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Checklist
External assessment details
Independent study
Weighting: 25%
This component is based on part 2 of the course (film theory and history), but also draws to some extent
on part 1 (textual analysis). The aim of the independent study is to encourage students to engage in some
depth with a cinematic tradition that is unfamiliar to their own culture.
Students must produce a script for a complete short documentary production exploring an aspect of film theory or film history, based on the study of films from more than one country. The documentary should be targeted at an audience of film students in the 14 to 18 years age range. Among the topics students may choose to investigate are:
The prime voice of the documentary must clearly be that of the student, who will also act as the narrator, onscreen host and/or voice-over. Students must ensure that any comments or ideas they attribute to celebrities or others, such as experts, are fully supported by detailed references in the annotated list of sources.
The chosen films must originate from more than one country.
The independent study must be presented in the form of a written dossier composed of the following three items.
100 words.
Independent study
Weighting: 25%
This component is based on part 2 of the course (film theory and history), but also draws to some extent
on part 1 (textual analysis). The aim of the independent study is to encourage students to engage in some
depth with a cinematic tradition that is unfamiliar to their own culture.
Students must produce a script for a complete short documentary production exploring an aspect of film theory or film history, based on the study of films from more than one country. The documentary should be targeted at an audience of film students in the 14 to 18 years age range. Among the topics students may choose to investigate are:
- genre
- theme
- direction
- use of sound
- colour
- editing
- lighting
The prime voice of the documentary must clearly be that of the student, who will also act as the narrator, onscreen host and/or voice-over. Students must ensure that any comments or ideas they attribute to celebrities or others, such as experts, are fully supported by detailed references in the annotated list of sources.
The chosen films must originate from more than one country.
The independent study must be presented in the form of a written dossier composed of the following three items.
- Rationale
- Script
- Annotated list of sources
100 words.
Need more help... check out 'Not sucking at the Independent Study'.
Rationale
It is essential that candidates get their rationales "right" in context of framing the spine and direction of the argument in the script. It is very rare to find a great script that has a poor rationale. The names of films are on the coversheet and do not need to be repeated in the rationale which is only supposed to be 100 words. Therefore every word should be meaningful in posing and clarifying the argument. A good rationale is one that is anchored in cinema history or theory, is expressed in film language and is clear and achievable.
Scope & depth Explained
The best independent studies were those that explored three to four sub-points in examining and expanding on a topic. An example would be a topic on gender representation of the femme fatale in noir films which then analysed the use of lighting, framing and angles and the cinematic depiction of the "fate" of these characters. When this is done across a number of films, there is more than enough depth and scope for a reasonable independent study. It also provides variation and complexity to the argument which will help the candidate to score well in the "scope and depth" aspects of the markbands.
Candidates should also be highly mindful of establishing links between audio and visual aspects through text analysis. The visuals are not there as a kind of "visual wallpaper", but act as cinematic proof of the argument being developed. This is probably the biggest failure with regards to format. The best candidates provided rich detail in both columns so that it was easy for the reader to "visualise" the documentary.
Candidates should also be highly mindful of establishing links between audio and visual aspects through text analysis. The visuals are not there as a kind of "visual wallpaper", but act as cinematic proof of the argument being developed. This is probably the biggest failure with regards to format. The best candidates provided rich detail in both columns so that it was easy for the reader to "visualise" the documentary.