Monday, 18 November 2024

Film studies - past paper questions

This is a film studies post and refers to the OCR film studies exam, and not the EDUQAS media studies exam.

The following is a list of questions compiled and presented by Naamah. All questions are either past paper (as in, they have actually featured in a previous exam), or they are authentic 'exam style' questions. Over time, we hope to add to this resource and build up a comprehensive list of questions.


Documentary

  • Creativity is as important as authenticity in documentary films.’ How far do you agree with this view? Discuss this in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • What filmmaking techniques have been used to convince the spectator that the filmmaker is offering a truthful account in the documentary you have studied? Discuss this in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • ‘The purpose of documentary is to portray reality in an unbiased way.’ Discuss this view in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • ‘Out of every film genre, documentaries have changed the least.’ Referring to the theories of Grierson and Pennebaker, discuss this view in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • ‘Documentaries are unreliable narrators of past events’. Discuss this in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • ‘The power of a documentary film relies on techniques that make it feel as real and as truthful as possible.’ Discuss this in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied.
  • Discuss how the documentary film you have studies uses performance to construct the spectator’s understanding of the reality presented in the film.
  • ‘The filming and editing techniques used by documentary filmmakers can influence a spectator’s opinion and change their attitude to social, cultural and political issues’ Discuss this view in relation to examples from the documentary film you have studied


Surrealism

  • With reference to examples from both experimental surrealist films you have studied, explain how cinematography and editing have been used to challenge conventional narratives. [15]
  • Analyse how both experimental surrealist films you have studied use narrative ambiguity to disrupt the relationship that spectators expect to have with conventional films. [35]
  • Analyse how both experimental surrealist films you have studied use naturalistic techniques to express human desires and passions.  [35]
  • Analyse how one or both experimental surrealist films you have studied use mise-en-scène to create a surrealist aesthetic. [15]
  • How and why do the narratives of both experimental surrealist films you have studied withhold psychological insight into character? Analyse specific examples from both films. [35]
  • How far do both experimental surrealist films you have studied reject conventional linear narratives? Analyse specific examples from both films. [35]
  • How far do the opening scenes of the two experimental surrealist film you have studied start a narrative chain of cause and effect that is developed throughout the films? Analyse specific examples from both films.  [35]
  • Analyse how one experimental surrealist film you have studied uses micro elements to create narrative ambiguity. [15]


Editing

  • With reference to a sequence from the silent film you have studied, analyse how editing has been used to create aesthetic effects. 
  • With reference to a sequence from the film made between 1930 and 1960 which you have studied, explain how diegetic and non-diegetic sound have been used to create meaning in the sequence.
  • With reference to a sequence from the silent film that you have studied, explain how continuity editing creates shot to shot relationships. 
  • Analyse how editing is used to create meaning in at least two examples from one film from the silent film that you have studied.


To effectively analyse films in your responses, you may consider the following

  • What is being communicated to the audience about tone, mood, character and character developing, etc, would all audiences read this in the same way (polysemy)
  • How does this make the audience feel, what does it make the audience think
  • How does this add to/ develop the narrative (3 act structure, cause and effect, strands)
  • How does this highlight aspects of genre (following or challenging codes and conventions, reflect current issues in society etc)
  • How does this connect to the time that the film was made?
  • Why did the director choose to do this?
  • How might this reflect the visual style the director wants to achieve?
  • How does this connect to the themes/ dominant ideologies/messages/ values/ context of the text. 
  • How can a theory be linked in (e.g. alignment, auteur, binary oppositions, Todorov, Propp)