Grade by Grade
Media Studies · Media Studies: Reading, Questioning and Creating Media

Producing Media Texts: Drafting, Testing, Revising and Publishing Responsibly

3.4About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can produce media texts for a variety of purposes and audiences using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques.
  • I can test a draft with members of my audience and revise based on patterns in feedback.
  • I can produce media responsibly: copyright, permission, privacy, accessibility and accuracy.

Words to know

pre-production
Planning work done before making a media text: brief, storyboard, permissions, materials.
post-production
Work done after recording or shooting: editing, layout, sound mixing, captions.
user testing
Watching members of the target audience try a media text to find what works and what doesn't.
Creative Commons
A set of licences that let creators allow others to reuse their work under conditions such as giving credit.
transcript
A written version of everything said in an audio or video text.
credits
A list acknowledging the sources, music, images and people who contributed to a media text.

Hook: real creators test

Professional media almost never goes out in its first version. Film studios hold test screenings. App designers watch people try their apps and notice where they get stuck. Podcast producers have a colleague listen before release.

Expectation 3.4 asks you to produce media texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques. Producing well means drafting, testing and revising, not just making.

The production cycle

  1. Pre-production: the planning brief, form choice, wireframe or storyboard, gathering materials, getting permissions.
  2. Production: writing, recording audio, shooting video, taking photos, building pages.
  3. Post-production: editing, layout, sound mixing, adding captions and alt text, checking spelling.
  4. Testing: a few people from your target audience try it while you watch or listen.
  5. Revising: fix what didn't work. Loop back as needed.
  6. Publishing and crediting: share it on the platform you planned, with credits for any sources, music or images you used.
PRE-PRODUCTIONplan, brief, wireframePRODUCTIONwrite, record, shootPOST-PRODUCTIONedit, design, captionTESTaudience tries itREVISEfix what didn't workPUBLISHshare + creditloop backuntil it works
The production cycle. Testing with real audience members and revising (the dashed loop back to post-production) is where good media texts become effective ones.

How to test with an audience

  • Watch, don't explain. Let your tester use it without help. Where they hesitate or get confused is real data.
  • Ask open questions: What do you think it's saying? What did you notice first? Where did you lose interest? What would you do next?
  • Compare with your plan: did they get your intended meaning? Did they do your call to action?
  • Look for patterns: if one person dislikes your font, that's an opinion. If three people miss your call to action, that's a problem.

Producing responsibly

  • Copyright: don't use music, images or video clips you don't have rights to. Use your own, ask permission, or use content with a licence that allows reuse (such as a Creative Commons licence) and follow its conditions, which usually include giving credit.
  • Permission and privacy: get permission before including identifiable people; never publish personal information such as home addresses or schedules.
  • Accessibility: captions for video, transcripts for audio, alt text for images, strong colour contrast, readable font sizes.
  • Accuracy: check facts and sources, especially in informational texts.
  • Respect: represent people and communities fairly; for content about First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities, follow the guidance of community members and use their own words and protocols where possible.
Worked example

Let's revise a draft after testing

The anthology writer tests draft 1 of her web page with three classmates. Feedback: (1) "The opening 'Welcome to my website where I have put some poems' didn't make me want to read." (2) "I didn't know which poem to click." (3) "I wanted to say I remember snow days like that, but there was nowhere to write." (4) One tester using a screen reader heard only image for the photo. Plan and explain the revisions.

  1. Pattern check: feedback 1 and 2 point to a weak hook and navigation; feedback 3 shows the purpose (inviting responses) isn't working; feedback 4 is an accessibility failure.
  2. Revision 1, hook: replace the welcome line with a site title, Snow, Mostly, and a one-line hook: Six poems about small winter moments. This uses the visual hierarchy convention to state the meaning first.
  3. Revision 2, navigation: name each poem in the menu (First Snow, The Rink, Bus Stop at Dawn...) so readers can choose by interest.
  4. Revision 3, call to action: add a comment form, Share your winter memory, at the end of each poem. This directly serves the purpose.
  5. Revision 4, accessibility: write alt text for every photo, for example Fresh snow on a quiet street at dusk, with one set of footprints.
  6. Test again: ask two new classmates to try draft 2 and check whether they leave a memory.

Each revision answers a pattern in the feedback and connects to the plan: a stronger hook (meaning), clearer navigation (audience), a comment form (purpose) and alt text (accessibility). Then test again.

DRAFT 1Welcome to mywebsite where I haveput some poems[large photo]Poem 1 Poem 2 Poem 3Poem 4 Poem 5 Poem 6(no way to respond)DRAFT 2 (after testing)SNOW, MOSTLYSix poems about smallwinter moments[photo + alt text]1. First Snow 2. The Rink3. Bus Stop at Dawn ...Share your winter memory
Revising after testing. Testers said draft 1's opening was vague, the poem links didn't say what each poem was about, and there was no way to respond. Draft 2 adds a clear title, a one-line hook, named poems, alt text and a call to action.

Producing for a variety of purposes and audiences

The expectation says a variety. Over a term, aim to produce texts with different purposes (to express, to inform, to persuade) for different audiences (classmates, a younger audience, a community group), in different forms (a web page, an audio piece, a poster, a short video). For the anthology project, the writer produces two texts: the web page (express and build community, for peers) and the 15-second promo (persuade, for the class group chat).

Just for fun

Every great creator's folder looks like this: final.mp4, final2.mp4, final_REAL.mp4, final_REAL_v3_thisone.mp4. Revising is normal. Naming files clearly is optional (but recommended).

Hands-on activity

Produce, test, revise

You need: the plan from the last two lessons, a device or art supplies to make your media text (web page builder, slides, audio recorder, video app, or paper and markers for a poster or zine), and two or three testers from your audience or family. A grown-up should approve any platform before you publish anything online.

  1. Produce draft 1 of your media text using the conventions you planned.
  2. Test with two or three people. Watch silently, then ask the four open questions from this lesson. Write down exactly what they say.
  3. Find patterns and list at least three revisions, each linked to feedback and to your purpose.
  4. Revise and produce draft 2. Add captions, transcripts or alt text, and a credits section for any sources.
  5. Produce a second, short text for a different purpose or audience (for example a poster or promo that advertises your first text).

What to look for: a finished text that uses appropriate conventions, feedback notes in testers' own words, revisions tied to evidence, accessibility features, credits, and a second text with a clearly different purpose or audience.

Your turn

1

List the six stages of the production cycle.

2

Why should you watch silently when someone tests your media text?

3

What is the difference between one tester's opinion and a pattern?

4

Write good alt text for a photo of a frozen pond with skates on a bench.

5

Name two responsible-production practices.

6

How does the comment form in draft 2 connect to the anthology's purpose?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which stage includes editing and adding captions?

2

Which stage includes the storyboard?

3

What licence lets creators share work for reuse under conditions such as giving credit?

4

What should an audio text include for accessibility?

5

True or false: professionals usually publish their first draft.

More practice: on your own

1

A tester says your PSA video is "kind of boring." Write two follow-up questions that would give more useful feedback.

2

Why is testing with your target audience better than testing with anyone?

3

You found a perfect song online for your video. What must you check before using it?

4

Explain why the anthology writer produced a second text, the promo.

5

Revise this weak opening for a podcast: "Um, hi, so this is my podcast, I guess, about winter stuff."

Challenge

1

Produce a 100-word written reflection on your own production process: what you tested, what patterns you found, what you revised, and how your text better achieves its purpose now.

2

Plan a production schedule for a 2-minute documentary about a winter tradition in your community, with time for testing and revising over two weeks.

3

Evaluate this claim: "Accessibility features like captions and alt text only help a small number of people."

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

In which stage would you get feedback from your target audience?

2.

Which is the best tester question?

3.

Why did the anthology writer add a comment form?

4.

Which practice respects copyright?

5.

Alt text such as "image" is a problem because...

6.

Producing a variety of media texts means...

For parents and teachers

What this lesson teaches: expectation 3.4: producing media texts, including increasingly complex texts, for a variety of purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques. Students follow a production cycle with real audience testing and revision, and practise responsible production (copyright, permission, privacy, accessibility, accuracy).

How to help at home:

  • Be a tester: try your teen's text without help and say honestly what confused you.
  • Approve any platform before anything is published online; check that no personal information appears.
  • Encourage saving drafts so they can show their revision process.

Common difficulties:

  • Skipping testing because the deadline is close. Build it into the schedule.
  • Taking feedback personally. Feedback is about the text, not the creator.
  • Forgetting credits and permissions.

Facts used: Creative Commons licences let creators allow reuse under stated conditions. The anthology drafts and feedback are invented examples.