Film Studies

Course summary

Students will develop practical and analytical skills, learning about how to identify the codes and conventions of film texts; how film-makers communicate with their audiences through an understanding of genre; how the film industry operates and entices different audiences; world cinema; how film censorship has evolved; how UK Cinema has changed and how directors and stars place a signature upon their work. Students will also develop the skills needed to construct their own contemporary, relevant, and original film texts. Component 1: Varieties of Filmmaking 2 hours 30 minutes 35% Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990 Auteur study (40 marks) Vertigo and Alien Section B: American films since 2005 Spectatorship / Ideology (40 marks) Joker and Captain Fantastic Section C: British Film since 1995 Ideology/ Narrative (40 marks) Shaun of the Dead and Trainspotting Component 2: Global Film Perspectives 2 hours 30 minutes 35% Section A: Global Film Context (40 marks) Pan’s Labyrinth and City of God Section B: Documentary Film Critical debate/theory (20 marks) Stories we tell Section C: Film Movements- Silent Cinema Critical debates (20 marks) Strike Eisenstein USSR 1924 Section D: Film Movements – Experimental film Auteur (20 marks) Vivre sa vie (Godard, France, 1962) / or Fallen Angels Wong Component 3: Production 30% Individual production: Either A short film of 4 to 5 minutes or, a screenplay of 1600 to 1800 words with a digitally photographed storyboard. Evaluative analysis 1600 to 1800 words referring to all three short films (set by WJEC) studied.