← Moving Image Arts syllabus

Northern IrelandMoving Image Arts

AS 2 Critical Response

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do shot size, angle, movement and focus shape what an audience feels and understands?

Cinematography as film language: shot sizes and framing, camera angle and height, camera movement, focus and depth of field, lens choice, and how these communicate meaning.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on cinematography as film language: shot sizes from extreme long shot to extreme close-up, camera angle and height, camera movement (pan, tilt, track, crane, handheld), focus and depth of field, and how a director uses the camera to create meaning in an unseen clip.
13 min answer →

How does the way shots are joined create rhythm, meaning and emotion?

Editing as film language: continuity editing and its rules, transitions (cut, dissolve, fade, wipe), pace and rhythm, montage and the Kuleshov effect, eyeline match, shot-reverse-shot, and how editing creates meaning.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on editing as film language: continuity editing and the 180-degree rule, transitions, pace and rhythm, the Kuleshov effect and montage, eyeline matches and shot-reverse-shot, and how a director joins shots to create meaning, rhythm and emotion in an unseen clip.
14 min answer →

How do the elements placed within the frame create meaning in a film?

Mise-en-scene as a tool of film language: setting and location, lighting, costume and make-up, props, staging and blocking, colour, and composition within the frame, and how they generate meaning.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on mise-en-scene as film language: setting and location, lighting (high-key and low-key), costume and make-up, props, staging and blocking, colour and composition, and how a director uses what is placed in the frame to create meaning in an unseen clip.
13 min answer →

How is a film story structured, and how do genre conventions shape audience expectation?

Narrative and genre as film language: linear and non-linear structure, the three-act structure, Todorov's equilibrium model, open and closed narratives, genre conventions and iconography, and how structure and genre create meaning.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on narrative and genre as film language: linear and non-linear structure, the three-act structure, Todorov's equilibrium model, open and closed endings, genre conventions and iconography, and how a director uses structure and genre to shape audience expectation and meaning.
13 min answer →

What is the difference between realist and formalist filmmaking, and how does each use film language?

Realism and formalism as the two foundational approaches to film: their aims, their characteristic use of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound, key theorists (Bazin and the realists; the Soviet formalists), and how to recognise each in a clip.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on realism and formalism, the two foundational approaches to filmmaking: their differing aims, their characteristic use of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound, the theorists associated with each (Bazin for realism, the Soviet montage school for formalism), and how to recognise each style in an unseen clip.
14 min answer →

How does sound shape meaning, mood and the audience's relationship to the image?

Sound as film language: diegetic and non-diegetic sound, dialogue, sound effects, ambient sound, music and score, synchronous and asynchronous sound, the sound bridge, and how sound creates meaning.
A CCEA A-Level Moving Image Arts answer on sound as film language: diegetic and non-diegetic sound, dialogue, sound effects, ambient sound, music and score, synchronous and asynchronous sound, the sound bridge and leitmotif, and how a director uses sound to create meaning, mood and continuity in an unseen clip.
12 min answer →