This essential book covers the key areas for A Level Film Studies
students, building confidence through a careful, step-by-step approach.
The first part of the book establishes a basic understanding of the
grounding of film analysis in the various elements of film construction,
mise en scène, cinematography, editing, sound and performance,
developing the knowledge students have of movies whilst challenging them
to consider new films and ideas. Key theoretical approaches around
narrative, genre, representation, spectatorship and authorship are
introduced in Part II, before we consider specific national cinemas from
around the world in parts III and IV. In Part V, the book assesses a
range of slightly different film experiences, looking at silent cinema,
experimental films and documentaries; before, finally, Part VI shifts to
evaluating creative approaches to students' own filmmaking.
Specifically designed to be user-friendly, the book has an
easy-to-follow design, includes more than 60 colour images and is packed
with features such as:
- case studies on a range of films and filmmakers;
- activities on such films as Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (Murnau,
1927, USA), Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958, USA), Do the Right Thing
(Lee, 1989, USA), We Need to Talk About Kevin (Ramsay, 2011, UK) and
Stories We Tell (Polley, 2012, Canada);
- definitions of key terms; and
- suggestions for further reading and website resources.
Matched to the current exam specification, A Level Film Studies: The
Essential Introduction covers everything students need to study as part
of the course. The book is supported by a companion website at
www.alevelfilmstudies.co.uk, offering further advice and activities.
