Moving Image Arts
CCEA’s Moving Image Arts qualification was conceived in parallel with the development of Northern Ireland Screen’s Wider Literacy strategy, our vision for moving image education for all our young people in Northern Ireland. The first cohort of young people sat the first AS-Level Moving Image Arts online exam in the summer of 2005, just a few months after the publication of A Wider Literacy.
CCEA’s Moving Image Arts qualification at GCSE and A-Level, the only qualification in digital filmmaking at these levels in the UK, is designed to help young people develop their creative and critical abilities through hands-on learning in the craft of filmmaking.
Moving Image Arts is an applied qualification. Students develop knowledge, critical understanding and skills through practical filmmaking project work in a context related to employability and the screen industries.
Studying Moving Image Arts provides students with opportunities to:
- Develop a critical understanding of film language, narrative, representation and audience in both theory and practice;
- Investigate and research others work and demonstrate the ability to analyse and evaluate creative purpose;
- Acquire knowledge and understanding of moving image genres and contexts;
- Develop ideas by investigating and experimenting with filmmaking techniques and processes;
- Develop the ability to manage resources, processes and equipment at different stages of film production;
- Create complete moving image products;
- Develop technical competence in using filmmaking techniques; and
- Evaluate the effectiveness of their practice as filmmakers.
Northern Ireland Screen has been supporting this exciting qualification since its inception through specialist teacher training in Northern Ireland’s three Creative Learning Centres – the Nerve Centre, Derry/Londonderry, Nerve Belfast and the Education Authority’s Amma Centre, Armagh. We have seen phenomenal growth in the qualification over the last thirteen years.
- In 2004 just 70 students from 7 schools were entered for the AS qualification
- In 2016 almost 1,900 young people undertook the qualification at GCSE, AS and A-Level across Northern Ireland.
- This represents an increase of almost 230 candidates since 2015.
- 50 schools now offer Moving Image Arts at GCSE, 100 at AS-Level and 76 at A-Level.
Moving Image Arts provides a range of practical, transferable skills, the type of skills every employer looks for; the ability to come up with ideas, to problem-solve, to be able to work in a team, to meet deadlines, to be self-motivated and to be able manage a project successfully from start to completion. In many ways, Moving Image Arts is the perfect curriculum.
