Film Studies A Level at Longsands Academy
Film Studies is about …
expanding your knowledge of films through study and individual interpretation of a wide variety of texts;
understanding the key contexts of films (including social, cultural, political, historical and technological contexts)
identifying the importance of the tiniest detail in a scene and how these create meaning or provoke responses in an audience;
making a film which creates meaning and provokes a response in your audience.
For the exam units you will study feature length films and some short films. These cover classical Hollywood, mainstream and independent American and British films from the past and the present as well as more recent global films, both non-English language and English language.
For the non-examined assessment you produce a short film or screenplay and write an evaluative analysis.
What will I learn?
Through the study of a range of films you will learn:
- the key elements of film form – cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing, sound and performance, which have significance both individually and in combination with one another
- the structural elements of film form – narrative, the processes of narration, including the role of the screenplay in providing narrative structure, and genre (where relevant to the film studied)
- how film creates meaning and generates response, including how it functions as a medium of representation
- the social, cultural, political, historical and institutional, including production, contexts of film
- critical approaches to studying film – arising from the idea of film as 'constructed' and including different conceptions of narrative, ideology and the idea of the 'auteur'
- key debates (the realist versus the expressive in film and the digital) and filmmakers' theories of film
- how to include the key elements of film form into your own production
Essential: a grade 5 in GCSE English Langugae and Mathematics.
Desirable: a grade 6 at GCSE in English Language or Literature.
This is the perfect course to complete if you are interested in pursuing a career in film or a Film or Media course at University.
This course complements many GCEs, particularly Media Studies and English.
To find out more contact Miss C Bobbett, subject leader for Media Studies at St. Neots Sixth Form Centre via email@example.com
How to apply
If you want to apply for this course, you will need to contact Longsands Academy directly.