Film Studies

Course summary

Film Studies is designed to explore and creatively engage with all aspects of filmmaking. It involves analysis of a wide range of texts, including British, American and European cinema, silent film, documentary and experimental film. You will analyse both the technical and creative choices made by film makers to produce meaning, as well as develop an understanding of how a film’s production context affects the meanings it generates. Individually, students will work on a project during their second year which will involve making a short film or a screenplay (30% of the final grade). You will study twelve films and write analytical essays on them, focusing on spectatorship, aesthetics and film theory, thereby developing your critical and analytical skills. You will be assessed on these in two written examinations. There is a practical element to the course, which makes it suitable for those who want to work in the film industry, however this is a largely written, theoretical course.