INTOTHEIBFILM
IB Film HL
“Unlike all the other art forms, film is able to seize and render the passage of time, to stop it, almost to possess it in infinity. I’d say that film is the sculpting of time.”
– Andrei Tarkovsky
Brief Course Outline
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Practical Portfolio: Film (6-7 minutes) and Trailer (40-60 seconds) (done in Y12) + 100 word rationale + 1750 word commentary.
Focus on cinematography, editing, writing, sound design or directing (50%)
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Presentation: 15 minutes talk about film (done in Y13)
Focus on film history and film theory (25%).
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Independent Study: script for a documentary (done in Y13)
Focus on film analysis and film context (25%).
Textual Analysis
Rationale
It is essential that students are able to understand how meanings are constructed within and through film texts, and to view the production of these texts in a broader framework. Students should be able to identify how film uses a range of devices to represent experiences and stories, as well as to convey meanings and values. They should be able to acquire and use the appropriate tools for analysing films from various countries and place these within wider sociocultural perspectives. Students should develop both their own enjoyment of film and lifelong habits of critical inquiry.
Content
Students should move between close textual analysis of specific scenes and analysis of films as a whole, contextualizing meanings within a larger framework.
Students should use the key concepts of film language, genre, audience, institution, narrative and representation to generate initial questions about the texts they are analysing.
Textual analysis involves commenting upon the following elements, and on relationships between them.
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Construction according to narrative or other formal organizing principles
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Representation of characters and issues
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Camera angles, shots and movement
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Editing and sequencing
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Lighting, shade and colour
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Sound
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Location and set design
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Features determining genre
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Target audience
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Historical, economic, sociocultural and institutional factors
Film Theory & History
Rationale
Film is influenced by and is in part a product of its own history and tradition, as well as the social, economic and institutional forces that surround it. Similarly, film is influenced by the observations and research of practitioners and scholars.
Content
Students are expected to learn about films from more than one country to enhance their understanding of films familiar to them and also of films from other countries that may be less familiar to them.
Aspects of film theory and history can be introduced to students by asking such questions as:
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Who made this?
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Why?
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What can we tell about the film-maker(s)?
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For whom was it made? How does it address its audience? What is the nature of our engagement with film?
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What outside influences can we perceive in terms of finance, ownership, institution and sociocultural context?
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What tradition is it in (for example, American gangster film, Bollywood musical)?
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To what other works might it be connected?
The most important question to ask after discussing each of these questions is: “How did you know?” This leads students to expect that they must carefully justify all their arguments and be able to explain their own thought processes. The question of how we know what we know is a central question of theory of knowledge.
Creative Process
Rationale
Students will have the opportunity to develop skills in film production. This is a complex process that requires creative and analytical skills as well as meticulous organization, and almost always involves close collaboration with others. Teachers need to guide students through initial creative exercises, gradually leading them towards more substantial projects.
Students should learn the overall structure of film-making, the nature of the relationships in a production team, and the need for discipline and protocol on set or location. Students should be encouraged to work in a variety of roles to enable them to explore their skills and aptitude in different fields.
According to the nature of their project, students may work alone or in production groups containing a maximum of four people.
Content
Initial planning
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Finding the idea
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Research
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Treatment and script development
Pitch and approval
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Developing the proposal
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Negotiating the proposal with the teacher
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Receiving approval to proceed
Technical planning
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Conceptualization—interpretation of the script in terms of theme, genre, purpose, style, mood and overall structure
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Visualization—definition of shot selection, camera position and movement, lighting, colour, set design, costume and make-up, supported, where appropriate, by the creation of a storyboard containing key images of relevant scenes
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Production scheduling—definition of responsibilities, task lists and matters relating to organization, time frames and deadlines
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Editing and sound strategies—outlining the preliminary concepts of editing and sound as dictated by the chosen genre and by the individual project
Physical Production
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Pre-production—selection of crew members, scouting for and determining locations, acquiring costumes and props, casting of actors (if applicable), definition of technical needs, finalizing script, storyboard and production schedule
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Production—principal photography and sound recording, execution of storyboard, continuous overview of production planning
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Post-production—various phases of editing (assembly, rough and fine cuts), sound editing, selection of music, titles and visuals, and final mix
Production Journal
Each student, whether working alone or in a group, should maintain an individual journal recording key information throughout the entire production process. The journal should note decisions made, issues raised and solutions reached. Students should include reflections and lessons learned, as well as objective evaluations of their own and others’ performance and the finished productions. Although this journal must not be included in the portfolio in its entirety, relevant excerpts should be included where appropriate as supporting evidence to clarify the individual student’s work and thinking on the project. This may include selections from storyboards, screenshots, script excerpts or excerpts from other production documents.
The processes of producing (construction), and deconstructing and evaluating the finished production must be informed by an understanding of how meaning is constructed through film language.
Retention of materials All materials associated with a production should be kept in a safe place. Students will need to refer to production files in order to select documentation for assessment.
Copyright statement—important Student work must not contain any third party copyright material. The intention of the film course is that students, especially in the production portfolio component, will be the original creators of, or have a significant role in the creation of, any audio or visual material that they use in their work. Audio work may involve collaboration with local musicians or other students to help create original material for a soundtrack as part of a creative dialogue rather than merely “finding” a piece that would fit. Copyright-free software may also be used as appropriate.
Even if copyright material is legally obtained, this is a violation of the course’s intended outcomes.