Film Studies

Film Studies provides students with the exciting opportunity to sample a vast array of films from around the world, from Hollywood classics to British independent films, European cinema and global films from Turkey, Mali, Cameroon and Hong Kong. The course provides learning across a broad range of texts in many genres and styles, including silent film and documentary. Students deepen their understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of cinema by exploring the language of film through its constituent parts such as cinematography, lighting, mise-en-scène, sound, and editing. Film Studies is also a subject that by its nature requires students to consider the ethical, social, and cultural issues expressed in film.

 

The course encourages students to develop strong skills of critical analysis and personal reflection as well as developing their creativity and practical skills. In particular the course explores the relationship between the film and the spectator by exploring how films create meanings and produce emotional responses. Additionally, the aesthetic qualities of film are emphasised as integral to a study of the interaction between films and spectators. Students discuss issues such as censorship and the portrayal of gender, nationality, ethnicity and class stereotypes.

 

For coursework students have the option of making their own short films, or writing screenplays accompanied by digital images in the form of a storyboard.

 

The course content is divided into three units:

 

Component 1: Varieties of film

1. Hollywood 1930 – 1990 (comparative study)
2. American film since 2005 (two film study)
3. British Film since 1995 (two-film study)

Component 2: Global filmmaking perspectives

1. Global film (two-film study)
2. Documentary film
3. Film movements: Silent cinema
4. Film movements – Experimental film (1960 – 2000)

Component 3: Production

This is the practical coursework component and requires candidates to produce one 4-5 minute film OR a screenplay and digital storyboard (1600 – 1800 words). Both options also require a 1600 – 1800 word evaluative analysis of the product.

In recent years students have visited the London Cinema Museum; they have taken part in (And won!) a national film review-writing competition; they have interviewed police officers and survivors of female genital mutilation and made a documentary on this, later raising over £10,000 for an anti-FGM billboard campaign. Students have also visited Ealing Studios and have been invited onto the set of a recent Guy Ritchie film, affording them the opportunity to understand the different environments within which films are created.

Some previous students have gone on to follow degree courses in Film Studies, Film Production and Technology, Film and TV, and Philosophy and Film at universities including Oxford Brookes, Birmingham City University, Kingston University, Stafford University, London Met Film School, and Emerson College (US).

No previous subject knowledge is required.