WJEC: Modules:
AS/A2 Film Studies
FM1 : Exploring Film Form (1181)
FM2 : British and American Film (1182)
FM3 : Film Research and Creative Projects (1183)
FM4 : Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates (1184)
FM3: FILM RESEARCH AND CREATIVE PROJECTS
Focus of the unit
This unit contributes to synoptic assessment and focuses on two projects related to
the production of meaning: one is research-based and the other is creative.
Understanding will be fostered through:
• completing a small-scale research project designed to develop research skillswithin the framework of one or more critical approaches used in film studies
• developing creative skills and a deepened understanding of the medium chosen for the creative project.
Content
(a) Small-Scale Research Project
Candidates will be required to carry out a small-scale research project.
The project is designed to develop research skills. It will be based on one
focus film, making appropriate reference to at least two other related films.
Candidates will establish an area of investigation that relates the chosen
focus film to one of the following frameworks:
• star/performer• genre• auteur (in its broadest sense)• social, political and cultural studies• gender issues• ethnicity• institution• technology
Candidates may not choose as a focus film any film they have specialised in elsewhere in the specification.
The research project is completed in two parts:
• an annotated catalogue (approximately 10-15 items) and• a presentation script (approximately 1500 words)
(b) Creative Project
The creative project should demonstrate candidates' active engagement with
issues raised during their studies at AS and/or A2. It comprises three
elements:
• aims and context• a creative product (short film or film extract, screenplay or extendedstep outline for a documentary film) and• a reflective analysis
Assessment
The film research and creative projects contribute towards synoptic assessment
Candidates should submit:
(a) a small-scale research project comprising:
(i) an annotated catalogue of key items of the candidate's research -approximately 1000 words in total (15 marks)
The catalogue will contain approximately 10 to 15 items selected from the candidate's total primary and secondary research. Each catalogue item should be appropriately referenced and be accompanied by a brief note (approximately 70 words), which explains how the particular item is relevant to the area of investigation and what it contributes to the overall research.
The catalogue must conclude with a short paragraph which lists significant items (e.g. between 3 and 5) not selected for inclusion in the catalogue, offering brief reasons why (up to 200 words).
(ii) a presentation script - approximately 1500 words (25 marks)
The presentation script must take the form of notes for a presentation and could combine (for example) subheadings, bullet points, short pieces of connected prose and reference to visual extracts to illustrate the presentation. Candidates are encouraged to devise a presentation format appropriate to their needs and may, for example, employ digital forms such as powerpoint.
Reference to key items of research from the catalogue must be made explicitly in the presentation. Short credited quotations may be used but care must be taken that the words of the presentation are the candidate's own. Credited quotations are excluded from the wordcount.
(b) a creative project comprising:
(i) aims and context
A clarification of the aims and context of the product to be completed on the appropriate cover sheet.
Please note: the 'Aims and Context' must be completed on the appropriate cover sheet, otherwise the Creative Project and accompanying Reflective Analysis cannot be adequately assessed.
(ii) creative product (45 marks)
The creative product may be one of the following:
- a film extract or a complete short film (3-5 minutes in length).Group work is permitted for this option (maximum 4) but members of the group must be responsible for a clearly defined role on which they are assessed.
- a screenplay (approximately 1800 words) for a section of a feature-length film or a complete screenplay (approximately 1800 words) for a short film. The standard conventions of screenplay writing should be observed.
- an extended step outline for a documentary (approximately 1800 words) for a 30 minute documentary arising from the area investigated for the small-scale research project. The documentary could be envisaged for broadcast on an appropriate television channel or as an additional feature for a DVD.
(iii) reflective analysis - approximately 1000 words or equivalent (15 marks, including aims and context) The reflective analysis should select key features of the creative product and reflect critically on both the creative process and the product. Candidates working in a group should focus on the construction and impact of their role.
The analysis can be presented:
• as a continuous piece of writing, with or without illustrative material• in a digital form such as a suitably edited blog or another webbased format
FM4: VARIETIES OF FILM EXPERIENCE – ISSUES AND DEBATES
Focus of the unit
This unit contributes to synoptic assessment. Understanding will be fostered through:
• studying complex films from different contexts, extending knowledge of thediversity of film and its effects• exploring spectatorship issues in relation to a particular type of film• applying key concepts and critical approaches gained throughout the course to explore one film in a synoptic manner.Content
Section A: World Cinema
This section requires a specific engagement with a World Cinema topic, including contextual knowledge. There are prescribed topics but no prescribed films and questions will be broadly-based.
(c) Specialist Study 1: Urban Stories - Power, Poverty and Conflict
The expectation is that candidates will choose two principal films representing life in difficult urban environments, and that these will be supplemented by two further films studied more briefly. The challenge of this topic is to compare and contrast films which may come from very different social and cultural contexts. It is possible to consider historical examples such as Metropolis and Bicycle Thieves or largely contemporary examples such as ChungkingExpress, La Haine, Amores Perros, City of God and Tsotsi.
Section B: Spectatorship Topics
The emphasis in all four options for Section B is on the study of the interaction of aspects of film form and the spectator. It offers continuity from work in FM1.
(c) Spectatorship: Experimental and Expanded Film/Video
The study of radical 'alternatives' to mainstream film form and representation, challenging our sense of how we see and consequently how we respond to audio-visual material. Examples may be taken from both the historical and the contemporary. Where possible candidates should visit galleries and other venues where work is installed in relation to specific physical spaces. The focus may be on a number of works seen in locations, on a number of short
films, on two feature length films or on a mixture.
Section C: Single Film - Critical Study
The ability of candidates to engage in critical study of a single film is examined in this
section. The synoptic dimension is clear – as there is the expectation that the
candidate's cumulative learning will be brought to bear in this study.
Critical approaches that may be applied include those arising from the frameworks
for the FM3 research project while contextual study will consolidate work completed
for FM2 and FM4 Sections A and B. The role of macro and micro elements of film in
the construction of meaning and the creation of emotion informs the specification as
a whole.
Each of the films available for study has given rise to much debate in its critical
reception and each lends itself to study within one or more of the critical frameworks
listed for FM3. A consideration of some of these debates and the application of
critical frameworks will provide the basis for the candidate's own engagement with
the film.
Fight Club (Fincher, US, 1999)
Talk to Her (Almodovar, Spain, 2002)
Assessment
Candidates will take a two and three quarter hour examination
Section A: World Cinema ( 35 marks)
One question to be answered from a choice of two for each of the four topics.
Section B: Spectatorship Topics (35 marks)
One question to be answered from a choice of two for each of the four topics.
Section C: Single Film – Critical Study (30 marks)
One question to be answered from a choice of two questions general to all films and
a specific question set for each film prescribed.
Different films should be used as the basis for answers in all three sections.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR FM3: FILM RESEARCH AND CREATIVE PROJECTS
Marks for the Small-Scale Research Project are awarded out of 40, with 15 for the annotated catalogue and 25 for the presentation script.
Creative Project (60)
The Creative Project is marked out of 60, with 45 for the product and 15 for the reflective analysis.
