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Name: …………………………………………

Tutor: ……….

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Contents

Why are we here? .................................................................................................................................. 3

Expectations ........................................................................................................................................... 4

What you will study ............................................................................................................................... 6

What exams will I sit? ............................................................................................................................ 7

How will you be assessed? ..................................................................................................................... 8

Topsheets for assessments .................................................................................................................. 10

Wider watching .................................................................................................................................... 11

Wider reading: ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Glossary (of sorts) ................................................................................................................................ 14

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Why are we here?

Here’s a few thoughts from your Film Studies teachers about why studying film is such a great option.

Have a read, then add your own reasons at the bottom

Film has become the soundtrack to our

lives through memes and constant re-

referencing in other films. Understanding

film is to understand how we live now.

Film brings me joy. Deepening my

appreciation of it deepens the joy that

it brings me/

Film is such an important way by which

we tell each other stories about our

world. It broadens our horizons.

I dream in film, I imagine in

film, I think in film.

Film doesn’t only reflect the world we

live in, it helps to sculpt it through

pushing dominant ideologies. We need

to know when this is happening!

Film shows us people and experiences

beyond our own. It is an exercise in

empathy.

Film relies on the language of signs to

tell its stories. These signs live

everywhere, so understanding how

these signs speak is to understand how

the world speaks to itself. It is a creative industry that I’d love

to get involved in further on in my

career.

Your thoughts

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Expectations

We expect you to…

o Turn up for lessons on time with everything you need. This includes materials to

complete your written work and notes from previous lessons / independent study time. o Keep good care of your notes. Establish a filing system that ensures you bring the notes

you need to your lessons. o Take an active part in lessons, contributing to discussions and asking questions. You will

sometimes be asked to deliver individual presentations. o Be interested and show enthusiasm for the subject. o Be proactive:

▪ Complete work for your ‘6th period’ each week. ▪ read and watch widely from book & film lists given in this handbook. ▪ immerse yourself in film. Watch it, read about it, make it. ▪ share independently gained knowledge/insights with the class. ▪ undertake independent reading and research (including internet and

library resources). Always note down bibliographical details to acknowledge sources in essays/exams or pass on in class. You should record these in the following way:

• Film Title (Director’s Surname, Country of Production, Year of Production)

• example: Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, USA, 1994) o Ask for help whenever necessary and in good time before deadlines. o Explain to your teacher any reason for non-attendance and take responsibility for

catching up on missed work. o Maintain the 50:50 approach and put in at least FIVE PERIODS of independent study

each week: ✓ Homework (typically 2 periods) ✓ ‘6th period’ (1 period) ✓ Other independent work, perhaps involving one or more of the following:

− acting on feedback from essays / class work

− essay research, planning, writing

− exam practice questions

− Revision

− wider watching / reading. o Be prepared for all lessons and for assessments. You could:

▪ pre-watch the next section of the film before the lesson. ▪ read commentaries and notes before the lesson. ▪ ensure you have understood the previous learning. Check sharepoint

for any powerpoints or notes you might need. Or ask! ▪ make notes on what you have read or seen; jot down questions, ideas,

queries; Use the Cornell method to help with this. o Attend film screening

▪ We will be putting on screenings of the course’s main film texts at the start of each term. You will need to attend these. We will give you as

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much notice as possible about dates, but we will keep these to Mondays after school.

o Prepare coursework & essays thoroughly: ▪ watch the focus film(s) several times & make detailed notes. ▪ research widely where appropriate. ▪ be aware of critical commentaries that come before yours. ▪ create a detailed essay plan. ▪ draft thoroughly, paying attention to structure. ▪ edit meticulously, for content and language. ▪ be prepared to restructure and rewrite your work thoroughly. ▪ act on previous feedback in a conscious and meaningful way.

In return, you can expect your teachers to...

o Be as inspirational and encouraging as possible(!)

o Mark your work within two weeks and return it to you with feedback.

o Use the assessment objectives against which you will be assessed to give you guidance on how

you can improve.

o Make themselves available (as is reasonable) to discuss issues, problems, ideas that you have

regarding the course.

o Be knowledgeable in their field and support you in your study.

o Provide honest and encouraging advice for your next steps when UCAS rolls around.

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What you will study

Hollywood – 1930-1990 In the Western World, Hollywood has long been the epicentre of the film industry. In this unit, you will compare films from Hollywood’s ‘Golden Era’ – when the big film studios dominated production and established the ‘Classical Hollywood’ style – and what is generally referred to as ‘New Hollywood’, when a new breed of director emerged, bringing in new influences. For this unit, you will study Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982 – we’ll use the 1992 ‘Director’s Cut version) and look at how these films reflect the contexts of their production. American Film since 2005 Hollywood is no longer – in some ways – the dominant force it once was in American film making. This unit compares mainstream films with their independent cousins. You’ll be looking at issues of spectatorship (how films are watched, and by whom), as well as issues of ideology (the dominant ideas that films explore or perpetuate.) This unit will be based on La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) and Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2015) British Film since 1995 Whist ‘film’ tends to iconise the world across the pond, the British Film Industry punches above its weight in the world of cinema. We’ll look at what ‘British’ means in a film context, and how two films use narrative strategies to tell their stories. We’ll also look at ideology again here, and see how Britishness might bring a new spin to the ideas that films explore. We’ll be watching Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (Ramsay, 2011). Global Film In this unit, you’ll explore the reach of film beyond the English-speaking world, by comparing a film from Europe to one from further afield. We’ll look at how film form changes with country and culture and how the ways in which films express themselves differ in these different contexts. Films for study are Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, Spain, 2006) and City of God (Meireilles, Brazil, 2002) Documentary Film Moving away from film as fiction, we’ll look at how documentary filmmakers use ever-more creative ways to tell their ‘factual’ stories. We’ll look at how individual filmmakers’ practice is shaped by their own beliefs and theories, and the critical debates around this genre. To do this, we’ll study Amy (Kapadia, UK, 2005) Film Movements: Silent Cinema This is where it all started! The emergence of film in the early part of the 20th century is an exciting and critical time to study. Many of the conventions that film uses today were established in this period. We’ll be looking at Strike (1924) by Soviet filmmaking giant Sergei Eisenstein, and what it can still teach us today about film analysis and criticism. Film Movements: Experimental Film In film, experimental methods are emerging daily on the fringes of production. But they don’t stay ‘experimental’ for long! We’ll look at Quentin Tarantino’s seminal Pulp Fiction (1994) and the way it challenged mainstream forms at the time, both in terms of narrative Tarantino’s unique approach to film making. His postmodern approach is now a common feature of cinema, but we’ll look at where it all began. Non-Examination Assessment (NEA): Film Production & Analysis This will be a crucial and synoptic part of your course, and will bring together all your learning about film form and how we tell stories through image, editing, sound and other means. You will create a short film of 4-5 minutes, responding to a brief from the exam board. You’ll accompany this with an evaluative analysis of your work, and compare yourself to other short films to see how your work holds up.

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What exams will you sit?

So, in summary, that’s:

• Two exams (totalling five hours)

• Seven essays (three in the first exam, four in the second)

• Eleven films to study

• Plus a practical unit – this involves the study of three short films and another analytical essay.

Marks available are given here to illustrate the weightings of each component. Please look at the %

weighting of the three components to see that not all marks are created equal! For example, each

mark on component 3 is worth approximately twice that of a component 1 mark! Please don’t worry

about this for now!!

40 marks

40 marks

40 marks

40 marks

20 marks

20 marks

20 marks

120 marks

100 marks

60 marks

40 marks

20 marks

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How will you be assessed?

This is a pretty important question and will dictate how we frame our study of our film texts. The exam

board break down assessment into two parts. The next two pages explain what these are. In the

appendix to this handbook, doubling as a glossary, is a comprehensive breakdown of these elements.

1) Core study areas – these will be assessed in all your writing. They are:

• Film form – the key technical elements that films use to create meaning.

• Meaning & Response – how films function both aesthetically and as a medium of

representation (we’ll unpick what these terms mean, promise!)

• Contexts – the social, cultural, political, historical and institutional backgrounds to a film’s

production and reception by audiences

There’s some space under each heading to jot down some things you might already know about

these Core study areas. Have a go at filling that out.

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2) Specialist study areas – these will be assessed in relation to specific films. On the course, we’ll

always inform you of which Specialist study area relates to the films we’re viewing, but for now we’ll

keep it brief. These areas are listed below, along with some space to jot down your thoughts:

• Spectatorship – how films address their audiences, and how that audience is positioned to

interact with the film.

• Narrative – the various ways in which films presents and plays with time, space and action to

tell stories. Also, the way in which a film’s genre contributes to these decisions.

• Ideology – the dominant beliefs that films embody, reinforce or challenge.

• Auteur – to what extent are films ‘authored’ by a single person? How does that individual put

their ‘stamp’ on a film?

• Critical Debates – we’ll look at just two of the many debates in film. These are:

o The realists and the expressive – should films show life as it is, or an artistic version of

it?

o The significance of digital technology – how much of an impact has technology had on

films’ core values and functions?

• Filmmakers’ Theories – we’ll look at the way that a specific film genre embodies or challenges

the individual beliefs and theories of key filmmakers in that genre.

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Topsheets for assessments

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Wider watching

The following is a guide to the kind of things you could be spending your time watching. We’ve broken

down our recommendations by the six Specialist study areas that we think these films best exemplify.

That’s not to say there’s no cross-over – there definitely is!

Spectatorship:

The Artist (Hazanavicius, 2011)

Bandersnatch (Brooker, 2019)

The Blair Witch Project (Sanchez & Myric, 1999)

Narrative:

Memento (Nolan, 2000)

Vanilla Sky (Crowe, 2002)

Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001)

Attack the Block (Cornish, 2011)

The Double (Ayoade, 2013)

Ideology:

This is England (Meadows, 2006)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (Various, 2008-2020)

Auteur:

Any films directed by Alfred Hitchcock but here are three we’d definitely recommend:

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Rear Window (1954)

Psycho (1960)

Any films directed by Ridley Scott but here are three we’d recommend:

Alien (1979)

Gladiator (2000)

Black Hawk Down (2001)

In additon, we recommend that you check out Hitchcock/Truffaut (Jones, 2016)

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Critical Debates #1 – realist Vs expressionist:

an indication as to realist (R) or expressionist (E) is given

The Arrival of a Train (Lumière brothers, France, 1896) R

A Trip to the Moon (Méliès, France, 1902) E

The Great Train Robery (Porter, USA, 1903) R

The Birth of a Nation (Griffith, USA, 1915) R

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Wiene, Poland, 1920) E

Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, USSR, 1929) E

Critical Debates #2 – digital technology:

Dogville (Von Trier, 2003)

Star Wars prequel trilogy (Lucas et al. 1999-2005)

Tron (Lisberger, 1982) & Tron: Legacy (Kosinski, 2010)

Filmmakers’ theories:

Mr Death: The Rise & Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (Morris, 1999)

Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)

Whitney: Can I Be Me? (Broomfield, 2017)

American Animals (Layton, 2018)

Human Flow (Weiwei, 2017)

My Name Is Salt (Pacha, 2015)

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Wider reading: Yes, we do expect you to read as well as watch films! There are a variety of film magazines in the

library that will keep you up to date with current film trends and debates, but the following are also

useful.

Ways of Seeing – John Berger

More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts – James Narimore

Hitchcock’s Films Revisited – Robin Wood

Imagining Reality: The Faber Book of Documentary – Kevin Macdonald & Mark Cousins

Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video & Culture – Sharon R Sherman

Representing Reality – Bill Nichols

The Art of the Documentary – Megan Cunningham

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Glossary (of sorts)

This is broken down based on the Core study areas in the specification. This is not an exhaustive list of

film terms, but it’s a good start!

Core Area 1 - Film Form:

For each of these elements, it’s very useful to find (and record if possible, either as a still or a drawing)

your own examples.

Cinematography, including lighting

Principal elements-

camera shots: Establishing shot, long shot, medium shot, close up, point of view, over the shoulder,

low-angle, high-angle, expressive and canted angle shot

focus: depth of field, aperture, pull-focus

camera work: handheld camera, steadicam technology, dolly shot, tilt, pan, zoom, crash zoom, contra-

zoom, drone/helicopter shot

composition: including balanced and unbalanced shots, rule of thirds, framing.

Creative elements

camera: subjective camera, shifts in focus and depth of field, mixed camera styles, filters

lighting: the principles of 3-point lighting, key lighting, fill lighting, backlighting, high-key lighting,

chiaroscuro lighting and other expressive lighting effects

Mise-en-scène

Principal elements-

setting: interior, exterior, establishing shot, symbolism, enigma code,

props:

costume:

make-up:

Creative elements

colour: naturalistic, expressive, palette, monochrome

semiotics: sign, signifier, signified, symbol, referent, denotation, connotation

Editing

Principle elements

continuity editing: shot-reverse-shot, match editing, the 180 degree rule, the 30 degree rule

other effects: Kuleshov effect, juxtaposition, kino-fist, jump cut,

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Creative elements

post-production: montage, parallel editing, visual effects

Sound

Principal elements

vocal sounds: dialogue, narration

environmental sounds: ambient, sound effects, music, silence

diegetic and non-diegetic sound

Creative elements

parallel and contrapuntal sound

sound design: multitrack sound, mixing and layering, asynchronous sound, motifs, themes

Performance

Principal elements

non-verbal communication: physical expression, delivery, interaction, casting

performance style: method, improvisatory, naturalistic, expressive

collaboration: direction, choreography, blocking, framing

Use this space to record any other film terms you come across during the course:

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Core Area 2 - Meaning and Response:

In your analysis, the most important thing is to link the elements above with how they are being read

by the viewer in order to create meaning. Here’s a few principles to keep in mind.

the concept of film aesthetics: how do viewers gain pleasure from film?

film as a medium of representation: how film elements, including narrative, combine to contribute to

tailored presentations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity, age, etc)

the ideological nature of representation: the extent to which dominant ideas or beliefs in society and

culture are supported, negotiated or challenged through filmic representations.

film as an aesthetic medium: the ways that elements of form combine to create effects for the

viewer, in specific film sequences.

the ways that formal elements contribute to readings of a film: preferred reading, oppositional

reading, negotiated reading, aberrant reading

aesthetic conflicts: what is the relationship between film as aesthetic spectacle and the narrative drive

towards resolution?

Core Area 3 – Context

Films are shaped by the contexts in which they are produced. There are two contextual ‘frames’ which

help us to understand this:

Social, cultural and political contexts:

• social factors such as debates about ethnicity, gender, etc.

• cultural factors such as significant filmic or artistic movements.

• political factors such as imposition of restrictions on artistic freedom, or the films’ roll in major

movements for political change.

Institutional contexts, including production:

• relevant institutional aspects of production: studio, distributor, production company

• key features of production process: financing, technological opportunities or constraints.

Specialist study areas –

Section 2 of the Eduqas GCE A Level in Film Studies specification is the best place to go for the key

questions you’ll look at under each of the Specialist study areas. It also expands on some of the Core

study areas that are outlined above.

Here’s a link to it. https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/film-studies-as-a-level/#tab_overview