GCSE Film Studies (Eduqas / WJEC)

42 free revision lessons in 5 units. Open the course or go straight to a lesson.

Film Form and Language

The toolkit of film analysis: cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, narrative, genre and representation.

1. Cinematography: Shot, Angle, Movement and Lighting
2. Mise-en-Scene: Setting, Costume, Props, Make-up
3. Editing: Cuts, Continuity, Pace and Visual Effects
4. Sound: Diegetic, Non-Diegetic, Score and Sound Bridges
5. Narrative Structure: Plot, Story and Three-Act Form
6. Genre, Representation and Spectatorship
7. Contexts of Film: Social, Cultural, Historical, Political, Institutional

US Mainstream Film: 1930s-1980s Comparative Study

Hollywood then and now: the five comparative pairs and what they reveal about genre, society and change.

1. Hollywood Then and Now: Studio System to Modern Blockbuster
2. Dracula and The Lost Boys: Vampires Across Eras
3. Singin' in the Rain and Grease: The Hollywood Musical
4. Pillow Talk and When Harry Met Sally: The Romantic Comedy
5. Rebel Without a Cause and Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Teen Rebellion
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers and E.T.: Aliens and Anxiety
7. Comparing Films: Genre, Narrative, Context Side by Side

US Independent Film and Specialist Writing

Five contemporary US indies and the specialist film writing that helps unlock their meaning.

1. What Is American Independent Cinema?
2. Juno: Tonal Comedy and the Indie Voice
3. Whiplash: Cutting, Sound and Pursuit of Greatness
4. Lady Bird: Coming-of-Age and Greta Gerwig's Direction
5. The Hurt Locker: Bigelow's Iraq Thriller
6. Specialist Writing on Film: Reviews, Theory, Cinematography
7. The Hate U Give: Issue-Led Indie

Global Film and UK Film

Foundations of narrative, representation and aesthetic, plus case studies of the global English-language, global non-English-language and UK films you study.

1. Global English-Language Film: Narrative in Focus
2. Global Non-English-Language Film: Representation in Focus
3. Contemporary UK Film: Aesthetic Style in Focus
4. Slumdog Millionaire: Narrative and Mumbai
5. District 9: Narrative and Segregation Allegory
6. The Babadook: Narrative and Grief as Monster
7. The Breadwinner: Narrative and Animation Under Occupation
8. Jojo Rabbit: Narrative and Comic Distance
9. Tsotsi: Representation and Johannesburg
10. The Wave: Representation and Conformity
11. Wadjda: Representation and Saudi Girlhood
12. Girlhood: Representation and the Paris Banlieue
13. The Farewell: Representation and Diaspora Grief
14. Submarine: Aesthetic and Adolescent Imagination
15. Attack the Block: Aesthetic and Genre Mixing
16. Skyfall: Aesthetic and Bond Cinematography
17. Blinded by the Light: Aesthetic and Musical Realism
18. Rocks: Aesthetic and Multicultural London

Key Developments in Film and Film Technology

From the Lumiere brothers to IMAX and iPhones: the technologies that changed what a film can be.

1. Silent Cinema to Sound: 1895-1935
2. Widescreen, Steadicam and the Push for Spectacle: 1948-1990s
3. Digital, Streaming and Citizen Cinema: 1995-2018

How to revise Film Studies

• Retrieval Practice
• Spaced Repetition
• Interleaving
• Dual Coding
• Elaborative Interrogation
• Knowledge Organisers
• Timed Practice

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