Still taken from Un Chien Andalou - Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali (1929)
If you're reading this, I'm guessing you are either enrolled on AS level Film Studies at Walsall Academy, or that you're thinking about doing so. In the first case, welcome! I look forward to spending the next year watching, talking about, analysing, and subsequently making films with you. In the second case, feel free to keep reading and I'll tell you a little bit about the aims of the AS course, the skills you might gain and what kind of stuff you might be up to for the next nine months or so should you choose to enrol.
The first thing to say is that Film Studies is fun. No matter how detailed the analysis gets or how many takes you need to get the shot you want, you will be involved in a stimulating process that will improve your analytical skills, allow you to express yourself creatively and widen your cultural horizons.
In the first part of the course you will be introduced to the micro-features of film - the tools a director has at his or her disposal when trying to communicate their ideas. You will watch films from a wide selection of genres, from a wide array of countries and from different eras of film production. One week you may be watching a modern British Sci-Fi offering, the next a French horror from the 1950s. The tapestry of filmmaking is vast and rich and you will be sampling a well chosen selection. At the end of the year, you will be asked to submit a short film to show how much you've learned about the ways ideas can be communicated via film. You will complete this task in groups and be given free reign of your creative ideas.
You will also be studying British Horror and Film production with Ms. Seale for examination in the Summer of 2016. This will give you a fascinating insight into how films get from the sketch pad to the cinema screen, and keep you suitably scared and amused in equal measure.
For the first time in the course's history, you will be completing some of your work via blog. Blogging is not only one of the primary channels for film discussion and analysis, it allows you to interact with other students effectively and express your opinions and ideas. You'll be asked to set up a blog from the course's outset and participate in weekly tasks.
Film Studies is an excellent accompaniment to the study of English Literature and Language and can develop your analytical skills and cultural knowledge. It has become an extremely popular subject to choose for undergraduate study, either as a major or a minor.
All you'll need for the start of the course is a healthy interest in learning and an appreciation of films. I look forward to seeing you in class in September.
