AS Film Unit 2 Content

Content


Section A: Producers and Audiences

For section A of this unit, candidates will study the UK and US film industry, the

audiences for films produced by these industries and their interrelationship.

(a) The Film Industry

The study of the Film Industry requires a focus on basic aspects of the working of:

• the American film industry - specifically contemporary Hollywood, including its impact on UK audiences;

• the British film industry - specifically the contemporary industry, including issues of independence, distinctiveness and profitability.

Aspects of finance, organisation, production, distribution (including marketing) and exhibition will be studied, particularly through case studies.

(b) The Film Audience

The Film Audience requires a focus on:

• film demand and supply, specifically in the UK today

• the consumption of film, including cinema-going and the importance of home cinema and the internet, together with the significance of digital technologies in delivering different kinds of film experience.

A study of the importance of genre and stars, both for producers and for audiences will provide a useful bridge between this section and sections B and C.

(c) The Interrelationship between Producers and Audiences: case studies

It is recommended that case studies are used as the basis for study in this unit. Case studies should be selected to explore the interrelationship between producers and audiences – sometimes appearing to be supply-led, sometimes demand-led. The significance of the convergence of different media (mobile phone, internet, games console, etc.) in changing the nature of the producer – audience relationship could also be explored. Contemporary case studies may cover the following areas:

• Hollywood film producers and the institutional frameworks within which they operate (for example as part of large conglomerate business corporations).

• UK film producers and the institutional frameworks within which they operate (for example in relation to support from the UK Film Council and through co-production deals).

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• the importance of genre and stars for US/UK producers and for audiences

• film marketing (including specific marketing materials such as posters, dvd covers and 'official' internet sites)

• film reviews – both those produced by critics for circulation in other  media and those produced by fans

• film exhibition, including multiplexes and independent cinemas, as well as other types of venue, and online exhibition, including consideration of different kinds of film viewing experience

• the availability of independent low budget films, and foreign language films in the UK, including Bollywood films

• the social practice of participation in contemporary 'film culture' which includes cinema-going, online viewing, and home cinema – as well as ways in which the film experience is amplified through media
convergence.

• star images – both those put into circulation by the industry and by fans.

Section B: British Film Topics

One or more of the following topics will be offered. Each topic requires the study of at

least two films with a focus on how macro elements of film, particularly narrative,

construct meanings and raise issues.

The following options within each topic are available for first examination

in Winter 2009 examination and last examination in Winter 2012.

(a) British Film and Genre

This topic looks at some of the distinctive characteristics of one of the

prescribed genres (see below) with a particular focus on narrative

development and themes. There may be some specific focus on context and

on issues of representation of character, situation and place. The principal

emphasis, however, is on engaging with the chosen films. The candidate

must show a detailed knowledge of a minimum of two films.

Genres for examination up to and including Winter 2012 are:

Horror

Comedy

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(f) British Film: Identity Study:

Prescribed study for examination up to and including Winter 2012: 'Borders

and Belonging'.

This topic is concerned with basic questions of identity and belonging in

relation to a place which is called the United Kingdom but in which "British" is

an increasingly contested term. The focus may be on films in which the

narrative deals with the experience of migrants and asylum seekers – or in

which characters question their attachment to or alienation from the idea of

being "British". Films could focus on migrant and minority experiences in for

example Last Resort, Dirty Pretty Things, Yasmin, Ghosts and Gypo.

Alternatively the focus could be on national and regional identity which sets

itself in opposition to a 'united kingdom' – such as Trainspotting, A Way of Life

or In the Name of the Father.

Section C: US Film – Comparative Study

Two films must be chosen from a specific genre or dealing with a specific theme.

Since this is a comparative study, the two films selected should enable sufficient

comparison and contrast to be made. One way of ensuring this is to select films

made at different historical moments.

There are no prescribed films for this section. A list of examples is available in the

Notes for Guidance. The following are indicative if a historical approach is adopted:

Double Indemnity and The Last Seduction

42nd Street and Chicago

My Darling Clementine and Unforgiven.

It is also possible to study remakes such as:

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 and 1978)

King Kong (1933 and 2005)

A thematic approach is also possible. For example, two films dealing with personal

identity: Imitation of Life and Boys Don't Cry.