Assignment: Independent Study

BELOW IS INFORMATION REGARDING FORMAT AND CONTENT REQUIREMENTS (FROM IBO website--link at bottom of this blog entry):

General guidance

The independent study is worth 25% of the final mark. This component is based on part 2 of the course (film theory and history), but will also draw to some extent on part 1 (textual analysis). The aim of the independent study is to encourage students to engage in some depth with a cinematic tradition that is unfamiliar to their own culture.
Students must produce a script for a complete short documentary production exploring an aspect of film theory or film history, based on the study of films from more than one country. The documentary should be targeted at an audience of film students in the 14 to 18 years age range. Among the topics students may choose to investigate are:

• genre
  
• theme
  
• direction
  
• use of sound
  
• colour
  
• editing
  
• lighting.
  

The topic should be discussed primarily in cinematic terms.

The prime voice of the documentary must clearly be that of the student, who is represented as the narrator, on-screen host and/or voice-over. Students must ensure that any comments or ideas they attribute to celebrities or others, such as experts, are fully supported by detailed references in the annotated list of sources.

Students at SL must make reference to a minimum of two films while students at HL must make reference to a minimum of four films from different countries. The chosen films must originate from more than one country.

The independent study must be presented in the form of a written dossier composed of the following three items.

• Rationale
  
• Script
  
• Annotated list of sources.
  

The rationale must offer a brief, reasoned explanation of the concerns explored by the topic in no more than 100 words.

The script must clearly indicate the relationship between the audio and visual elements of the documentary, employing an established documentary format such as “side-by-side” columns for video and audio components. All descriptions of video and audio elements must be both detailed and specific. Scripts must be 8–10 pages long at SL or 12–15 pages long at HL, using an accepted size of paper (for example, A4 or US letter) and must use 12-point Courier font (not in block capitals) and single spacing. It is important that the student treats a topic of film history/film theory in cinematic rather than literary terms.

The annotated list of sources should refer to all materials used in researching the topic and all materials used in the documentary itself, including films from which extracts will be shown in the documentary and quotations from experts or academics. Annotations should give the source and/or location of the reference. A comment on the relevance of the source must be included.
Assessment of this component is based solely on the written script and the rationale. Actual films or film sequences are not acceptable.

The materials produced for this component must not be submitted for internal assessment as part of the production portfolio. As part of the learning process, teachers can give advice to students on a first draft of the independent study. Advice on improving the work can be given, but this first draft must not be heavily annotated or edited by the teacher. Constant drafting and redrafting is not allowed, and the next version handed to the teacher after the first draft must be the final one.


Here are some important dates and corresponding tasks for your Independent Study:


1/7-8      Rationale Due (typed, under 100 words, and titled).
               See exemplars for template/suggestions.

1/16-17  Rough Draft due (typed, 12pt font, SL=8-10pg, HL=12-15pg).
              This will be assessed for your semester final.

1/30-31  Final Draft due.
               Ensure that you have adhered to all requirements (see exemplars, checklists)
               Cover Sheet, Rationale and Script will be submitted on the last class in January.


1/7 thru 1/24 we will watch "The Story of Film" examining not only how cinema has evolved over the years, but also note how the documentary series combines narration, interviews, sound and film clips.  This will work as a model for all of you as you write your IS documentary scripts.

Other documentaries to view to help get a sense of how to put your ideas/images/sounds together:

Man on Wire
When We Were Kings
One Day in September
The Fog of War
Roger and Me
Murderball
Hoop Dreams
Hearts of Darkness:  A filmmaker's Apocalypse

Here are some good top lists that will serve as a good starting point.

Rotten Tomatoes: Top 100 Documentary Movies

The Guardian: Top 10 Documentaries

Time Out: The Best 50 Documentaries


IBO EXEMPLAR PAGE:  Look at examples 5-8.  Note that there are exemplars AND examiner's notes.

Template, checklist and other guidelines

Enjoy!