Student Questionnaire.

Sam Wright

GCSE Results: English Lit- C, English Lan- A, Maths- C, Sciences- C, Geography- B, History- A, Drama- D, ICT (short course)- Pass, Phil & Ethics- C

Hobbies- Playing guitar, Photography, Badminton, Cycling, hiking, camping.

Media Interests-

Print Media- I have a subscription to a BBC magazine called “Focus”, it includes science, the future and technology, which is the sort of thing I like reading, as I have been interested in what the future holds both for technology and science. I sometimes read the newspaper, if I do it would be from my Dad who reads the “i”. The newspaper gives me a good insight into the world as it is, from regional to worldwide, from the small to the big stories. Most of the time though get the news is from my “Yahoo” homepage which gives me the top stories of the day at a quick glance, I like to access news on the internet because it easier to access it than a normal paper, also if there’s an interesting article you can search it on the internet and find more about it almost instantly.

Radio Media

Mostly I get the news from the radio which I listen to when I’m trying to get up in the morning as its set as my alarm, also if I’m on long journeys, as it helps kill some time, apart from that, I don’t really listen to it. When I do I either listen to Radio one or Radio two as both play my kind of music and give good information out.

Music Industry

My favourite genre of music is rock, as the music always varies from band to band, also you can hear what their singing unlike rap or hip hop, can’t see the attraction in that stuff at all.

I would love to get into a band, I’ve tried many times and failed, as finding a vocalist is hard as well as getting enough interest from other band members for it to work.

If I get any music its mostly likely to be off the internet either from “i-tunes” or “YouTube” as its quick, easy and sometimes free.

I think illegal downloading can be seen as wrong, but it’s so easy to access and there aren’t any immediate consequences to be had, so it can’t be stopped easily. But bands get so much money from touring and from recording companies that music sales may only be a small part of their income.

The music industry doesn’t influence me personally, but for other people it may, for example, a person who listens to gothic and heavy metal music may wear gothic clothes and the colour black a lot and may act in a depressing or dark mood.

Video Games

For me, my favourite video game would be online multiplayer games, like Call Of Duty 4 (aka COD4) which I often go on, it’s based on the computer platform, as I have no PS3 or Xbox. For those who don’t know, Call of Duty is a first person shooter (FPS) where you can play a campaign, this is single player and you go through various missions playing as either the SAS or Marines, you can also play online against other players around the world, this is where you try and get as many kills as possible and win against your opposing team.

For the younger generation, Call Of Duty may have a negative effect on children as they may think violence is the way to deal with stressful situations.

New Technology

New technologies have increased my understanding of the world because the internet gives you access to all sorts of sites, giving you specific details about a place or country, or like “Google Earth” where you can see the earth as a whole or zoom right in to a street anywhere around the world, giving you a greater understanding on the world.

My ability to communicate with others has greatly increased due to the internet and phones, as it enables me to immediately contact someone around the world, even letting me see a person on a live feed like the application “Skype”.

Accessing tv, films and music industry has become easier as well, because there are sites where you can watch tv or films for free, like “BBC-iplayer”, also sites where you can buy music at a small price.

Making media texts yourself has become better, there are applications like “Adobe Photoshop” where you can create images and enhance them, also there are higher quality  videos cameras have become more available, making the quality of film better.

Television

The best tv channels for me, would be BBC Three and Film Four. BBC Three offers a lot of comedy and finished TV series, like “Gavin and Stacy”. Film Four has films 24/7 showing films to suit all genres.

My favourite TV genre would probably be comedy, as it always cheers me up if I’m down and you can never get bored of "Michael MacIntyre" or “Friends”.

TV programmes I think are memorable would be things like “Doctor Who” where the family would all sit down and watch it together, when I was younger the programmes would often leave thinking about them.

Feature Film

I don’t think I have a set genre, I like a variety of genres, like comedy, thriller, action and others. Genres that I dislike would be period films and sensitive romantic films which tend to bore me.

Three films I think that are outstanding in most ways would be Avatar, as it felt so realistic and I came away with “Avatar Depression” (http://theweek.com/article/index/105003/avatar-depression-syndrome), another one would be “Shaun Of The Dead”, it’s a spoof on “Dawn Of The Dead” and it’s just a well acted and hilarious film. The plot is well thought out, with just enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes, but a massive amount that you get confused. The third film I think would be “Saving Private Ryan”, as the acting in it is very good, you get a real sense of emotion and fear. The use of the rough camera work makes you feel like you’re there.

I prefer to consume film in my home, in front of the TV, as you can sit in comfort with or without family or friends and feel at home. If it’s not your thing, you can simply turn it off, also not forgetting it’s free unlike the cinema.

When I do go to a cinema I would probably prefer ODEN, even though its slightly further out of the city than VUE, its cheaper and more comfortable, making it my favourite cinema.

I like to watch films in a group, as it feels more at comfortable also, if it’s a comedy, people laugh more, and enjoy it more, making it a better experience for all.

I have been in a media production, for my school, it was part of a drama production but this was recorded and made into a silent movie, (I come in at 2.42 and I'm the one on the far right sitting down, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m44NhxNTf_I), this was in year 10 for a large drama production called “Pellagra”.

No specific media texts have offended me, but when people describe Norfolk or Norwich as a place where “people with six fingers live” or “are all inbred” I get annoyed because everyone seems to think that, creating a false identity for Norfolk.

The only media text that has influenced me or innovated me on a large scale would be “Avatar”, after I watched I got what’s known as “Avatar Depression” where you see the world as a dying place and where we’re doing nothing for our world, to prevent what was told on the film.

Mum has got me into reading spiritual books and things like that, after reading some of it, I did feel different about myself and how I act around other people, apart from that any ordinary media texts I didn’t find it altered my attitude to life.

If I was to construct a media text, I would choose to do a film, basing it on music. I would want to tell people about how the state of music genre has changed, from rock to hip hop. I want people to understand how proper music talent of creating guitar solos or making audible lyrics is being lost and being replaced with talentless auto tune and wordsmiths, losing the great feel of blasting out your favourite rock tune.   

I chose Media Studies because I enjoy photography and I have been complimented on it. I also enjoy editing photos, as well as filming and sometimes acting in it. I’ve always loved creating great photos and always on the lookout for an excellent shot.