Media helps shape how we see the world. Develop a critical understanding of media as you explore this vast and varied field – from production processes and technologies to media language, elements and contexts. This revised second edition will guide you through activities of progressive difficulty developing your critical and analytical skills. Suitable for the Cambridge International AS & A Level Media Studies syllabus (9607), for examination from 2028.

• Varied activities, from analysing camera movements to understanding music consumption over time, develop learners’ analytical skills.
• Vocabulary boxes and scaffolded content support understanding and use of key media terms and ideas.
• Practical tasks and real-life examples make learning interesting and helps learners connect theory to their own media projects.
• Sample answers at different levels help learners understand the success criteria and encourage them to evaluate their own work
• Learner-facing videos bring complex ideas to life and give an easy way to review key content.
• “Think like a…” tasks invite learners to step into the shoes of media professionals and apply your skills to real-world scenarios.
• A wide variety of activities helps build key media skills through a mix of independent tasks and group or pair work.
• Reflection prompts encourage learners to pause, review their progress, and deepen their understanding of what they have learned.
• End-of-unit practice questions help learners prepare for assessment.
• Progress checks at the end of each unit help learners review what they’ve learned with simple confidence checklists.
• This publication is still in development, so the accessibility information is currently unknown. We aim for our publications to meet WCAG 2.2 AA. An updated accessibility summary will be provided once available.

• Prelims
• Imprint
• Dedicated Teacher page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• How to use this series
• How to use this book
• Unit 1 Introduction to Media
• 1.1 What is media?
• 1.2 Media and your life
• Unit 2 Media language: Micro elements
• 2.1 Semiotics
• 2.2 Shots, angles, movement, composition
• 2.3 Sound
• 2.4 Mise-en-scène
• 2.5 Editing
• Unit 3 Media Language: Macro elements
• 3.1 Genre
• 3.2 Narrative
• 3.3 Representation
• Unit 4 Media Text Analysis
• 4.1 What is media text analysis?
• 4.2 Reading media texts
• 4.3 Writing about media texts
• Unit 5 Media Contexts
• 5.1 Media forms and platforms
• 5.2 Media institutions
• 5.3 Media audiences
• 5.4 Developing case studies
• 5.5 Using case studies
• Unit 6 Media Production: AS and A level portfolios
• 6.1 Preparing for production
• 6.2 Researching a production
• 6.3 Planning a production
• 6.4 Developing skills: film/video
• 6.5 Developing skills: print
• 6.6 Developing skills: website home pages
• 6.7 Reflecting on a production
• Unit 7 Media debates
• 7.1 Regulation
• 7.2 Postmodernism
• 7.3 Power and the media
• Unit 8 Changing Media environments
• 8.1 How and why do media environments change?
• 8.2 Changes in media audiences
• 8.3 Evolving media formats and industries
• 8.4 Developing case studies for changing media environments
• Glossary
• Acknowledgements
• Index