Film Studies

Introduction

The A Level Film Studies course will cover all aspects of film – past, present and world-wide. It will also give you the opportunity to make your own short film or write your own screenplay.

The course comprises three elements:

Component 1: Varieties of film and filmmaking (Exam 35%)

Hollywood 1930-1990: Casablanca and Bonnie and Clyde
American Film Since 2005: Joker and Get Out
British Film Since 2005: Trainspotting and This is England

Component 2: Global filmmaking perspectives (Exam 35%)

Global Film: City of God and Life is Beautiful
Documentary Film: Amy Winehouse
Silent Cinema – Sunrise
Experimental Film – Memento

Component 3: Production (Coursework – 30%)

an individually produced short film (between 4-5 minutes)
or
an individually produced screenplay between 1600-1800 words plus a digital storyboard of a key section from the screenplay

You will be prepared for all exam questions by studying the films in terms of 3 core areas:

Film Form – how the films create meaning through camerawork, mise en scene, editing, sound and performance
Meaning and Response – how the films create representations of people, cultures and society and the ideologies associated with these.
Contexts –

the production contexts (e.g. mainstream, major studio productions or small studio, independent productions)
the social, cultural and political contexts.

There will also be six ‘specialist study areas’ relating to specific areas of the exam:

Spectatorship American film since 2005
Narrative British film since 1995 / Film movements – Experimental film
Ideology America film since 2005 / British film since 1995
Auteur Hollywood 1930-1990 / Film Movements –Experimental film
Critical debates Documentary film / Film movements – Silent Cinema
Filmmakers’ theories Documentary film

Why you should consider this course?

Why study film? Surely the question you should be asking is, “why wouldn’t I study film?” There has never been a better time to begin your Film journey as Barking and Dagenham Council have started building London’s largest film and TV production centre in Dagenham.

Eastbrook Studios London will be the capital’s largest studio campus and film studies is a great opportunity to work your way into the film industry. Film combines both creativity and academia and as film is becoming integral in modern society, this will allow you to have a critical understanding of today’s society, as well as allowing you to begin your filmmaking career with a production opportunity in the coursework module.

We continue to strive for excellence in all of our students and achieve fantastic results year on year. This is because we are enthusiastic about film and offer our young people all of the challenges and possibilities this art form can afford them.

Through film we can discuss such diverse subjects as class, race, gender, politics, history, literature and all aspects of life in general. Students will learn to discuss and write about film in a lively and academic manner plus have the chance to work on their original movie scripts or their own short film.We do not discriminate between Hollywood blockbusters, small British films or the latest French art house masterpiece. Everything is up for debate and to give you an idea these are the compulsory texts we are currently studying:

The beauty of Film Studies is that it compliments any subject. However History, Sociology, English, Media Studies and Drama are common.

A Level Results 2022

Congratulations to our Year 13 students on achieving 100% A*-C

Future Careers

There are many different routes you could take from Film Studies. Most of our students go on to study Film at Universities like Westminster. There are a wide variety of career choices available including, editor, events manager, journalist, director, producer, advertising creative, actor and editor. Many of our former students work in the business and have become filmmakers themselves.

London’s largest film and TV production centre in Dagenham. Eastbrook Studios London will be the capital’s largest studio campus and film studies is a great opportunity to work your way into the film industry. BTEC Media Creative Production combines both creativity and academia as film and media is becoming an integral part in modern society, this will allow you to have a critical understanding of today’s society, as well as allowing you to begin your career with a production opportunity in the coursework module.