WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Film Studies Specification Notes

Specification Overview: WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Film Studies

• This specification is for the WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) in Film Studies, intended for teaching from $2017$ and award from $2019$.

• It is accredited by Ofqual and designated by Qualifications Wales.

• The current document is Version $7$, dated May $2025$.

• The qualification number listed on The Register is $603/0889/8$, and the Qualifications Wales Designation Number is $C00/1174/2$.

• Initial entries use the code: WJEC Eduqas GCSE Film studies: $C670QS$.

Summary of Amendments and Updates

• Version $2$: Amended 'Making entries' section for clarification on resit rules and carrying forward NEA (Non-exam assessment) marks.

• Version $3$: Updated film texts for assessment starting in $2024$. An amended production brief was added for assessment from $2023$. Appendix B (Timeline) was updated to include the period $1995$-$2018$ for assessment from $2024$ onwards.

• Version $4$: Removed production briefs that were assessed for the final time in $2022$.

• Version $5$: Removed films for last assessment in Summer $2023$.

• Version $6$: Updated guidance for marking and submission of NEA for Component $3$.

• Version $7$: Removed a sentence regarding moderation updates.

Aims and Objectives of the Course

• The course draws on the enthusiasm learners have for film as a powerful medium that inspires emotional and reflective responses.

• It treats film as the major art form of the last hundred years, focusing on immersive audio-visual experiences involving cinematography, composition, and sound.

• Key Knowledge Areas:   - How meanings and responses are generated through film.   - Study of a contrasting, culturally diverse range of films from different national contexts.   - Conceptualizing film as an aesthetic medium.   - Understanding how films reflect social, cultural, and political contexts.   - The relationship between film and technological evolution over time.

• Skills Development: Learners develop literacy, communication, analytical, production, and IT skills. The specification aims to provide a foundtion for further study (A level, HE) or related work environments.

• Progression: While skills in English, Literacy, and ICT are beneficial, there are no formal prior learning requirements.

Subject Content Overview: The Core Study Areas

• All films in the course are studied through two core areas:   - 1. Key elements of film form: Cinematography, mise-en-scne, editing, and sound.   - 2. Contexts of film: Social, cultural, historical, political, technological, and institutional contexts.

• Learning Progression:   - Starts with foundational film form elements.   - Recognizes how contexts and specialist writing deepen understanding.   - Explores genre and narrative as larger organizational structures.

Technical Details: Key Elements of Film Form

• Cinematography and Lighting:   - Shot types: Extreme close-ups, close-ups, medium shots, long shots, extreme long shots, high, low and $60^\circ$ angle (off-centre) shots, tilt, and aerial shots.   - Camera movement: Pan, tracking, dolly, and Steadicam technology.   - Lighting: Position and intensity.   - Framing: Distance, angle, level, and mobility.

• Mise-en-scne:   - Components: Settings, props, costume, and make-up.   - Functions: Conveying realism, contributing to themes/issues, developing characters, and conveying character traits.

• Editing:   - Edit types: Cut, dissolve, and fade.   - Continuity editing: Principles such as shot-reverse shot.   - Techniques: Cross-cutting, editing pace, and post-production visual effects.

• Sound:   - Diegetic Sound: Ambient sound, sound effects, and sound bridges.   - Non-diegetic Sound: Music motifs and different types of music.   - Functions: Conveying themes, generating character motifs, and eliciting spectator responses.

The Contexts of Film and Technological History

• Contextual Influence: Films reflect the time they were made (Institutional, Technological) and the time in which they are set (Social, Cultural, Historical, Political).

• Institutional Context: Includes funding, budget levels, and the main stages of production.

• Key Historical Developments in Film Technology:   - $1895$: First moving images by the Lumire brothers.   - $1895$-$1927$: Development of silent cinema; foundations of cinematography and continuity editing.   - $1920s$: Emergence of a vertically integrated Hollywood industry (Big $5$: Paramount, Warner Bros, Loew's/MGM, Fox, RKO; Little $3$: Columbia, Universal, United Artists).   - $1927$: The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland) – first feature with a soundtrack.   - $1935$: Becky Sharp (Rouben Mamoulian) – first 'three strip' Technicolor feature.   - $1948$: Paramount court case prevents vertical integration, leading to independent production in the $1950s$.   - $1950s$: Rise of widescreen and $3D$ to combat the decline in cinema attendance caused by television.   - Late $1950s$: Production of lightweight, portable cameras (used by French 'New Wave' directors).   - $1970s$: Development of Steadicam by Garrett Brown (introduced $1975$).   - $1990s$: Shift from filmed special effects to digital visual effects and CGI characters.   - $1995$: Toy Story – first CG feature-length animation.   - $2007$: Netflix launches as the first legal streaming service.   - $2015$/$2018$: Feature films shot on iPhones (Tangerine, Unsane).   - $2017$: Streaming services overtake DVD sales values.   - $2018$: Avengers: Infinity War – first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras.

Component 1: Key Developments in US Film

• Assessment: Written exam ($1\,\text{hour}\,30\,\text{minutes}$, $70\,\text{marks}$, $35\%$ of qualification).

• Section A: US Mainstream Comparative Study ($50\,\text{marks}$):   - Comparison of one film from $1930$-$1960$ and another from $1961$--$1990.   - Pairs of Films:     - Horror: Dracula ($1931$) and The Lost Boys ($1987$).     - Musical: Singin' in the Rain ($1952$) and Grease ($1978$).     - Teen Film: Rebel without a Cause ($1955$) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off ($1986$).     - Romance: Pillow Talk ($1959$) and When Harry Met Sally ($1989$).     - Science Fiction: Invasion of the Body Snackers ($1956$) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($1982$).

• Section B: Key developments in film technology ($5\,\text{marks}$):   - Multi-part short responses based on the historical timeline.

• Section C: US Independent Film ($15\,\text{marks}$):   - Choice of: Juno ($2007$), The Hurt Locker ($2008$), Whiplash ($2014$), Ladybird ($2017$), or The Hate U Give ($2018$).   - Study focuses on specialist writing: One source on cinematography, one on US independent film, and one specific film review.

Component 2: Global Film: Narrative, Representation, and Film Style

• Assessment: Written exam ($1\,\text{hour}\,30\,\text{minutes}$, $70\,\text{marks}$, $35\%$ of qualification).

• Section A: Global English Language Film (Narrative focus):   - Slumdog Millionaire (UK, $2008$).   - District 9 (South Africa, $2009$).   - The Babadook (Australia, $2014$).   - The Breadwinner (Ireland, $2017$).   - Jojo Rabbit (NZ, $2019$).

• Section B: Global Non-English Language Film (Representation focus):   - Tsotsi (South Africa, $2005$).   - The Wave (Germany, $2008$).   - Wadjda (Saudi Arabia, $2012$).   - Girlhood (France, $2014$).   - The Farewell (China/US, $2019$).

• Section C: Contemporary UK Film (Aesthetics/Style focus):   - Submarine ($2010$).   - Attack the Block ($2011$).   - Skyfall ($2012$).   - Rocks ($2019$).   - Blinded by the Light ($2019$).

Component 3: Production (Non-Exam Assessment)

• Weighting: $30\%$ of qualification (Production: $20\%$, Evaluative Analysis: $10\%$, total $60\,\text{marks}$).

• Task: Produce a genre-based film extract OR a screenplay and shooting script, plus an evaluative analysis.

• Option 1: Filmed Extract:   - Length: $2\,\text{minutes}$ to $2\,\text{minutes}\,30\,\text{seconds}$.   - Individual work on camerawork and editing.

• Option 2: Screenplay Extract:   - Length: $800$ to $1000\,\text{words}$.   - Accompanying Shooting Script: Approx. $1\,\text{minute}$ of screen time ($1\,\text{page}$).   - Format: Master scene script layout (Courier $12\,\text{pt}$, uppercase dialogue names, sluglines, 'mf' markers).

• Evaluative Analysis:   - Word count: $750$ to $850\,\text{words}$.   - Contents: Aims for audience, influence from three professionally produced genre films, analysis of the final production.

• Completion Stages: Five authenticating stages must be met, including initial planning, outline drafts, and progress evidence to ensure authorship.

• Penalties for Length:   - Film short by up to $15\,\text{sec}$: $-2\,\text{marks}$.   - Screenplay short by up to $100\,\text{words}$: $-2\,\text{marks}$.   - Analysis short by up to $75\,\text{words}$: $-2\,\text{marks}$.   - Over-length work: Only assessed up to the maximum limit ($2:30$, $1000\,\text{words}$, or $850\,\text{words}$).

Assessment Objectives (AO) and Weightings

• AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of elements of film ($30\%$ total).

• AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding to analyze and compare films, or evaluate own work ($50\%$ total).

• AO3: Apply knowledge and understanding to production of film/screenplay ($20\%$ total).

• Component weightings sum to $100\%$ ($35\%$ for Comp $1$, $35\%$ for Comp $2$, $30\%$ for Comp $3$).