ILEA-BFI Film Studies Course 1982-3

8/6/2019 ILEA-BFI Film Studies Course 1982-3

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TEACHERS! GUIDE TO THE ILEA:BFI 6TH FORM FILM COURSEIntroductionThe ilea:bfi 6th form film study course is organised by the ileain co-operation with the ECucation Department of the BritishFilm Instj-tute (bf i). The course is a centralised oD1 in thatstudents from participating schools attend centralisedscreenings of the films shown and do follow up work on materialswhich have been centrally produced.This Teachersr Guide is intended to explain the basicorganisation of the coursr It does not cover the useof thecourse materiaLs themselvest separate guides are produced foreach unit of the course materialq both for ease of use and forflexibility in any up-dating.The StudentsThe course is intended as a general stud,ies course suitable foraII sixth formers. It concentrates upon popular cinema with theintention that students will both find the films accessible andenjoyable in themselves and be able to relate work on the courseto the ir ord.inary f ilm viewing .The ExamThere is a Certificate of Extended Education Examination in FiImStudies organised with the London Regional Examinations Boardwhich is based substantiatly upon the 6th form film studiescourse. Details of the syllabus and examination requirements,methods of application and specimen exam paper will be found atthe end of this guidg. If your school is considering enteringstudents for the examination do please read this detailedi-nf orrnation.


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TimeThe screenings for the course are organised on every otherTHURSDAY afternoon during the Autumn and Spring terms.During theSummer term students may either be undertaking work for the CEEor might study particular aspects of film or television withintheir lessonsrsuch as Documentary or Television Drama series. Thecourse organisers will be happy to help and advise on sucb workand there are various suitable resources within the ilea Film andVideo LiJrrary.The central film screenings are normally from 2pm to not laterthan 4.30pm. depending upon the length of the film. Mostscreenings wil l be completed. by 4. 1 5pm. A detailed timetabl,e andprogrunme of screenings is included in this guide.AII screenings for 1982-1983 will be held at the SCALA CINEIVIAwhich is situated at 275 Fntonville Rd, on the corner where thecaledonian Rd joins it close to Kings cross station.It is assumed that students will have between 90 mins. and 1ZOmins.of lesson time on the Thursday afternoons which are spent inschools during which time follow up and preparatory work based onthe materials will be undertaken.Those schools taking the CEE Examination should allow at least anextra hour Per week for students in order to enable them toconplete the course work requirements.TeachersThe 6th form film course has been developed in part as a form ofin-service support. It is intended for teachers who areinterested in studying film but who may not have had specialisttraining in the sub ject. The materials are des igned to provi.dedetailed support for classroom work.

For teachers wishing to develop their own knowledge of film, anintroductory bibliography of film is included in this guide.Various full-time and part-tirne courses in film and media are nowavailable in London at the British Film Institute, the Instituteof Education London University and at the Polytechnic of CentralLondon. Details of these can be obtained from the courseor gan isers


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CostsThe cost of the course is currently E4 per studenL Schools willalso need. to cover the costs of transport.The cost of materials for the course supplied through the bfi isapproximately 50, though of course this is an initial and not arecurring cosL(See later under Ivlaterials) Schools wiLl also needto meet the cost of mounting the slides used in the materials.Mater ial sThe materials for the course have been mainly produced by thebfi. Originally the bfi and ilea developed materials on a trialbasis especially for the course but subsequently the bfi hasobtained the agreernent of some f ilm companies to market slidesfrom films to educational users on a non-profit making basis.This has lneant that r&t rg:r than producing sets of slidesspecifically for the 6th form film studies course, the bfi hasdeveloped such sets of slides as a more flexible resollrco Thepresent pattern of the materials is therefore that they are madeup for the inost part from slide sets relating to ind.ividual f ilmswhich can be used separately by other users worki.ng at differentIevels or following their own corlFSsrWhilst the sets of slides on the films form a key part of theteaching materials, some of the accompanying teachersr notes maybe inappropriate in places where they are aimed at more aCvancedor detailed study. There will therefore be a specific TeacherslGuide to each of the three units of the 6th form film studiescourse Film:Narrative; Filrn:Genre and Filn: Entertainment andPotitics. These quides wilt gloss the bfi teachers notes toind,ividual films, suggest additional possible approaches to addto work on the slides and will offer particular links between theindividual films and the topic of the unitAlthough in earlier versions of the course materials studentsrmaterials were included, experience has suggested that teachersw ish to vary the approach they adopt, so that inflexiblestudentsrnotes proved cumbersome or unnecssarlr Somesuggestedstudent materials are included on the basis that these can becopied in the required numbers.


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It should be stressed that whilst the materials offer suggestionsand support for discussing the films shown on the course, theyare not intended as a rigid or inflexible approach. Teachers mayw ish to vary the use of materials to suit stud.entsf responses,and should be ar^rare that the materials were des igned to providesufficient work for 2 hour lessons, so that those who have lesstime for classroom work should not expect to be able to cover allthe suggested possibilities.PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FRAIT{E SLIDES SUPPLIED BY THE BFI AREUNT"IOUNTED TO SAVE COSTS. SCHOOLS ViTT,T, NEED TO OBTAIN SLIDE},IOUNTS"THERE WILL BE APPROXIII{ATELY 35 SLIDES PER SET AND 10 SETSOF SLIDES.The approxirnate cost of a complete set of course materiaLs is50. The Centre Eor Learning Resources will Iiase withbfiandorganise the supply of materials, though teachers may need tocollect these from the Education Department of the bfi,81 Dean Street London Id1.Teachers wiII be notified about arrangements for obtaining thematerials at the beginning of the Autumn term. It is not necessaryto place an individual order with the bfi as this will be done bythe course organisrs o Sehools will be invoiced for material-s.Normally enquiries regard,ingOrganiser, but should thereEducation Dept. d,irectly, thenCary Bazalgette.ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

the course should be made to thebe any need to contact the bfithe member of staff to ask for is

It will obviously be beneficiaL to students if the school librarycan obtain some books on f ilrn related to the course and if itstocks periodicals on film. The course organisers wiII provide anintroductory bibliography t,hough there is not much writing onfilms aimed at students in this age rdngoStudents might valuably be encouraged. to bring in cuttings fromcurrent newspapers and magazines on filmsr the film industry andstars to build up a collective source of information.


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TheCEE

The 6th form f ilm stud,ies course - ai-rns and methodologyaims amd objectives of the course have been set out in thesyll-abus as follows:

Aims :To give students an opportunity to develop concepts rel-evant tounderstanding the narrative form of popular commercial films, thecinematic cont.ext which produces and markets themr theirideological role in society and their possible reception byaudiences. Theseconcepts wiLl also be considered in relation totelevision where applicable.Objectives:1. Image analysisl through the close study of individual filmsand supporting slides sequences, students should be able toacquire the techniques of image analysis and therefore be able tostudy the ways in which narrative information is presentedvisually.2. FiIm narrative: students should be able to d.iscern and isolatethe narrative elements of plot, charactett dction, filmic timeand sound.track, and togrether with an understanding of cinematictechniques, produce a systematic analysis of individual films.3. Cinematic conventions: by the study of a group of filmsfrom specific genres, students should be enabled to recogrnise theiconographical and thematic elements those films have in commonand, from that understanding, to assess the constraints andadvantages of genre films in general.4. The ideological aspects of f ilms: having come to anunderstanding of the technical construction of films, studentswill be encouraged to analyse the way in whj.ch the aud,iencersinterpretation of a film is determined by its highly constructednature and invited to cons i.der how the manipulation of analternative rpoint of viewr could create a differentinterpretation of events d.epicted.5. Production and marketing: students should be able to analysethe commerc ial appeal of a particular f ilm and relate t.his to


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production methods. Students should also be able to describemarketing techniques and show how these help to form audienceexpectations.6. Students will be encouraged to refLect in their written workan aesthetic appreciation of f ilms andr from an increasedcritical awareness, derive greater pleasure from their viewing offilms in the future.


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MethodologyBecause the course covers only two and a half terms, it has optedfor a concentration upon studying the type of feature fict,ionfilmproduced for exhibition in cinemas, andthe $rays in which suchf ilms are marketed and understood by aud.iences. Such f ilms shouldbe most familiar to students and therefore encourage them tothink about these films more analytically. Study of other formsof f ilm such as documentary or independent f ilms 1 thoughobviously valuable , are less easy to organise within the formatadopted by the course, and might best be developed subsequent tothe introductory study which forms the basis of the 5th form filrnstudies coursrStudents wiIl be very familiar with both wat,ching fil-ms andtalking about them, but probably not with analysing films in anydetail. The course is therefore organised into three sections orunits :Film : NarrativeFilm: GenreFiIm:Politics and EntertainmentThese three sections are intend.ed to increase the detail ofanalysis and to build from work on how f ilms produce nanative tostudy of some of the types of narratives commonly exhibited int.he cinema. there is not however any particular difference in"difficulty" between the films shown at the beginning and end ofthe couf,so Rather it is a question of initially concentratingupon more formal aspects of narrative style and then broadeningwork to include considerations of other cinematic factors such asthe star system, the practices of marketing andexhibitionrconcepts of entertainment and the complex relationshipbetween fiction films and the social and political situationsthey d.raw upon for their strbjects.The individual films shown on the course have not been chosen asrset textsr but far more as illustrations of general conventionsand styles within film production. It is these generalconventions and styles which are stressed in discussion, butequally as every film is individual" in its particular combinationof narrative conventions and method,s then attention is f ocussed.upon individual stylj"stic choices and the possible consequences


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So questions on the slides tend to call for two differentuses 'either detailed analysis of the conposition of the imageandits d.ramatic effect in terms of the moment at which it appears,or where the imagC|stands for a whole scene, a character or anaspect of the filmrs visual appeal. This should usually be clearfrom. the context of the question, but it may be helpful tostudents to make it clear whether they are being asked toconcentrate upon details of composition or the broader moment.The sl ides are numbered in chronol-ogical order. In some work,questions are organised on chronological lines but in other work,emphasis is more on comparison of different moments across thenarrative. Obviously a carousel projector if available canfacilitate such movement back and forth.Very often questions on the slides provoke detailed discussion sothat there is a possible problem of actually getting through allthe slides or of ending the discussion around some particularaspect of a slide rather than a more general point about thefilm. One strategy which may help to avoid this is to play throughal I the sl ides at the beginning of the lesson so that stud.entscan use them to aid remembering the filn and then to concentrateon only some of the slides if tjme is pressing.Concentration upon the slides does tend to predicate whole classdiscuss ion as a pattern of work. It is poss ible t,o vary this byasking smaller groups of students to look at a group of slidesand trrcn io present these to the rest of the class.If possible it is valuable to try to end lessons with a briefreview of the general points which have been covered and torelate these to what has gone before in the unit.It will also be very useful if students can be prepared for thef ilrn they are to see the following week - indeed in some cases itis very important that they do undertake work ahead of the filmif they are to gain as much as possible from the single viewing.At various points in the course more general activities aresuggested for students. These are intended to get them to thinkabout aspects of film outside of the particular films beingviewed, as well as introducing variety into the methods ofclassroom working.

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PROGRAT'IME OF SCREENINGS FOR ilea:bfi 6th form film study course1 982- 1 983SCREENINGS ARE AT ITHE SCALA CINEI',IAI275-277 PENIONVILLE RD

SCREENINGS COMTI,IENCE AT 2.10 P.I'l. EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF A LONGFILI'I AS INDICATED IN THE PROGRA!4ME.23

72',|1125

9

132710

317

September 1982October 19e2October 1982November 1982November 1982December 19A2

JUGGERNAUTTHE TAKING OF PELHAIqCROSSFIRE

THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALESTHE RISE AND TALL OFCOD{A

THE HARDER THEY CO},IESTATE OF SIEGERAID ON ENIEBBE earlyALL THE PRESIDENT I S MEN

THE CHINA SYNDROI{E

110r23 1 04111early start 2 135

LEGS DIAMOND 10 1113

JanuaryJanuaryFebruaryMarch

March

1 9831 983

19831 983

1983start 2ear Iy

104124124start 2 124

122

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STANDARDISATIONSince a number of schools are involved with this CEE Film Studiesexam the LREB requ5.re that the marking be standardised. Therewill therefore be a meeting for all teachers entering candidateswh ich will be organised shortly after the date of theexamination. It is essential that all those teachers involvedattend this meeting.To assist both students and teachers, most schooLs enteringcandidates hold a practice exam earlier in the academic year, andthere is also a stand.ardising meeting following this to enableteachers to.compare their marking and thej-r studentsr scripts.Dates for this wilL also be arranged nearer to the time.

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CERTIFICATE OF EXTENDED EDUCATION IN FILM STUDIESTOWER HAMLETS SCHOOL

Aims :To give students an opportunity to develop concepts relevant tounderstanding the narrative form of popular commercial films, thecinematic context which produces and markets themr theirideological role in society and their possible reception byaudiences.These concepts will also be considered in relation totelevision where applicable.Ob jectives:1. Image analysis: through the close study of individual f ilrnsand supporting slides sequences, students should be able toacquire the techniques of image analysis and therefore be able tostudy the ways in which narrative information is presentedvisual Iy .2. Filnr narrative: students should be able to discern and isolatethe narrative elements of plot, character, action, filmic timeand soundtrack, and together with an understanding of cinematictechniqus1 prod.uce a systematic analysis of individual films.3. Cinematic conventions : by the study of a grroup of f ilmsf rom specif ic genres, st.udents should be enabled to recognise theiconographical and thematic elements those films have in commonand, from that understanding, to assess the constraints andadvantages of genre films in general.4. The ideological aspects of f il ms: having come to anunderstanding of the technical construction of filmsr studentswill be encouraged to analyse the way in which the audj.encersinterpretation of a film is determined by its highly constructednature and invj-ted to cons ider how the manipulation of analternative rpoint of viewr could create a differentinterpretation of events depicted.5. Production and marketing: students should be able to analysethe conmercial appeal of a particular f ilm and relate this toproduction methods. Students should also be able to describemarketing techniques and show how these help to form aud,ience

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exPectations.6. Students will be encouraged to reflect in their written workan aesthetic appreciation of f ilrns and, f rom an increasedcritical awareness, derive greater pleasure from their viewing off ilrns in the f uture.FORM OF THE COURSEThe course will be based on the existent ilea:bfi 6th form filmstudies corlrsr It will follow a pattern of centralised screeningsonce a fortnight during the Autumn and Spring terms, which willnecessitate a two hour block on the timetable, currently on aTHI.TRSDAY afternoon. In the intervening weeks this two hour perj,odwilt be spent in intensive study inschool. Slides and otherresources are already available for this part of the course. Thewritten requirements of this syllabus will necessitate a furtherone or preferably two per iods per week somewhere on thetj-rnetable. This should provide suf f icient time f or teachersandstudents to investigate the other related areas of studyincluded in the syllabus.TARGET GROUPAlthough it rnight present problems for students of a very lowliteracy level, vre envisage thj.s course as being appropriate fora mixed ability teaching group. For instancerstudents who arestudying for a CEE or comparable qualification in English, wouldfind areas in Filrn Studies which would reinforce their work inEnglish.Similarlyr tAtlevel student.s in a variety of arts andhumanities sr:bjects would f ind areas of compatability. The coursecould also provide an aesthetic element for a student undertakinga predominantely scientific curriculum.SYLI,ABUS

The study of three maj-n aspects of commercial cinema, namelyNARRATMTGENRE and EIUERTAINMENr AND POLIT ICS' will provide thebasic structure of the syllabus. Other topics to be studied,,relevant to the three des ignated areas r w il-l inc lude theproductionrmarketing and reception of films, stereotyping and thestar system. The above areas may be supplemented with suchrelated work as a study of television entertainment programmes iftime allows; this would not be a compulsory element in the final15


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examination, although work on this could be included in theCourse Work Folder.1 . NarrativeThe first half termrs viewing will form the basis for thissection of work. This will consist of three f ilrnsr JUGGERNAUTTTHETAKING OF PELHAM 1,23 and CROSSFIRE. Students wilI look atthe presentation of narrative in filrn: the ordering and linkingof dramatic incident, the construction of character, the effectof visual irnage s , dj-aIo9ur sotmd ef f ects and tnus ic .For instance, students rnight watch THE TAKING OF PELHAI"I 123 andbe asked to look at the slides from the film to analyse theshifts in narrative presentation of the action. This wouldinvolve a discussion of the camera point of viewr the audiencersknowledge of the train highjack or the progress of the ransommoney as compared with the rknowledger of either the detectiveGarber or the leader of the highjackers, the manipulation of suchknowledge to create suspense, the role of hurnour in varyingd.ramatic tension etc.2. GenreThis section of the course will comprise either the study of onegenre, such as the Gangster filmr or of the idea of genre,through study of examples from different grrrsr Students willbeencouraged to draw upon their previous viewing as part of a studyof the conventions governing either a particuLar genre or genresin general. Students might be expected to recogrnise s imilarit,iesin treatrnent during different periods of film making, to look atdetaits of iconography and characterisation and to consider theimportance of aud,ience expectatj,ons and the social context of thef ilms.For example students might watch THE OUILAW JOSEY WALES and beasked to comment on the use of different locations, thepresentation of the civil war and its aftermathr the position ofthe protagonist as both hero and outlaw and the treatment ofvarious characters -indiansr womenrsoldiers etc. both in terms ofthe filmrs narrative and in comparison with other westerns.

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3 Entertainment and PoliticsTh is section w il 1 be based on f ilms viewed in the secondterm. These will be fairly recent examples of films about socio-political events and issues:high-jackingrespionagercorruption;THEHARDER THEY COME,STATE OF SIEGE,RAID ON ENTEBBE,ALL THEPRESIDENTTS MEN, THE CHINA SYNDROpIE. Students will study thed,ramatisation of real issues, the ef fects cf using particularstars, the commercial potential of the films and likely audiencereception and interpretation. This will involve a cons id,erationof the ideologic.., aspect of films, of the way a particular filmsuggests a certain view of society. This part of the course wiIIalso include some study of the film industry. Students will beprovided with basic information about the processes ofproductionrmarketing and distribution and asked to consider howfar the pressures of the industry, the use of stars et,c.rshapethe final rcornmodityt-the film.For instance in looking at a filn like RAID ON ENTEBBE, as vrell asstudying the film itself and its dramatisation of real events andrepresentation of real people, students would be asked tocons ider the s ignif icance of three f ilms be ing mad.e about thesame subject, comparing their publicity posters, in order tospeculate about possible different interpretations of the sameincident.4 edditional Notes on the Syllabus.a.The films mentioned above are currently shown on the ilea:bfi6th form film studies course, but filrns viewed may vary slightlyfrop year to year, subject to availability and popularity withs tuden ts .b.The examples of discussion lnints in the preceding sections aregiven to provide a general illustration of the kind of work thatmight be undertaken; they are not intended to be comprehensive orin any way prescriptive.ce The three areas of the course as outlined above provide a

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structured method of introducing increasingly complex ideas tostudents;they are not mutually exclusive areas and wiII not betreated as such. Various threads are likely to run through thefirst two termrs work;narrative expectations, representation ofcharacter, stereotypingr the star system, likety audienceresponse and interpretation etc.d. Before the first viewingl students will be given theopportunity to become aware of the ways in which they customarilyread visual images, and the provision of a series of slides toaccompany each f ilm enables students to develop t.his skillthroughout the courseQ.Tevision has been included as a possible extension of thebasic FiIm Studies course because of its predomj,nant role instudentsr own viewing experierrcr Televis ionrs accesibility makesit an obvious area for indivj-dual study. It also provides apotential area for comparability, ogogangster fitms comparedwith police series. Another area that could be studied is that, ofthe relationship between film and television, the way in whichtelevision consumes commercial narrative f ilrns and the way inwhich the film industry capitalises on popular television seriesby creating featr:re-lengreh rspin-of fsr. Furthermore, commercialfilm productions are increasingly budgeted with potentialtelevision sales in mind. Finally, it is to be hoped that thecritical consc iousness developed by stud.ents during the coursewould be applied to their future television viewing, in regard toboth aesthetic and ideological owarnssrf.With no films being screened during the third term, studentsand teachers will be able to use the time to develop the workthat seems most appropriat,e. There is cons iderable f ilm material,both extracts, documentary f ilrns including some on aspect,s of thef ilm industry, and some short f ilms available through t,he ileaFilm and Video Librdrlr Some of this material might also besuitable where students have developed a particuLar interest,perhaps in connection with their project.After Easter studentswilI need time allocated for the completion of Course Work andpreparation for the examinations.

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ASSESSI,,IE}l1l

lr Folder of Written Workmarked out of 60(rhen divided by 3) 20t of total markThe students will be expected to keep a folder of work.Thisshould comprise SIX ESSAYS written during the coursereach showingthe date on whj,ch the piece of work was completed. At least THREEof these essays should be about films viewed on the coursr andit is assumed that these essays will be written after extensivediscussion and slide viewing related to the f ilrnr rither thanbeing immediate individual responsso These three essays couldtake the form of critical accounts of individual films,comparative studies of two or lnore f ilms or essays written inresponse to questions on particular aspects of a film or filmsprovided by t.he teacher. In all c&ssr students should refer indetail to t,he films under discussion. The OTHER THREE ESSAYSshould cover a range of work related to the c inema and/ottelevision.These essays may include critical accounts of filnsviewed independentlyra study of a televisj,on series, acomparative study of f ilms and/or television programlllsrddocumentary study tc.Also acceptable among these three more general pieces would beexamptes of written creative work rgoal outline of the openingsequences of a Disaster t'lovie of their own invention. A folder ofsix critical accounts of films viewed on the course would not beunacceptable, but candidates should be encouraged to present abalanced folder of work whose range and variety would give themthe opportunity to display their understanding of different areasof the coutf,seoIn assessing a studentrs critical account of a filmrit isrecommended that marks should be awarded for evidence of acritical and analytical approach to the filnr showing anunderstanding of narrative constructionrrelationship to genrewhere relevant, and stylistic considerationsr such as referenceto tighting, editing, camera work tc. Candidates should be givencredit for clear and appropriate references which demonstrate anappeciation of the specificity of film. Since the course providesmaterj-als to encourage students to focus upon Particular elementsin each f ilrn, a really able candidate should be able to deal with

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concepts such as. the manipulation of audience response throughsuspense in JUGGERNAUI or the ways in which audience sympathiesare directed to certain characters and the causes they representin RAID ON ENTEBBE. It is likely that a really able candidatewould demonstrate a grreater grasp of the more difficult areas ofthe course, such as the ideological aspects introd.uced in thesecon term. Credit should be given for an attempt to deal withthese issues effectivelY.2 . Long Essay or Projectmarked out of 30 (then halved) 15t of totalThis longer essay or project should relate to some general aspectof the course, and not simply be a review of a sin91ef ilm. Possible subjects for essay topics rnight include a casestudy of a film including information about its production andmarketing, and its critical reception; a study of a Possiblecycle of films of a similar type which compares the examplestconsiders possible appeals and the ways in which the films wereproduced and marketed; a study of the presentation of a charactertype or role across several films; a study of a television seriesor of some aspect of documentary film production would also bepossible. The Project would be original workr Dot necessarilyconfined entirely to written formr possibilities for practicalprojects could include an or iginal photoplay, a short f ilmscriptl an edited tape intenriew, a detailed illustrated analysisof an extract from a film, an illustrated comparison of the useof music in films etc. Audio-visual work should be supplementedby some written comrnentary to explain ob jectives and methods.Because the Project rnight be practical and include audio-visualmaterialr it is impossible to provide useful guidelines as to thenumber of words required. It should however be a substantialpiece of work t teflecting some prolonged independent study orresearch. It should not, however, be assumed that an extendedessay type of project would automaticalty attract more marksthan a practLcaL/creative project. It would be possible for asimpte storyboard exercise with supplementary written materialrifit were well-organised and well executed, to convey economicallyand expertly an r:nderstanding of narrative construction, and thusdemonstrate what the candidate has gained from the coursr

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3. The Written Examinationrnarked out of 100 (then halved)This will" comprise two papers:dr Film Studies Paper 1b. Film Studies Paper 2Paper 1

50t of total

Film Study marked out of 7AImage Study marked out of 30

This will last two and a half hours with an optional half hour.Cand.idates will be expected to answer THREE questions. The firstquestion will require the analysis of two film posters withcomment of the likeIy audience appeal etc. The second questionwiIl offer a range of essay titles covering various aspects ofthe course, fron which the candidates will select one title. Hdet.ailed recal1 of a particular individual film will not beexpected. The third question will be a stimulus questi-on askingcandidates to combine their theoretical knowledge with creativeapplication to produce part of a screenplayrstoryboard etc. froma narrative stirnulus.

The! Oral Examinationmarked out of 30 ( then halved) 15t of totalAn oral examination has been inc luded in order to re f lect t.heimportance of discussion as a means of learning on this cor.lfsrThe oral examination will consist of a presentation lastingapproximat,ely ten minutes. A candidate wilI be expect,ed t,opresent an illustrated talk to a small group on any aspect offilm study. This will be follovred by a discussion by the groupIasting approximately ten minutes. Candid,at.es will be assessedboth on their presentation ( maximum 20 marks) and theircontribution to the discussion( maximum 1 0 marks ). Thisexamination provides a means of assessing a candidaters abilityto present a talk on a chosen aspect of film study to a group andto make appropriate use of visual and/or aural material.Thechoice of topic need not be unduLy ambitiousr and the cand,idatesshould be given credit for the well-prepared talk with carefulselection of illustrations. Within their personal range,candidates should demonstrate a grasp of their chosen topic,sensitivity to, and the ability to interest and, involve their

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audience.As regards visual material used for the presentation, candidatescould either make a selection from slides used on the course oravailable from other sources, or take photographs or slides offilm postersr or posters themselvesr Or they might arrange for theI-IRO to make sl ides f rom other visual material. The means ofacquiring the visual materials should not be taken into accountin awarding marks for the presentationp i.e.d candidate shouldnot be penalised for making a selection from already existingslide material. The suitability of the material and the use madeof it in the presentation is what is important here.As regards assessing contribution to d.iscussion, a candidatewould be expected to show an understanding of the presentationand to ask relevant questions of the presenter, as well asenlarge the scope of the discussion by raising j-deas or examplesrelevant to the topic. Cand.idates will be given credit forshowing sensitivity to other members of the group and to thespeaker but not for using the d,iscussion situation merely as aforum for their own opinions, however brilliant.

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ADDITIONAL ADVICE FOR TEACHERSI-ong essays, projects and oral xci.,..i-ridtion.Students will need guidance from teachers on both their choice oftopic for long essay or project and for their choice oforal. There follows a list of topics chosen by previous studentsboth for long essays,/projects and for oral examinations.IT I"IUST BE STRESSED THAT THESE LISTS ARE INCLUDED SII',IPLY ASINDICASORS OF PAST CHOICES AND NOT AS TOPICS TO BE COPIED.(The Centre for Learning Resources hopes to establish a srnallcollection of examples of long essays,/projects which teachers maylook at to assist them in guiding students as to the likelystandards which can be achieved in such work).For example it may be noted that in both long essays and, inorals, some students have opted for biographical studies of filmstars. By and large such work has not achieved high marks if ithas involved simply the compilation of biographical facts. Tosucceed within the demands of this course, such biographicalapproaches should be linked to some cons ideration of theperformance and characteristic rimager of the star within one ormore films. Amongst topics which have produced successful workhave been case studies of individual filmsr a short narrativefilm exercise and script treatments adapting existing shortstories.Tower Hamlets School has also produced notes for student guidanceon t.he project or long essay which are included following theIists of essay and oral topics.List of Essay and Project Topics.Peter Finch a profileClint Eastwood a profileI,0aIt DisneyAn Original FiImMake up for filmsJane Fonda - a prof ileFilm Comedy

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Horror FilmsFilrn Scripts adapted from a short storyCase Study on I l'lidnight Express ICase Study on rFrench Lieutenantrs WomanlCase Study on rThe Elephant l'lanlLaurel and Hardy - a profileComparison of rzr and rstate of Siegef.

List of oral Topics.Horror -1930rs to the present dayAnirnated filmsScience Fiction PostersGangster GenreChanging depiction of women in popular filmsIndi.vidual starsSpecial EffectsFilm NoirSpecial PropsT}pes of violence in f ilmsSettingsThe importance of crmera angles in f ilm style.

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NOIIES FOR GUIDANCE TOR STUDENTS ON LONG ESSAY OR, PRATECTS.WHEN DO I HAVE TO START?You should be thinking about your long essay or project NCI{. Bythe beginning of the Spring term you should have a detailed planwritten down, as you will need most of that term to complete bothyour project and your course work.WHAT IS IT?The project gives you a chance to work in detail on an area offilm that interests louo It should not be just a long review of asingle film, but something more general than that Here are somesuggestions to give you an idea of the kinds of things you coulddo, but there are lots of possibilities not included in thislist.You will have to decide for yourself.1.A case study of one film, including information about theproduction r rnarketing and cr itical reception.2.A study of a gyck of f ilms(e.g. James Bond) or a genre (e.9.horrorrmusicalsretc.) rcomparing f iImslcorrs idering poss j-bIeaudience appeal and production and marketing.3.Study of how a character -$ry. i" presented across several f ilms(e.g. gangster hero, American ind,ians in westerns etc.).4.A study of a television series including ratingsr programmingetc.5.A study of some aspect of documentary film production (e.9.construction of a point of view).5.You can also do a creative project (e.9. a storyboard,scripting etc. for a new film) as long as you show that your:nderstand how narrative in f ilm works i.. the visual aspects aswell as the story.Thi"s is not a complete l ist, but a rough outline of some areasyou could look at. Obviously you wiII need to choose carefullyand produce a very detailed plan.

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IS IT ALL WRITING?No. You can wrj.te a long essay but you can also include drawings,photo-playsl storyboards, shooting schedules etc. If you areinterested in sound (e.9. use of rock music in film soundtracks),you can include one or more tapes in your projct. If you dochoose to use audio-visual material, you must back it up with awritten commentary to show what you were trying to achieve andhow you went about it.

HO!'J LONG DOES IT HAVE TO BE?This is hard to answer, it depends how much of your project iswriting and how much is art work or tapes etc.l but it should bea substantial folder of work showing that you have undertakensome research of your ownrYoLlr teacher will be able to advise youon length once you have your project underway.WHAT ARE THE EXAMINERS LOOKING FOR?1.Some evidence of independent research and study, finding outinformation yourself.2. Original workrNcE chrurks copied from film books.3. Evidence of careful planning and overall structure in yourproj ect.4. It helps if you can show somet.hing of the process, i.. howyou went about gathering and recording information, decisions youhad to make tc. You will find it useful to keep all yourmaterial until the end. You may want to use some of it in anappendix.5. Donrt worry too much about a perfect finished project. It, isbetter to take chances and show the examiners you were trying todo something new and original, even if your drawings arenrtwonderful or your photogrraphs come back under-exposed. You wonrtIose marks for thatr itr s not an art folder.6. You should try to show that you trnderstand the various aspectsthat make up narrative in films (e.9. lighting' edititg, cameraangles etc. ) Donrt get bogged down in telling the story.

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BRIT ISH FILM INST ITT'TE LIBRARYOne very valuable source of information on films is the BritishFiIm Institute librd,rtr The bf i library is only available tomembers. Schools can join the bfi as Corporate Members for asubscription of 820 podr For this, they are sent I Sight andSoundr and the I l"lonthly FiIm Bul letinr, the NationaL Film Theatreprogramme and a membership card which enables teachers to makeblock bookings for groups of students. On requestl CorporateIrtembers will also be sent 6 READERS T ICKETS. Alternatively it ispossiJrle for individual students to join at STUDE}{T IvIEMBERS fora fee of 5 pedo which enables them to go to the NFT and to usethe library. Membership can be obtained through the l,lembershipDept.81 Dean StreetrLondon W.1. TeI: 437 4355.The bfi library is at 127 Charing Cross Road

London WC2H OEATel: 437 4355

the library is open at the following t jrnes:Monday r closedTuesd,ay and Wednesday 11 EIrIItrThur sday and Fr iday 1 1 d rtnr to9to6 p o IItep rIIl ostudents wishing to use the library should take a Readersr Ticketwith them.The library has about 301000 books and pamphletsT some one thirdof which are available for loan, the remainder being referencecopies. There is a catalogue of the book collection. The libraryproduces various bibliographies and fact sheets. The library alsohas a very extensj-ve collection of periodicals on film andtelevision, together with a newspaper cuttings collectionr( mainlyon microjackets) . These collections are indexed.Should the school wish to use the library, having joined the bfias a Corporate l,lemberr the most useful procedure is to contacteither the Librarian, Sandra Archer, or the Deputy Librarian,Virginia Hennessy, who will be happy to arrange an organised tourof the bfi library for students to show them the facilities andexplain how to use the library. The most suitable day for such

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tours is tttlonday, when the library is closed to users and whensuch tours will not therefore disrupt them.The School LibraryObviously it will be wise to contact your school librarian earlyin the year both to liase on the resources available in theschool library and through outside information and loansr and. toenlist the specialist help and advice on research which theIibrarian can offer. If your school does use the bfi library thenit would be very valuable to include your librarian in theintroductory visiting party if he or she is not already aware ofthe specialist facilities of the bfi library.

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CHECKLIST OF I"IATERIALS FOR 1982-1983ALL I-IATERIALS WILL BE PRODUCED BY bf i EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, B['ITW ILL BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE COT.'RSE ORGANISER.WHERE A SCHOOLIS PURCHASINc MATERIALS, THE bfi WILL SEND AN INVOICE TO THESCHOOL TOT{ARDS THE END OF THE COT'RSE FOR ANY MATERIALS SUPPLTEDDURING THE IIEAR.IntroductionTeachersI Notes on JUGGERNALIf, PELHAII 123 and students! ProjectsStudents IntroductionUnd.ers tanding Image sWrite A Disaster MovieStudy Notes for the slide set fron JUGGERNAUTStudy Notes for the slide set from THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123Study Notes for the slide set to CROSSFIRETeachers I Guide to Narrative ileaTeachers I Notes on CROSSFIRE ileaTeachers I Guide to Genre ileastudy Notes for the slide set on THE otIILAw JOSEY WALESStudy Notes for the slide set on THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGSDIAI'{ONDTeachers I Notes on COMA ileaTeachers t Guide to Entertainment and Politics ileaTeachers I Notes for THE HARDER THEY COME ileaStudy Notes for Slide set on THE HARDER THEY COI'{E if availableStudy Notes for slide set on STATE OF SIEGEStudy Notes for slide set on RAID ON ENIEBBE (NOTE: THIS FILM ISCURRENTLY NOT IN D ISTRIBUT ION AND }4AY T HEREFORE HAVE TO BECHANGED ) .Study Notes for ALL THE PRESIDEIiII S I llENTeachcrS I NOTCS ON THE CHINA SYNDROME ileaStudy Notes on slide set for THE CHINA SYNDRCXVIE If available

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Documents

ILEA-BFI Film Studies Course 1982-3