Curriculum Intent- Film Studies
Film can be a powerful, unifying experience which young adults will undoubtedly have enjoyed from early childhood. Not only does it exist in a space for escapism and entertainment, but can be recognised as the major art form since its inception in the 1890s. Learners will build on this innate knowledge of their experiences of how this audio-visual medium immerses them into characters, narratives and issues that films raise.
We start our journey by learning the subject terminology that will form the foundation of our study: the key elements of film form. We will know more about cinematography (how the camera is used), mise-en-scene (everything that we can see in the frame), sound and editing and how these techniques affect audiences.
Learners will study six films from around the world and at different points in film history. This will enable them to broaden their knowledge of film history and technology and to learn more about society through a diverse range of films.
Learners will build on their knowledge and understanding of the key elements of film form to analyse the ways in which films construct and communicate meanings and generate audience responses. By recognising the importance of contexts and how writing on film can deepen understanding, learners are encouraged to develop their own critical thinking on the films that we study: we want learners to not just accept the representations in film but to apply critical approaches like Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory and Stuart Hall’s reception theory to be able to do more with the texts.
To encourage true creativity, learners have the opportunity to specialise in screenwriting utilising the insights gained from drawing on the cinematic influences on the course in the coursework component. This will enable them to apply all that they have learnt about film to a product which replicates industry standards as well as provide learners with a fresh, filmmaking perspective on the films studied.
By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to express their own practical interests as potential filmmakers and screenwriters. The study of film as a business as well as an art form is explored allowing students to be encouraged into the industry with an understanding of how critical acclaim is often offset with commercial constraints.
Through the study of film history and technology, students with a passion for STEM subjects can be inspired to follow this route into the industry. The structure of the course is designed to allow learners a fluid progression for further academic study of film beyond GCSEs.
Once students study film, they will never engage with film in the same way again. Learners take with them valuable critical thinking, analysis and evaluative skills which enable them to challenge what they see on the surface and to dig into what the filmmakers’ message is.
