Help please assessing this essay

[louisea]

One of my kids has been given this essay to write as an assessment piece. I would be grateful if you could read through the questions and tell me which subject it relates to and which year group. I'll explain once I've seen some responses.

TIA

Moving Image Essay

Examine the climactic scene of Edward Sciccorhands and explain how the cinematography communicates to the audience.

Introduction - Explain what sort of film E.S. is and the similarities it has to other Burton films.

Discuss the camera angles in two mise-en-scene, and what they communicate to the audience.

Discuss the lighting in two mise-en-scene, and what they communicate to the audience.

Discuss the use of colour and what the contrasts communicate to the audience.

Discuss the characteristics of Kim, Edward ad Jim and how their behaviour and clothes communicate certain messages to the audience.

Discuss the way the frames are composed with use of lines and patterns in two mise-en-scene and explain what they communicate to the audience.

Discuss the way that the frame-within-a-frame is used in this scene. Choose three examples and discuss what they communicate to the audience.

Discuss the iconography (the hand hedge sculpture, Edward?s scissor hands), and explain their importance to the studied scene as well as the film as a whole.

Conclusion ? how effective to the film as a whole do you think this scene is ?

N.B. You should write this essay in the third person throughout. If you wish to use the first person, only do so in your conclusion.

It is hard to tell from the qustion as it could apply to y7 or alevel depending on the quality and length of the answer.

I would say yr 10/GCSE -because they're being prescriptive as to the elements they want discussed. They aren't leaving the student to identify the key features themselves.

Any suggestions what the subject is, i.e maths, science?

Drama or media studies?

media studies would be my first and only guess

English, drama or media studies and as I'm in Scotland an ok S2 class, an average S3 class or a poor S4 class... I think the equivalents would be years 9, 10 & 11

I would say gcse media studies.

Thanks for your replies. This was in fact an assessment for a Year 8, middle set (of 3) English class. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate material for an English class and if it is too hard or the right level for it's target group.

I would have definitely thought this is for a media studies class, and at least A'level standard ? But then my dc are much younger, so maybe this is yr 8 standard

Media studies is part of English - at least up here, it can be offered as a seperate subject but you'd expect to analyse at least a couple of films in that way in English during secondary school.

It's not massively hard, there's a huge amount of detail in the questions - they pretty much say exactly what to write about.

I think I'd prefer them to read a book.

Ah, but it's nice to do a film sometimes - some children are really visual and do much better when the text is a film rather than a novel, in the same way that some do really well with poetry and some don't.

I didn't say subject as it is obviously either english or media depending on the level. English included a small amount of film when I did GCSEs over 30 years ago.

I think I need to lie down in a darkened room with a copy of Paradise Lost.

I would say that it's age appropriate - there is a lot of guidance within the actual question - but I would query the English side of it. It seems to be quite a technical essay which would sit better within Drama or Media Studies. Unless your child has studied the elements of film making within the English class.

Thanks. I wasn't sure what to make of the essay as I wasn't educated in this country so have no experience to fall back on. DH thought it is too hard for Year 8 but he is dyslexic so I'm not sure he was paying much attention in Year 8 (from what he's told me) and he is far more inclined toward maths and science anyway. I've just spoken to another mother with a child in the same year at the same school and she seemed to think it entirely appropriate.

Drama or Media Studies Year 10