Film Studies

Course summary

Film Studies is an exciting and engaging course which helps students develop their understanding of film both as an art form and as a reflection of the social, historical and political contexts within which key texts are produced. Students will be immersed in all aspects of the academic study of film, exploring how meaning is constructed and communicated through structural elements of film such as narrative and genre, alongside key elements of film form such as cinematography and editing. The films selected invite an appreciation of many film movements and styles, from short films to Classical Hollywood, to global, to silent and experimental. We also explore the documentary form. A range of theoretical frameworks will be explored and some texts offer thought-provoking themes, for example, Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing' (1989) which ties in closely with the Black Lives Matter movement and encourages discussion around representations of minority ethnic groups in Hollywood. Students will develop their powers of critical analysis as well as their understanding of the film industry. As a predominantly essay-based subject, students will learn to write about films in an academic way. Practical tasks are interwoven right from the start of the course, ensuring students can put theory into practice and construct examples of the techniques they are learning about. This culminates in the planning, filming and editing of their own 4-5 minute short film in the summer term of Year 12.