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Canon Slade School

Canon Slade School As a Church of England School, we seek to provide
an excellent education within a Christian environment
to fulfil individual potential and to prepare pupils
for life and service in a rapidly changing world. Ora et Labora
Pray and Work

Film Studies - A Level

What does the course aim to do?

The A level specification in Film Studies is designed to deepen students’ 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. You 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 creative 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.

What will I be studying?

  • British Cinema
  • Hollywood Studio System Contemporary Independent Cinema
  • World Cinema
  • Representation
  • Genre
  • Narrative
  • Audience
  • Institutions

How will I be assessed?

Written Examination component 1: American and British film

  • Section A: Classical Hollywood: US Hollywood Studio film.
  • Section B: Hollywood since the 1960s (two-film study)
  • Section C: Contemporary American independent film
  • Section D: British film (comparative study)

Written examination component 2: Varieties of film

  • Section A: Film movements (two-film study)
  • Section B: Documentary film
  • Section C: Global film (two-film study)
  • Section D: Short film

Non-exam assessment component 3: Production

This component assesses one production and its evaluative analysis. Learners produce:

  • either a short film (4-5 minutes) or a screenplay for a short film (1600-1800 words) and a digitally photographed storyboard of a key section from the screenplay
  • an evaluative analysis (1250-1500 words).

Am I suited to this subject?

You will need to develop initiative and flexibility in your thinking. Film Studies demands the ability to learn and to apply theory as a tool to analyse a wide films from different contexts.

Where will it lead in the future?

Film Studies deals with many contemporary issues. You will be encouraged to analyse and challenge the powerful machinery of the mass media and film institutions. This subject requires you to be critically autonomous and you will develop excellent research skills in preparation for a wide range of careers. Students considering a career in the media are advised to take this course.

What will I need to do myself?

In the first year of the course practical production will be interspersed with theoretical work. In the second year you produce a small-scale research project and build on your production skills. Wider reading of the subject is expected.

Why should I come to Canon Slade to study Film Studies?

The Film Studies qualification will allow you access to a variety of degree courses. If you wish to specialize it can be used to apply for Film studies / Media Studies related degree courses. As Film Studies employs close analysis skills, and aspects of Psychology, the course would be a benefit to any learner wishing to study, either English Literature or Psychology at degree level. With further training, you could go into a job related to film or the media, such as a camera operator or an editor. The course helps you develop the practical skills and deeper understanding of meaning and audiences, that employers in the film and media industries are looking for.