FILM STUDIES

Exam Board: WJEC (Eduqas) Head of Department: Rebecca Dickson BA (Bath Spa) MA (OU) PGCE CTEACH Members of Department: Dr Clare Harraway BA (Exeter) MA DPhil (Oxford) PGCE Clint Tessendorf MA (University of Cape Town) PGCE

Film Studies is a new and exciting field of study, reflecting a growing and vibrant UK Film Industry. The UK Film Industry employed 80,000 people last year and 2019 also saw the second highest level of spend by international filmmakers ever recorded, reaching £1.77 billion. This highlights the confidence international filmmakers have in the UK’s creativity, the expertise of our crews, and world-class production facilities combined with the UK film tax relief, as well as the wide range of professional services available including the support provided by the British Film Commission.

Are you right for the course?

If you have a real interest and enthusiasm for film and would be comfortable discussing your ideas with other like-minded individuals you will find your place on this course. If you are prepared to learn about a range of cinematic techniques and explore the effects of these techniques on audiences, as well as explore aspects of context and film theory, you will find success on this course. The course is predominantly assessed through exams but with the opportunity to produce your own short film for coursework. The coursework provides a space for students to be creative and may potentially foster the directors and filmmakers of the future. Film Studies students need to be insightful, thoughtful, analytical, capable of independent research, have a grasp of a range of complex concepts and be able to write perceptive essays.

What does the course consist of?

The course studies cinema as an art form and consequently the films you will watch are often not mainstream Hollywood blockbusters (although some are!). Instead, students will get the opportunity to analyse a diverse and exciting range of films from the earliest examples of silent cinema, through a developing media to cutting edge modern films, encompassing a range of voices, from British Film to films from across the globe. Areas of study are Classic Hollywood, New Hollywood, American film since 2005, British film since 1995, global film, documentary film, silent cinema and experimental film. Many of the issues dealt with in the movies studied are often challenging and provoke wideranging opinion. Consequently, a level of sensitivity and emotional maturity is required.

What subjects does it go with?

Film studies shares strands with multiple disciplines and will pair well with English Literature, History, Art and Drama.

Where will it lead you?

Film Students have gone on to study Film Production, Film Theory and wider media courses at university. The film industry is awash with diverse roles and an A Level in Film Studies is beneficial.