overview
Staff:
- Mr Tristan Barry (Teacher)
Delivered by the Art & Design department, Moving Image Arts launched in Assumption in September 2016, with the first class of 12 students undertaking the new CCEA AS specification. No prior knowledge or experience of the subject is necessary. Students are however, expected to have a keen interest in television and film.
Now well established at ASA2 level, with very capable students eager to learn new skills and begin their journey towards a career in the Creative Industries. Students work hard to develop their coursework portfolios, often supporting one another in the realisation of individual targets. The subject demands a lot of the students, pushing young people out of their comfort zones, yet the rewards gained make the journey well worth the effort! A true mark of success in the subject is reflected in the number of students who go on to continue to study Film at tertiary level. Out of each class to have completed the A2 course, around half have decided to continue their film education at university in order to pursue a career in the Film and TV industry. MIA offers students the opportunity to learn and develop real, applicable skills that they can apply immediately to the industry they aspire to work in. Several former students have foregone the traditional route of university and are now working in film and TV.
Creative by nature, MIA is an excellent subject to study in its own right, or alongside other creative, coursework based subjects such as Art & Design, Music and Drama. As 60% of the course is coursework, 40% is based on a final, online examination to test the students on their knowledge of the film theory they learn during the course.
AS/A2 Level
AS/A2 Moving Image Arts
Introduction
This course is a great opportunity for students to acquire and develop the creative and practical skills necessary for making Moving Image Arts products. It will be of particular interest to any creative student with a keen interest in film and television.
Whether accessed through Cinema, Television, DVD or the Internet, moving images act as a primary source of information and knowledge about the world around us. Visual literacy is now critical to understanding and interpreting contemporary society.
Recommended Entry Requirements
Moving Image Arts has a high level of technical requirements and numbers are restricted. Pupils may be selected based on a rank order. Consequently, students must have:
achieved a grade B or higher in GCSE English Language and;
achieved a grade B or higher in GCSE Art and Design, Drama, Music, English Literature, ICT or Technology.
Why study Moving Image Arts?
This course will suit creative students who:
Love watching films and are interested in how and why they are made.
Have always wanted to make their own film.
Are interested in a career in the media, theatre, television and film production.
The course will suit any student who has studied any of the following subjects at GCSE – Art and Design, Drama, Music, English Literature, ICT, Technology. It is also feasible to study MIA in combination with any of these subjects at ASA2 Level.
How will I be assessed and by which examination board?
Examination Board: CCEA
AS 1: 60% Foundation Portfolio (24% of GCE) exploring the Classical Hollywood Style, Realism and/or Formalism including a Statement of Intention (including a synopsis & evaluation), pre-production materials and one 3–4-minute narrative film sequence or 1½-2-minute animated sequence. Marked by teachers and moderated by CCEA.
AS 2: 40% Online Examination (1 hour 30 minutes; 16% of GCE) requiring shorter recall and longer analytical answers in response to unseen film clips taken from set study areas.
A2 1: 60% Advanced Portfolio (36% of GCE) exploring your own original creative idea and researching the techniques of a chosen film practitioner including an Illustrated Essay (including synopsis and evaluation), pre-production materials and one 4-7minute narrative film sequence or 2-3½ minute animated sequence. Marked by teachers and moderated by CCEA.
A2 2: 40% Online Examination (2 hours 15 minutes; 24% of GCE) requiring analytical answers in response to unseen film clips taken from the set study areas. You will also draft director’s notes in response to an unseen script stimulus. As at AS, set and marked by CCEA.
Which units will I Study?
Year 13 AS Foundation Portfolio: In this unit you will study three areas of film style:
Classical Hollywood Style
Realism
Formalism.
You will learn the creative and technical skills of moving image production including how camera, lighting, mise-en-scene, sound (including music) and editing are used to create emotion, mood and audience response. Your study will inform your own creative practice.
Year 14 A2 Advance Portfolio: In this unit you will refine your technical filmmaking skills further, conducting independent research into a film practitioner of your own choice. You will experiment with the techniques and conventions you have studied to inform your own creative practice. You will study the following styles of Realism in World Cinema:
Italian Neo-Realism
French New Wave and Cinéma Vérité, and;
Poetic Realism
You will also study the ways in which filmmakers have tried to experiment with narrative.
A2 Level follows the same structure of the AS course, however the focus is on European Cinema and filmmaking practices that challenge the Classical Hollywood Style.
Theory studied to inform ASA2 portfolios will be examined in the summer examinations.
What skills will I develop?
The wide variety of skills developed and employed, are ideally suited to work in the creative industries and these include leadership, enterprise, creative vision and teamwork.
What career pathways are available to me if I study this subject?
In Northern Ireland, the film and television industry is a rapidly growing sector, which is now providing a variety of employment opportunities for those with knowledge of the industry and applicable skills. You can also find out more about studying from the website: www.ccea.org.uk/movingimagearts
Workshops
Workshops
Editing workshops are arranged each year through Nerve Belfast. At AS Level the students receive a day’s training to introduce them to editing and using Final Cut Pro, the software required to create their own moving image edits. At A2, students receive training on VFX and colour grading using Final Cut Pro, advancing their existing knowledge of the software and learning skills that apply to the A2 theory.
Additional workshops from visiting practitioners have also been arranged, with Belfast based internationally renowned BMX film-maker Peter Adam visiting in 2017 to showcase his work, assist with student edits whilst answering any questions the students had regarding the industry.
Most recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming back one of our very own in former MIA student, Emma Noble. Emma was one of the first pupils to study MIA at Assumption, leaving school in 2018. Since then she has worked tirelessly in the industry, working in film and TV productions whilst developing her own portfolio. She will be producing the latest school promotional film, with the help of current MIA students, seen here with Emma delivering her own professional showreel
MIA Videos
Thief! by Eva White
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yraY7pjN1oo
Frog Flight by Caireen Ferguson
Troll Toll by Aimee Ellen McCann