Film Studies A Level

Film Studies A Level
Prospectus Code (FTB98) Barnstaple
Length of Study
AS Level one year.
A Level two years.
Entry Requirements
Cost
30 yearly to cover costs of purchase of several essential close study film texts on DVD plus blank DVDs / blank DV camcorder tapes. There may be additional voluntary educational visits both within the UK and abroad at costs ranging upwards from 50 per student. All students should have a minimum 4 GB USB2 memory stick, and a file with dividers.
The Programme
The course is a comprehensive study of key film and cinema concepts taken as four units of modular study, two modules per year. There are written exams in year one and two. In year one students also submit an analysis of a film extract and a creative project which may be a short film, photographed storyboard or a plot step outline. In year two students submit a research project, often on a film director, as well as a second linked creative project such as a film or screenplay.
The Programme Content
This course is not called Film Watching! You will study one of the most significant and influential art forms of our times, the cinema. The course is designed for those with an interest or passion for film. You will start your studies with examining the use and meanings of cinematography, sound and editing amongst other micro elements in recent Hollywood productions before branching out into a study of British Cinema. You will study the processes of film production including finance, marketing, distribution, exhibition and audience. In year two the focus switches to world cinema, film issues and debates. There are film making and script coursework options in both years. There is an expectation that students will engage with and discuss their personal responses to film texts within class.
Progression / Careers
You can progress onto a theoretical or practical Film Studies, Media Studies, Popular Culture Studies or Creative Writing/Scriptwriting Degree. There are courses in Broadcast Journalism, Documentary or in Digital Cinema Production. Check on the Skillset website for new undergraduate course opportunities. There are potential career opportunities for university or school film teaching or being a film critic/film journalist. There are post graduate film schools in the UK, offering courses in Producing, Direction, Editing, Lighting and Sound etc but this industry has no defined career pathway and many gravitate toward London as the focus of the film and TV industries.