Legacy Resources

Welcome to Edusites Film’s comprehensive resources and materials link covering every aspect of the WJEC AS and A2 Film Studies specification.

Studying film is a skill and a pleasure for both students and teachers focussing on key areas of academic study and we like to think we have covered all bases. This includes in depth schemes of work with embedded links, mini student schemes of work, student guides and many, many, many case studies to kick start or embed the topic.

Expert advice as always is close at hand and we offer differentiated half or full day...

New OCR A Level Film Studies Resources

We are developing a series of new resources for the new A Level Film Studies specs. These are likely to include an overview planner, teaching guide, online slides, student workbook and a glossary. We hope to start publishing them in June.

Legacy Resources

Welcome to Edusites Film’s comprehensive resources and materials link covering every aspect of the OCR AS and A2 Film Studies specification.

Studying film is a skill and a pleasure for both students and teachers focussing on key areas of academic study and we like to think we have...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIfcaZ4pC-4

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

Eduqas Film Studies Paper 1

Section B: British Film Since 1995 Two Film Study
Component Group 1: Varieties of Film and Filmmaking

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXrcDonY-B8

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

Eduqas Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Component Group 2: New Hollywood 1961-1990

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/38A__WT3-o0

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section B: Hollywood American Film Since 2005
Component Group 1

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

And with specific reference to ideas of:

• Spectatorship
• Ideology

Section B: American Film since 2005 (two-film study)

Answer on one film from Group 1 and one film from Group 2.

Group 1: Mainstream Film

• No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007)
• Inception (Nolan, 2010)
• Selma...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/IiDztHS3Wos

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section B: American Film Since 2005
Component Group 2: American Independent Film

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/UHhsEYDg8GI

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Component Group 1: Hollywood 1930-1960

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

And...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3A3-zSOBT4

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section B: Hollywood American Film Since 2005
Component Group 1

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

And...

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQTWfGOv1JY

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Component Group 2: Hollywood 1960-1990

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACCpXaA-MU

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Component Group 2: Hollywood 1960-1990

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnAXSl6LW2s

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

EDUQAS Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Component Group 2: Hollywood 1960-1990

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film Context

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snDR7XsSkB4

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

Eduqas Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930 - 1990
Component Group 2: New Hollywood 1961-1990

These tasks require you study all films with particular reference to responding to questions in the key areas:

• Film Language
• Film Meaning
• Film...

Past Exam Questions

1. ‘The experience of watching experimental film is so different from watching mainstream fictional film that the spectator often feels unease and boredom’. Discuss this statement with reference to the films you have studied for this topic.
2. Explore how distinctive elements in the experimental films you have studied have an impact on the spectator.
3. Explore how far your viewing of experimental or expanded film/video has made you more aware of issues in spectatorship.
4. ‘Experimental and expanded film/video most often offers artistic representations which...

WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema: Empowering Women

Empowering Women Past Exam Questions:

1. Discuss how persuasive you have found the different films you have studied for this topic in promoting female empowerment.
2. In the films you have studied for this topic, how far can it be said that central characters and their situations are represented in similar ways?
3. Discuss how far men are represented as enemies of female empowerment in the films you have chosen for this topic.
4. Explore some of the ways in which film techniques are used to position audiences to identify...

Copyright © 2017 Edusites. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use within the subscribing school only. Copying or lending of any part of this document in any form or by any means to external bodies and / or individuals is prohibited.

Eduqas Film Studies Paper 1

Section A: Hollywood 1930 - 1990
Component Group 2: New Hollywood 1961-1990

Bibliography

• [1] Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse film documentary (1991)
• [2] Francis Coppola, Director’s Statement for Apocalypse Now Redux
• [3] Francis Coppola quoted in Shortlist magazine,...

Section B: British Film Topics – British Film and Genre

To answer this question, students must show a detailed knowledge of a minimum of two films. This resource explores two contemporary British horror films and can be used in conjunction with the following other case studies and exemplars:

• British Film and Genre (Horror and Comedy)
• 28 Days Later Case Study
• The Wicker Man Case Study
• WJEC AS Film Studies FM2 Section B British Film Horror Exemplar

Past Exam Questions

Analysis of both films will cover all potential areas of exam questioning with the following questions...

Does anyone have any suggestions for the case study films for British Film and Horror for the WJEC unit Section B of the exam? We have been looking at 28 Days Later & Shaun of the Dead but I feel like these are getting bit out dated & would like to update - any suggestions welcome! Many thanks,Tess

Edusites Film has commissioned a resource to cover some more contemporary films. See: WJEC AS Film Studies FM2 Section B British Film: The Quiet Ones and Hush Richard Gent

It’s no more modern, but have you tried My Little Eye? It’s 2002 but pretty good and lots to discuss. Jane...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Cinematic Universe is a relatively new franchise, formed in 2007. In 1944 Captain America was technically the first film based on Marvel Comics. It was escapist serialised film in 15 chapters designed to be a diversion from America’s involvement in the battlegrounds of World War Two (Captain America fought Nazis in the comics but not in the film). There have also been many TV adaptations of Marvel Comics characters and narratives and also adaptations of DC Comics...

Independent Film Case Study: The Inbetweeners Movie (Palmer, 2011)

This resource focuses on one crossover independent film, The Inbetweeners Movie. It is intended to be used as stimulus in helping to understand the definitions of independent film. For a full guide on Section A please access WJEC AS FM2 British & American Film Producers and Audiences Resource Items.

The Inbetweeners Movie (Inbetweeners) from 2011 crosses over from independent to mainstream film even in title: the name having connotations that it is neither one thing or the other with four stereotypically...

Independent Film Case Study: Only Lovers Left Alive (Jarmusch, 2014)

This resource focuses on one independent film, Only Lovers Left Alive. It is intended to be used as stimulus in helping to understand the definitions of independent film. For a full guide on Section A please access: WJEC AS FM2 British & American Film Producers and Audiences Resource Items.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014) was directed by Jim Jarmusch and starred Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, John Hurt and Mia Wasikowska. Despite the obvious casting of established well known actors the film can be...

1. How is style and theme used in communicating messages and values in the films you have studied? (50)

The two films I have studied are Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin from 1925 and Francois Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows) from 1959. Both films are encoded with a filmmaking style that both reflects a period in cinematic history and also with narrative themes deeply embedded revealing underlying messages and values.

‘Potemkin’ is considered a classic of 1920s silent soviet cinema with Eisenstein directing films alongside famous...

2. How far do you agree with the statement that the director is the true author of the filmmaking process? (50)

An auteur implies someone with overall control and also someone with their own recognisable style. Audiences with cultural capital who watch a Hitchcock film may see immediately that it is directed by him because of the cinematography, mise-en-scene and visual style, sound but also importantly editing. It is the ‘look’ of the film that identifies his role and this is the primary role of the director. A film can have a number of authors that go beyond the...

The purpose of this unit is to assess students’ ability to independently research, investigate and analyse a film based topic and present the findings and to assess the students’ application of knowledge and understanding to the planning and construction of a creative realisation. It is also designed to assess students’ application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating their own work. This project is produced independently but may have the assistance of others.

1. Research

a. Independent Research Project: Edusites Film Example - An Auteur Study of Martin Scorsese...

The purpose of this unit is to build upon the broader macro skills developed in Unit F631: Film Text and Context. This is an individual portfolio.

The unit is marked out of 100 and comprises four elements:

• A textual analysis of two contemporary English language film texts (40 Marks)
• Evidence of planning for a creative artefact which should be related to the textual analysis (10 Marks)
• A creative artefact (30 Marks)
• An evaluation (20 Marks)

It is strongly advised that you spend significant time on the planning element despite the mark allocation as inadequate planning will...

This resource will be studying the seven frameworks for analysis in Gone Too Far (2014) and Sightseers (2012). It is not an exemplar. For a breakdown of exam requirements, please go to AS OCR Film Studies: Contemporary English Language Film or locate our extended Section A Exemplar Response, using The Double and Saving Mr. Banks, both from 2013.

Gone Too Far!

Authorship

Gone Too Far! (GTF) is a British-Nigerian comedy/social realist drama directed by Destiny Ekaragha. She is only the third black British woman to have directed a feature length film that received UK...

• Battleship Potemkin (Russia, 1925)
• Good Bye, Lenin! (Germany, 2003)

Battleship Potemkin

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNT6xyopdBs (whole film)

Historical, Socio-political and Cultural Issues incorporating Authorship

Battleship Potemkin (Potemkin) is a film rooted in Russian history, a fragile peasant economy was ruled by a Tsarist autocracy until revolution and war in 1905 saw a wave of mass political and social unrest spread through the Russian Empire. This included strikes, peasant unrest and military mutinies. It was the latter that Potemkin explored by...

Section A: Contemporary English Language Film

1. How are the key messages and values communicated in the two films you have studied? (40)

The two films I have studied are Richard Ayoade’s 2013 British independent film, The Double and the 2013 American film, Saving Mr. Banks which explores the working relationship between Walt Disney and the writer of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers.

The Double is a dystopian vision of the future (and the past) through the eyes of a central protagonist who is replaced by a doppelganger – it explores themes of alienation, self worth,...

• Dirty Harry (1971, Don Siegel)
• Gran Torino (2008, Clint Eastwood)

Centres can choose from a range of different American film texts: the three main areas of study are Messages, Themes and Values, Narrative and Genre, Representation of Time and Place (often linked to messages and values) and Representation of Character. You can compare in Section B but in Section C you must. The above choice of texts reflects films belonging to the same genre but it is very possible to explore two films that encode similar messages and themes from different genres and time periods. Both...

FM2 British and American Film Section C: US Cinema Comparative Study

For further details of assessment requirements and past Section C exam questions, please go to FilmEdu’s Gilda (1946) and L.A Confidential (1997) Comparative Case Study  and FilmEdu’s Minority Report and Blade Runner Comparative Study for other comparison resources.

Taxi Driver

Like No Country for Old Men, Taxi Driver is a film about nihilism – with 31 years between them both films have characters that reject underpinning established rules of law in pursuit of an ultimate individualism. Both films...

• Goodfellas (1990, Martin Scorsese)
• American Gangster (2007, Ridley Scott)

Centres can choose from a range of different American film texts. The three main areas of study are Messages, Themes and Values, Narrative and Genre, Representation of Time and Place (often linked to Messages and Values) and Representation of Character. You can compare in Section B but in Section C you must. The above choice of texts reflects films belonging to the same genre but it is very possible to explore two films that encode similar messages and themes from different genres and time periods....

Across the varied and diverse ways in which a film text can encode and emphasise meanings and a specific viewpoint on or presentation of a subject, realism is a key aesthetic and formal choice and approach that has functioned as a key creative direction of so much western expression across literature and the visual arts. This resource, then, explores the characteristics of a particular film style that we call neorealism. It stems from post World War Two Italian cinema and its influence has been felt in cinemas around the world.

In exploring two films as our key texts in...

Overview

• Analysis of a 3-5 min Film Extract – Mise-en-Scene, Cinematography and Editing only: (30 Marks)
• Creative Project – Planning, Producing and Editing a 2 min approx. film sequence of between 10-25 shots (50 Marks)
• Reflective Analysis – (10 Marks)

Edusites Film recommends a logical time to introduce the FM1 coursework is in week 6, the second week in October, 1 week before the Half Term. By then, students will have learnt skills of textual analysis in regards to micro and macro features and be fully aware of the requirements of the subject (film analysis is a...

An Analysis of Two Close Study Films

This resource analyses two close study films All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Far From Heaven (2002) in relation to the FM4 Spectatorship topic, Popular Film and Emotional Response while cross-referencing key points with Imitation of Life (1959). Todd Haynes’ 2002 American drama Far From Heaven makes clear intertextual references to Douglas Sirk’s 1955 and 1959 films All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life in terms of style and themes although arguably ‘paints’ using a broader, more contemporary ‘brush’ when...

Introducing our DVD & Book Resources for Film & Media

Editsense & Filmsense £69.00+VAT (30% off)

‘Editsense is a new approach to learning about film language and film-making’.

This is an interactive DVD with excellent, practical examples of film - perfect for teachers of moving image, be it English, Creative and Digital Media or Film Studies.

It has over fifty video examples and includes materials for the introduction and revision of film. There are no audio clips.

The site licence is now available for £69.00+VAT. This is a 30% discount from the original price of...

Introduction

Welcome to Edusites Film’s Film Studies Revision Workshops link. Here you will find a range of workshops which can be tailored to your individual needs, whether at GCSE, AS or A2 or WJEC or OCR. To see an overview of all our Film Studies workshops please click here.

We also run workshops and CPD for GCSE and A Level Media Studies via MediaEdu, our dedicated support site for Media.

Click on the links below for further information on our Film Studies Revision Workshops:

GCSE Film Studies Revision Workshops

• WJEC GCSE Film Studies Superhero and Film Outside...

Associated Resources

• Edusites Lesson Plan Template.docx

NB. Please note this is a suggested template, your school may require a different layout.

Length of Lesson (minutes): 60
Lesson Title: An Introduction to Bollywood as a National Cinema

Context

This lesson would be delivered in the first or second week after the Christmas break with the assumption that students are close to completing their FM3 projects – an understanding of World Cinema has been embedded but needs to be revisited at the start of the lesson before this specific, examined Section A: World Cinema...

Associated Resources

• Edusites Lesson Plan Template.docx

NB. Please note this is a suggested template, your school may require a different layout.

Length of Lesson (minutes): 60
Lesson Title: An Introduction to F633 Global Cinema and Critical Perspectives Section A: Messages and Values in Global Film

Context

This lesson would be delivered early in term one to embed the notion of non-English language global cinema and develop a critical approach to film analysis required for the whole of F633. Although exemplar texts will be used as stimulus and research sources identified,...

Associated Resources

• Edusites Lesson Plan Template.docx

NB. Please note this is a suggested template, your school may require a different layout.

Length of Lesson (minutes): 60
Lesson Title: An Introduction to the Film Industry

Context

This lesson would be delivered in the first week after induction of an AS Film Studies course, whether WJEC or OCR. It is a generic introduction to the core Film Studies concepts underpinning this academic subject.

Aims and Objectives

To introduce students to film production, distribution and exhibition (exchange) as areas of study,...

Welcome to FilmEdu’s Film Studies Induction Resource – please find below suggested only ways of introducing WJEC and OCR AS Film Studies students, and also GCSE students to the study of Film. Schemes of Work and assessment deadlines are tight these days but there is always/should always be an Induction Week, or week and a half at the very start of the course when the students/pupils can grapple with the fundamentals of the subject.

What is Film Studies?

In one sentence, write down what you think Film Studies is all about and pass your definition on to the person next...

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FM2 Section B: British Film Topics – British Film and Culture

When we use the term ’British film and culture’ we are stating, or at least implying a connection between specific films and how they are partly, and in significant ways the product of a wider national cultural discourse and identity. In this context, a film can contribute to the way that a nation communicates messages and values about itself. In terms of film, these messages and values find expression in both the micro and macro elements of a film narrative.

In this resource...

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FilmEdu recommend that AS-A2 Transition is introduced on or around 18th May 2015, after FM2 examined unit is complete and after FM1 coursework has been assessed with the marks submitted to WJEC. For centres whose students stay on until the end of term, this means a valuable 8 weeks of study that can potentially mean the difference between grades in terms of final assessment.

During this period, students should enjoy, as much as expand their understanding of film culture - this is reflected in the range of activities. FilmEdu also offer during...

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FM4 Section C Single Film - Critical Study

The whole film can be watched here.

In 2010, The Guardian newspaper published a story entitled “Algeria (national football squad) prepare for World Cup battle by watching The Battle of Algiers.”. Given the centrality of football to our contemporary popular culture, this incident might offer some suggestion of the cyclical power of cultural discourse and the transmission of a given film text’s thematic content in terms of the process of how it is decoded and appropriated by particular audiences at...

FM2: British and American Film ‘How to Respond to Section A - Producers and Audiences: Resource Items’

This resource examines approaches to Section A of FM2 in terms of areas of questioning but specifically, how to respond to the range of stimulus WJEC could use, and expect students to refer to in Part A and Part B of the resource items.

The section title, ‘Producers and Audiences’ is important in letting students know the type of response expected in the exam – an equal engagement with both film producers and film audience is expected in both questions (there will...

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FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study

Introduction

Happy Together is a feature film directed by Wong Kar-wai. It was released in 1997, the year that Hong Kong’s governance from Britain ended and governance from China began. The fact that Happy Together begins with passports being stamped might well resonate with Hong Kong audiences particularly with when the film was released. We might suggest that a passport is a very tangible symbol of national identity. The film is encoded...[ read full article ] »

Associated Resources

• WJEC AS Level Film Studies FM2 Exemplar Resource Material A.docx
• WJEC AS Level Film Studies FM2 Exemplar Resource Material B.docx

Instructions

• Section A refers to the resource material (see associated resources)
• This is a Section A exemplar only
• Each question carries 40 marks
• You are reminded that assessment will take into account the quality of written communication used in your answers

Section A:  Producers and Audiences

EITHER:

1. Study the items in Part A of the resource material which includes the logo of Working Title Films (UK) and Universal...

Introduction

One of the most interesting ways to engage with genre is to select two films from the same genre and compare and contrast them. Critically, select two films produced in significantly different time periods and places - by doing this kind of analytical exercise we’re able to go some distance in identifying some of the ways in which a genre evolves.

Science fiction film certainly seems to offer a particularly rich case study in terms of what kinds of ideas texts can be encoded with how we, as the audience (in our own particular times and places) can then...

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There are key areas of study that WJEC recommend are explored for FM4 Section C – Solaris, and they are as follows:

• As a philosophical film about identity and memory

• The role and function of Hari

• The undemonstrative character of Kris and the reasons for this

• Issues of representation in relation to conventions of the Sci-Fi genre

• The significance of the earth sequences – including the emphasis on nature
• The overall pace and length of the film

• Spectatorship issues related to the above and to narrative development

• The film as...

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FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study

Introduction

Lynne Ramsay, the director of the film Morvern Callar has made the valuable observation that “I love to see great dialogue in the cinema but I hate to see ‘Film TV’. When I go to the cinema I want to have a cinematic experience….I like dialogue when it’s used in a way where the body language says the complete opposite…” [1] Ramsay’s emphasis on the importance of the non-verbal is highly relevant in relation to Morvern...

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This WJEC A2 Film Studies dedicated, interactive workshop, offered both as a full or half day option provides a platform for further study in relation to FM4 Section C: Single Film – Critical Study. It is expected that centres will inform FilmEdu of their chosen film available for study so that the half day, or full day workshop will be dedicated to that specific text. We can guarantee an expert on each available text to ensure assessment requirements, and all areas of questioning are covered.

Cost

• Half Day (3 Hours Contact Time): costs from...

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Documentary, of all genres has a profound impact on spectatorship. This dedicated, interactive WJEC A2 Film Studies Section B: Spectatorship topic explores historical and contemporary genre pieces from Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera through to Senna, Grizzly Man and Marley ensuring that key theories e.g. the work of Dr Bill Nichols are incorporated. It is expected centres will inform Edusites Film of their chosen texts so the session can be bespoke to their needs.

Cost

• Half Day (3 Hours Contact Time): costs from £300
• Full Day (6 Hours...