Film Studies
Specification – to be confirmed
Film Studies explores cinema as a medium, as an art form and as a social and economic institution.
The course consists of four units of study:
Unit 1: Exploring Film Form
This coursework unit comprises two pieces of work: a 1500 word written analysis of a film
extract and a creative project comprising three elements (a written “aims and context”; a
film sequence in the form of a storyboard or a 1000 word “step outline”, and a “reflective
analysis” of 750 words.
Unit 2: British and American Film
This written examination comprises three sections: (A) Producers and Audiences (one
stimulus-response question from a choice of two, on all aspects of the film industry and the
consumption of films by viewers); (B) British Film Topics (one question from a choice of
two, on one of six themed topics in British cinema, each area involving study of a group of
related films), and (C) U.S. Film Comparative Study (one question from a choice of two, on
a pair of American films related by genre or theme and studied in depth).
Unit 3: Film Research and Creative Projects
This coursework unit comprises two elements. Firstly, a small scale research project on a
topic (such as an amateur filmmaker, a historical context or a genre) of the student’s
choice. This is composed of two sections: an annotated catalogue of key items discovered
in the student’s research and the script for a presentation in which they discuss their
findings. Secondly, a creative project involving the “practical application of learning” in
three sections: a statement of the aims and context of the work; the creative product itself
(either a screenplay extract from an imaginary film of the student’s devising or an
“extended step outline” for a documentary arising from the area investigated for the small-
scale research project, and finally a “reflective Analysis” of 1000 words.
Unit 4: Varieties of Film Experience
This synoptic paper of 2 hours 45 minutes draws upon skills and knowledge from across
the course, as well as offering opportunities for the study of new topics. Students must
answer three questions, one on each of the following areas: (A) World Cinema, (B)
Spectatorship and (C) Single Film – Critical Study.