How do I revise Film Studies?

I am a yr 13 student doing A Level Film Studies WJEC and as it is a new specification, i'm struggling with revision as there aren't many past papers. Does anybody have any revision tips on how to revise it? Any suggestions would be great!

(I am studying:
Some Like it Hot
Do the Right Thing
Captain Fantastic
La La Land
Under the Skin
This is England
Pan's Labyrinth
Wild Tales
Buster Keaton
Stories We Tell (and Michael Moore)
Pulp Fiction

Reply 1

filmfanatic_

Hi, I'm also a Year 13, and on the same exam board as you and I'm studying:VertigoOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestBoyhoodInceptionThis is EnglandTrainspottingPans LabyrinthCity Of GodAmy Buster KeatonPulp FictionSo jealous you got to do La La Land- I would have loved to have done that! But I feel your pain with the exam board, there is barely ANYTHING to revise from. The way my teachers told us to revise, is to learn 3/4 scenes from all your films really well- know them like the back of your hand, cinematography, mise en scene, contextual knowledge, everything. This way you can hopefully use them for every kind of question that is going to come up and it means you don't have too much to remember! Also a few days before the exams, watch the films that you'll be answering the questions on, it just refreshes your memory, on simple things like character names and narrative, and you may notice different techniques being used that are more relevant in the scenes you've chosen, that you could add to your revision. Hopefully this helps, and good luck with your exams :smile:

P.S I was also just wondering whether you were hoping to do Film at University? Just curious.

Reply 2

georgia_owens26

Hi, Thank you so much, thats vey helpful :smile:

studying La La Land actually ruined the film for me and its one of my favourite films! so maybe you're lucky not having to study it! And no i am not studying film at uni, it looks cool at uni though!

Original post by filmfanatic_

Hi, I'm also a Year 13, and on the same exam board as you and I'm studying:VertigoOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestBoyhoodInceptionThis is England Trainspotting Pans LabyrinthCity Of GodAmy Buster KeatonPulp FictionSo jealous you got to do La La Land- I would have loved to have done that! But I feel your pain with the exam board, there is barely ANYTHING to revise from. The way my teachers told us to revise, is to learn 3/4 scenes from all your films really well- know them like the back of your hand, cinematography, mise en scene, contextual knowledge, everything. This way you can hopefully use them for every kind of question that is going to come up and it means you don't have too much to remember! Also a few days before the exams, watch the films that you'll be answering the questions on, it just refreshes your memory, on simple things like character names and narrative, and you may notice different techniques being used that are more relevant in the scenes you've chosen, that you could add to your revision. Hopefully this helps, and good luck with your exams :smile:

P.S I was also just wondering whether you were hoping to do Film at University? Just curious.

Reply 3

IdleAbyss

Hi I'm also with WJEC, only doing a few of the same films as you but I'm sure that revision techniques are similar :smile:

I've been taught a few strategies in general for revision, these include bullet points, mind maps, flashcards, past exam papers and essay plans. Another good one which comes in especially helpful is the Noughts and Crosses revision tool which I hadn't heard of until yesterday haha (screenshot should be included). The main thing to focus on with all of your films is to analyse representations, whether they're progressive/ regressive and how the mis-en-scene, cinemtatography, aesthetic, editing and performance all help the audience come to a conclusion. For example; in Pan's Labyrinth, the representation of age could be argued to be both regressive and progressive as Ofelia is constantly dismissed because of her age, however, through the will of her imagination she manages to make it to the kingdom.