ASSIGNMENT: EQs for "Preview/Review" Assignment

These are the EQs for each of the film PREVIEW/REVIEW assignments.

Below are the ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS regarding each film and film concept:

11/15-18/13  
Unit 2:  Narration Screening Questions (Hoodwinked!)

11/4-8/13  Unit 2:  Narration
What are the components of a story's narration?
How does a film's story unfold?
Take quiz

10/28-31/13 (Red Balloon/Tempo)
Screening questions from Units 1 and 3 (yellow handouts)

10/16-17/13 (Cloverfield)  AND 10/22-25/13 (Sixth Sense)
How would you describe the use of FRAMING/KINESIS in this film?  How, or in what ways do the camera/objects move?  Does the movement (or lake of movement) contribute to the movie overall?  In what ways?  Please use specific examples from the film.

10/9-10/13
IB ORAL PREP:  Part 2
V. Film Language and Representation  
1. How are characters and issues represented?  
2. What is the style and effect of acting and performance?  
3. How is meaning created by the camera?  
a. camera angle? 
b. camera shots?  
c. camera movement?  
4. How is meaning created through use of space (proxemics) and staging?
5. How is meaning created by editing and sequencing?  
6. How is meaning created by lighting, shade and color?  
7. How is meaning created by sound and music?  
8. How is meaning created by location, set design and mise-en-scene.?  
9. Does the film make use of symbols, metaphors, or allegories? If relevant, explain what they are and how do they work within the context of the film?  
10. How is meaning created by technical elements such as production design, special effects (matte paintings, models, animation, computer generated images etc.)  
11. What emotional information is conveyed through the filmmaking process?

9/30/13
Experimental Films
How as experimental filmmakers and their works influenced modern filmmaking?  Look at the Concept of the Week posting from Nofilmschool.com (below).  We will compare that content and films with modern examples of films and music videos.

9/18/13--9/25/13
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Does this movie seem to be a realistic depiction of the world?  If not, does it depict a believable fantasy world of its own?  How does the mise-en-scene help articulate theme and the telling of the story (narration)?

9/9/13
Joan of Arc
How does Dreyer use editing to create empathy with the protagonist?

9/9/13    
Battleship Potemkin
How does Eisenstein use montage to create a desired response?
 
9/1/13
The Kid
How do the films of Chaplin/Keaton differ?
Who is more effective in cinematic storytelling?

ASSIGNMENT: Concept of the Day/Week:

Posted will involve a new concept that will pertain to the film(s) that you will be studying.  What each student needs to do is navigate these sites, read/learn about these concepts and create an informational page in your journal/notebook covering what it is, why it is important, its significance in the development of filmmaking, and its influence (Cornell Notes format).



Week of:  11/12/13
Unit 2:  Narration
Screening Questions
Watch short films and answer questions pertaining to narrative elements
 
Week Of:  11/4/13
Unit 2:  Narration
Looking at Movies
Take quiz and use flashcards by end of Unit 2 review

Week Of:  10/28/13
Units 1 & 3 review:  Screening Questions

Week Of:  10/22/13
Horror Retrospective (Video)
Horror Documentary


Week Of:  10/15/13
 Horror Styles and Genres
A Brief History of Horror


Week Of:  10/7/13
Viewing film clips:  Analysis of mise-en-scene and...
IB ORAL PREP: Part 2--IV and V


Week Of:  9/30/13 Learn and master for THIS WEEK:
Experimental Cinema

Opening Credits


Week Of:  9/16/13 & 9/23/13  

Expressionism:
Overview of artistic movement (MoMA)

German Expressionism:
GE: An Overview

GE and Dr Caligari

GE Films

8 Must See GE Films


Week Of:  9/9/13  Learn and master for THIS WEEK:

Montage:
Definition and Examples

Kuleshov Effect:
The Kuleshov Effect/Hitchcock

Additional Montage Info:
50 Best Film Montages
Example: Training Montage, Montage

New Film News:

10/9/13
Alfonso Cuaron (director) interview:  video clip
Gravity Video

9/30/13
"Rush" review:
Rush: SFC

9/22/13
"Prisoners" box office results:
Variety: Prisoners

9/4/13
Interesting article regarding "Gravity"
Variety: Gravity


CNN:  Fall Preview.
10 Fall Movies

9/3/13

CNN:  Fantastic or Fatiguing?

CNN: Summer Film Review

9/3/13

The Seattle Times as written an article announcing 50+ upcoming films to be released before the end of the year:

Seattle Times: Fall Film Preview

ASSIGNMENT: Films to Compare

Below are some topics/themes that could tie similar films together.  There are a great deal more than just these suggestions.  I would recommend that you find a topic and related films that YOU would enjoy investigating.  Look at reviews, research directors, even search film related topics/themes that would interest you.

Also keep in mind that in your investigation that you need to select films (2 for SL; 4 for HL) from differing countries.  Due to this artform involving a collaboration of efforts that could have investment from a number of countries, a film's origin could be questionable (example:  director from France, but financing from USA).  A great source to identify what the country of origin is for a film would be IMDB.COM

Note:  Upon further research, simply examining films with similar content, but produced in differing countries is not recommended.  Therefore, consider themes, narration, styles, etc. 

Please note:  some films should only be viewed with parental consent (rated R):

Psychology of protagonist (madness)        Aguirre, Wrath of God & Apocalypse Now

Horror mastery/deconstruction                 Halloween & Scream

Likable but "bad” protagonists                  Searchers & Taxi Driver

East/West storytelling                               Hidden Fortress & Star Wars

Avant Garde Filmmaking                          Un Chien Andalou & Eraserhead

East/West storytelling                                Seven Samurai & Magnificent Seven

East/West storytelling                                Yojimbo & Fistful of Dollars/Last Man Standing

Mind vs Reality                                         Matrix & Inception

Dystopian Society                                     Metropolis & Blade Runner/Brazil

Expressionism                                           Cabinet of Dr. Caligari & Frankenstein/Edward Sissorhands

Horror/Zombie Genre                               Night of the Living Dead & Nightmare City    

Class warfare                                            Metropolis & Elysium

Italy vs USA storytelling                            Blow Up & Blow Out

Visual imagery as narration                        2001 & Tree of Life

Monster Genre                                         King Kong/Godzilla & Cloverfield

Horror/Suspense:                                      Psycho & Halloween/Friday the 13^th

German/British storytelling                         Nosferatu & Dracula

Teenage Crime Spree                                Breathless & Bonnie and Clyde/Rebel Without a Cause

Corruption of youth                                   400 Blows & Thirteen/Once Upon a Time In America/Rebel...

Italian/USA Gangster Film                         Once Upon a Time In America & Godfather II

USA/Czech storytelling                              Alice In Wonderland & Alice

Audience Expectation                                 L’Avventura & Psycho

East/West storytelling                                  Battle Royale & Hunger Games

Expressionism                                             Dr. Caligari & Taxi Driver

French/Italian storytelling                            Le Mepris (Contempt) & Journey to Italy

French/USA class warfare                          The Rules of the Game & Gosford Park

French/British anti-war                               Grand Illusion & The Bridge on the River Kwai
Psychology of protagonist (madness)          Repulsion & Black Swan/Pi

Horror Genre Resources:
100 Resources to Research Horror 

ASSIGNMENT: Film Preview/Review

Week Of:                         Focus:                       Film(s):
10/14/13                           Kinesis/Framing         Cloverfield

9/30                                  Experimental Films     Experimental Film Clips

9/16-25/13                        Expressionism            Dr. Caligari
                                                           

9/9/13                               Montage:                    Battleship Potemkin
                                         Editing:                       The Passion of Joan of Arc

9/1/13                               Genre Study:              The Kid


On Front Page:

Title of Film:                       Title (date of film)

Filmmaker:                         Name

Film Review:                      By_________________, date of review

Background:                       Background info on filmmaker, film itself

About:                                 Synopsis of story

Reviews:                              How was it received when first released?

What to look for:                  Groundbreaking or influential use of techniques

                                                                                                             

On Back (or Second) Page:

My Review:                        Date of review

EQ:                                    See ESSENTIAL QUESTION blog entry for each film.

Use of:                                Lighting:

                                           Sound:

                                           EFX:

                                           Editing:
                                           Shot Selection:

       Narration:

                                           Mise-en-scene:

New Elements:

Theme of Film:  Thoughts on the theme of the film and how you think the filmmaker did(not) achieve success.

Your Opinion:    Your own thoughts and opinions on the film you viewed.  Good/bad?  Why/why not?

IB FILM Assessment Overview

Here are some guidelines, rubrics, examples and other valuable materials that you should look at:

Another Teacher's Website: Examples, Breakdowns, Overviews, etc.

IB Assessment/Breakdown

Entire IB FILM Guide

IB FILM ORALS

Below are some examples and some checklists for you to look at and listen to:

Oral Examples

More Examples and Planning Guides

Oral Guidelines

Screenwriting

Tips from Brian Koppelman (Runner, Runner)

Moviemaker 10 Tips

Filmmaker IQ: Essentials of Screenplay Formatting

Celtx: Free Scriptwriting Software

IB Script Format

Learn to Make Movies

Below are two sites that will help you with using a DSLR to make movies:

No Film School: DSLR

What is Aperture?

What is a DSLR? How do I make movies with it?

DSLR for Dummies Cheat Sheet

Techhive

Directors

Here is a listing of some of the world's best directors.  Once you navigate to the page, click on the director you would like to learn more about.

Great Directors List

Watch Some Films!

Here are a couple of good sites to watch films...for FREE!

Vimeo is a great site for filmmakers.  There is even a page where filmmakers are using the equipment that SEHS IB Film students have at their disposal (Cannon T4i and T5i).

Vimeo

Classic films for free!

Film Schools

These are some good sites to learn about making films:

Looking at Movies

Filmmaking 101

No Film School

Film Reviews/Essays

Below are some good sources for reviews of the films you will be viewing in this class.  Use these as a launching point for your investigations regarding films and filmmakers.

Roger Ebert

Rotten Tomatoes

Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

Filmmaker Magazine

Film Studies/Top Lists

These are links to some helpful sites that will provide some insight on cinematic language and initial sources for "top film" lists:


British Film Institute

American Film Institute

AMC "Filmsite" (For Vocabulary and Other Resources)

Film.com (50 Best Criterion Collection DVDs)

Film Studies: Helpful Links

Yale Film

Filmmaker IQ