AS Film Studies

Examination Practice

This pack includes:-

1. Two questions from each section of the exam paper for you to do as revision exercises:-

• Section A - Producers and Audiences (including resource material)• Section B - British Cinema: Studies in National Identity - Borders and

Belonging• Section C - Hollywood Cinema

2. Some notes on how to go about answering the questions

3.A mark scheme for Section A and a mark scheme for Sections B and C combined.

You need to answer ALL of the questions. I would recommend answering one from each section in the first week of the holiday and emailing your answers to me, waiting for feedback and then answering the second question from each session.

My email is fl@heathpark.net

There is lots of information on the blog which will help you as well - http://www.heathparkfilmstudies.wordpress.com

Use the search box at the top right of the blog page to find posts on FM2

Section A - Producers and Audiences.

Resource Material

Homepage of fan website for Will Ferrell (www.willferrell.org/index.html)

GCE AS/A FILM STUDIES 10

Study Item A, the resource material for use with Section A, Question 1.

Home page of fan website for Will Ferrell (www.willferrell.org/index.html)

Table: UK and US Opening Weekend Box Office Takings for Two Films starring Will Ferrell (released in 2006 and 2007) UK Release: Box Office

Opening Weekend US Release: Box Office

Opening Weekend Box Office

Takings (£m) Screens Box Office

Takings ($m) Screens

Talladega Nights: The

Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

£1.03 m 403 $47.04 m (approx £23.9 m)

3803

Blades of Glory (2007)

£1.02m 362 $33m

3372

GCE AS/A FILM STUDIES 10

Study Item A, the resource material for use with Section A, Question 1.

Home page of fan website for Will Ferrell (www.willferrell.org/index.html)

Table: UK and US Opening Weekend Box Office Takings for Two Films starring Will Ferrell (released in 2006 and 2007) UK Release: Box Office

Opening Weekend US Release: Box Office

Opening Weekend Box Office

Takings (£m) Screens Box Office

Takings ($m) Screens

Talladega Nights: The

Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

£1.03 m 403 $47.04 m (approx £23.9 m)

3803

Blades of Glory (2007)

£1.02m 362 $33m

3372

Question 1

Study the resource material below, which includes:-- the home page of a fan website for the American star Will Ferrell- a table showing UK and US box office takings for two films starring Will Ferrell released

in 2006- a poster for one of these films and the front cover of a magazine featuring one of these

filmsUsing this material as a starting point, and drawing on your own case studies, answer the following question:

What are some of the reasons for the popularity of US produced films for UK audiences?

GCE AS/A FILM STUDIES 11

Poster for Talladega Nights (2006)

Front Cover of Premiere, April 2007

Resource Material

GCE AS/A FILM STUDIES 12

Study Item B, the resource material for use with Section A, Question 2.

Press Release, May 2003: Vue buy Warner Village Cinema Chain J.Timothy Richards, President & CEO of Vue said: "Warner Village did a great job in constructing a very high quality portfolio of multiplex cinemas. We will continue to expand and enhance this platform to ensure that we have the leading, most modern and best equipped cinema circuit in the UK. The Vue brand will become synonymous with the best screens, the best sound and the best seating, to create the best possible cinematic experience. We will make sure this appeals to everyone by offering a greater variety and diverse range of films".

Vue Cinema: Programme for The Lowry, Manchester (March, 2007) 13 screen cinema showing the latest releases and offering a 'Gold Class' screen with 32 leather seats, waiter service and bar. Less than 10 minutes from Manchester city centre in The Lowry Outlet Mall at Salford Quays. See below for our programme, week beginning 23 March, 2007

300 (GC)

Premonition

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank

Miller.

Warner Brothers Picture

A supernatural thriller about a woman who has

a premonition about the death of her husband.

Hyde Park / TriStar - US

Ghost Rider

The Hills Have Eyes 2

Film version of the comic book about a

motorcycle stuntman who sells his soul to the

devil.

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Sequel to the 2006 horror remake about a

group of mutant cannibals.

Twentieth Century Fox - US

Hot Fuzz

The Queen

The talent behind Shaun Of The Dead reunite

for Hot Fuzzs following the career of PC

Nicholas Angel (Pegg).

Big Talk / Working Title - UK

Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II as

she attempts to deal with the death of Diana,

Princess of Wales

Granada / Pathe - UK

Norbit

TMNT

A mild-mannered geek plots to leave his

nightmare wife when he falls in love with

another

Dreamworks - US.

This state-of-the-art CG animation brings the

crime-fighting turtles to life for a whole new

generation.

Imagi Entertainment – Hong Kong / US

Outlaw

Violent British thriller about a group of men

who take the law into their own hands.

Vertigo Films - UK

Press Release: May 2003: Vue buy Warner Village Cinema ChainJ Timothy Richards, President and CEO of Vue, said “Warner Village did a great job in constructing a very high quality portfolio of multiplex cinemas. We will continue to expand and enhance this platform to ensure that we ahve the leading, most modern and best equipped cinema circuit in the UK. The Vue brand will become synonymous with the best screens, the best sound and the best seating, to create the best possible cinematic experience. We will make sure this appeals to everyone by offering a greater variety and diverse range of films.”

Question 2Study the resource material below, which includes:- a press release about the purchase of the Warner Village cinema chain by Vue in 2003- the programme for a thirteen screen Vue multiplex in Manchester from March 2007- a blog extract: “Is Cinema Dead?”Using this material as a starting point, and drawing on your own case studies, answer the following question:Are the attractions of going to a cinema today sufficiently strong to compete against other ways in which we can now watch films?

GCE AS/A FILM STUDIES 13

Is Cinema Dead?

Is this the future of cinema-going?

Culture Vulture Blog: Guardian Unlimited Is Cinema Dead, Paul Hamilos (June, 2005) I literally mean, is cinema dead? Do we no longer enjoy the thrill of finding ourselves in a darkened room with hundreds of strangers, waiting eagerly to discover what cinematic delights are in store for us? DVD sales are now a huge part of the Hollywood marketing machine – an estimated 60% of revenue from the US came in home sales, compared to 23% for tickets. Any number of films now do as much, if not more, business on the small screen. And, of course, there's that old problem for Hollywood of piracy (oddly not something that Joe Public is losing too much sleep over), which meant that Star

Wars was available on DVD across the world just hours after it hit the cinema. Warner, for example, has just released a film on DVD in China on the same day it came out in the cinema in the US, in a bid to stay one step ahead of those pesky pirates. It’s the first time something like this has happened, and they’re surely testing the water ahead of bigger releases. The challenge is up to cinema owners to make the cinema-going experience a more enjoyable one. Bigger seats, cheaper tickets, and so on, would go some way to improving the matter. But can they compete with the comforts of home, where you can drink and smoke to your heart's content, shout at the screen, and answer your mobile phone should you so desire?

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Notes on Section A

1.In each question you have to write about the resource material and additional material if you want to get more than a D. The additional material can be anything to do with the cinema that helps you answer the question.

2.You are not going to write half an essay on the resource material and then half an essay on the additional material you choose. You are going to write a three or four paragraph essay and each paragraph is going to talk about the material you choose as relevant to support that paragraph.

3.Give yourself a clear structure that allows you to do this- Question 1 could be about the size of the US film industry compared to the UK, the use of Stars and the popularity of Hollywood genre movies. Question 2 could be about what’s distinctive about going to the cinema, what’s distinctive about alternatives in terms of distribution (DVDs and so on, the internet...) and what’s distinctive about alternatives to the cinema in terms of exhibition (home cinema, mobile devices...).

4.Write an introduction, three or four main paragraphs and a conclusion. Tell them what you’re going to tell them - tell them - tell them what you told them.

5.Your introduction will explain how you’re going to be answering the question.

6.Each paragraph will start with a sentence explaining what the paragraph is about.

7.The conclusion will do more than telling them what you told them. It will identify your strongest point and explain why it’s strongest, or identify further areas for research and explain why they are interesting.

8.You are going to give lots of specific cinematic examples from the resource material and the additional information you choose, using technical language where possible (if nothing else, you can talk about genre and conventions, about production, distribution and exhibition).

9.You are not going to describe the resource material and then stop. You are going to select some ideas from the resource material, along with some additional evidence, to support points you want to make..

10. You’re probably going to write about 750 words for each question but that’s very much a rough guideline.

Markscheme for Section A - Producers and Audiences

Grade D work will describe the resource material, and may go on to describe some other relevant material. It will show some understanding of the question but will only just start to analyse, as well as describe, the examples given and how they are relevant to the question. Writing will generally be accurate and clear with the occasional mistake.

* Tries to answer the question * Describes rather than analyses most of the time* Which means ‘doesn’t really explain why the material you are writing about answers

the question’* Only uses the resource material from the paper, nothing from your own studies* Writing includes some mistakes

Grade C work selects some relevant material to answer the question. It will interpret the chosen examples, explaining their relevance to the question. It will include material from your own studies as well as from the resource material provided on the paper. Writing will be clear and accurate with hardly any mistakes.

* Answers the question * Starts to analyse - to explain how the material chosen answers the question* Uses examples beyond the ones given on the paper* Writing hardly includes any mistakes.

Grade B work shows a good understanding of the question and will consistently select relevant material to answer the question. It will analyse the chosen items from the resource material and from your own studies to demonstrate how they are relevant to the question. The answer will be well structured, and writing will be clear and accurate.

* Answers the question well* Selects relevant material from the resource material on the paper and beyond* Analyses material to show its relevance to the question* An organised answer with clear accurate writing.

Grade A work shows excellent knowledge and confident understanding of the question and will show a very good ability to select relevant material to answer the question, include the resource material on the paper and excellently chosen material from your own studies, which will be analysed and key points will be explained. Writing will be fluent, well structured, accurate and sophisticated.

* Answers the question excellently* Makes clear points in answer to the question* Selects relevant material from resource materials and own studies* Analyses the relevance and effectiveness of chosen material in answering the question* Writing is very well organised, fluent, accurate and sophisticated.

Section B - British Film Topics

British Film: Identity Study - Borders and Belonging

Section C - Hollywood Cinema

Notes on Section B and C

1. In each question you have to write about both of the exam films - Ghosts and Dirty Pretty Things in Section B - Batman and The Dark Knight in Section C.

2.You are not going to write half an essay on one film and then half an essay on the second film. You are going to write a three or four paragraph essay and each paragraph is going to talk about both films.

3.Give yourself a clear structure that allows you to do this- structure your answer for Q3 and Q5 around different aspects of narrative (with some discussion of genre and generic conventions as well in Q5) , for Q4 around different cinematic ways national identity is represented, and for Q6 around three or four particular themes.

4.Write an introduction, three or four main paragraphs and a conclusion. Tell them what you’re going to tell them - tell them - tell them what you told them.

5.Your introduction will explain how you’re going to be answering the question.

6.Each paragraph will start with a sentence explaining what the paragraph is about.

7.The conclusion will do more than telling them what you told them. It will identify your strongest point and explain why it’s strongest, or identify further areas for research and explain why they are interesting.

8.You are going to give lots of specific cinematic examples from the films, using technical language.

9.You are not going to describe the story, you are going to use cinematic evidence from the films to back up the points you are making.

10. You’re probably going to write about 750 words for each question but that’s very much a rough guideline.

Question 3 - Discuss how the films you have studied use narrative to communicate their messages and values.

Question 4 - How is ‘National Identity’ represented in the films you have studied?

Question 5 - Discuss some of the similarities and differences between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre.

Question 6 - How far do the two films you have studied for his topic present similar messages and values?

Mark Scheme for Section B & C

British Film: Identity Study - Borders and Belonging / Hollywood Cinema

Grade D work describes incidents from your films more than it analyses, but it does choose relevant incidents to describe. Any discussion of narrative, genre or representation will be in the background rather than being clearly focussed. There is some use of technical language. Writing will generally be clear with some mistakes.

* There is a little focus on answering the question* Describes more than analysis most of the time* Chooses some relevant examples from the films* Some use of technical language* Writing may contain some mistakes

Grade C work is starting to make analytical points and support them with relevant cinematic evidence from the films. Technical language will generally be used. There will be some focus on answering the question rather than just writing about the films. Writing will be clear and accurate with hardly any mistakes.

* There is some focus on answering the question* Starting to analyse more than describe* Choosing relevant examples from the films* Generally using technical language accurately* Writing is clear and accurate with almost no mistakes.

Grade B work develops a clear point of view and uses well-chosen relevant cinematic examples from the films, making detailed and accurate references and using technical language accurately. There will be a clear focus on answering the questions. Writing will be clear and accurate.

* Focusses on answering the question* Analyses well chosen cinematic examples to support points* References to cinematic examples are detailed and accurate* Uses technical langauge effectively* Writing is clear and accurate with good structure.

Grade A work shows excellent knowledge and understanding of the films. There is a consistent focus on answering the question, using well chosen cinematic evidence which is detailed and accurate and consistently using technical language effectively. Answers are well structured and writing is fluent and accurate.

* Answers the question excellently* Makes clear points in answer to the question* Selects relevant cinematic evidence which is referred to fully and accurately* Analyses the relevance and effectiveness of chosen material in answering the question* Consistently uses technical language effectively* Writing is very well organised, fluent, accurate and sophisticated.