Name: Group:
AS Film Studies AS Course Handbook 2015-2016
An introduction to the first year of Film Studies course content and assessment criteria.
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
Film Studies - welcome!
Course Handbook Congratulations on choosing this Film Studies course! We are very excited about starting a new year and teaching the WJEC A Level Film Studies Specification, and we hope you are looking forward to studying it too. Most of your studies will take place in room 301, on the third floor of ncn High Pavement Sixth Form College, Chaucer St but occasionally we’ll be in the LRC (Learning Resource Centre/library, again on Level 3). However, we will also be doing our best to attend a variety of screenings and events outside college. Film Studies is designed to deepen your understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of film, the major art form of the twentieth century and a cultural form still of great significance at the beginning of the new millennium. The course content and assessment builds on your familiarity with cinema that has developed informally since childhood. On your Film Studies course you will study Cinema as a medium, as an art form and as a social and economic institution. You will also engage with a wide range of different kinds of films, developing skills of observation, critical analysis, debate and personal reflection as well as new vocabulary in film terminology and film thoery. As a course of study, Film Studies will provide a strong base for progression to undergraduate studies in many fields but more specifically in Film Theory, Film Criticism, Film Journalism, Film Production, Exhibition and Distribution and Film History. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Dir. John Hughes, 1986)
This handbook is intended to introduce you to the course, provide information on how the course is structured and assessed, and also a breakdown of each module. The handbook includes a good deal of useful information on resources. If you have any issues or queries about the course please feel free to approach any of the Film Studies team at any time in the Film and Black Hawk Down Media Studies Department Staffroom 306 or on (0115) 912 5548, (Dir. Ridley Scott, 2001) alternatively you may e-mail us as follows:
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Lecturers in Film & Media Studies Stuart.Grenville-Price@ncn.ac.uk and
Zoe.Cutter@ncn.ac.uk
The head of department /Curriculum Leader is Alex MacDonald Alex.MacDonald@ncn.ac.uk Zoe and I also really value feedback so please let us know what you have enjoyed during the course or if you have suggestions that may improve any aspect of the course. Enjoy your first year and we hope to see you next year on the A2 course!. Page 2
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS LEVEL SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT This specification is divided into a total of 4 units, 2 AS units and 2 A2 units. Weightings noted below are expressed in terms of just the AS level qualification. Unit 1: FM1
20 % (40%)
Internal Assessment
Exploring Film Form • One analysis of how the micro aspects of a chosen extract from a film of candidate's choice produce meanings and responses (1500 words) (30) • One creative project based on a film sequence or short film (50: sequence or short film [40]/reflective analysis [10]) Paper raw mark total: 80 Paper UMS total: 80 Unit 2: FM2
30 % (60%)
External Assessment 2 ½ hours Written Paper
British and American Film Three questions, one from each section: Section A: Response to stimulus material set by Awarding Body based on producers and audiences of film (40) Section B: Topics in British Film (40) Section C: US Film - Comparative study of two films (40) Paper raw mark total: 120 Paper UMS total: 120
Introduction and Background The ‘New’ WJEC Film Studies Specification
! Hostel (Dir: Eli Roth, 2005) The Film Studies specification is designed to deepen your understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of film, the major art form of the twentieth century, and one developing new modes of expression and exhibition in the first decades of the twenty-first century. The specification builds on the cineliteracy you have developed informally since childhood. You Page 3
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK will study film deriving from a variety of production contexts and experienced in a variety of viewing situations. You will also engage with a wide range of different kinds of films, developing skills of observation, critical analysis and personal reflection, as well as developing your creativity and practical skills, either in audio-visual or written form. A variety of forms of assessment are used, with the intention of producing imaginative, active learners.
! Sense and Sensibility (Dir: Ang Lee, 1995) In particular, the specification explores the relationship between the film and the individual by exploring how films create meanings and produce both intellectual and emotional responses. Additionally, the aesthetic and sensory qualities of film are emphasised as integral to a study of the interaction between films and spectators. Analysis is enabled by the application of critical approaches appropriate to this level, as well as through creative project work. The study of film producers and audiences explores issues of production and consumption: the supply of and demand for films. Some of the recurring debates within film culture will be explored. These include the global dominance of Hollywood, strategies for supporting indigenous film and the significance of fandom. The specification introduces students to the diverse range of film forms and film styles developed in different places throughout the history of cinema. In giving you the opportunity to study significant film movements and aspects of national cinemas, it is intended that an interest in film culture will be fostered which can be taken forward in lifelong learning.
Storyboarding is just one creative opportunity you can explore in AS Film Studies yours ultimately must be illustrated using photographs
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK With its emphases on visual storytelling and aesthetics, it extends areas of experience covered by literature and art history specifications. With its emphases on contexts of production and reception, and on cultural politics, it has close affinities with courses in Media and Cultural Studies. With its options in creative work, it opens up the study of film aesthetics and film form, as well as broader political and ethical issues through experiential learning. (def: experiential = gained from experience) The Wider Curriculum Film Studies is a subject that by its nature requires candidates to consider individual, moral, ethical, social, cultural and contemporary issues. The specification provides a framework for exploration of such issues and includes specific content through which individual courses may address these issues.
Iron Man (Dir. Jon Favreau, 2008) On the following pages you will find an outline of both the 2 modules covered at AS. Please read these carefully, as each outline tells you what you will be doing, what you will learn, and how you will be assessed.
The aims of AS are: (a) to develop your interest in, appreciation and knowledge of film, specifically through studying •
the film - the way film as an audio-visual form of creative expression constructs meaning, provokes varieties of spectator response and raises issues of personal, social, cultural, political and ethical significance; and through studying • the film's producers and audiences - the relationship between the production and consumption of films, with particular reference to Hollywood and British film; (b)
to provide you with a foundation in the analysis of film, together with subject specialist language, and to introduce them to creative and production skills.
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
You must meet the following assessment objectives in the context of the content detailed in Section 4 of the specification:
AO1
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of film as an audio-visual form of creative expression together with its contexts of production and reception and of the diversity in filmmaking across different historical periods and locations.
AO2
Apply knowledge and understanding, including some of the common critical approaches that characterise the subject, when exploring and analysing films and when evaluating their own creative projects to show how meanings and responses are generated. A03 Demonstrate the ability to devise film projects creatively, applying appropriate planning and production skills effectively. topics.
A04 Demonstrate the ability to undertake, apply and present research into film
Assessment Objective weightings shown as % of full A level (AS in brackets) % Unit Weighting
AO1
AO3%
FM1
20
FM2
30
FM3
25
FM4
25
12.5
12.5
Total
100
27.5
41.25
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10 (20) 15 (30)
AO4%
10 (20)
15 (30) 3.75
11.25
10
21.25
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS Module 1 - FM1: Exploring Film FOrm
Introduction There are two main Assessment Objectives for this module. For the first you will learn about film language (Form) and style (genre). The focus on this module is how films communicate meaning and emotion and engage their audiences. In addition, you will identify and explore your own responses to a wide range of examples and create a cinematic sequence which demonstrates how micro features produce meanings and responses. (AO2, AO3)
You will be assessed by a portfolio of coursework containing the following: 1/2 An analysis of a film extract - 1500 words (30 marks) Focus in how one or more of mise-en-scène, performance, cinematography, editing, and sound (a.k.a. the micro elements) construct meaning and provoke response in a film extract. For this exercise it is recommended that a complete sequence of approximately 3-5 minutes (depending on the complexity of the extract) be chosen. You are encouraged to support your work with illustrative visual material. 2/2 Creative Project: aims & context, film sequence or short film and reflective analysis (50 marks) You are required to create a film sequence or a complete short film that demonstrates how the micro features of film construct meaning. This comprises three elements 1. Aims and Context A clarification of the aims and context of the sequence or short film to be completed on the appropriate cover sheet. 2. Film Sequence or Short Film The film sequence may either be an extract from longer film or a complete short film, with the emphasis on visual communication rather than on dialogue. It may take one of the following forms: • an extended step outline of 1000 words (representing a written description of 5-8 scenes) Page 7
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK which would be difficult to photograph or where locations need to be established, like space or Paris for example). The 5 found shots must be acknowledged (referenced) . • a film sequence or short film of approximately 2 minutes and containing between 10 and 25 different shots (some of which may be repeated). Group work is permitted for the filmmaking option (maximum 4). Groups of students should take primary responsibility for – without precluding collaboration - one or more micro features of the sequence (such as camerawork, editing or sound). Each student must identify their role and the micro aspect they are responsible for on the appropriate coversheet. 3. Reflective analysis approximately 750 words or equivalent (10 marks) The reflective analysis should select key micro features of the sequence and demonstrate how they make meaning(s) and aim to provoke response(s) in audiences. Students working in a group should focus on the construction and impact of their chosen micro aspect. The analysis can be presented: • as a continuous piece of writing, with or without illustrative material • in a digital form such as a suitably edited blog or another web-based format or • as a focused DVD commentary.
! Seven (Dir: David Fincher, 1995) What you will learn: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Film Narrative Film Genre Mise-en-scène Cinematography/mise-en-shot Editing Film Sound Performance/Acting The Film Spectator Textual Analysis Representation Ideology Film Theory
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Skills you will develop: - Critical and Analytical Skills - Personal reflection - Storyboarding Moving Image - Digital Photography - Video Production Skills - Shooting Single Camera - Continuity Editing - Editing on Non-Linear Systems - Writing Step-Outlines/Film Treatments - Preparing Shooting Scripts
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS Module 2 - FM2: BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM
Introduction Learning on this unit focuses on two key aspects of Film Studies: • producers and audiences and the relationship between them • the role of macro features of film (narrative and genre) in constructing meanings.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Dir: Steven Spielberg, 1985)
These will be studied in the context of two national cinemas – those of the UK and the USA. Critical understanding and appreciation will be fostered through: • the interrelationship between producers and audiences, with a particular focus on aspects of the film industry and audience behaviour • narrative and genre characteristics of UK and US films • personal response to films, mediated by the study of films and their contexts. This unit emphasises the interaction of its twin areas of study: 3. the film industry (as producer/ supplier of films) and 4. audiences (as purchasers/consumers of films). This provides a context for the study of the narrative and genre features of UK and US films, including the ways in which they represent social reality.
Mad Max (Dir: George Miller, 1981)
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS Module 2 - FM2: BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM Section A: producers and audiences
40 marks
! Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Dir. Ang Lee, 2000) For section A of this unit, candidates will study the UK and US film industry, the audiences for films produced by these industries and their interrelationship. (a) The Film Industry The study of the Film Industry requires a focus on basic aspects of the working of: • the American film industry - specifically contemporary Hollywood, including its impact on UK audiences; • the British film industry - specifically the contemporary industry, including issues of independence, distinctiveness and profitability. Aspects of finance, organisation, production, distribution (including marketing) and exhibition will be studied, particularly through case studies. (b) The Film Audience The Film Audience requires a focus on: • film demand and supply, specifically in the UK today • the consumption of film, including cinema-going and the importance of home cinema and the internet, together with the significance of digital technologies in delivering different kinds of film experience. A study of the importance of genre and stars, both for producers and for audiences will provide a useful bridge between this section and sections B and C. (c) T h e I n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n P r o d u c e r s a n d Audiences: case studies Case studies should be selected to explore the interrelationship between producers and audiences – sometimes appearing to be supply-led, sometimes demand-led. The significance of the convergence of different media (mobile phone, internet, games console, etc.) in changing the nature of the producer – audience Cloverfield (Mat Reeves, 2008) relationship could also be explored. Contemporary case-studies may cover the following areas: Page 10
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK • Hollywood film producers and the institutional frameworks within which they operate (for example as part of large conglomerate business corporations). • UK film producers and the institutional frameworks within which they operate (for example in relation to support from the UK Film Council and through co-production deals). • the importance of genre and stars for US/UK producers and for audiences • film marketing (including specific marketing materials such as posters, dvd covers and 'official' internet sites) • film reviews – both those produced by critics for circulation in other media and those produced by fans • film exhibition, including multiplexes and independent cinemas, as well as other types of venue, and online exhibition, including consideration of different kinds of film viewing experience • the availability of independent low budget films, and foreign language films in the UK, including Bollywood films • the social practice of participation in contemporary 'film culture' which includes cinemagoing, online viewing, and home cinema – as well as ways in which the film experience is amplified through media convergence. • star images – both those put into circulation by the industry and by fans. One stimulus-response question from a choice of two. Normally three pieces of stimulus material will be included for each question. These will include one or more of: • Visual material (including marketing materials, images from the internet and magazine publications) • Written material (including extracts from trade journals, fan magazines, internet sources and other media) • Material in table form (including numerical information) What you will learn: • Contemporary Film Consumption • Cinema-going Habits/Trends • Film Consumption on Video, DVD, TV • Awareness of own Behaviour as Audience • The Importance/Function of ‘Stars’ • Contemporary U.S. and U.K. Film Industry • The Studio Era • British Film Industries • Specific Case Studies To research aspects of: • Finance • Organisation • Production • Distribution • Marketing • Exhibition
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What skills you will develop: - Interpretation of Information - Reflection of your own Film Consumption - Critical Reflection - Research
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS Module 2 - FM2: BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM Section b: British film topics
40 marks
One question from a choice of two on each of the six topics. Candidates are required to refer in detail to a minimum of two films. The first of the two questions will have a focus on macro elements of film, narrative and thematic issues. The second will include a more broadly-based consideration of areas of representation, such as gender, ethnicity or age. (1) British Film and Genre (2) British Film and Stars (3) British Film and Culture (4) British Film: Social-Political Study (5) British Film: Identity Study:
! Four Weddings and a Funeral (Richard Curtis, 1994) This is the topic for study this year – (6) British Film and Production Companies This topic looks at some of the distinctive characteristics of one of the prescribed production companies (see below) with a particular focus on narrative and theme in their films. There may be some specific focus on context and on issues of representation in which particular characteristics of the production company are manifested. The principal emphasis, however, is on engaging with the chosen films. You must show a detailed knowledge of a minimum of two films. Working Title Films
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
AS Module 2 - FM2: BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM Section c: u.s. Film comparative study
40 marks
You are required to compare and contrast two films either from the same genre or dealing
with a specific theme. Since this is a comparative study, the two films selected should enable sufficient comparison and contrast to be made. One way of ensuring this is to select films made at different historical moments. Both questions will have an emphasis on the relationship between aspects of the films' narrative in relation to generic characteristics. The first question will be based primarily on narrative study. The second will be based on contextual study. Issues of representation will be common to both questions.
1971
2007
There are no prescribed films for this section. A list of examples is available in the Notes for Guidance. The following are indicative if a historical approach is adopted: Double Indemnity and The Last Seduction 42nd Street and Chicago My Darling Clementine and Unforgiven. It is also possible to study remakes such as: The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978) King Kong (1933 and 2005) A thematic approach is also possible. For example, two films dealing with personal identity: Imitation of Life and Boys Don't Cry.
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
Assessment You will take an examination of two and a half hours, assessing AO1 and AO2. Tuesday 17th May 2016
You Will Learn How films represent everyday life. Why they represent life in this way. How attitudes and values shape representations. The influence of genre on those representations. How audiences respond to representations. The impact of pleasure and ideology. The Skills You Will Develop Critical and Analytical Skills Textual Analysis. Evaluation of Personal Responses to Films. Critical Debates over Messages and Values. Practical skills in creative writing for film, photography, video and editing Word processing and presentation
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Resources Texts • Abrams N, Bell I & Udris J, Studying Film Arnold, 2001 • Bordwell, D & Thompson K, Film Art: An Introduction 7th Ed, McGraw Hill 2004 • Hayward S, Key Concepts in Cinema Studies, Routledge 2000 • Murphy R, The British Cinema Book. BFI 2001 Study Guides • Phillip Allen Updates Units 1,2 & 3 and the Essential Word Dictionary– AS Film Studies WJEC (Last years specification but still an easy to read accessible study guide for AS students) CD ROMS • Donaldson S, An Introduction to Film Language – BFI Education 2001 Websites • Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com • Cinema Sites: http://www.cinema-sites.com • The Cinema Connection: http://online.socialchange.net.au/tcc/ • Filmunlimited: http://www.filmunlimited.co.uk Page 14
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK The Movie Review Search Engine (MRQE): http://www.mrqe.com/ Film.Com: http://www.film.com/ Yahoo Movie Links: http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Movies_and_Film/ Ain't It Cool News: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/ Hollywood On-line: http://hollywood.com Moviejuice: http://www.moviejuice.com The Motion Picture Industry: Behind the Scenes: http://library.thinkquest.org/10015/ The Movie Times: http://www.the-movie-times.com/ UK Screen: http://www.ukscreen.co.uk The Silents Majority: On-Line Journal of Silent Film: http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/ American Film Institute On-Line Cinema: http://afionline.org/cinema/archive/lobby.html The Daily Script: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/scripts.html Drew's Script-o-Rama: http://www.script-o-rama.com Jonathan Rosenbaum: http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies Edwin Jahiel: http://prairie.net.org/ejahiel/ Damian Cannon: http://filmu-net.com/Movies James Berardinelll: http://www.movie-reviews.colossus.net/ Screen It!: http://www.screenit.com Images: a Journal of Film & Popular Culture: www.imagesjournal.com Haiku Review: http://www.igs.net/~mtr/haiku-reviews.html The Cyber Film School: http://cyberfilmschool.com Shooting People: http://www.shootingpeople.org/ Major exhibition site for web films: http://www.ifilm.com Exposure; for Young Film-Makers: http://exposure.co.uk/ Reel Mind: http://www.reelmind.com Netribution: http://www.netribution.co.uk/ Mike Figgis' "Timecode": http://timecode2000.com Virtual Camera Movement: http://www.virtualcamera.com/
Key Contacts BFI Film and Television Handbook held in the Learning Centre. Film Education, Alhambra House, 27 - 31 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OAU Tel: O20 7976 2291; Fax: 020 7839 5052 e-mail: postbox@filmeducation.org website: www.filmeducation.org British Film Institute, 21 Stephen Street, London W1P 2LN Tel: 020 7255 1444; Fax: 0207436 7950 website: www.bfi.org.uk WJEC, (The exam board.) 245 Western Avenue, Cardiff CF5 2YX Tel: 029 20 265000; Fax: 029 20 575994 www.wjec.co.uk/film.pdf www.filmstudies.co.uk
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
please speak to staff if you have any worries, concerns or questions. Good luck with your film studies!!! Stuart Grenville-Price
Shrek (Dir. Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson, 2001)
NOTES
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AS FILM STUDIES COURSE HANDBOOK
You’ll have to answer these at some point so you may as well commit to a choice and spend your time editing the essay, rather than spending too long deciding and no time for drafts to be edited
For My Creative work I will illustrate: What sort of sequence?
Indicate content, a chase, love at first sight, what happens?
From what stage in the narrative?
e.g. opening, exposition, development etc
From what genre?
Spy Thriller, Action/Adventure etc
What are the characters’ names?
What stylistic features or micro elements are you looking forward to playing with? e.g Lighting to create a brooding atmosphere, editing to create tension etc.
What response would you like to generate?
e.g. create suspense for the audience, a tension, a wonder, a shock, a scare etc (think emotions)
Which film is the subject of your written analysis? What sequence from this film will you explore? What micro elements will you use to demonstrate knowledge and understanding? Page 17