narrative tropes. Identify those that are used in specific contexts, such as those that are found in media products made for Australian audiences.
• Discuss the representations found in advertising campaigns such as the Australia Day Lamb ads, or in Australian children’s television shows, comparing the views and values that are communicated through the representations of people, places and events. How do these engage the audiences they are made for?
• Debate the question: Do media representations reflect or construct reality? Find evidence to support both propositions.
• Reflect on the media representations regularly consumed. What kind of narrative conventions (such as character and setting) do you find engaging? Reflect on the social media representations of yourselves and your peers. What are the codes and conventions people use to construct the way they appear online?
• Discuss why media products such as advertisements and television shows are produced. How does this shape the construction of their representations?
• Identify a specific audience and research and compare media representations made to engage or inform them. How do audiences respond to media representations that are seen as damaging or harmful?
• Compare how representation of marginalised communities has changed in western media products. What influenced this change?
• 
  Document individual research into a particular topic that will form the basis of an analytical video essay. Collect evidence of media representations from different cultural and historic contexts across a range of media forms. Create a metalanguage glossary in workbooks that links key concepts to examples. Then draft and refine analytical responses to key questions, composing scripts for video essays and practising answers to short-response questions.

Detailed example

Representation video essay

All media products are constructed from representations made to engage and inform audiences. Identify a topic that will be the focus of your research about how representations from a variety of media forms and historical and cultural contexts are constructed from media codes and conventions. This research will be presented in an edited video essay of three to seven minutes in length.

1. Select a specific topic from categories such as gender, race, religion or politics, and collect examples of its media representation from a range of forms and contexts. For example, the way LGBTQI+, a specific minority, religious belief or the police have been represented in a range of media products. The research should reflect on the way representations of these ideas, people, places or institutions have been constructed from media codes and conventions to engage, entertain and inform audiences.
2. Compile three to five examples of print or multimedia scenes or sequences that demonstrate a range of representations from historical to contemporary media.
• Collate these examples into a folder on a device or in the cloud storage available.
• Categorise these representations into their respective contexts and media forms.
3. Analyse the codes and conventions.
• Identify the emotional or cognitive effect the creators of each representation intended their audiences to experience.
• What media codes and conventions did they manipulate to achieve these effects?
4. Draft an analytical script that will become the narration track for a 3- to 7-minute-long video essay.
• Introduce the topic and main thesis.
• Discuss the context of the first example.
• Explain the key aspects of the example, its intended effect and the codes and conventions used to achieve it.
• What does this representation say about the views and values of the creators who made it?
• Compare this example with the next selected representation. What is the context of its creation? What emotional or cognitive effect was communicated through specific application of codes and conventions?
• Continue to analyse and evaluate media representations from different forms and contexts.
• Conclude the analysis with a summary of the effect representations of the selected idea continue to have on contemporary audiences.
5. Use appropriate terminology.
• Review the draft for terminology used in the analysis. Are the key terms from the study design being used?
• Review analytical articles, journals or other video essays related to the topic and compare the way they structure their responses and use media language.
6. Construct an audio video timeline in a program such as Adobe Premiere.
• Teacher demonstrates the workflow of importing audio, video and image files into a timeline; and how to set up appropriate resolution and file management of the project.
• Explore the media technology available to record audio narration of student scripts, and how to transfer files for editing.
• Students begin construction of their video essay, sharing their challenges and workshopping solutions. When appropriate, present rough cuts of their work to the class or small groups for feedback related to their thesis and production qualities.
7. Fnalise the analytical video essays, seeking feedback on their final cuts before exporting and submitting their work.
• Teacher demonstrates the process of exporting completed timelines into playable video files.
• Teacher sets up small feedback groups for final peer reflection of work before final submission; and supplies clear feedback questions related to the production quality of students’ sound, video and editing techniques, as well as the organisation and communication of their analysis.
8. Students showcase completed video essays to the class.

Outcome 2

Use the media production process to design, produce and evaluate media representations for specified audiences in a range of media forms.

Examples of learning activities

• Follow the media production process to create two media products in different forms:
  • A digital moving portrait and a still photographic portrait
  • A documentary fashion film for social media and a printed fashion photographic spread for a printed or digital magazine
  • A social media campaign featuring moving and still images with text
  • A magazine cover and an instragram post for a news organisation
  • A printed advertisement, moving advertisement or radio advertisement on the same topic
  • A family story documented as moving images, printed images or a graphic novel or zine.
  Begin by researching the products and, for each product, document the codes and conventions used to engage the audience in the intended meaning. Then plan the use of codes and conventions in your own media product.
• 
  Conduct a series of short production exercises in a range of media forms These can be completed individually or in small groups depending on the task. Document the concept development and pre-production planning for the three media representations.
• Make a music video of a popular music track. Edit the video using a video editing software program and create a short animation based on part of the song. Plan how the choice of font, colours and types of the animation best represent the style and genre of the product. Document the refinements made in production and post-production on each product.
• Produce a school newspaper, podcast, photographic, video series or print publication for the school community. Plan and document the roles played and responsibilities involved while completing this activity.
• Gather a test audience for the completed media products and ask them to analyse the representations that have been created in the media products. Collect the feedback and reflect on the audience reception and response to each presented media representation.
• Capture the process of making a media product through screenshots and annotate each stage of the process; or record the production process in a detailed journal.
• Produce a digetic soundtrack for a scene of a flim by creating or sourcing all the required Foley sounds. Explore how the characteristics of sounds change the representation of actors on screen. Compare how the characteristics of these sounds would change for an audio production.

Detailed example

Production journal of representations in a range of media forms

In a digital journal such as a website, slide or folder of documents, students record their production process in creating media representations in four different media products.

1. News product
   
   Students explore the codes and conventions of web-based news media. In small groups they are assigned a specific website (such as SkyNews, ABCNews, or the Age) and research the conventions used to present information to engage and inform audiences.
• Introduce a single topic or issue to the class, such as the use of AI chatbots in education. In their small groups, students work together to plan and produce a front-page layout for their assigned website that represents the issue or topic, using the appropriate codes and conventions.
• Each student in the different groups takes on a key production task or role, such as editor, graphic designer or writer. They document their work as they produce the page layout in a graphic design program such as Photoshop, inDesign, Canva or Google Slides.
• Groups present their work to the class for feedback and discussion.
• How did each group apply appropriate codes and conventions related to their assigned news website?
• How did they represent the idea or issue for the identified audience of their assigned website?
2. Image product
   Students are individually assigned a person, place or political concept to represent in an image. This could be in the form of a movie billboard, tourism advertisement or political campaign poster. They complete the following activities:
• Document one page of concept development research about their chosen representation. What is the media form they are going to create? What media technologies are used to produce these products? What codes and conventions are used to engage and inform audiences of existing media representations in this form?
• Document a one-page pre-production plan for their image representation. What is their intention? What codes and conventions are they going to manipulate? Can they sketch or visualise a plan for their image?
• Produce their image representation, recording the workflow of their selected media form, and reflecting on the technology and processes they used to produce their image.
• Complete post-production, generating at least two variations of their image. Reflect on the different symbolic effects that altering even one technical code can create.
• Print or present their work to the class. Seek feedback from the class or smaller groups about the way their product is read by audiences. Reflect on whether their image communicated their initial intentions.
3. Audio product
   Students work collaboratively or individually to create a one-minute audio product, either a fictional scene for a radio drama, or an interview for a podcast.
• Select a media form and, as with their image representation, document a mini production plan. Record the research and conceptual intentions as well as the pre-production planning required for their product; for example, a script or interview questions. Create a production timeline that demonstrates the planning of required cast, crew or interview subjects. Explore required media technologies, such as sound recording equipment and audio editing software.
• Produce a one-minute audio product, recording the work related to specific roles and responsibilities, and any changes made to their timeline or planned intentions.
• Edit and refine the audio product, seeking feedback on their work and reflecting on the audio codes and conventions they manipulated to engage and inform their audiences.
• Distribute the completed audio products to the class for final feedback and reflection.
4. Video product
   Depending on circumstances and timeline, you may wish to either extend the audio project into a video task, giving individuals or groups the option to film their scene; or interview and create a video version of their product. Alternatively, you could assess aspects of their video essay task as evidence of their technical skills in producing video representations. To do this, make sure you have separated the criteria that will assess the key skills and knowledge of Outcome 1 from those that apply to their work for Outcome 2.

Outcome 3

Analyse how the structural features of Australian fictional and non-fictional narratives in two or more media forms engage, and are consumed and read by, audiences.

Examples of learning activities

• View a range of Australian-produced media narratives, including those created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Document and reflect on the codes and conventions used to engage Australian audiences and communicate meaning to them. Pose questions related to the media production process involved in a range of selected texts to analyse the way audiences received, engaged with, and responded to these narratives.
• Discuss issues related to the views and values represented in a range of media narratives produced by Australian creators. Analyse how the style of media creators or producers has influenced the construction of the media narratives in the products.
• Investigate the impact of institutional, economic and social constraints on media productions produced in Australia.
  • Who finances production of Australian narratives?
  • What regulations control the production of Australian narratives?
• Investigate how media products in a range of media forms are regulated in Australia and other countries. Analyse how this regulation differs with distribution and production in any of the following:
  • cinema
  • television
  • streaming services
  • exhibitions
  • print and online publications
  • social media.
• Research how a production company might take a popular overseas media product and adapt it for Australian audiences.
• Collect research on the production contexts of fictional and non-fictional stories, as well as audience responses to them.
• Investigate comedy television shows made for Australian audiences by commercial television stations and those made by government-sponsored stations.
  • How does the context of the production influence the style of the comedies?
  • How do the Australian comedies compare with those made for an overseas audience?
• 
  Screen a selection of early Australian music videos, such as ‘Down Under’ by Men at Work and ‘Treaty’ by Yothu Yindi. Discuss the historic and cultural context of their production and reflect on the codes and conventions they use to engage audiences and communicate meaning.

Detailed example

Australian identity through song

1. Screen a selection of early Australian music videos, such as ‘Down Under’ by Men at Work and ‘Treaty’ by Yothu Yindi. Discuss the historic and cultural context of their production and reflect on the codes and conventions they use to engage audiences and communicate meaning. Students use the following questions to analyse the songs:
• What is the meaning of each song? Research the lyrics of both and discuss their meaning. How does each accompanying music video support this intended communication? What codes and conventions were used to engage audiences and communicate the intended meaning?
• Who were the intended audiences for these songs and music videos, and what were their responses when they were first distributed? What evidence can we find that supports this response?
• What technologies were involved in the production, post-production and distribution of these products?
2. Screen the music videos again after researching both songs and their music videos. Include in this research a discussion of the copyright issues surrounding ‘Down Under’ and its use of the words ‘Kookaburra sits on the old gumtree,’ as well as the political issues surrounding ‘Treaty’ and the Hawke government. There is a documentary available on Vimeo called ‘Better Take Cover’ which examines the production context and copyright issues surrounding the original song. There is also an ‘Australian Story’ episode on Clickview and ABC iview called ‘The Music Lesson’ which focuses on Educator and Yothu Yindi frontman, Mr Yunupingu. Students use the following to complete this activity:
• What role does popular media play in shaping Australian identity?
• How do both songs make use of Australian stereotypes, tropes and clichés to communicate their meaning?
• Compare the representation of Australian people and places in ‘Down Under’ and ‘Treaty’ to those found in tourism ads produced at the same time; for example, a Paul Hogan ad such as this one from 1984.
• How do contemporary audiences consume and read media narratives such as these now? How does our current cultural and historic context shape our response to the representations and narratives of these products?
3. Screen more versions of ‘Down Under’ including the version made to promote Australia at the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as the recent cover by Northern Territory band Kid Stingray which was used on the Australian Tourism ad ‘Come and say g’day’.
4. Students can collate research about these new versions of ‘Down Under’ with teacher-supplied examples of relevant websites or articles written about them. They can use the following prompts in their research:
• What changed in the newer versions and why?
• Why does a song like ‘Down Under’ continue to resonate with audiences?
• What changed in the newer versions and why?
• Does producing a cover version to promote the Olympics change the way audiences respond to the song, compared with a cover made by a contemporary rock band made up of White and Indigenous musicians?
• Why does a song like ‘Down Under’ continue to resonate with audiences?
5. Students complete an end-of-unit test under exam conditions that includes short-answer questions on the key knowledge points, as well as questions that require them to analyse selected shots or scenes from the music videos that were the focus of the area of study.  This outcome could also be assessed by a visual report or digital presentation. More advice can be found in the Assessment content for Unit 1, Outcome 3.

Outcome 1

Analyse the style of media creators and producers and the influences of narratives on the audience in different media forms.

Examples of learning activities

• Using the study specifications, review the metalanguage related to narrative, style and genre. Find specific examples of the terms in the study specifications. Create glossary lists of the key terms and create visual representations of them to demonstrate an understanding of the terms.
• Using examples by different media creators and producers from different periods of time, discuss the following:
  • the difference between genre and style. How can both be defined as specific application of codes and conventions?
  • Can a narrative belong to a specific genre while also displaying the stylistic elements of a particular creator or producer or media form?
• Explore how media codes and conventions are manipulated by media creators and producers. Screen the opening sequences of three media products from the same genre; for instance, romantic comedies. These can be from the same media form, such as fictional feature film; or from a range of forms, such as comics, television shows and short film.
• Investigate the personal style of two different media creators and / or producers and their narrative style. Examples could include the designs of Catherine Martin or the live action or animated films of Kaufman. Use the following questions in this investigation:
  • How has the selected media form and its codes and conventions influenced the personal style of the creator and / or producer?
  • What codes or conventions engage an audience?
  • What characteristics of the media form contribute to their individual style?
  Draw up a grid analysis chart to structure this investigation.
• Screen a full-length media narrative in an identified genre. Discuss: What are the narrative conventions of character, setting and resolution that belong to this genre? How have these conventions changed over time?
• Select a range of favourite narratives in media products across a range of media forms. Identify why they are of personal interest. Compare the codes and conventions used to engage audiences and communicate ideas in a specific genre. What is common to all examples?
• 
  Select a range of narratives in a specific genre, such as horror, action or comedy. Reflect on the many examples of this genre you have consumed in the past. Are there common codes and conventions used to construct these narratives? Document the ‘recipe’ of this genre and compare your work with colleauges, discussing the way certain media creators use or subvert audience expectations.
• Revisit key scenes from selected narratives and make a visualisation of the opening, development and resolution of the narrative. How does this structure shape the way audiences engage and respond to the narrative in different genres?
• Using a series of media narratives from different contexts, analyse the construction of the media narrative and the relationship between the audience and the intentions of the media creator or producer. What historic and cultural contexts shaped the production, distribution and reception of the media narrative? What audience did the media producers create their media product for? Why do people select certain genres and media forms to consume? What codes and conventions are used to engage different audiences in media narratives? Collect and discuss evidence of audience engagement and response to the selected narratives.

Detailed example

Superheroes

Compare two media narratives, either in the same genre across two different media forms, or two narratives in the same media form that belong to different genres.

As part of their concept research for their own media production plan, students will select another narrative text to investigate related to their own planned narrative.

More advice related to text selection can be found in the ‘Planning’ documentation.

For the purposes of this example, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and episode 1 of Cleverman will be screened to demonstrate the genre conventions of superhero narratives.

1. During the first narrative screening of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:
   Students should collect research and make notes on the teacher-selected text that relates to the key knowledge of the outcome. These notes should be both written and visual, using diagrams and annotated screenshots used to demonstrate their analysis and understanding.
• How does the opening sequence establish the characteristics of the Superhero genre?
• Describe the visual style of the animated film. How have characters and settings been represented?
• How is the opening of the film (approx. 25 minutes) been structured to establish the main protagonist and his problems?
• What do audiences engage with in this opening? What do we think might happen based on what we know of superhero movies in general and Spider-Man in particular?
• What is different about this Spider-Man to other superheroes?
2. Screen the film until the end of the second act of the film (approx. 85 minutes) and plot the main events on a visual chart to map how cause and effect drives the story and leads to changes in the protagonist. This link provides an example of how a visual chart is presented.
   What changes in the way Spider-Man sees the world and his place in it?
• What events lead to this change?
• What codes and conventions engage audiences in the development of this narrative?
• What emotional or cognitive effect occurs in the mid-point of the film?
• What codes or conventions are used to convey emotions such as despair or rage?
3. Screen the remainder of the film as students continue to record their notes and reflections on the story structure and character development.
• How does the resolution of the film meet audience expectations?
• What conventions of the superhero genre does Spider-Verse use or subvert?
• What animation style does the film belong to? Where do these conventions come from?
4. Screen Episode 1 of Cleverman. Students record notes and reflections in their workbooks.
• How does the opening episode of Cleverman use or subvert superhero genre conventions?
• Describe the setting of Cleverman. What other media narratives are similar to this style of film?
• What other genre or stylistic conventions does Cleverman use?
• How did historical and cultural context shape the construction of Cleverman?
5. Define the difference between genre and style.
• Students construct a recipe of a superhero narrative in different styles. For each of the main media codes, list how each would be manipulated to convey appropriate feelings or conceptual ideas related to superheroes and a given style, such as ‘gritty,’ ‘anime’ or ‘satire.’
• Compare the differences between a post-apocalyptic superhero narrative and that of a children’s superhero story. What is different, what is the same?
• Compare superhero narratives in other media forms. How do Video games use or subvert superhero conventions?
6. Students select another media narrative to research for their own production development.
• This narrative will be the basis for their research into their planned product for Outcome 2, but their analysis will be assessed along with their understanding of the teacher selected text for Outcome 1.
• As students begin the development stage of Outcome 2, they research the codes, conventions, genre, and style of a selected narrative relevant to their intended product.
• Applying the same analytical approach students identify the technical codes and narrative conventions used to construct the narrative and engage identified audiences.

More advice on the task can be found in the Assessment content for Unit 2, Outcome 1.

Outcome 2

Apply the media production process to create, develop and construct narratives.

Examples of learning activities

• In groups, create a media product that is a mash-up of different creator styles that students have researched. It might have the editing style of Casey Neistat, with the lighting of a Film Noir and the character styles from a Wes Anderson film, or the style of a contemporary artist on Instagram or TikTok. Research the media narrative of the selected artists.
• In digital media journals, document the research into media narratives, identifying intentions for a planned media product. Develop ideas into written and visual documents, such as scripts, storyboards, page layouts etc. Outline production tasks and timelines for the planned media product.
• 
  Working in groups, use a generic script or prompt to make a video or photographic sequence for different audiences in different styles or genres. Collaborate on each other’s productions, taking on roles and responsibilities related to specific media products and their workflows.
  
• Create a class zine, where each page spread is done by a different student in a different style. Plan the media product and detail how it will be adapted to production constraints to refine and realise intentions for the media product. Individually reflect on the codes, conventions, style and genre used for each individual page. Document the skill used in specified media technologies.
• Plan and produce narratives that are appropriate for your community; for example, an advertising campaign for social media for a peer group; or a documentary podcast to be uploaded to a third-party site. Document any copyright material used. Collect appropriate permission forms for actors and locations, and clearly identify any third-party footage, audio or text used.
• In a production journal, document the creation and development of a media product and the stages of the media production process, using screenshots, behind the scenes photography or a time-lapse. Document the specific technologies, codes and conventions used in the production and distribution of the media product. Document written reflection and evaluation of the planned media products as well as the processes used to refine and realise them. Present the work to audiences and reflect on the reception of the narratives.
• Reflect on the stages of the media production process and the industry roles involved in each stage. Evaluate the codes and conventions used to create and develop the media product and their relevance at each stage of the process.
• Research the production process for a specific media form and the specific audience, context and location for a product in the form. Develop a distribution plan for the media product, considering the target audience and the ethical, legal and community constraints.

Detailed example

Pitch and production

This example provides details of how each student will individually complete the development stage of the media production process, resulting in a pitch that will be presented to the class. Once all students have pitched their narrative product, a selection will be chosen and put into pre-production. Students will be assessed both on their individual pitch development, as well as the role and responsibility they take on in collaboration with others.

Teachers should make the final selection based on several factors including:

• Scope of product. Is the proposed project achievable with the available media technologies, time and space available?
• Appropriateness of product. Does the proposed project align with the values of the school community?
• Collaborative potential. Does the project have a well-defined list of roles and responsibilities so that the required work can be distributed equitably between members of a team?

Step one: Pitch development and selection

• Students individually research a narrative media product in an identified genre, style and media form.
• Students identify the codes and conventions used to engage audiences in this genre and media form.
• Students develop a concept for their own media narrative in the selected form, style and genre, identifying how they will manipulate codes and conventions to engage audiences.
• Students compose a synopsis of their planned product, identifying characters as well as the opening, development and resolution of their narrative. 
• Students develop or collect relevant visual material to communicate their intentions, such as character sketches, style guides and similar products in the media form and genre.
• Students identify the key roles and responsibilities as well as the media technologies required to produce their planned narrative.
• A timeline of the production and post-production process is drafted to demonstrate the scope of the product. 
• Students pitch their concept to the class, answering any questions the teacher or group might have about the narrative or production process.
• Students fill out peer feedback rubrics for each pitch, which will help inform the teacher about which projects to choose.
• Teachers make the final list of projects to go into production, presenting these to the class along with a form that asks students to record their preferences for roles and responsibilities they would like to take on in the chosen projects. Using these selection forms, and considering the students in the class, the teacher makes the final production teams.

Step two: Pre-production

• The students whose projects were selected become the directors or executive producers of that product. Each member of their team has a clearly defined list of roles and responsibilities. They create a shared digital production plan document.
• Together they begin pre-production planning, extending on the work already collected in the pitch, writing scripts or interview questions, casting actors or finding interview subjects. Each media form has different production processes, people and technology, and all aspects of the codes and conventions that will be manipulated should be clearly documented by the appropriate team member in their collaborative media production plan.
• Visualisations of their planned product appropriate to their media form are documented, such as storyboards, lighting designs, page layouts, costumes and props.
• A more detailed production timeline is refined as all aspects of the pre-production are documented and refined.

Step 3: Production

• Once the teacher has approved the pre-production plan, the teams begin production, documenting and reflecting on the work they undertake as per their timeline.
• Students identify key media production technologies they are using, either individually or as a group, reflecting on their historic development and contemporary use. This is recorded in a separate document that they create for Outcome 3: Media and change.
• Students annotate their group work, making amendments to their plan as needed, and reflecting on their production. Teachers mediate and guide this reflection, working with the teams to find solutions to any issues that arise.

Step 4: Post-production

• As rough content is produced, members of the team shift into their post-production roles, editing and refining their work with appropriate media technologies and programs. They record their research into the historic development of these technologies in their Outcome 3 document.
• Students reflect individually on their work and seek feedback from other groups about their manipulations of codes and conventions to engage and communicate meaning.
• Students refine their product, annotating any changes and recording the post-production processes they use.

Step 5: Distribution

• Students submit the final version of their product, and all are presented or screened to the class for final feedback and reflection.
• Individually, students reflect on the success of their narrative product, as well as the nature of their collaboration.

Outcome 3

Discuss the influence of new media technologies on society, audiences, the individual, media industries and institutions.

Examples of learning activities

• Select media technologies within a specific media form, such as news media. Consider the impact on, for example, smart phones, streaming on broadcast television or on digital devices. Detail the technologies involved in the production and distribution of these media products.
• Survey digital media audiences and identify their characteristics. Analyse the impact that technology has on these audiences. Plan and develop a media product that would be distributed to a digital media audience using a new piece of media technology, such as a smart phone app for primary school children, or a social media platform for teenagers. Consider the following questions:
  • How do contemporary audiences consume media?
  • What do contemporary audiences use the media for?
  • How have internet-connected personal devices changed the way audiences receive and respond to media products?
• Compare how technology in a specified media form has changed the way products are produced and distributed to audiences. Consider the use of smart phones or tablets compared with radio and television.
• 
  Research how changes in media technologies related to the production and distribution of specified products have led to social, ethical or legal issues. Collect and analyse articles about social, ethical and legal issues in the media industry in different media forms. Compare the issues in different media forms, such as film versus photography, digital versus analogue.
  
• As a class, respond to a teacher-led contextual overview of selected media technologies and their development from the early eras of film, radio, print and television, to the modern era of mass-media and web-based technologies. Key case studies can be selected, such as early propaganda, how it was produced and distributed, as well as its effect on audiences. These should be compared with more contemporary examples, such as the advent of social media, and its effect on society and use in disinformation. Students collate this research and their analysis in a document or workbook, including their use of specific technologies as part of their project for Unit 2 Area of Study 2.
• Using the research made during the production and post-production group work in Outcome 2, identify and use specific media technologies. Document their historic development and reflect on the changing nature of media technologies using the following questions as starting points for the inquiry:
  • How has this technology changed over time?
  • What technical code does it manipulate?
  • What symbolic meaning can be conveyed in this manipulation?
  • What production processes make use of this technology?
  • What access do media producers have this technology?

Detailed example

Changes in media technologies

Students are presented with contextual information about artificial intelligence. This should include its historical development from the algorithms in search engines and spell checkers, to the neural networks in the digital assistants such as Siri, Cortana and Alexa.

Open AI’s ChatGPT is an excellent case study, as are the artistic applications such as Dall-E and Midjourney.

Use the following questions to structure the case study:

Media technologies

• What technologies or programs underpin the functionality of artificial intelligence systems? 
• How many AI programs are available to people?
• What does each one do?

Characteristics of new media audiences

• How can contemporary audiences access AI?
• What do contemporary audiences use AI for?
• Who has access to AI and how might it help or hinder the users?

Audience engagement and interaction

• What research is being done to map and explain the effects of AI on society?
• How have internet-connected personal devices changed the way audiences receive and respond to media products?

Influences of technological development, the individual, media industries and institutions

• Who owns AI? And how do end-users influence the way it is programmed to function?
• What might AI change in society?

Social, ethical and legal issues in the media industry

• What issues does the use of AI raise?
• What regulation exists to control its use?
• What are some of the arguments for and against AI’s integration into the devices and applications we use?

Students should compile extensive notes both on the teacher-directed topic as well as their own selected media technology.

Outcome 1

Analyse the construction of media narratives; discuss audience engagement, consumption and reading of narratives; and analyse the relationship between narratives and the contexts in which they are produced.

Examples of learning activities

• Analyse a range of opening scenes and / or sequences and / or frames and / or layouts of a range of selected media narratives. Consider the following prompts:
  • How does the film maker use codes and conventions to engage audiences?
  • How is setting established for this narrative?
  • What do we know about the characters and their motivations, needs, desires or obstacles?
  • What is this story about?
  • What genre does it belong to?
• Identify and discuss the cultural and historic context of a range of media productions:
  • What was happening in the time and place of this narrative’s production?
  • Who was involved in making this film? ( e.g. director, screenwriter, executive producer)
  • What other films have these people made?
  • What production company was involved in the film’s creation?
  • What company distributed the film and how did audiences consume and read it at the time of its first release?
• Analyse the use of codes and conventions in a range of media narratives from different periods of time. Consider the use of codes and conventions to create meaning and engage audiences at different points of time in the media narrative, such as the mid point and the end of the narrative:
  • How do the conventions of Point of View, Character and Setting shape an audience’s understanding of the meaning of a narrative?
  • How is camera, lighting, editing and sound used to engage audiences?
  • How does the opening and development of a film lead to audience expectations about its resolution?
  • What genre conventions are the film makers using or subverting?
  • What views and values of the production context are challenged or supported by the film so far?
  • How does acting alter the way we perceive the ‘arc’ of each character?
  • How did audiences of the initial release of the film respond to it?
  • How do audiences read the resolution of the film in contemporary contexts?
  • Compare the narrative of the film to that of the events or other stories it was inspired by. What was changed and why?
• Investigate the distribution of each media product. Where did the media product premiere or open or how was it launched? What advertising was surrounding the product and how was it received by the audience?
• Select key shots or images or layouts from the selected media narratives and create gifs, widgets or looping sequences, compiling them in a class social media account, learning management system, hash tag or wiki. In the comment, explain why the image, shot or sequence was selected and analyse how meaning was communicated to the specified audience(s).
• Research the director, photographer, publisher or institution that created and / or produced a selected media product. Make a list of previous works by the same person or institution and discuss the influence of these products on audience engagement and consumption. Is there a distinctive style or genre that the media creator, producer, publisher or institution is known for?
• Identify the ideas and values represented in a range of media products. Analyse how these ideas and values reflect the social, cultural and institutional context in which the media product was created and / or produced.
• Identify ideas, issues and values from current social and cultural contexts. Make a list of current topics, political debates and controversial issues in contemporary society. List the discourses that are formed by the audience and the media in relation to the listed ideas, issues and values. Analyse how these contexts shape the narratives in the media products studied.
• Select a character, storyline, subject matter, article or setting in a range of media products. Explain how the selected code represents ideas and discuss the role of the code in constructing a narrative in the product.
• Identify point(s) of tension in the narrative of the selected products. Identify and describe how this tension was constructed through codes and conventions. Connect this tension to the social, cultural and institutional contexts of the time when the product was created and / or produced.
• 
  Screen a classic film and discuss and analyse the cultural and historic context of the production, noting how the construction has influenced the construction of its media narratives.
• Develop a review of a media narrative(s) that has already beeen analysed and present it as a video. Plan the video or multimodal analysis of the selected media narrative using the following prompts:
  • Draft the ‘script’ of the narration of the review, using the key knowledge points of Area of Study 1 and relating each one to evidence from the selected text.
  • Compile shots, scenes and sequences of the selected narrative.
  • In small groups, share drafts for early feedback on the work.
  • Access (via teacher) supplementary content such as historic contextual video and images for use in the analysis.
  • Discuss and experiment with available audio technology for the recording and editing of narration tracks.
  • Create rough drafts of the video analysis, compiling the selected examples into a timeline and combining this with the recorded narration.
  • In small groups, share the video drafts and receive peer feedback on the way they are communicating their ideas, using the following questions: What makes a successful video essay? How have others structured their video essay to both engage and convey information to an audience?
  • Screen all or a selection of the student work. Reflect on the main ideas that were discussed and what shots, scenes or sequences from the text were used to exemplify key concepts.

Detailed example

Rashōmon

Study of the psychological thriller Rashomon

1. Collect a folder of articles and readings related to the narrative and context of Rashōmon. Much has been written about this film, so careful curation of relevant information should be made available to the class.
2. Screen the opening title montage of Rashōmon up to the introduction of the framing characters of the ‘woodcutter’ and the ‘priest.’
• What emotional effect does the mis en scene and sound generate in an audience?
• How is setting established for this narrative?
• What do we know about the characters and their motivations so far? What needs, desires or obstacles do they face?
• What is this story about?
3. Identify and discuss the cultural and historic context of 1950 Japan and the films of Kurosawa.
• What was happening in Japan at this time in history?
• Who was involved in making this film?
• What other films had Kurosawa made up until then?
• What production company was involved in the film’s creation?
• How was the film originally distributed, and how did audiences consume it?
4. Continue screening Rashōmon until the end of the ‘bandit’s’ tale.
• How does the convention of Point of View shape an audience’s understanding of the meaning of a story?
• How does Kurosawa use camera and editing to both engage an audience and convey meaning?
• How does the opening and development of a film lead to audience expectations about its resolution?
• Research the Japanese genre of Jidaigeki and compare its conventions to those of Western ‘Period dramas’. How did Kurosawa subvert Japanese expectations in Rashōmon?
• What views and values of Japan did Kurosawa explicitly or implicitly challenge or support?
5. Continue watching the remainder of the film.
• Compare how Kurosawa uses lighting, sound and mis en scene between the different point of view stories.
• How does acting alter the way we perceive each character?
• How did audiences of the initial release of Rashōmon respond?
• How do audiences read the resolution of the film in contemporary contexts?
• Research the ‘Rashomon effect.’ How has this film influenced other filmmakers?
• Compare the narrative of the Rashōmon to that of the short story ‘In a Grove’. What did Kurosawa change and why?
6. Complete the video essay and unit test assessment tasks, referring to Rashōmon’s narrativeand context.

Outcome 2

Research and document aspects of a media form, codes, narrative conventions, style, genre, story and plot to inform the plan for a media production.

Examples of learning activities

Research and development

• Review previous VCE Media products from Top Screen exhibitions. Conduct mind-map and brainstorm activities to record initial ideas for students’ media productions.
• View VCE Media products and their accompanying documentation from exemplars in Top Screen or previous student work. Discuss the available media technologies and the range of media forms as outlined in the VCE Media Study Design. Answer the following questions as part of this preparation:
  • What genre are you interested in?
  • What stories engage you in this genre?
  • What emotions and concepts do you experience and consider when viewing these kind of media narratives?
  • What visual style interests you? Is this a style that belongs to a specific time period or media creator?
• Research and analyse how audiences receive and are engaged by selected media products by viewing a range of media products in a particular genre or in the same media form. Consider:
  • What audiences consume these kinds of media narratives?
  • Can these audiences be defined by categories such as age, nationality, gender or culture?
• Collect a range of sources that combine media forms, styles and genres. Compare and contrast how these sources use codes and convetions to construct ideas and meaning. Substitute codes and conventions between each form to explore how different meanings are constructed.
• Research different technologies used to create specific media forms. Analyse the use of technologies in constructing structural and aesthetic qualities to engage specific audiences in the media product. Analyse the codes and conventions used with these technologies.
• From these research activities, create a glossary of words that can be used when evaluating production exercises and throughout the Media Production process.

Experimentation

• Explore different techniques when shooting dialogue scenes inspired by different media creators. Shoot two thirty-second dialogue scenes using the same dialogue but different camera techniques.
• Experiment with magazine page layouts and design a fashion spread in the style of a fashion, interior design, car or engineering magazine. Evaluate the codes and conventions used to construct meaning and engage audiences.
• Research zines or graphic novels and evaluate the layout of pages that structure the narrative. Evaluate the codes and conventions used to construct meaning and engage audiences. Create two page layouts for a graphic novel or zine that tells a personal story of a significant event in your life.
• Consider the ‘structuring of time’ in a range of films and TV programs. Describe how the creator has developed the story arc. Create a thirty-second sequence of an event unfolding in real time, and a thirty-second sequence of the same event that repeats time.
• Collect a series of layouts from print or digital magazines in different genres. Identify the similarities and differences in the use of codes and conventions in the magazines. Take one code or convention from each layout and create a new layout. Add a code or convention from a film or TV show and a code or convention from a photographic series. Evaluate the structural and aesthetic qualities of the layouts and how audiences would be engaged by, read and consume the products.
• Trial photography technologies, such as an SLR, phone and polaroid camera. Take a series of photos of the backyard using an SLR, phone camera and a polaroid camera. Record settings such as shutter speeds, depth of field, light settings, camera angles and distances. Evaluate how the technologies create different aesthetic qualities.
• Annotate examples of existing media products, identifying and analysing the technical codes used to create their form, genre and narrative conventions. What skills do you need to develop to achieve your intentions?
  • Can you ‘reverse engineer’ a specific shot, scene or convention from an existing media narrative? What are the codes and conventions used to generate its specific emotional and cognitive effect?
  • Research how audiences are engaged by these codes and conventions. What emotions or concepts do tyou like to experience and why might this be?
  • What narrative conventions will you need to replicate to engage your intended audience?
  • What media technologies are used to construct the products you intend to make?
  • Research and document the production workflows media creators use to organise and create media products with these technologies.
• From the research conducted, identify two production exercises that you will conduct, using the following prompts to guide your experimentation and reflection. Note, the different media forms all involve specific workflows and production processes.
  • What codes or conventions from your identified genre or style will you attempt to create in each experiment?
  • What emotional or cognitive effects do you hope these experiments will convey to audiences?
  • What media technologies, techniques and processes will you use to create them?
  • What roles and responsibilities are involved in producing these experiments?
  • Outline a schedule you will follow to complete each experiment.
  • How will you evaluate the success of both experiments?
  • Share your experiments with the class or in small groups, receiving feedback about the response audiences have to the work.
  • Reflect on this response and evaluate the work in consideration of your initial intentions.
  • What difficulties did you face using certain processes or technologies?
  • How much time did each experiment take and was this different to what you expected?

Detailed example

This example involves research, development and experimentation.

1. Research for the development of a video or film production of 3–10 minutes in length belonging to the supernatural sub-genre of Horror.
• Collect examples of existing supernatural horror narratives, identifying key codes and conventions used to engage audiences; for example, non-diegetic sound to produce an eerie mood, and ‘Jump scares’ to generate tension and fear.
• Identify and analyse the narrative conventions of character and plot that many supernatural horror films contain; for example, ghosts and the teenagers who are being haunted, or the events that need to happen to resolve the needs these characters have.
• Identify the key audiences of such narratives, such as teenagers, and why they are engaged by emotions such as fear and catharsis, and concepts like revenge, betrayal, and the nature of evil.
• Research the available media technologies and relevant processes used to produce similar media narratives. Rreview short film narratives to identify key characteristics of this form. Consider: Are short horror films structured in the same way as feature length narratives?
2. Plan first production exercise. In this production exercise students explore non-digetic sounds and images to produce an eerie mood. Students will:
• set out their first intention to generate a sense of building tension and fear through the use of sound, camera, location, lighting and acting
• identify the way each technical code can be manipulated to produce their intended symbolic effect and identify the required technology or process to achieve their intentions
• select a specific location for filming, such as a hallway in their home, and use their family or friends as actors
• (for the recording of the experiment) source royalty-free music of eerie sounds and use a mobile phone to capture the hand-held shot
• make a timeline for when they will film and edit their footage
• record the shot and, using a video editing program, combine it with the sourced sound track they referenced in their experiment plan
• adjust the colour grading of the shot and experiment with ways of digitally stabilising the footage, exporting variations of the shot with different colour tones, levels and camera movement
• screen the production exercise to the class or peers and receive feedback on their work; reflect on their responses.
3. Plan second production exercise production exercise. In this production exercise students will explore how to create a ‘jump scare’. They:
• identify the way editing, diegetic sound, acting and mis en scene will be manipulated to generate a moment of fear and catharsis
• plan another shoot, organising the actors to perform in a scene set inside their bathroom. This scene requires a little more planning as it involves more shots, such as one over the young girl’s shoulder as she approaches the bathroom mirror, a close up on her hand opening the mirror, then another over the shoulder as she closes the mirror, revealing a ghost in the reflection behind her.
• plan the pale make-up design of the ‘ghost’ and experiment with the use of a tripod for the planned shots
• experiment with the sound recording functions on a mobile phone, using it to capture the creaking sound of the bathroom mirror opening, as well as the scream of the main protagonist when the ghost is revealed
• plan a timeline of the sequence of actions and film the scene
• review the range of ‘takes’ captured, selecting the best shots to edit
• combine the video and sound elements that were recorded and construct the ‘jump scare’
• screen the production exercise to their class or peers and reflect on their response.
4. Student evaluates their production exercises in their SAT development documentation.

Outcome 3

Develop and document a media pre-production plan demonstrating the student’s concepts and intentions in a selected media form for a specified audience.

Examples of learning activities

• Conduct research into a specified audience and explore what type of media they consume and what they find engaging about it. Research could include using surveys, questionnaires, interviews and found data. Document a detailed analysis of the intended audiences and how you will engage them, using relevant codes and conventions of your selected genre or style.
• Write a short proposal of a media product to use as a prompt when discussing with the class the viability of an idea. The proposal should include the specified audience, intention, narrative and style of the proposed product.
• Create a Venn diagram of all the influences that were explored in the media production development. Explain which ideas, processes, themes and uses of codes and conventions make up the style used in the media product.
• Write an intention as if it was a pitch to acquire funding for the media product, and then conduct a mock pitch session in the classroom. The media product pitched could include the media form of the product, details of the specified audience, an outline of the story or narrative, the ideology or theme and the planned distribution of the product.
• 
  Expand the concept into a synopsis that outlines the key characters and events of the narrative. From this, develop more detailed written documentation of the narrative, such as scripts, interview questions or treatments. Visualise the narrative in an appropriate form, such as storyboards, page layouts, lighting and character designs.
• Describe the narrative of the media product through a flowchart that shows the cause and effect relationship in the product. Add the codes, conventions and media technologies used to represent ideas and construct meaning in the specified media form.
• Create an annotated visual ‘mash-up’ that defines a style. The visuals could include images of inspiration, fashion, costume, lighting, image composition, other titles and products that influence the style.
• Create an analysis of the technologies available to make the media product, such as available cameras, editing software, lighting equipment, printers, digital platforms and microphones. Describe their qualities and determine which will be used in the media product. Document the media technologies and appropriate workflows to be used.
• Describe and evaluate an available location(s) and annotate photographs on different sections of the location(s) and how they will be used in production. Annotations could include lighting, composition, setting and colour schemes. Identify the key roles and responsibilities of the selected media form and relevant production processes.
• Research the format for a script, screenplay, treatment and / or article for a media product. Write a draft script based on the research and document the relevant influences in the script.
• Research different production schedules and select a suitable format to construct a personal production schedule. Create a Gantt chart of a production schedule using digital software. The chart should detail the tasks during production and post-production, including a time schedule and details of each task. Production schedules can include:
  • location permission sheets
  • a risk assessment for the production
  • call sheets for the production including lists of cast and crew, times and locations.

Detailed example

Horror movie pre-production

This example expands the horror story concept into a pre-production plan.

• Outline the synopsis of the story with a clear opening.
• Identify the target audience of young teenagers, in particular females from the ages of 10 to 13 who live in urban environments. Document why they are engaged by curious protagonists and tormented ghosts, as well as the emotions of anticipation, fear and relief.
• Expand the narrative into a script that shows the intended use of camera and setting, as well as the dialogue for the protagonists.
• Design the costume and makeup of the key characters as well as any props or set dressing required.
• Storyboard the shots. Combine the storyboard with photos taken in planned locations to better visualise each shot and scene.
• Refine the script and record a cast-reading of the draft, using this to further edit the dialogue.
• Source royalty-free soundtrack music and combine it with the recording of the script.
• Create an animated storyboard of the narrative, scanning in storyboard images and inserting them into a timeline. Refine the timing and pace of the narrative and export the animated storyboard to seek feedback on the way the plot and dialogue is received and how the editing works with different music tracks.
• Generate a final shot list that includes more specific times of each shot, scene and sequence due to the refinements made in the animated storyboard.
• Organise a schedule in an online calendar app that can be shared with cast and crew and which details the production and post-production timeline.

Outcome 1

Produce, refine, resolve and distribute to a specified audience a media product designed in Unit 3.

Examples of learning activities

• 
  Document the work completed during production and post-production stages, jusing a production journal or video diary and reflecting on the processes used. Amend the initial timeline to reflect any changes made to the production schedule.
• Take ‘behind the scenes’ photography or screen shots of the production, documenting the camera and lighting set ups, costumes, set design or any editing or refinement steps to layout and imagery.
• Record a director’s audio commentary with the principal cast; or explaining processes over the final product; or explaining the making of the media product.
• Take notes on the dailies or raw photography during production, considering refinement and editing in post-production stages. These notes can be used for evaluation and feedback in distribution.
• Copy aspects of the written or visualised planning documents into the documentation for production and post-production, annotating any changes made to scripts, page layouts, storyboards etc. Use these reflections to refine and resolve the media production.
• Document the use of media technologies (software, equipment, materials) in the creation of the media product throughout the production and post-production stages, including any skills that have been developed or applied that were not part of the initial plan, and annotate accordingly.
• Reflect on the representations of characters, ideas and places constructed in the production, and annotate any further refinements that should be made in post-production.
• Select the three most important visuals, layouts or sounds from the media product and ask for feedback from unfamiliar audiences about the meaning of the work. Use this feedback to evaluate the production and make further refinements.
• Analyse each image, scene or layout in the media product. Justify each image, shot or layout in terms of the specified audience, their engagement and the construction of meaning in the product.
• Review the production journal and document the application of relevant codes and conventions of the selected media form and narrative genre. Annotate changes made to the application of codes and conventions, referencing the way the audiences read the product.
• Evaluate the multiple audience perspectives and readings of the media product in post-production drafts. Use these evaluations to refine the media product and make changes to encourage the audience to understand the intended reading.
• Evaluate what is considered the most successful and least successful image, shot, frame or layout from production. Deconstruct the codes and conventions of each of these examples and justify reasons for and against keeping the least successful.
• Develop a  glossary list of terms for Unit 3, Outcome 3 and apply the correct terminology related to documentation of the production and the evaluation of the final media product, including references to the selected media form, genre and narrative.

Detailed example

Horror movie pre-production

This example expands further on the student-produced short horror film planned in Unit 3, Outcome 3. Key aspects of its production and post- short production are documented.

• Students keep a production journal, recording their amendments and reflections in their Unit 4 SAT documentation folio. This can be both written and visual reflection, such as diary entries with production images or behind-the-scenes footage. This documentation also assists teachers to authenticate student work.
• Students work through their planned timeline, adjusting as necessary due to constraints such as cast and crew availability, location access and media technology. They may make changes to their initial calendar so they can insert a new screenshot of their updated schedule, along with the reasons for the changes.
• Students annotate changes to their script and shot list as needed, referring to the way they will still engage their intended audience. For example, they may discover that one of their planned shots is impossible due to an actor falling sick.
• They seek feedback on rough drafts of their film, asking specific questions about the way audiences understand and are emotionally engaged by the codes and conventions they are constructing. Google forms or other questionnaire apps are helpful, but only if thought is put into the questions that they ask audiences to respond to. Rating a rough draft or having graphs that show 100% of their peers like an aspect of their product does not inform the student about aspects of the product they need to refine.
• Students document the processes and skills they are using to achieve their intentions and refine their product. For example, they may attempt to create a special effect in post-production to make their ‘ghost’ character fade away. While not originally planned for, this shot can be documented as well as the processes and technologies needed to create it.
• Students screen their final product to an audience and reflect on the representations they have constructed and the success of their narrative.

Outcome 2

Use evidence, arguments and ideas to discuss audience agency, media influence, media regulation and ethical and legal issues in the media.

Examples of learning activities

• Compare traditional models of media production and distribution with contemporary examples. How does technology and the context of media production and distribution effect audience reception, engagement, and response to media products?
• 
  Analyse contemporary media products such as advertising campaigns that claim to influence audience behaviour. What evidence supports this claim? Is it strong enough to claim causation, or is it perhaps a correlation with other factors in need of consideration?
• Analyse case studies where audiences are said to have influenced the production or distribution of a media product. What evidence is there to support this claim?
• Research different examples in which governments, individuals and global media institutions have used social media platforms. Use the following prompts:
  • What examples demonstrate positive use, such as social activism and community engagement?
  • What examples can be described as negative, such as political propaganda or illegal file sharing and exploitation?
  • What examples can be described as economic, such as brand advertising or influencer marketing?
• Compare traditional arguments and evidence related to media influence and audience agency, such as the Uses and Gratification or Two-step flow theory with more contemporary concepts such as Filter-bubble or Spreadable Media. Use the following prompts:
  • What has changed in the production and distribution of media products and how does this effect audience reception, engagement and response to these media products?
  • What arguments do contemporary media theories, concepts or models make about the extent of audience agency? What evidence is there to support these claims?
• Select a case study in which audience agency is evident. In what stage of the media production process does this occur, and what technology or platforms do audiences use to exert their agency?
• Research organisations such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). What do these organisations do?
• Look at legislation such as the Australian Content and Children's Television Standards 2020, the National Classification Code and the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. Discuss what these standards achieve, and how they are implemented.
• Research Australian Classification. How are media products classified and what benefit does classification provide to audiences.
• Research the role of Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) and Ad Standards play in self-regulation of Australian Media. Find examples of media regulation, such as community complaints about specific content or the classification and censorship of a media product. What issues and challenges were there in these examples?
• Discuss the technology and organisations involved in regulating specific media products. What challenges do regulators face when attempting to control media products? Consider the current case studies, for example regulating AI programs such as ChatGPT or the attempts to ban TikTok in the USA.
• Examine issues such as privacy, data-harvesting, illegal file sharing and copyright laws. Research a case study in which a particular legal or ethical issue is evident. What is the concern and what can audiences or media producers do to overcome these issues?

Detailed example

‘Dumb Ways to Die’ Metro public transport safety campaign

After introducing students to Unit 4 Area of Study 2, including the outcome, key knowledge and key skills, introduce a major case study which addresses the requirements of the Outcome.

The Dumb Ways to Die campaign is one such example in which all key knowledge and key skills of Unit 4, Outcome 2 can be linked to specific aspects of the selected example. The following video link provides an analysis of the ‘Dumb Ways to Die campaign.

Alternatively, teachers may select a number of case studies to address all aspects of the outcome, such as examples of TikTok and Artificial Intelligence outlined in the Teaching and Learning activities.

1. Introduce the Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
• Screen the initial Dumb Ways to Die ad from 2012.
• Research the initial brief to promote rail safety that Metro Trains Melbourne gave to the local branch of McCann, a global advertising agency.
• What was the intention and audience of the campaign?
• Research the audience reception of the original video and song, as well as the release of the video game, websites and print media related to the campaign.
• How did each aspect of this campaign work together to engage the target audience?
• What made this campaign ‘go viral?’
2. Compare the relationship audiences had with the Dumb Ways to Die campaign and that of another McCann ad, the ‘I’d like to buy the world a coke’ song from 1971.
• How did audiences of the past respond to advertising campaigns?
• What did McCann Melbourne do differently with their Dumb Ways to Die campaign?
• How did the campaign engage users to remix and make their own‘Dumb Ways to Die content?
• How did the Dumb Ways to Die campaign seek to alter their target audiences’ behaviour?
• What is the purpose of the ‘pledge’ button on the original website?
3. Research the evidence used to support the claim that the Dumb Ways to Die campaign was responsible for a 30% drop in near-miss rail accidents.
4. Research evidence of audience engagement with the campaign. What other audience behaviours can the campaign be said to have influenced?
5. Research the public transport accident data collected by Metro Trains Melbourne that led to the Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
• What did they hope to achieve?
• What data suggests they achieved this?
6. Research the many ways audiences received, engaged and responded to the various media products that were part of the Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
• What media forms were part of the campaign?
• What was the audience for each medium?
• What were audiences engaged by in each media product?
• In what ways did audiences respond to the Dumb Ways to Die campaign?
• Why did the campaign include references to grizzly bears, rattlesnakes and mooses, and not just Australian animals?
7. Research contemporary theories such as Henry Jenkins's Participatory Culture, Spreadable Media and Transmedia storytelling.
• How do these theories help explain the ‘viral’ success of the Dumb Ways to Die campaign?
• In what way did the campaign encourage audiences to be ‘prosumers’ of Dumb Ways to Die content?
• Research arguments that question the success of the campaign to lower public transport accidents.
• What other factors and statistics do they consider when looking at the campaign’s influence?
8. Research Ad Standards Australia and discuss the role it plays in regulating advertising campaigns such as Dumb Ways to Die.
• Discuss a Case Report made by a parent about a print advertisement related to the Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
9. Research Australian Classification and discuss why only some media content related to Dumb Ways to Die was given a classification rating.
• Which Dumb Ways to Die content was classified and what was the rating?
10. Research the role of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) and review their Code of Ethics as well as their Children’s advertising Code.
• What was the determination of the Advertising Standards Board regarding the complaint made by a consumer (see Case Report above) about the Dumb Ways to Die advertising material?
• What was the response of the advertiser about the complaint?
• What were some of the other audience responses to the campaign as documented in Appendix A Samples of compliments received via Metro Customer Feedback in the complaint?
11. Research the ethical issues related to the Dumb Ways to Die campaign.
• Is the need to reduce public transport accidents a good reason to use confronting imagery related to death and violence in media products aimed at young audiences?
• What were the arguments made by the parent who complained about the Dumb Ways to Die image? What do the reviewers of the app have to say about its content and gameplay?
• Are there any other ethical concerns related to the success of the Dumb Ways to Die campaign?
12. Research the legal issues related to the Dumb Ways to Die campaign evolving from a Public Safety Advertisement into a global brand.
• Discuss the licencing deal made by Metro Trains to sell Dumb Ways to Die merchandising and other media products.
• Research the content for sale at the Dumb Ways to Die e-store.
• Discuss the 2021 sale of Dumb Ways to Die trademark for 2.25 million dollars to Playside Studios. Review the 10th anniversary YouTube video, advertising all the new games they plan to release.
• Research the ‘Beans’ release. What is an NFT? How does the copyright holder of Dumb Ways to Die (Playside) intend to use the brand?