AS Film Studies Guidelines for FM2 following January 2009 examinations It is hoped that these points will be useful to candidates in the revision stages of their work. Timing of examination • The 21⁄2 hours for the examination is conceived as: 15 minutes consideration of resource material and 45 minutes for each of the three essays. • It is recommended that candidates are given examination practice prior to the examination in the summer.
Films studied for Sections B and C • It would be very helpful if candidates could list the topic and focus films they are dealing with in Section B and the two films chosen for comparison in Section C at the beginnings of their answers. Section A • Candidates should aim to appreciate the issues which the resource material raises and use that as a starting point for their response to the question. They should also use any case studies and their own knowledge in answering the question. Candidates are therefore expected to show some knowledge and understanding and engage with the issues raised by the question. • The questions invite candidates to discuss the connections between producer and audience issues. Section B • Candidates need to ensure that they are answering the question set. • FM2 focuses primarily on macro issues – genre and narrative. However, micro features should be used in exploring films – to show, for example, how macro issues and representation issues are made apparent to spectators. • Candidates need to show some understanding of the 'constructed' nature of narrative and how spectators experience it (which may involve 'positioning'). It is therefore recommended that students incorporate some close narrative analysis in their answers. • Equally, candidates need to have studied key elements about genre and be able to use the appropriate specialist language to discuss it. • Simple descriptions of narrative or genre are unlikely to attract upper level marks and should be avoided. • Candidates also need to recognise the representational issues which narratives present to spectators and should have a good understanding of the concept of representation which can be applied to the films being discussed. • Candidates should aim to recognise the British context of films in this section and aim to incorporate appropriate and relevant reference to it. • Candidates who attempt to deal with more than three films may find it difficult to explore individual films in appropriate depth. Section C • Focused knowledge and engagement with genre, narrative and representational issues should also be demonstrated in Section C responses. • A clear comparison of the two films is required for Level 3 answers and above. • As with Section B, responses need to demonstrate detailed analysis. Where candidates had been encouraged to develop detailed case studies on particular scenes and/or sequences, answers were more substantial. • Candidates should aim to recognise the American context of the films they study and aim to incorporate appropriate and relevant reference to it. • It is recommended that the choice of films enables candidates to have ample opportunity to
compare.