Untypical A levels choice - what will unis think

[WhatNoWay]

Hi Mumsnetters, DD1 (17) is doing English Lit, Maths and Physics A levels but all along has been a humanities schoolchild - into theatre, music - done theatre school, dance and gr8 piano - not much of a reader though, and has been for some time talking about wanting to getting a degree in Film (wants something in between practical and academic). Looked at Warwick, Birmingham. She has good predicted grades. Firstly, my question, should she not be more precise in what she wants to do - either practical film-making or academic - as in either making film or teaching film, writing about film? And secondly, would film departments even look at her choice given the 'wrong' selection of subjects? How does one justify this kind of 'strange' choice in personal statement? Thanks for any tips. Rather puzzled.

I would think English Lit would go well with film courses. A lot of students do A Level English Lit then go on to subjects like FIlm Studies, Theatre and Drama etc. Only one of the subjects my dd did at A Level had any relevance to her current Uni course.

Lots of places don’t offer A level Film Studies so it’s certainly not a prerequisite for undergraduate courses. The English Lit alone is enough preparation for the analytical side I’d say (I have taught both A levels!). The choice between practical/theory is not necessarily one she has to make now as there are a range of courses which span the whole spectrum. And on many they will offer a variety of modules so can be tailored to some extent.

I would expect a student who wanted to do Film Production to be engaging in filmmaking in some way even if this was just writing screenplays, storyboarding or going out with a phone camera and making short films. They don’t have to be good! But it’s a lot of money to spend to learn to do something you can teach yourself the basics of very easily. There is a lot out there online to start with and you don’t need fancy equipment any more. It would not at all be unusual for an applicant to have only decided they wanted to do this during sixth form so don’t worry about that but she needs to explain what has drawn her to the course that isn’t just “I like films”.

Her English A level is a really good fit. My dd has just started studying Sociology at Uni with pretty atypical A levels (she has Biology, Chemistry and Psychology - most people have at least 2 strong essay subjects) - she got 5 offers. She wrote in her PS how, as her interest developed she moved from wanting to study Biology at Uni to wanting sociology. I don’t think your dd will have a problem getting on an academic course assuming she has the grades and explains her reasoning in her ps. For a practical one I would assume they would want portfolios and examples of work etc (in a similar way to art schools).

As your DD is considering U of Birmingham, has she thought about applying for the LANS course in addition to her main application? She could major in Film Studies and keep other options open as minors; it would also future proof, to an extent, any subsequent shifts in interests.

Would she have any interest in this degree for which maths is a requirement ?
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/film-production-and-broadcast-engineering#entry

Her physics and maths should be an advantage for technical aspects of filmmaking and video production generally.

I think I wrote about this on an Oxford thread somewhere recently - but someone I'm related to had those exact A levels, read English Lit at Oxford.

They also now happen to work in film.

Wow, @sendsummer, sounds like a great course! Haven't heard of that one. sadly, DD is fed up with maths and says she doesn't want to have anything to do with it after she finishes her A levels :(

@PerpetualOptimist , yes, actually she looked at liberal arts courses as well! LANS however is not a department but a selection of courses from various faculties, and she thinks it's important to have one (a department that is) - in comparison the Liberal Arts course in Warwick seemed better (has Liberal Arts dept) in terms of tutor-student relationship where they know their cohort throughout the time they spend at the uni, offer tailored advice and have better knowledge of each student and their work.

who cares what unis think? They probably won't think anything, They will look at her grades, and the quality of subject, and she will do best in subjects she chose freely

Hi, OP -

Because of the paucity of A Levels in Film Studies and the likelihood that applicants have relevant extracurricular activities, I suspect that the Personal Statement may hold more importance than it does in many areas.

If your DD does a good job with this, I think her A Levels with their good PGs will be well received. DD is showing herself to be an all arounder with a preference for the arts but strong analytical and practical (the Physics) capabilities. Speaking as a former admissions tutor I think that sound very good!

I would expect a student who wanted to do Film Production to be engaging in filmmaking in some way even if this was just writing screenplays, storyboarding or going out with a phone camera and making short films. They don’t have to be good! But it’s a lot of money to spend to learn to do something you can teach yourself the basics of very easily.*

This wholly misunderstands film studies. It is not a wholly practice-based course but has a strong theory element which, given your dd's A level in English, and her ability to think at a deeper contextual level, would suit her well. Film Studies would situate film in his social, political and cultural context. You can't understand the success of the recent Barbie film - or indeed Hitchcock movies without an appreciation of this. To suggest film studies is solely about technical skills like pressing camera buttons - fails to understand its complexity.

@berrymiss Umm... Reading @AtomicBlondeRose's full post, she has taught Film Studies A-level! Which is why her suggestions were explicitly about someone who wanted to go into Film Production, not Studies.

Christopher Nolan went to UCL and studied English lit. His wife and business partner, Emma Thomas, studied History at UCL. What mattered was the film society - he was the president of it. So if you study somewhere you can access film, you don’t have to study it. You need all the luck and talent in the world though.

If it helps we spoke to a tutor at college about film.

Hecsaid it’s basically English literature - writing essays and replaying the same clip over and over again..

it was the opposite of what my Ds would enjoy

Yes I think you and your DD need to be clear about what kind of film study she is interested in. The practical side (making) or the academic side (analysing other peoples films)?

They're as different as English Literature vs Creative Writing or History of Art vs Fine Art. For creative courses you'd usually need a portfolio; for academic ones, A levels are enough.

Some courses will have an element of both but this may not be what she wants.

Thanks for sharing, @Starlightstarbright2 - that doesn't sound too exciting; my impression that Film courses differ quite a lot across the unis... Was that a particular uni this information is about, or a film course in general?

@poetryandwine , thank you, that's very helpful. This is exactly my worry as there isn't a lot she can say apart from loving film. I guess in the era of tik tok and internet, so many people can say that they love film, that's what they spend most of the time doing. It needs to be on a deeper level - work experience to do with film, visiting festivals, joining networks and taking part in discussions (if such a thing exists for aspiring film enthusiasts??) - so I guess her chances are rather slim as she did none of that yet.

Sorry this was about A level
film . I thought it relevant as your Dd is currently doing English lit.

i have no idea at uni level .

It isn’t too late to start!

Does she want to stick with film or would she be interested in drama/acting/production? With grade 8 piano, she could consider actor musician courses. Acting schools will also have more diverse practical courses that she may consider - Rose Bruford, Central, etc

If she has a reasonable (or even vague) idea of what she would like to study - and it sounds as though you have looked at Universities and courses already - surely the best thing to do would be to identify department's admissions tutors and contact them about entry requirements? There will be some information online, but not all, and the (academic) admissions tutors will be able to give her much more information and in some cases make borderline decisions outside the usual requirements. Some programmes ask for a narrow range of qualifications with important pre-requisities, others are very broad.

Surely the most important thing is what work they go on to do after the degree? Do they get work on films? DDs friend works as a film producer on film and tv advertisements in the USA. Degree? English Lit. If one of the world’s best British film directors did English Lit, (Nolan) lots of “film”courses might not confer any advantage when it comes to a career. Certainly film A level doesn’t. A high degree of talent is what’s needed. Most don’t have it. It’s so ridiculously competitive too. Strategy is everything too.

@TizerorFizz , absolutely it is the most important thing. I suppose this massively depends on talent, luck and connections. DD hasn't realised yet how competitive this industry is I guess.

Is she also looking at ravensbourne and goldsmiths universities for film? My brother was a film
editing student and these were v highly rated when he was university age (admittedly some time ago)