25 minutes; 1 question; 15 marks; 7.5% of GCSE

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Details

No Comparison Required!

Assessment Objectives

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Film

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Core Study Areas

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About

• This section of the exam boils down to providing a close analysis of a short sequence from a film based on the ideas presented in an academic article.

• In our case, you will be looking at the opening 5-minutes of Lady Bird having read Specialist Writing Option A: Finding The Frame.

• The key ideas in the article can be reduced to the following 4 quotations:

  A strategy to decoding the meaning of a composition or frame is to identify the themes and ideas that lie at the heart of the film; its essence; its core ideas.

  Every shot counts no matter how inconsequential it may seem.

  The framing of a shot conveys meaning through the arrangement of visual elements.

  …anything and everything that is included in the composition or frame of a shot is there for a specific purpose.

• Read my example answer, about the opening sequence of Little Miss Sunshine, to get an idea of what is expected. </aside>

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Specification (Specialist Writing: Option A — Finding The Frame)

Specialist Writing: Option A — Finding The Frame (Page 1)

Specialist Writing: Option A — Finding The Frame (Page 2)

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Guidelines

• Remember, you should be writing an essay about Lady Bird that makes reference to Specialist Writing Option A: Finding The Frame, not vice-versa. Nevertheless, you should repeatedly link your observations of how the opening sequence is constructed back to:
  • "…ideas that lie at the heart of the film; its essence; its core ideas."
  • "…anything and everything that is included in the composition or frame of a shot is there for a specific purpose."
• Unlike most other sections of the GCSE Film Studies examinations, a short conclusion might be a good idea. </aside>