Secret Examiner

A Level Film

IB Film

Film Library

Codes & Conventions

Legacy Resources

Useful Materials

Viewing entries from category: Independent

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday September 22, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Censorship & Regulation, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Independent, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Representation

FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study Section C of FM4 offers students the ability to engage in a critical study of a single film, within a synoptic framework – this means the micro and the macro features need to be studied, as well as issues of representation. Useful will be placing the film in an institutional and cultural context in reference to production, funding distribution, audience, audience reception but also genre and…
[ read full article ] »

WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section B Spectatorship Documentaries Exemplar »

karenardouin | Monday June 10, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Fahrenheit 9/11, Grizzly Man, Marley, Senna, Super Size Me, Touching The Void, We Are The Lambeth Boys, Genres & Case Studies, Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, History, Independent, Music, Sport, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Mock Exams, A Level Mock Exams

click on image to enlarge With reference to the films you have studied for this topic, how far can it be said that different kinds of documentaries offer different kinds of spectator experiences? The spectator experience is dependent on a number of factors including environment of reception for example (where it is seen) and specifically purpose, whether to entertain, inform, educate or persuade. Documentaries are diverse in content and can suggest degrees of realism. Mediated content is often…
[ read full article ] »

Living with Crime »

jclarke | Friday March 22, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, London to Brighton, Sweet Sixteen, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Crime, Independent, Social Realism, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Crime and cinema have a longstanding relationship. Going right back to early cinema one of the landmark silent films was The Great Train Robbery (1903). There is a shot in that film which is overtly referenced as the last shot that we see in the American crime film GoodFellas (1990). click on image to enlarge However, whereas we might argue that the criminal life that’s represented in the Hollywood-produced GoodFellas is somewhat glamourised and told in an overtly…
[ read full article ] »

Yasmin Case Study »

vikiwalden | Monday November 05, 2012

Categories: GCSE, WJEC GCSE, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Yasmin, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Drama, Independent, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

Paper 2 | Non-Hollywood Film | Yasmin Synopsis The opening of Yasmin reveals a Britain where racism prevails. Khalid and his son (Nasir) open the shutter of the family shop, which has been coated in racist graffiti. Nas proceeds to sing morning prayers – his voice echoes over the city and surrounding hills through the loud speaker - calling everyone to prayer. Several Muslims are seen hurriedly preparing, except one - Yasmin. In a field, just outside of town, she swaps her hijab for skinny…
[ read full article ] »

AS OCR Film Studies: Contemporary English Language Film »

nicoleponsford | Tuesday September 11, 2012

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, OCR AS, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Hot Fuzz, The Woman in Black, Genres & Case Studies, Action, British Film, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Independent, Mystery, Thriller, Hot Entries

In both the exam and in the coursework, candidates will be asked to study English Language Texts. They are NOT able to study the same texts for both sections and will prepare for this in different ways. For example, the coursework will act as a catalyst for their creative work in their portfolios. In the exam, students will have part of a two hour exam to answer a specific (unseen) question on an aspect of the film. Both the coursework and examination texts will have shared aspects. This is…
[ read full article ] »

Kick Ass Case Study »

nicoleponsford | Wednesday November 16, 2011

Categories: GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Kick Ass, Genres & Case Studies, Action, Action Adventure, British Film, Comedy, Independent, Superhero, Hot Entries

Paper 1 | Superhero Films Case Study | Kick Ass Synopsis Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is Kick Ass. The film begins with his voiceover about superheroes and the story of his life. Six months ago, he was “the last person you would expect to be a superhero?. He is an American student who doesn’t belong to any clubs, “invisible to girls“, he fantasises about his English teacher and has a crush on Katie Deauxma, a cute girl who has a locker near his. His mother died 18 months ago of an…
[ read full article ] »

This is England Screening Questions »

Rob Miller | Thursday November 10, 2011

Categories: GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Screening Notes, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, This is England, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Independent, Social Realism, Hot Entries

British and American Film Independent Case Study Associated Resources This is England Screening Questions.doc Use your bibliography of British Film resources to research the following questions: Who wrote and directed This is England? What other projects has he been involved in? What do you think his contribution to British Film has been? What was the name of the Production Company and Theatrical Distributor? How would you describe the Distribution company? Where did the film get financial…
[ read full article ] »

Shaun Of The Dead Screening and Research Questions »

nicoleponsford | Thursday November 10, 2011

Categories: GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Screening Notes, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Shaun of the Dead, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Comedy, Horror, Independent, Hot Entries, Research, Film Research

Associated Resources Shaun of the Dead Screening and Research Questions.doc Who directed, produced and distributed Shaun of the Dead? How does the film reflect the pattern of many British Films of recent years? Research and detail at least ten films made by the same production company and distributor. Identify their genre Why do you think Shaun of the Dead was commercially successful? Research the UK and US box office gross and subsequent DVD/Video sales How does the film culturally represent…
[ read full article ] »

Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers Case Study »

vikiwalden | Thursday November 10, 2011

Categories: Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Wallace and Gromit, Genres & Case Studies, Animation, 1990 Onwards, British Film, Comedy, Crime, Independent, Hot Entries, CCEA, CCEA Case Studies

Synopsis It is Gromit’s birthday and he is feeling particularly ignored by Wallace. When the post arrives, he eagerly seeks it out but find a rather tacky and unoriginal card ‘To a dear dog’ from Wallace and nothing else. Wallace presses his alarm for breakfast and reminds Gromit that it is his turn for breakfast, so Gromit obliges. Wallace finally gives Gromit his presents, which bemuse him - a collar and lead (so he can finally look like he “belongs to someone?) and techno-trousers…
[ read full article ] »

This is England Case Study »

Rob Miller | Wednesday November 02, 2011

Categories: A Level, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, This is England, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Crime, Drama, Independent, Hot Entries

Production Context & Key Notes Written and Directed by Shane Meadows (UK) Shane Meadows films include Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, Dead Man’s Shoes and Northern Soul Produced by EM Media (East Midlands) Distributed by Optimum (Independent UK Distributor : Brick, Vera Drake, Dead Man’s Shoes, 9 Songs) Additional Funding – Film4 and UK Film Council (£668,000 – New Cinema Fund, £90,000 P and A Fund) Theatrical Release: April 2007 Independent British Film Genre/Tradition: Social…
[ read full article ] »

Man with a Movie Camera Case Study »

Rob Miller | Tuesday November 01, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Man With A Movie Camera, Genres & Case Studies, Classic, Documentary, Independent, Silent

Spectatorship and Documentary Synopsis and Character Profiles Man with a Movie Camera is an innovative silent 1929 Documentary, set in a number of cities in the Soviet Union, including Odessa (near where Eisenstein shot the iconic Odessa Steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin). Fundamentally, and on a manifest level, it is about a day in the life of a city and audiences are introduced to a city literally waking up – individuals washing and bathing, Tram Sheds opening, tramps waking up on park…
[ read full article ] »

Metropolis Case Study »

vikiwalden | Saturday October 22, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Metropolis, Genres & Case Studies, Classic, Expressionist, Independent

Urban Stories | Power, Poverty & Conflict | Case Study 1 | Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Synopsis Freder has lived a naive existence as the son of the founder / owner of the city of Metropolis. He spends his spare time frolicking in the Club of Sons or Eternal Gardens, blissfully unaware of the tormented incarceration of the workers in the depths of the city. This is until, one day, Maria brings the children to see their richer “brothers”. Touched by the image of these poor,…
[ read full article ] »

British Film & Hollywood Essay »

Rob Miller | Friday October 07, 2011

Categories: Film Industry, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Independent, Hot Entries

Associated Resources British Film and Hollywood Essay.doc British Film has been dominated by Hollywood since WW1. Any essay that discusses UK Film has to reference the cultural and ideological dominance of the Hollywood Film Industry to such as point that many cinema goers often will never see a film in any other environment than a multiplex cinema. They may also fail to recognise that many other countries have very successful film industries - this reflects a concept called the Hollywood…
[ read full article ] »

Breaking Down The Mock Exam | Paper 2 Non-Hollywood Film »

nicoleponsford | Monday September 19, 2011

Categories: GCSE, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Genres & Case Studies, Independent, Hot Entries, Mock Exams, GCSE Mock Exams

Top Tips for Students 1. Always read all the questions and follow the instructions to the letter! 2. In advance, consider how much time you have for each section. Try to keep to this. Always give yourself 5-8 minutes at the end for checking work over. If you are working and cannot answer a question, move on and come back to it. 3. Look at the amount of marks available. You may be able to write bullet point answers for some questions, but need to write a longer and more detailed response for…
[ read full article ] »

Defining Independent Film »

abateman | Monday September 12, 2011

Categories: Genres & Case Studies, Independent, Hot Entries

Strictly speaking, an independent film is one which is made away from the control of a large corporation, and by control we mean funding or creative input. So no film could really be called an independent film unless it is totally funded produced and distributed privately. It is therefore unlikely that any film can truly and totally be called an independent film. It has been said that if 50% of the budget is raised away from a major studio it would be an independent film but this is debatable…
[ read full article ] »