What is media production?
Media are ways of sending a message to many people: print (posters, magazines), audio (radio, podcasts), moving image (film, TV, online video), digital (websites, apps, social media) and games. A media product or media text is one thing you make, such as a trailer or a front page.
Media production means planning, making and sharing a media product for a purpose: to inform, persuade, entertain or express your own view. Every choice (words, pictures, sound, layout) should help that purpose.
The brief and the target audience
A brief is the set of instructions for the job. It answers: What product? What purpose? Who is the audience? Which platform? What deadline and budget?
The target audience is the group you want to reach. Describe them by age, interests, lifestyle and where they spend time. A podcast suits people who listen while travelling; a printed leaflet suits people without smartphones; short vertical video suits teenagers on their phones.
Audience research can be a quick survey, a look at similar products, or a focus group (a small group who test your idea).
Pre-production: planning
- Idea and research: brainstorm, look at existing products, check facts.
- Script: the words and actions. Audio and video use a script; print uses a draft of the copy (text).
- Storyboard: a set of drawn frames showing each shot, with notes on camera, sound and length. For print and web you make a mock-up or wireframe of the layout.
- Shot list and schedule: what to film where and when.
- Permissions and safety: consent from people filmed, permission for locations, a check of risks.
Production: camera, sound and light
Shot sizes
- Extreme long shot: shows the place (establishing shot).
- Long shot: whole body; good for action.
- Medium shot: waist up; good for conversation.
- Close-up: the face; shows emotion.
- Extreme close-up: one detail, such as eyes.
Angles and movement
A low angle (camera looks up) makes someone look powerful; a high angle makes them look small. Pan (turn sideways), tilt (up and down) and tracking (camera moves) add movement. The rule of thirds places the subject on a third line, not the centre.
Sound and light
Record clear sound close to the speaker; avoid wind and traffic. Use soft light from the front or side. Combine images, words and sound so each adds new information.
Post-production: editing
In editing you choose the best takes, cut them to length and place them in order on a timeline. Continuity editing keeps action smooth; a montage joins many short shots to show time passing. Then add music, sound effects, voice-over, titles, captions (helpful for viewers with hearing loss) and colour correction. Export in the right size for each platform, for example 16:9 for a widescreen and 9:16 for vertical phone video.
Distribution and cross-media campaigns
Distribution means getting the product to the audience: cinema, TV, streaming, social media, print, radio. A cross-media campaign tells one message across several platforms that point to each other: a trailer links to a website, the poster shows a QR code, a podcast interview tells the story behind it.
Writing for media changes with the platform: short and punchy headlines for posters, a friendly spoken style for podcasts, scannable headings and links for websites.
Each product shares a house style: same logo, colours, fonts and slogan.
Evaluation and ethics
Evaluate your work: Did it meet the brief? What did the audience say (comments, views, survey)? What would you change?
Ethics means doing the right thing:
- Respect copyright: use your own music and images, licensed ones, or free-to-use ones with credit.
- Get consent before filming people, especially children.
- Avoid stereotypes and represent people and cultures fairly.
- Be honest: do not edit to mislead; label adverts as adverts.
You can also use media to speak about issues you care about, such as clean streets or exam stress, as long as you check facts.
Key formulas and definitions
- Brief: instructions for a media job (product, purpose, audience, platform, deadline, budget)
- Target audience: the group a media product is made for
- Storyboard: drawn frames that plan each shot
- Pre-production → production → post-production → distribution
- Shot sizes: extreme long, long, medium, close-up, extreme close-up
- Cross-media: one message across several linked platforms
- House style: shared logo, colours, fonts and slogan
Worked examples
1. A brief asks for a campaign telling teenagers to drink more water. Choose platforms and say why.
Step 1: Audience = 13 to 18-year-olds who use phones a lot. Step 2: Short vertical videos on social media reach them. Step 3: A poster near school water coolers reminds them at the right place. Step 4: Use the same slogan and colours on both (house style).
2. Which shot would you use to show a runner's nervous face before a race, and why?
A close-up. It fills the frame with the face, so viewers can read the emotion. A long shot would show the whole track but the feeling would be lost.
3. A 2-minute video is made of 24 shots of equal length. How long is each shot?
2 minutes = 120 seconds. 120 ÷ 24 = 5 seconds per shot. Fast cutting like this suits energetic content.
Common mistakes
- Starting to film without a storyboard. You waste time and miss shots you need.
- Making a product for 'everyone'. Without a clear target audience, choices of style and platform become random.
- Using any song from the internet. Most music is protected by copyright; use licensed or free-to-use music with credit.
- Filming people without asking. Always get consent, and parental consent for children.