Exam Tips

▪ Read Questions Carefully and answer the question you have been given. Pay particular attention to instructional words and phrases: “compare...”,“to what extent...”, “how far...”, “analyse...” etc. Make sure you are doing exactly what the question is asking you to do. Areas of study are often suggested via different phrases, such as 'the times that the films were made' (asking about context), or 'a creative filmmaker' (asking about auteur).

▪ Key words: You need to demonstrate a confident understanding and fluent use of key terminology in your answers.

▪ Write analytically not descriptively: Take great care not to simply describe scenes from films. You are expected to analyse how film form has been used in these films to create meaning and/or position spectators to respond to them in a certain way.

▪ Examples: You need very clear, very specific examples from key scenes of the films you have studied to support your points. Questions will also often specify that you focus on a single key scene from a film, it is strongly advised that you follow this advice.

▪ Connectives and Linking Sentences: Use connecting words and sentences that link back to the question, especially at the start of paragraphs or at significant turning points in essays to give them a much stronger sense of structure.

▪ Arguments: You need a clear sense of argument and you need to sound confident about what you are writing about. Also,  you can demonstrate that your analysis is a statement of opinion and that other interpretations are possible. Modifying phrases such as “it could be argued...”, “arguably...”, “can be interpreted as...”. “it’s possible that...”, “could be...” are great for this and showing deeper analysis.

▪ Timing. You only have 50 minutes maximum for a 40 mark question and 30 minutes for a 20 mark question. Practice this at home.

▪ Introductions: Introductions need to be short, refer back to the question and set up the rest of the essay. Don’t give examples in introductions and don’t give too much away or start any specific points. You should rather hint at how you will tackle the question. Introductions are great chances in defining the key terminology from the question (such as what an Auteur means), and giving some brief context to the films (directors, genres, production studios, key themes, film movements).

▪ The Perfect Paragraph: Your first sentence should directly address the question, and your last sentence should bring the point to some conclusion and link back to the question. The body of the paragraph will include detailed examples from scene(s) with close analysis of film form and contextual information. You can use more than more example in a paragraph if you wish. References to theories and critical approaches are needed depending on the question.

Blade Runner often uses experimental editing, such as jump cuts. An example is found in the opening scene, where a shot of an eye is shown on the screen in an 'abrupt' way. This is a typical convention of New Hollywood filmmaking, therefore Blade Runner as a film, is firmly within the New Hollywood movement. 

(Basic Analysis = 2 marks)

Blade Runner often uses experimental editing, such as jump cuts, where continuity may be intentionally broken to create a 'jarring' or 'disorientating' effect. This technique was common in French New Wave filmmaking, which opened the gates to more playful and rebellious styles of editing. ​ An example is of the jarring jump cut is found in the opening scene, where an extreme close-up shot of an unknown eye is shown very quickly on the screen in an 'abrupt' way, almost like a flash. This unconventional style of editing is typical of the creative freedom that New Hollywood had, where directors and auteurs were given the chance to share their personal styles and flair. The edit itself is used to cause confusion, disruption and add to the ambiguous narrative, in that not all questions need to be answered to enjoy the viewing experience.

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(Excellent Analysis = 5 marks)

▪ Conclusions: The conclusions main function is to answer the question. If the question states 'how far', you need to answer this. If the question is asking you to compare, summarise the similarities and differences between the films. You can also offer other perspectives to balance your conclusion and show you have considered all points of analysis.