A-Z Databases: Screen Studies

Screen Studies is a dynamic digital platform taking users from script to screen and beyond – offering a broad range of content from Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber and the British Film Institute to support moving-image studies. It is an excellent resource for academics and students studying film, media, television and moving image studies.

• To find chapters and articles from electronic books on moving-image studies, including the BFI classic film series
• To find screenplays
• To access an illustrated history of cinema timeline

Basic Keyword Search

In the Search box on the home page, you can search by keywords related to film history, filmmaking, actors/directors and film genres. From the search results screen you can then 'refine' your search results with the following options:

• Time period (decade)
• Place
• People
• Themes
• Genre, movements and styles
• Films
• Content type including books, focused studies and screenplays

Advanced Search

The advanced search option allows you to limit your search by:

• Field, including title, author, creator, abstract
• Year
• Content type including books, screenplay, and lesson plan.

Enter additional search terms using ‘Add Field’ with search functions of ‘AND,’ ‘OR,’ and ‘NOT’ and the same options listed above.

On the home page, there is an image link which will take you to the featured content, covering articles on world cinema and feature articles on film directors.

At the bottom of the home page there is a link to the Featured Content Archive.

Bloomsbury Publishing (2018) Introducing Screen Studies. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_4nQeLfLJo  (Accessed: 22 February 2021).

This database features an interactive and illustrated History of Cinema Timeline to explore the history of cinema, from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Click on the images and coloured pins to discover book chapters and screenplay pages related to notable events in film production, society and culture, and technologies. You can select this from the home page.

Under the 'Browse Contents' tab you can connect to learning and research tools designed for teachers and students.

• Bibliographic guides
• Lesson plans
• Subject guides

Individuals can create a personal account using the Sign-Up function to save content and searches in folders.

1. Click the blue ‘Sign in’ link in the top right-hand corner of the home page.
2. At the bottom of the pop-up window, select ‘Sign up now.’
3. Complete the registration form and email verification.
4. You can now save searches and content to folders.
5. To save a search, click the ‘Save this Search’ button from any search results page, it appears on the top right side of the page.
6. Access folders from ‘My Content’ under the welcome message in the top right corner of the site.

Accessibility Statement

This work in this guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.