Moving Image Arts

Key Stage 4

GCSE 

GCSE Moving Image Arts is the first course of its kind in the UK. You will have the opportunity to work on a range of tasks, including planning and creating moving image products. This linear course provides a solid foundation for progression to GCE AS/A2 Moving Image Arts and other subject-related qualifications

Component 1, 40% of overall grade. (Year 11 & 12)

You will study six set film genres during the course and will be expected to develop knowledge and understanding of film language, visual style and representation in this component. You will learn to recognise a range of genre-specific conventions and to analyse style and purpose in previously unseen moving image sequences. You will also be expected to become familiar with creative production practices, production management considerations and industry contexts and be able to apply the knowledge and experience you gain during the course as a whole to different scenarios and creative tasks.

Component 2, 20% of overall grade. (Year 11)

This component gives you the opportunity to acquire and develop the five core skills of film production through practical and creative work based on a range of stimulus material. These core skills are: • storyboarding; 

• camera work; 
• editing; 
• post production sound; and 
• stop-motion animation.

Component 3, 40% of overall grade. (Year 12)

In this component you will be able to build on what you have learnt in Component 2 and create your own final film portfolio, which can be either live action or animated. This will involve deeper research into genre and the work of others and you will be expected to use this new knowledge to inform and influence your own creative work. This component will give you the opportunity to extend and develop the following film making skills: 

• narrative and script development; 
• recording and editing a wider range of production sound; 
• lighting; 
• production design/mise-en-scene; and 
• production management.

Key Stage 5

AS & A2

Moving Image Arts is a course of study and practice in film offering students the unique opportunity to develop and refine their creativity as filmmakers. In a knowledge economy that is increasingly defined and shaped by the moving image, it enables students to broaden their experience of audio-visual culture and history to inform, inspire and contextualise their own creative practice and ideas. Given its practical and skills-based nature, it is an ideal choice for students wishing to pursue a career in the creative industries where independence, originality, creative enterprise and technical skill are valued and promoted. The course will enable students to develop creative and critical abilities in writing, directing, editing, producing and analysing films from a broad range of contexts and disciplines. Moving Image Arts is a challenging and rewarding course which offers a solid foundation for progression to higher and further education and the creative industries.

This specification encourages an approach to teaching and learning which integrates both the creative and critical aspects of moving image, enabling students to demonstrate skills and knowledge in both practical and theoretical contexts: 

AS 1: Realist and Formalist Techniques and Classical Hollywood: Foundation Portfolio – Production of a film (3 to 4 minutes) or animation sequence in response to a pre-release stimulus 

AS 2: Critical Response – Online examination featuring unseen film clips 

A2 1: Creative Production and Research: Advanced Portfolio – Production of a complete narrative film (4 to 7 minutes)  or animation supported by independent research into a selected film practitioner 

A2 2: Advanced Critical Response – Online examination featuring unseen film clips and stimulus requiring comparative analysis and an applied creative exercise