AS Film Studies Course Handbook 2014-15

FILM STUDIES AS

COURSE HANDBOOK 2014-2015

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WELCOME TO AS FILM STUDIES

Teacher: Barrington Robinson

[email protected]

AS Film Studies Office: Room 203

Classroom: 200

Course Blog: http://coulsdoncollegealevelfilmandmedia.blogspot.co.uk/

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT

FM1 – EXPLORING FILM FORM (Coursework 40%)

You will produce two pieces of coursework:

An analysis of how micro aspects of a chosen extract from a film of your choice produce meanings and responses (1500 words).

A creative project based on a film sequence or short film, with a Reflective Analysis evaluation of your work.

FM2 – BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILM – (Exam 60%)

You will sit one 2.5 hour examination on 12th May 2015, with three questions:

Section A – Producers and Audiences -‐ The British and American Film Industry.

Section B – ‘Living With Crime’ – Socio-‐Political Study of two films: ‘Fish Tank’ (UK, 2009, Director: Andrea Arnold), and ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ (UK, 2002, Director:

Stephen Frears).

Section C – US Comparative Study of two films: ‘Inglourious Basterds ’(US, 2010, Director: Quentin Tarantino) and ‘Miracle at St. Annas’ (US, 2010, Director: Spike

Lee).

YEAR SCHEDULE

Week Date TOPIC Assessed

Work Deadline

1 8/9/14 Introduction/FM1 – Genre & Themes

Intro task 60 sec video

Tues 18th Sept

2 15/9/14 FM1 – Narrative & Mise-en-Scene

Presentation: Narrative

Wed 25th Sept

3 22/9/14 FM1 – Shots, Sequences,

Cinematography FM2 – Roles & Responsibility

Presentation: Shots &

Sequences

Mon 29th Sept

4 29/9/14 FM1 – Scene Analysis

5 6/10/14 FM1 – Shooting Sequences

Edited scene Wed 15th Sept

8/10/14 BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL starts

Screening of

TIMBUKTU 10/10/14

Review Timbuktu

Tues 14th Oct

6 13/10/14 FM2 – Living with Crime

Screening FISHTANK

Fishtank Analysis

Weds 20th Oct

18/10/14 BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL ends

7 20/10/14 FM2 – Living with Crime

Screening DIRTY PRETTY

THINGS

DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Analysis

Mon 3rd Nov

Half Term 8 3/11/14 FM2 – Living With

Crime FM1 - Creative

Project Planning / Written Analysis

FM1 Creative Project

Proposal Written

Analysis

Mon 10th Nov

Draft due Mon 17th

Nov 9 10/11/14 FM2 – Living With

Crime

FM1 Creative

FM1 Creative Project Outline

Storyboard

Draft due Mon 17th

Nov

Project Planning 10 17/11/14 FM2 – Living With

Crime & FM1 Creative Project

Planning

FM2- End of ‘Living with

Crime’ FM1 - 2nd Draft of Written

Analysis

Thurs 20th Nov

Fri 19th Dec

11 24/11/14 FM1 Creative Project Planning


Storyboard


Storyboard Final Wed 26th Nov

12 1/12/14 FM1 - Creative Project Filming

Wed 17th Dec

13 8/12/14 FM1 Creative Project Filming /

Editing Week

Edit of Film FM1 Written

Analysis Draft

Mon 5th Jan Fri 19th Dec

Draft

14 15/12/14 FM1 Creative Project Editing /

Evaluations Week

FM1 Creative Project DVD. FM1 Creative

Project Reflective Analysis

Draft

Tues 6th Jan

Wed 7th Jan

Xmas 15 5/1/15 FM1 Creative

Project Screenings. FM2 Producers &

Audiences

FM1 Creative Project

Reflective Analysis

Final

Thur 15th Jan

16 12/1/15 FM2 Producers & Audiences

Cinema: Multiplex vs ArtHouse

FM1 Written Analysis

Final Version

Mon 19th Jan

17 19/1/15 FM2 US Comparative Study

Screening Inglorious Basterds

18 26/1/15 FM2 US Comparative Study

Screening Miracle at St. Anna

Compare and Contrast US

films

Mon 2/2/15

19 2/2/15 FM2 US

Comparative Study 20 9/2/15 FM2 US

Comparative Study Thurs 13th

Feb 9/2/15-

13/2/15 MOCK EXAMS Friday 13th

HalfTerm 21 23/2/15 FM2 Producers &

Audiences US Film Industry


UK Film Industry

23 9/3/15 FM2 Producers & Audiences Indie Films

24 16/3/15 FM2 Producers & Audiences Audiences


Star / Performers

SPRING HOLIDAY 26 13/4/15 Revision 27 20/4/15 Revision 28 27/4/15 Revision Full Mock Fri 1st May 29 4/5/15 Revision Teaching

Ends

30 11/5/15 EXAM – 12th MAY 31 18/5/15

Half Term 32 1/6/15 33 8/6/15 34 15/6/15 35 22/6/15 36 29/6/15 ACTIVITIES WEEK 37

Use of Coulsdon College Film Studies AS Blog A core part of your learning, and assessment of your progress, will be done through the Coulsdon Sixth Form College Film Studies AS blog. This blog will be a resource for you to use in and out of class to development your learning. You will also create your own dedicated Film Studies AS level blog, that you will use to post analyses and reflections on your learning. Your teacher will give you more detail on how this will all work at the beginning of the course.

Watching films outside of class The more diverse range of films you watch outside of class, the better you will become at analysing films, and creating films. You will be set specific film watching tasks throughout the course, including a weekly analysis of a film of your choice. This analysis will be put on your blog, and included on a master list of films watched by all members of the class on the wall in Room 200. This is to encourage you to want to watch more films! Homework You will be set other homework as well as the weekly film analysis task. This homework will be related to classroom content, and will be set on average twice a week. This homework is not optional, and is a core aspect of your successful learning. You should be aiming to be spending approximately 4 hours per week on homework for Film Studies, not including your weekend film analysis task. Assessed Work Throughout the course, you will be submitting different types of assessed work. Assessed work is work that your teacher will either give you written feedback and/or a grade. These types of assessments will include mock exam unit questions taken in class, homework blog posts, coursework drafts, coursework final versions, and weekly summary assessments by your teacher posted on your blog. Deadlines for assessed work are non-‐negotiable, and failure to meet ANY deadlines can result in disciplinary measures. Persistent non-‐submission of assessed work can also lead to withdrawal from the examination/coursework. Independent Research & Reading As well as specific research tasks you will set throughout the year, you will also be expected to read text books that will enhance your knowledge and understanding. Although we do not recommend a specific set text book for the course, there are many great books about film for you to use. Please see resources list on blog. Analysing films in class and note taking This year you will be watching a variety of different films in class. These will be a combination of entire films and extracts. You will need to make detailed notes in class on the texts as you watch them. Please make sure you keep a dedicated notebook for Film Studies that you can keep all of your notes in. This is essential for successful revision and meeting assessment criteria. Practical Work One piece of your assessed coursework is a Creative Project. This project will allow

you to develop your creative skills in film making. This practical work will involve you working in a group with other students, and is for many students the highlight of the course. I would encourage you also to, if possible, develop your practical skills by using camcorders outside of class, not just related to your coursework. Practice and experience can help your in AS grade. Equipment For your creative project, you will be provided with equipment by the college. This will include a camcorder and tripod, and other specialist equipment. Some equipment will be provided to you by your teacher, but you may also need to borrow other equipment from the Media Technician, Andrew Heyward. All equipment borrowed must be returned on time and in the condition in which it was lent to you. Trips The trip planned for this year is to a screening at the London Film Festival during the month of October between 8-‐19th. There is also a possibility of a trip to visit the Harry Potter Warner Brothers studios. More details on this trip will be given to you by your teacher. Health & Safety Your health and safety is of paramount importance to Coulsdon Sixth Form College. As Film Studies students, you will have the opportunity to film both inside and outside of college. As part of this filming, you will have to risk assess the environments in which you want to film. This is standard industry practice, and is essential for you remain safe when carrying out practical work. Films Shown in Class and ‘Core Texts’ For your examination, you will be studying 4 core texts: for ‘Living in Crime’ unit, ‘Fish Tank’ and ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, and for the US comparative study, ‘Inglorious Basterds’ and ‘Miracle at St Anna’. You will watch the films in their entirety in class, and you will also be given the opportunity to watch them in revision screenings. If you can purchase the DVDs to use outside of class as well, this would be of benefit to your studies. Use of Terminology You will be learning a significant amount of new terminology this year related to analysis of films. Revisiting terms you have studied in class outside of class will enhance your knowledge and understanding throughout the course. FM1 Filming Week

In December 2014, you will have an allocated week of lessons in which you will be filming your Creative Project. In the lessons that week, you will film most of your footage for your projects on site, with the assistance of your teacher and/or the Media Technician. For students who wish to film any footage off site, this will need to be done outside of college hours. You will need to pre-‐arrange this with your teacher, and equipment should be available to borrow if needed. FM1 Editing Week After your filming week, you will have an allocated editing week for your projects. This editing will take place on the Resource Area Apple Mac computers. You will have allocated lesson time to edit, and will be able to access the Macs outside of lessons to work on your project. You will be using iMovie to edit. Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro is also available if you are experienced with this software. Library Resources Please see attached specific Independent Learning Centre resources that are available for Film Studies. Using these resources will improve your grade. Internet Resources Please see the list of internet resources on the Film Studies AS blog. Plagiarism Policy The College has a very clear Policy which is available to all students on Moodle in the Assessment Policy: Malpractice.

Plagiarism occurs when a person uses other people’s thoughts or writing and presents them as his/her own, that is without clearly acknowledging the source of the information. It can take several forms, including directly copying another person’s work, from the Internet, a book, another learner’s assignment, paraphrasing another person’s work, cutting and pasting together sections of work of others into a new whole or receiving material help from other people while producing an assignment.

Submitted coursework that has been deemed by the College or the Exam Board to be copied may not be marked or lead to being disqualified.

Education

AS Film Studies Course Handbook 2014-15