QCAA Film TV & New Media study plan

Define and correctly use 20 core moving-image terms (mise-en-scène, diegesis, motivated lighting, continuity editing, focal length, aspect ratio) in original written definitions.

Annotate two short sequences (one classical Hollywood scene, one art-cinema scene) shot by shot, labelling camera distance, angle, movement and edit type.

Explain in writing how one technical choice (e.g. shallow focus) constrains audience attention and meaning.

Build a personal glossary table linking each term to a concrete example you can describe from memory, with no external figure references.

Compare how sound (diegetic/non-diegetic, sound bridges, silence) shapes interpretation in two contrasting scenes.

Apply a three-layer analytical frame (denotation, connotation, ideology) to a single 3-minute extract.

Identify and name at least five editing patterns (match cut, jump cut, cross-cutting, eyeline match, montage) in a self-chosen clip and justify each label.

Draft a thesis statement that makes an arguable interpretive claim about one text's visual style.

Map the production pipeline from development through distribution, naming the responsible role at each stage.

Explain the practical trade-offs of three technologies (e.g. LED volume vs green screen, gimbal vs dolly, proxy vs native editing) in original prose.

Write a one-page risk-and-compliance checklist for a small shoot covering releases, location permissions and safety.

Sequence a realistic three-day shooting schedule for a 4-minute narrative scene, including contingencies.

Distinguish at least five new-media forms (web series, interactive documentary, vertical short-form, game cinematic, AR experience) by their affordances.

Analyse how branching or interactive choice changes narrative agency, using one described example you can summarise without a figure.

Evaluate platform economics: how recommendation, monetisation and format constraints shape storytelling decisions.

Compare a linear scene and an interactive scene on the same theme and argue which produces stronger audience engagement.

Situate one text within its production context (funding, broadcaster or platform, censorship rating) and show how that context infers meaning.

Analyse how a text positions different audience groups through address, representation and marketing materials described in words.

Apply one theoretical lens (e.g. spectatorship, representation, media effects) to your chosen text and test its limits.

Construct a counter-argument to your own reading and rebut it with textual evidence.

Trace how one cultural debate (e.g. national identity on screen, algorithmic gatekeeping, representation and casting) has shifted over time, using at least three described examples.

Argue how audience measurement and platform metrics influence commissioning decisions.

Evaluate the ethical dimensions of one new-media practice (data collection, deepfake, participatory fandom).

Synthesise your week 4 and week 5 work into a single position statement of no more than 120 words.

Plan and storyboard in written form a 90-second sequence that deliberately applies two codes studied in weeks 1-2.

Produce a critical reflection linking your creative decisions to the concepts from domains 1 and 3.

Draft a full extended-response essay under timed conditions (40 minutes) on an unseen-style prompt you write yourself.

Self-mark the timed essay against a criterion checklist and list three specific revisions.

Revise weak areas identified in week 7 by rewriting the two lowest-scoring sections of the timed essay.

Complete two further timed extended responses (35 minutes each) covering analysis and evaluation prompts.

Consolidate a one-page synthesis sheet linking all six domains to your strongest examples.

Rehearse recalling the glossary and production pipeline from memory without notes.