The document outlines a curriculum plan for a GCSE Film Studies course, detailing course design, teaching strategies, and film selections. Key components include practical filmmaking, genre studies, and evaluation of films across three years, emphasizing the development of film language and contextual understanding. It also addresses effective course growth strategies and utilizes online learning tools and personal podcasts to enhance student engagement.

1. STARTING A COURSE
GCSE FILM STUDIES
June 24th // 2020

2. ●Ian Moreno-Melgar – 2nd in English and Head
of Film in a large comprehensive in South
Yorkshire. Teacher of film for 11 years.
Educational consultant to the BFI and does
“other” stuff. @Moreno_Melgar
●Chris Warrington –
●Sarah O’Halloran –
●Adam Farrand - Subject lead for Film & Media
at a large Academy in Oldham, Greater
Manchester. Started a podcast in lockdown to
*try* and stay sane - Farrand on Film.
(Recently featuring James King!) @FarrandonFilm
HOSTING

3. Setting up & designing a course
We’re not going to/can’t
cover:
• Distance learning in any
detail.
• What might happen with the
coursework/exam next year.
• Exam strategies.
• Transitions from GCSE Film
into other courses/year
groups.
OVERVIEW
Growing a course and making it
a consistent success
Growing a course and making it
a consistent success
Growing a course and making it
a consistent success

4. 01.
SETTING UP &
DESIGNING A
COURSE

5. OTHERCOMPONENT 3
COURSE STRUCTURE
Key Developments in
US Film
Choose 3 films.
Non-exam assessment
Students write a
screenplay or make a
film.
Global Film: Narrative,
Representation and Film
Style
Choose 3 films
Students need to learn film
language.
Don’t forget the timeline is
part of Component 1.
COMPONENT 2COMPONENT 1

6. Don’t feel like you need
to do this in order.
I take a slightly
different approach. I
structure my course so
that students progress
through the course in a
way that suits the
accessibility of the
texts and develops their
understanding as their
film knowledge matures.

7. COMPONENT 3COMPONENT 1
COURSE STRUCTURE
Students need to learn
film language.
Don’t forget the
timeline is part of
Component 1.
Key Developments in
US Film
Choose 3 films.
Global Film:
Film Style;
Representation and then
Narrative.
Non-exam assessment
Students write a screenplay or
make a film.
COMPONENT 2OTHER

8. DESIGNING A COURSE
ATTACK THE
BLOCK
Lean heavily into
what students have
just learned on Film
Language. A great
text to introduce
context too.
TSOTSI DISTRICT 9
FILM STYLE REPRESENTATION NARRATIVE
F I L M L A N G U A G E
Students now know how
to analyse using film
language and a critical
framework. Introduce
representation using
ideas from last text.
Take everything learned
from last two films and
apply here. Get
students to do more of
the heavy lifting, even
if the ‘hardest’ film.

9. 02.
COURSEWORK

10. • Set your own boundaries and rules.
• Be clear and specific about them.
• If there are issues of resources
use as a creative challenge to you
as a teacher, not as an excuse for
students.
• Give yourself time to plan,
prepare and assess AND do the
admin.

11. 03.
KEY POINTS

12. • Know your films.
• Use what’s available
but tailor your
curriculum and
resources to suit your
cohort.
• Encourage and develop
individual responses
using film language and
informed by precise and
accurate context.

13. SARAH O’HALLORAN
Head of Film and Leader of Literacy for 8 years in a comprehensive in
Southampton alongside teaching English.

14. APPROACHING FILM CHOICES
• Finding threads through time/history
• Building on understanding of genre
• Identification of common themes across films, e.g.
isolation
• Variety of contexts and characters

15. MY APPROACH- PAPER 1
• Rebel Without a Cause (Ray, 1955)
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Hughes, 1986)
• Juno (Reitman, 2007)
• Teen genre through the ages
• Introduction to the ‘independent’
• Works well alongside teaching film timeline
• Honing genre conventions, varying and
tracking context and genre development

16. MY APPROACH- PAPER 2
• District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
• Let the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008)
• Attack the Block (Cornish, 2011)
• Variety of genres different from teen
• Introduction of the ‘hybrid’
• Engagement from cohort demographic
• Cultural capital broadening

17. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 1
Year 9 foundation year
• 1.1: Practical filmmaking- provide students with camera and prop, send them to go and
make a film. See what they come up with. Reflect and begin the learning process.
• Intro to cinematography, mise en scene and sound in extracts, students learn and then
apply practically etc. Build on initial filmmaking skills.
• 1.2: Christmas advert unit- starting to look at mise en scene specific to genre, study some
Xmas ads (key elements and basics of narrative) and then they make their own.
• 2.1: reflect on and evaluate Christmas ads, write evaluative analysis with writing frame
and then introduce editing. Students try some of the techniques out themselves with very
simple narrative. Further practical skills building.
• 2.2: Genre Studies- specific to each genre of the coursework options. Watch clips, one
‘create’ task per genre alternating screenplay (good for sci fi), storyboard (good for
musical) and making a film (good for horror). Both study genre conventions and learn
how to create them practically.
• 3.1: Consolidation task- ‘5hr film challenge’- make a genre film within 5 lessons. Write
evaluative analysis of it. (They are given the title and 11 line of dialogue.)
• 3.2: introduction to Juno- first film study. Cover basic study of the film- narrative, themes,
context, key elements.

18. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 2
Autumn Term
Attack the Block (Cornish, 2011)
• Context, genre, narrative, film style, themes, key elements
• Study key sequences
• Remake opening of film shot by shot
• Exploration of director’s choices and intentions
Coverage: film content, hybrid genre (sci-fi/crime/horror/comedy), practical
coursework skills

19. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 2
Spring Term
District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009)
• Context, genre, narrative study, themes, key elements
• Study key sequences
• Write screenplay (which does not exist) of key sequence
• Exploration of director’s choices and intentions (Alive in Jo’burg etc)
Coverage: film content, sci fi/drama genre, practical coursework skills

20. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 2
Summer Term .1
Let the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008)
• Context, genre, narrative, representation, themes, key elements
• Study key sequences
• Develop own vampire narrative/predict a 2nd film narrative
• Exploration of director’s choices and intentions
Coverage: film content, horror genre, practical coursework skills

21. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 2
Summer Term .2
Coursework
• Film or screenplay
• Choice of genres
• Ideas generating (earlier in the term)
• Planning stages
• Shooting/writing
Deadline: September (for those wanting to shoot over the summer)

22. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 3
Autumn Term
• Rebel Without a Cause (Ray, 1955)
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Hughes, 1986)
Comparative study
• Context, genre, narrative study, themes, key elements
• Study key sequences
• Exploration of director’s choices and intentions
Film
Timeline

23. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 3
Spring Term .1
2 weeks – evaluative analysis of coursework films (if not before Christmas)
Juno (Reitman, 2007)
• Recap coverage from year 9
• Introduce specialist writing
• Exam practice

24. COURSE STRUCTURE - YEAR 3
Spring Term .2
Revision and exam technique

25. TEACHING RESOURCES

27. Growing a Course
Film Stu!es GCSE

28. My Story
Appointed 2016 - Asked to grow and reinvigorate the subject.
18-20 GCSE students/8-10 A-Level students in 2015/16.
50 GCSE students/18 A-Level students in 2020

29. Aggressive Advertising
Raise the profile of your subject.
Open Day/Night.Y9 Parent’s Evenings/Option evening.
Target students. Be aware of your competition in option blocks.
Use English Lit as a comparison.
Know about the Cambridge University Film Studies pathway.
Champion your successes.
Do not let your subject be the ‘bin’.

30. Course Design
My school.Very white. Sheltered existence.
Hammer the film language. Absolutely hammer this in the first four
weeks.
Course as broad as possible. Push a broad experiences.
Context/Film/Theory/Scene Analysis/Application Practice/Questions
Produce Your Own Resources. Others are fine but you need to make
your own way to stand out as a course.

31. Lesson Tips
Film Still Starter.What is that shot/angle/prop/costume/mood/
atmosphere? What is happening? How can you tell?
Always show a clip. Benefit of the subject.
Structure your exercise books as if they are revision books.

32. The Happy Classroom
If you can make them feel like it’s the lesson that doesn’t feel like
work. It feels like they are learning something cool.You’ve started to
win.
Much easier to do if your classroom is not being used as a ‘bin’.

33. Online Learning &
Sequencing

34. Planning A Scheme Of Work – Three Year Overview
HT Year One/Nine Year Two/Ten Year Three/Eleven
1 Introduction To Film & Genre
Narrative: Avengers: Infinity War
American Indie: Whiplash
Narrative: District 9
2
Film Form Revision & Paper One Mock
Auteur Theory NEA: Finishing Touches
3
Aesthetics: Spider-Man: Into The
Spider-Verse
NEA: Pre-Production
Interleaved Revision
Aesthetics: Attack The Block
NEA: Production
4
Full Papers Mock Exam
NEA: Post-Production
Interleaved Revision
5
Representation: Black Panther Developments In US Cinema: Rebel
Without A Cause
Representation: Tsotsi
6
Developments In US Cinema: Ferris
Bueller’s Day Off
Summer Exams

35. Planning A Scheme Of Work – Two Year Overview
HT Year Two/Ten Year Three/Eleven
1
Introduction To Film & Film Form
Developments In US Cinema: Rebel Without A Cause
Aesthetics: Attack The Block
2 Developments In US Cinema: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Representation: Tsotsi
3
NEA: Finishing Touches
Narrative: District 9
Interleaved Revision
4
Full Papers Mock Exam
NEA: Pre-Production
Interleaved Revision
5
NEA: Production
NEA: Post-Production
6 American Indie: Whiplash Summer Exams

36. Interleaved
Revision

37. Interleaved Recall Starters

38. Planning A Scheme Of Work
• Don’t be afraid to change!
• Switched Paper One set texts after teaching & exam results.
• Switched from scene specific to film form specific analysis
lessons.
• Make sure you cover contexts for every film!

39. Online Learning
• Teaching lessons over Teams.
• Making use of the ‘chat’ function and class notebook for students to type
in their responses.
• Videos will play if you share your screen, but lag is very much an issue.
• Linking to YouTube videos works fine via the chat.
• Stills analysis is a viable back up option.

40. Podcast – Farrand On Film
• New episodes each week.
• So far covered Rebel & Whiplash for Paper One in
Required Learning (Contexts and other bits) &
Commentaries (key sequence analysis)
• Ferris going up Friday & Next Wednesday. Timeline
episode up after that.
• District 9, Tsotsi & Attack The Block will be recorded
over Summer.
• Other episodes cover the set Genres for the NEA & off
spec conversations around Auteurs, Franchises &
Actors.