Film Studies

Course summary

If you're interested in how and why films are made and are passionate about cinema across the genres then A level Film Studies is for you. You don't need to have studied GCSE Film or Media to take the A level but as an essay based, academic subject it will probably appeal to you if you did well in subjects such as English, Sociology or History GCSE. It can be useful in a wide variety careers from film production, journalism, marketing and education and for higher education subjects such as film and media studies, creative writing or the social sciences. It will give you transferable skills including visual communication, critical analysis and presentation that are useful for a wide variety of careers. You'll study world, American and British films from different time periods focusing on: The important elements of film form: cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and performance. Meaning and response: how film functions as both a medium of representation and as an aesthetic medium. The contexts of film: social, cultural, political, historical and institutional, including production. You'll also learn practical film production and editing skills. Through watching films, reading, researching, critically analysing, comparing and contrasting, discussing and debating. The practical element of the course will give you the chance to develop creative and technical skills and you'll learn to use a variety of film-making technology and film-editing software.