A2 Film Studies details
There is significant coherence as A2 Film Studies builds on the AS course. The coursework is in two parts. The practical element is making a short film. This should have a clear narrative and preferably be generic. A more analytical task that requires significant research is to devise and write about a film task which normally translates into something concerning auteurism. This is where you study two or three of a single director’s films in order to detect similar approaches to subject matter or to style of film-making. A list of possible film auteurs can be found elsewhere on the site. The writing should not be in the form of an essay but in the form of a presentation to a notional audience using a carefully constructed research catalogue.
Exam topics include: shocking cinema; issues of classification and censorship; genre and auteurism; close study of a film in its sociological and institutional context and lastly study of a theme such as new wave cinema. There are two exams, one of one and a half hours and one of two hours.