A Level Film Studies
An outline of the course with a focus on the AS year and some tasks for this morning to
introduce you to Film Studies work.
Film Studies encourages you to both broaden and deepen your understanding of cinema.
You want to do this because you like films, you’re a fan, and you want to know more.
You’ll learn more about how to read a film, about the history of the film industry in Hollywood and in Britain, and about world cinema.
The AS Film Studies course is organised into two units of work, one assessed by coursework and one by an exam.
The main focuses of the AS year are on how to read film on a ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ level and on British and Hollywood Cinema.
FM1 - Exploring Film Form
This is the coursework unit. You have to produce two pieces of coursework.
The first piece is an essay, analysing a short extract, maybe five minutes from a film of your choice. You earn your marks by showing how it uses technical elements of film making like editing, sound and cinematography to make meaning for the audience.
We will do some work on a number of films to teach you how to produce this analysis, but the choice of film you actually write your coursework piece on is up to you.
The second piece of coursework is a creative task - you must produce either a photographic storyboard for a film sequence, or an extended step outline for a film sequence (which is like a detailed shooting script).
To do this you must come up with the idea for a new film. You earn your marks by showing in a practical way that you understand how film uses micro elements (editing, sound, mise en scene) to make meaning.
FM2 - British and American Film
This is the examination unit. You will sit one exam in the summer, which lasts for two and a half hours. There are three sections to the exam:
Producers and Audiences
Topics in British Cinema
Hollywood Cinema
Section A - Producers and Audiences
You have to answer one question, from a choice of two, about the film industry.
Topics covered include the finances of how films are made, marketing, stars, cinemas and home cinema equipment, cinema and the internet, the British film industry and film and television.
Section B - Topics in British Cinema
The section is on ‘A Study in Identity: Borders and Belonging’ - looking at ideas of ‘Britishness’ and ethnic minority experience in modern Britain.
You have to answer one question from a choice of two about narrative, genre and representations.
Exam films - ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ and ‘Ghosts’
Section C - Hollywood Cinema
This section asks you to compare two American films which are thematically linked to each other.
You have to answer one question from a choice of two, again about narrative, genre and representations.
Exam Films - ‘Batman’ and ‘The Dark Knight’
Assessment
40% of the mark is from the coursework unit and and 60% is from the examination unit.
Most of the first term will be spent concentrating on coursework, with some initial thoughts on the exam work. The exam work will form the focus of the rest of the year.
A2 Film Studies
The A2 Film Course has two further units:
FM3 - Film Research and a Creative Project, which is a coursework unit.
FM4 - Varieties of Film Experience: Issues and Debates, which has sections on World Cinema, Cinema and Emotional Impact, and a close study of one set film.
We spend time in class watching whole films and film extracts, writing and re-writing, note taking, having whole class and small group discussions, reading, and working online.
All being well we will have a busy and active Virtual Learning Environment so we can do a lot of our work online.
Although there are set films and set topics for the exams, you get to set the agenda for all of your coursework.
You choose the film you write about for your analytical essay.
You choose the kind of film you work on for the creative project.
Introductory Task - Narrative
The purpose of this task is to start you thinking beyond the obvious - how do you know what is going on in a film? What clues are you actually picking up on?
Watch the opening of Dirty Pretty Things (the clip is about 8 minutes long) and answer these questions:-
What is this film about? How do you know?
Who are the important characters? How do you know?
When and where is it set? How do you know?
Introductory Task - Close Reading
A chance to think more closely about how films tell stories.
Watch the clip from ‘Audition’
Look through the microanalysis of the film
Watch the clip from ‘City of God’
Fill in the table with information about how the film uses technical elements of film-making to make meaning
