AS Film Studies

What are the course requirements for Film Studies?

To do Film Studies essentially you need to be passionate about films, film-watching, the industry, the stars, the sometimes bizarre things films can serve up, the realisation that it’s total illusion, strange, obscure, meaningless details about films, black and white, silent, directors, film editors, be prepared to sit through any old rubbish a film teacher puts on, basically you own an anorak and you’re not afraid to wear it!

Much film discourse may seem equally as bizarre as some film moments but such discourse is used to establish critical frameworks. How film is to be talked about, how it is to be watched, what film is, whether there are clearly discernible film cultures (highbrow, lowbrow, art house, mainstream and so on) are all problematic issues, part of film theory, a kind of philosophy of film.

What will the course involve?

Where do you start? For AS Film Studies, you need to create coursework. This is worth 40% of the AS grade. Some of it is written, but some can be drawn or photographed.

For some of the writing you need to be able to analyse film sequences. This requires you to use some basic film language such as genre, narrative, cinematic codes, representation and also to know about camera angles, different kinds of edit and what significances can be attributed to differing ways of being shown some thing.

For the creative part of the coursework you devise and develop a film proposal, write, draw or photograph a sequence from it and then evaluate what you were trying to achieve.

So you need to enjoy, to be enthusiastic about film in all its dimensions (did I mention institutions producing films and theories about how audiences consume films?). You need to develop a critical understanding of how meanings are made in films. You need to want to watch a lot of films to form a reference base and a kind of film vocabulary to draw upon but also to be alert to the polysemic, multi-layered qualities of short film sequences.

Summary of AS coursework

The exam board for AS Film Studies is WJEC