IB Text Analysis: Handmaid’s Tale

IB Text Analysis Worksheet

Guidance for Work

“The TA is an exam. Failure to turn in the work within the 4 weeks, unless the teacher requests extenuating circumstances directly from the IB, should be considered a fail.” – IB Film

13.5 Hours To Complete

  • Please track how long it took you for each stage

Step 1 – Preparation: Spend 2 Hours

Total Time:

Step 2 – Pick a Film, Watch It, and Write Notes: Spend 4.5 Hours

Total Time:

The goal of IB Film is to expose students to films from all over the world and to increase their critical and practical understanding of film as a creative art form and reflection of its time period, society, and political and cultural environment. As a result, this class requires the viewing of a wide variety of films. In some cases, these films may carry an R rating, or, in the case of films made before 1968 and some foreign films, will have no rating at all. Please be assured that all the films selected for this course have a high degree of artistic merit and that many have won numerous awards and are considered part of the film canon. However, if you object to any film shown that does carry an “R” rating, you will always have the opportunity to request that an alternative film be assigned, and/or be excused from class and not view the film.

  1. Watch the trailers and pick ONE of these films (or the two episodes) (10 minutes)
    • Pan’s Labyrinth [Spain/Mexico] Director Guillermo Del Toro 2006 (Rated R)
      • Trailer
      • Available on Netflix and other streaming services
      • Google Drive (Film and Commentary)
    • Across the Universe [USA] Director Julie Taymor 2007 (Rated PG-13)
      • Trailer
      • Available on Hulu and other streaming services
      • Google Drive (Film, Commentary, and Extra Features)
    • The Handmaid’s Tale, Season 1 Ep. 01 and 02 [USA] Director Reed Morano 2017 (Rated R – Mature Rating on Hulu)
  2. Review Drew’s TA Guide Sheet (he scored very high!) (10 minutes)
  3. First Viewing: Watch the film and record your reactions (2 hours)
    • Take notes (below in this post)
      • How does the film (various scenes) affect you?
      • Remember every scene is like a mini-movie
      • Pay attention to which scene best represents the film, for you
  4. Second Viewing: Notice the cinematography, mise en scene, actor movement, wardrobe, sound (diegetic, non-diegetic, music, etc.) choices (2 hours)
    • Review the Big List of Film Terms for cinematic elements, mise en scene (what’s represented on screen), and sound
    • Write notes (below in this post)

Step 3 – Choose Your Extract, Watch It, Write Notes, and Research: 2.5 hours

Total Time:

  1. Open your TA Bibliography Google Doc (In Your IB Google Drive Folder – Mr. Le Duc created)
    • You will add your MLA sources as you research
  2. Choose your 5-minute extract (scene)
  3. Re-watch this scene numerous times and write notes in the Task Analysis Guide (below) (15 minutes)
  4. Research to support your notes (1 hour)
      • Cultural context Evidence: Textual analysis and sources
        • Answer these questions:
          • To what extent do you demonstrate an understanding of the cultural context of the film text?
          • To what extent do you support your understanding of the cultural context with research from appropriate and relevant sources?
    • Add to your notes in the Task Analysis Guide
  5. Re-watch your scene numerous times and add to your notes (15 minutes)
  6. Research to support your notes (1 hour)
    • Re-read Criterion B Film Elements Rubric
      • Evidence: Textual analysis and sources
        • To what extent do you evaluate how the extract makes use of film elements to convey meaning in the chosen film?
        • To what extent do you support your observations with the appropriate use of relevant film vocabulary?
    • Write notes (below in this post)

Step 4 – Compose A Rough Draft: 2 hours

Total Time:

  1. Watch Mr. Le Duc’s Convert a Table into Text with Editpad.org tutorial and do the following: (5 minutes)
    1. Copy and paste the two columns of your Text Analysis Guide notes (below) into editpad.org
      • This will convert your two-column table layout into a regular text document
    2. Copy and paste from editpad.org into your Google Docs TA Paper Template
  2. Thoroughly re-read and examine your work with the Text Analysis Rubric (PDF) (10 minutes)
  3. Compose your rough draft (1.75 hours)
    • Weave in your research the following
    • WHAT: Your observation about a film element in the 5-minute scene
    • WHY: Relate the film element to the shot or scene’s emotional or narrative importance
    • HOW: Explain how the film element works in the context of this scene
    • SO WHAT: Justify it with the cultural context, as needed

Step 5 – Get Draft Peer Reviewed: 30 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Get it peer-reviewed with the TA Worksheet (PDF) (30 minutes)
    • Peer Reviewer: Look for evidence of each section of the document
    • Look for WHAT, WHY, HOW for each statement in the paper
      • There should be at least one WHY or HOW or every WHAT statement
    • Look for cited research to support statements, where it makes sense
    • Write comments to help the author
      • Add them as “Add Comments” on the side, so you do not add to the word count of the document

Step 6 – Revise: 1 Hour

Total Time:

  1. Revise your draft (1 hour)

Step 7 – Get Feedback from Mr. Le Duc and Revise: 30 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Get feedback from Mr. Le Duc
  2. Make final revisions and check format (30 Minutes)

Step 8 – Finalize Paper and Cover Page: 15 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Clear cover page with the Title of Film & Timecode (5-minute film extract)
  2. Sans serif 12 point font
  3. In-text citations
  4. Less than 1,750 words maximum

Step 9 – Finalize Bibliography and Check Format: 15 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Update your TA Bibliography Google Doc (In Your IB Google Drive Folder)
    • Finish and check the format of your MLA sources as you research

Step 10 – Upload to Turnitin.com: 10 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Upload your TA paper (from Your IB Google Drive Folder)
  2. Upload your TA Bibliography Google Doc (from Your IB Google Drive Folder)

Text Analysis Guide (For your 5 Minute Scene)

TASK COMPONENTS (INQUIRY)

 NOTES
The extract may be up to five minutes in length and must be a single, continuous sequence of the film
Time of 5-minute clip PLACE 5 MINUTE TIME INTERVAL HERE…

PART 1 –  The film, your scene, why it is of interest, and how your scene relates to the whole film.

Brief Summary of Exposition

Writer, Director, Producer, studio, year released Main characters, conflict, identify the genre. Identify the aspect ratio.

Context of Extract in Film – briefly describe the scene

At what times does your scene occur, how it begins, and how it ends. Do not describe it further. The judges have seen the movie.

The Rationale for Selection – relation to the entire movie

Why is it interesting and why does this scene best illustrate the themes of the whole movie?

PART 2 – Remember to integrate the Director’s intent with each of the following areas in this section

Narrative
Script – Not just dialogue but in terms of being the spine of the storyExplain how this scene advances the plot. How do the events of this scene clarify/complicate matters? How does this scene affect/cause future events? What new information is revealed or suggested about a character? Is there anything deliberately withheld? Anything unusual in the dialogue? Word choice? Delivery? Accents? Repetition?

Cinema Photography
a) Camerawork – describe shots in specific termsShot size: ELS, LS (stage), full shot, MS, CU, ECU. Camera angles: bird’s eye, high angle, eye level, low angle or Dutch (oblique), camera movement: pan, tilt, dolly or tracking, handheld, Steadycam, or moving crane. Invisible V conspicuous. Are tracking shots motivated by character movement?
b) CompositionOpen/closed composition, aspect ratio, rule of thirds, Kubrick single-point perspective.
c) Depth of FieldConsider foreground, mid, ground, and background. Deep focus is associated with wide-angle lenses. Could be flat. Narrow ranges of focus may be the result of telephoto lenses.

Mise-en-scene – The overall look and feel of a movie
a) Position of characters and objectsIdentify the dominant, does movement guide our focus, character proxemics patterns (intimate,  personal, social, and public distances). How does the director add meaning to these choices? Is one character encroaching on another’s space? Watch for space being used to portray relationships/changes in relationships. Watch for windows, doors, parallel lines that frame people or objects.  Entrapment. Look for actor placement. Front – actor facing camera, greatest intimacy. One-Quarter Turn – very popular. Profile – character lost in the moment, a bit more distant than the previous two. Three Quarters Turn – useful to convey anti, socialness, Back of Head, most anonymous shot.  Creates a mystery or feeling of alienation.
b) LightingLow or high key. How does the director use light to focus our attention? Key, fill, and backlighting. What is the source of lighting in the context of the scene?
c) Color schemeHow does the director use color and what is the director’s intent for doing so? Look for color symbolism or color associated with characters. Color to suggest a mood. Color as foreshadowing. Contrasting colors ( the monolith v white room)
d) Set/location/propsSet design. Studio or on, location, describe props, scenery, what was the Director ́s intent for using them? How dense is visual information? Stark, moderate, or highly detailed?
e) Costume, hair, make upPeriod, class, gender (emphasize or diminish), age-appropriate, silhouette (close-fitting or baggy), fabric (plain, sheer, rough, delicate), accessories. Color is very important in relation to character.
f) Acting/body languageActing style, body language, blocking, period, or contemporary. Individualized (Joker), Stylization. Look for subtext (character says one thing but means something else). Consider typecasting as a shortcut to characterization.

Sound – watch scene w/o picture

Live sound, sound effects, and music. Sound can be diegetic, meaning characters would hear it, or non, diegetic, meaning that characters would not hear it, such as narration or music over the credits. Explore the relationship between diegetic and non, diegetic sound when appropriate.

Music

Is the music telling you what to feel?  Music can be used as a counterpoint to the action.

Editing

Ellipsis (time compression) and cross-cutting, fades, dissolves (fades between scenes), wipes,  matching cuts, straight cuts, dialogue overlap, and sound bridges. Consider how long each shot lasts.

Part 3: Analyzing the Film as a Product

Sociocultural Context

In what way was this movie a product of its time? What does the audience learn about the culture or historical context of the film?

Target Audience

Teens/adults or male/female age group, college education art crowd, liberal, conservative, Christian

Generic Expectations

http://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html also research  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tropes

Themes

Man V Man, or one of the others, is this film an allegory?

Motifs/Symbols

What specific devices support your definition of the theme? Look for recurring elements.

Film Criticism

Both contemporary and current. Use brief quotes from two different sources. Record the details:  reviewers’ names and publication names/dates

TASK COMPONENTS (ACTION)
Compose Paper

Part 4: Sources
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4
Source 5
Source 6
Source 7
Source 8
Source 9
Source 10

TASK COMPONENTS (REFLECTION)
Revision 1 Proofreader:
Revision 2 Proofreader:
Revision 3 Mr. Le Duc

External Assessment Criteria SL and HL

Peer Review Checklist

Comparative Study Process

1. FILM Choices List

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend: 10 Minutes 
Which films are you considering for your final Comparative Study? List as many as you wish below as part of an initial brainstorm. Remember that you must select ​​TWO​​ films from contrasting cultural contexts for this task.e.g. CITIZEN KANE Year, Country, and Director of the film. e.g. 1941, USA, Dir: Orson Welles
Roma 2018, Mexico, Dir: Alfonso Cuarón
Parasite 2019, South Korea, Dir: Bong Joon-ho
IP man 2008, Hong Kong, Dir: Wilson Yip

2. Areas of FILM FOCUS

Film Focus Possibility – identify the broad focus area and then add specifics (e.g. “THEORY – Auteur theory” or “GENRE – Horror”). Develop at least THREE options…you can create more by adding more rows. Justification for this Film Focus. Be as specific as possible.
Class Struggle In each film, the characters deal with the struggle of their own class. In Roma, Cleo deals with the constant state of being a part of and apart from the family she works with.
Marxist theory Each film deals with the imbalance of economic systems and how they are affecting the people and social dynamics of the plot.
Visual Inequality In both Parasite and Roma, the directors use height and structure differences to create visual contrast between classes and castes.

3. Chosen CULTURAL CONTEXT

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:   10

For this assessment task, “cultural context” involves consideration of some of the following factors, some of which may be blended (such as socioeconomic factors).

  • Economic, Geographical, Historical, Institutional, Political, Social, Technological
Identify at least TWO Cultural Context possibilities for your chosen films.
 Justification for this Cultural Context. Be as specific as possible.
Socioeconomic All the films are about economic disparity, Ip man is living in occupied china with the Japanese looming over daily life, making prestigious people such as IP man himself work in coal mines, In Roma, Cleo works as a nanny for a middle class family who is oblivious to her or the students social struggles as proletariat class people. In Parasite, the Kims are highly cunning people but their economic fortune forces them to stay impoverished, while their social status causes them to lack opportunities to use their brilliance without conning their way into an advantageous position.
Political The class disparity in South Korea portrayed in Parasite drives a parasitic lifestyle that doesn’t leave room for everybody. The occupation of China by Japan causes the main conflict and turmoil in the movie, forcing the Wing-Chun master, Ip Man, to use his defensive fighting for offensive purposes which goes against his own moral code. In Roma, the struggles of the lower class vs the upper and middle class is strong. The people of the lower class such as Cleo witness this when a middle-class child carelessly talks about a kid being shot by the military in the street.

4. RESEARCH QUESTION Possibilities

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  10

Consolidate your thoughts above and develop at least ​THREE​​ different research question possibilities. More are possible by adding additional rows to the table below. FYI these will be shared with the full class for discussion of strengths and weaknesses.

Your Chosen Area of Film Focus Topic for Comparative Study (written as a research question)
Class Struggle How do the films Roma and Parasite portray classist imbalance?
Marxist Theory To what extent do the films Roma and Parasite equality using the concepts of marxist theory?
Political turmoil To What Extent do the films Roma and Parasite attempt to capture the political discord to their own respects?

 

5. Final Decisions

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  5 

Using your topic options in the table above, select ​ONE​​ to be your final topic for this Comparative Study task. NOTE: There are examples from the IB of what this should look like below this table.

Your Chosen Area of Film Focus Film 1 Film 2 Contrasting Cultural Context The topic for the Comparative Study practice task (written as a research question)
Marxist Theory Parasite Roma Socioeconomic How do the films Roma and Parasite use Marxist theory to portray socioeconomic classist imbalance?

6. Developing Your Topic

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  
Develop 3-5 main arguments that can be made about your topic based on your research question and chosen film focus. Brainstorm how you could support these arguments within your video essay.
Parasite describes a classist imbalance of opportunity rather than skill. The Kim family are all exceedingly talented but they lack opportunity due to their social class. The Kim family is shown being adept at all their jobs they inevitably obtain, however they only can obtain them by conning their way into the opportunity.
Roma shows the ignorance of the happy Mexican middle-class in the polarized social setting of 1970s Mexico using Cleo as a tool to demonstrate indifference. Parasite on the other hand uses stark movement tied seamlessly in with its plot to show the imbalance in the lives of the rich and poor. The middle class in Mexico was ignorant of the struggles of the lower class while the government was massacring civilians in a dirty war on their own people. At the beginning of the film, one of the kids brings up military personnel shooting a kid in the head immediately met by the mom dismissing it easily. Parasite
Parasite shows the stereotypically good family traits of the poorer Kim family in contrast with the family dynamic of the parks. In Roma, Cleo is treated as part of and apart from the family that she works for at all times. During Parasite, the Kims are close together and work with each other to help each other out while the parks are isolated, distant, and relatively utilitarian in their family dynamic. In Roma, the family around Cleo treats her as they would treat an object. When the family is in a good mood, particularly the mom, Cleo is given smiles and treated with respect, However, When the mom is upset she is rough with Cleo and uses her as an outlet for her anger. Because of Cleos’ lower economic status, he is treated however the family feels like treating her. Similarly to this, In parasite, the Kim’s are reminded that they are not friends or family of the parks even if they can be treated as such. Mr. Park tells Mr. Kim that he is getting paid extra to do extra after Mr. Kim shows a disgruntled attitude toward the party show he was asked to perform in.
No matter what, because the lower class is economically dependent on the upper class, they can never be equal. In Parasite and Roma, it is equally demonstrated how reliant equality is based on economic standing. The Kim’s are never treated as human beings even if they are kind to them. Mr. Park  grimaces from Mr. Kim’s smell while he holds a dying woman in his hands. This is metaphoric of the unmaskable trace of Mr. Kim’s poverty and where he comes from. Despite anything, Mr. Park expects him to serve him and is disgusted by his inner essence and character because he is a servant and will never have the same level of importance as Mr. Park or his family.
No matter what, the servant will always be the servant no matter how loved or essential. Additionally, Roma depicts the same scenario. Despite saving Sofia’s kids from drowning even though she couldn’t swim, Cleo will never fully be a part of the family even IF they all love her. While she stalls and sits she will eventually be asked to retrieve something, While she plays with the children and truly listens eventually Sofia though usually absent, will command Cleo to go back to being a servant and let her use her kids as outlets, not as actual responsibilities or relationships. Despite connecting and risking her life, Cleo will always go back to her isolated servants quarters far up and away from the family.

7. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Primary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Identify at least 15 scenes from your chosen films that will help support the arguments you have outlined above. Screen clip a frame from each scene below. Write notes about how this scene helps support your argument. (These notes will help form your voice-over narration.)

*Add more rows as needed.

8. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Secondary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Identify at least 3-5 secondary sources (articles, books, websites, video essays, etc.) which provide information that help support your arguments being made. In this column include the specific source citations. Summarize the detailed information from the secondary source that you can use in this column. (You can copy+paste if they are from online sources.)

*Add more rows as needed.

 

9. Writing Your Narration

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend on the first draft: ? 
  • How much time did you spend on the final draft: ? 

Using the information, scene choices, and external sources you have compiled in steps 6-8, you will now write your voiceover narration and match it up to your chosen visual examples.

Length (</= 10 Minutes)

  • For the final Comparative Study, your narration should be no longer than 10 minutes in length.

Remember that you need to:

“The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.” Karl Marx believed in the unstoppable and rightful power of the proletariat. In film, Marxist theory focuses on the struggle between classes.  Marx described the struggle as being “the real battle lines drawn… between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots,’ between the bourgeoisie—those who control the world’s natural, economic, and human resources—and the proletariat, the majority of the global population who live in substandard conditions and who have always performed the manual labor—the mining, the factory work…that fills the coffers of the rich.”

 Parasite describes a classist imbalance of this unequaled opportunity rather than one based on individual value of skills. The Kim family are all exceedingly talented, but they lack opportunity due to their social class. The Kim family is shown as being adept at all their jobs they inevitably obtain; however, they only can obtain them by conning their way into the opportunity.

Roma shows the ignorance of the happy Mexican middle-class in the polarized social setting of 1970s Mexico using Cleo as a tool to demonstrate indifference. Her day to day routine is long, with the opening scene of her washing the floor nearly a minute and thirty seconds. It is the lack of visual movement following the family in the film that removes any sense of urgency by making us watch and wait for her. Parasite, on the other hand, uses stark movement tied seamlessly in with its plot to show the imbalance in the lives of the rich and poor. The Kims are always ducking and standing lower than the Parks. The Kim family aids and compensates for the shortcomings of the Park family, yet they are awarded with much less. Marxist theory takes issue against the concept that “the idea that the poor are poor simply because they have not applied themselves” as we see in Parasite, The Kim’s apply themselves more than the Parks ever do, but they remain the subordinates.

 

At the beginning of Roma, one of the kids brings up military personnel shooting a kid in the head, which is immediately met by the mom dismissing it easily. The camera pans slowly across rooms and takes its time with each task as if it is all real. Parasite takes an abruptly different approach. When the storm comes, the Park’s are minorly inconvenienced, shown having to come home to a lavish meal and a house in a contrast series of long shots to the previous chaos of the Kim family. The design of the Park’s house always shows them going up confidently, just as they do back from their camping trip. The Kims must go down as long as they are not serving the Parks. When the storm comes, the Kims are in a place of comfort, lounging and drinking in the Parks house high above the city. and must go into their underground house to rescue their belongings. The contrast between the Park’s and the Kim’s predicaments is evident with every move of the characters. The Parks move confidently and deliberately, the Kim’s move hastily and abruptly.

Parasite shows the stereotypically good family traits of the more impoverished Kim family in contrast with the Park’s family dynamics. The In Roma, Cleo is treated as part of and apart from the family that she works for at all times.

During Parasite, the Kims are close and work together to help each other out; and often appearing close together and synergized, shown excellently in the montage of the plot to remove the housemaid. while the Parks are isolated, appearing physically distanced in each shot and relatively utilitarian in their family dynamic. Mr.Park expresses his lack of love for his wife, and the whole family seems to collide with each other more often than correspond. In Roma, the family around Cleo treats her as they would treat an object. When the family is in a good mood, particularly Sofia, Cleo is given smiles and treated with respect, closer to the center in each shot. However, when the mom is upset, she is rough with Cleo and uses her as an outlet for her anger, taking the children away and forcing Cleo to the outside of the frame. Because of Cleos’ lower economic status, she is treated however the family feels like treating her. Similarly to this, in Parasite, the Kims are reminded that they are not friends or family of the Parks even if they can be treated as such. Mr. Park tells Mr. Kim that he is getting paid extra to do extra after Mr. Kim shows a disgruntled attitude towards being asked to perform in a show at a party. Despite any respect for the Kim family, the Park family in a dominant class will always hold the Kim family as their subordinate.

No matter what, because the lower class is economically dependent on the upper class, they can never be equal.

In Parasite and Roma, it is equally demonstrated how reliant equality is based on economic standing. The Kim’s are never treated as human beings even if they are kind to them. Mr. Park grimaces from Mr. Kim’s smell while he holds a dying woman in his hands. This is metaphoric of the non-maskable trace of Mr. Kim’s poverty and where he comes from. Despite anything, Mr. Park expects him to serve him and is disgusted by his inner essence and character because he is a servant and will never have the same level of importance as Mr. Park or his family. The only way he can ever truly be free is when he is acting according to his need. Mr. Kim is only free when he takes the knife and stabs Mr. Park, freeing himself from the power he held over him; but losing his freedom as a wanted criminal.

No matter what, the servant will always be the servant, no matter how loved or essential.

Additionally, Roma depicts the same scenario. Despite saving Sofia’s kids from drowning even though she couldn’t swim, Cleo will never fully be a part of the family even if they all love her. While she stalls and sits, she will eventually be asked to retrieve something, While she plays with the children and truly listens; ultimately, Sofia, though usually absent, will command Cleo to go back to being a servant and let her use her kids as outlets, not her dutiful responsibilities or relationships. Despite connecting and risking her life, Cleo will always go back to her isolated servants’ quarters far up and away from the family. In both Parasite and Roma, the Servants are treated as underclass citizens. Throughout Roma, Cleo is constantly reminded of this. Whenever she is in a positive position, she is degraded for being a servant or talked around like she is an animal. Cleo is never given the respect that she gives others, even though she gives all the care and energy she can to make the best of all situations thrown at her throughout the whole film. 

Throughout Parasite, the Kim’s are talked about like replaceable machinery. Although they inherently did wrong to get to their positions, they are skilled and perform exceptionally well in their roles just as Marx urged the proletariat to take their right. The Parks, however, only expect the worst from them. As Cuaron has stated, “Mexico is a country in which it’s impossible to go through Mexico and not to see contradictions all the time, and not to see the most amazing, beautiful places; and the most beautiful expressions of generosity together with misery and atrocity.” This generosity is given to Cleo, but it is also just as easily taken. Cleo is treated as a tool for the people around her to use, and Inevitably always will be as long as she continues to just accept the demands of all those around her.

Which Visual Evidence/Scenes line up to this part of the narration? Voiceover Narration Ideas

Formatting Guidelines

Screenshot from Celtx.com

10. Assembling the Comparative Study

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 

Now you will collect all media resources needed for the task and construct your video essay.

REQUIRED STEPS

  • Import the digital copy of your chosen films into editing software
  • Identify and extract chosen scenes and clips
  • Place and edit clips into a rough timeline for your video essay
  • Record audio narration (both partners should participate in narrating this practice task)
    into an audio file using recording equipment (Zoom recorders, iPhone, DSLR Rode video
    mic, etc.)
  • Import your recorded narration audio file into your project timeline
  • Assemble, edit and fine-tune clips and narration until your video essay takes shape
  • Create and add any required textual information in the timeline (including black slate at the start)
  • Audio mixing of narration and movie clips (adjust levels so that narration and movie sounds complement each other)
  • Export the final video essay movie file
    • Upload Unlisted draft to YouTube for peer review

11. Create Works Cited

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
  • Create Works Cited list separately (Google Doc)

Examples of Possible Task Components

Area of film focus Film 1 Film 2 A possible topic for comparative study
Film movement: German Expressionism The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Edward Scissorhands (1990) How and with what effect are specific film elements of German expressionism used within a chosen contemporary film?
Film movement: French New Wave Breathless (1960) Badlands (1973) The influence of the French New Wave on New Hollywood’s use of innovative film elements in its representation of youth and violence.
Film genre and film style: Black comedy No. 3 (1997) The Big Lebowski (1998) To what extent do “black comedy” films differ according to cultural context?
Film theory: Soviet Montage Battleship Potemkin (1925) Koyaanisqatsi (1982) To what extent are specific features of Soviet montage theory faithfully employed in a contemporary experimental film?

Film – Week 10 – GTD – Getting Things Done – Part 2

Film – Week 10 – GTD – Getting Things Done – Part 2

Image from BiggerPlate.com

Teens are overwhelmed, partly because they don’t yet have the skills to manage the unprecedented amount of stuff that enters their brains each day.  – from LifeHacker.com

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

“You can do anything, but not everything.”

― David Allen, (GTD) Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World

SUMMARY

  • Last week I finished my college applications, brainstormed film ideas, and completed history essays and a math project. I have become very used to going on what I have dubbed “active bike rides” where I simultaneously mountain bike and think creatively. I have found that this technique is extremely efficient and I am much more organized and creative if I turn on my brain while biking.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

Screenshot from Animated Book Summary And Review at YouTube

I am eager to use the “stress free productivity” technique of planning designated down time so that I don’t do “half-ass’ed” work time and my relaxation time will also be maximized down time.

Examine Two GTD Maps: Basic and Detailed

  1. Detailed map by guccio@文房具社 icensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
  2. Basic map from BiggerPlate.com embedded below

GTD-based Trusted System

    • My trusted system is a “gamified” point system on pencil and paper, with a more accessible “control-panel” on a dry erase board in front of me, with this I have a point goal for the day, and each task gets a point value based depending on the time length of the activity.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

personally, I felt that the most important thing I learned was that I really need to have designated and prescribed downtime between tasks. Before I would have “work time” but It wouldn’t be concentrated and I wouldn’t get very much done and also work for much longer than when I just focus and let myself be done at a certain time.

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

I think the process and content of the classroom is going well so far. I think for it to be great it would be nice if advanced students had a more primary group, such as during the 1st year debrief at the beginning of class all the advanced students could go to one breakout room where we could brainstorm and discuss aspects of the class and projects.

Week 9 – GTD – Getting Things Done – Part 1

Week 9 – GTD – Getting Things Done – Part 1

 

SUMMARY

  • Write your weekly summary here, last, at the end of the week…
    • Only one to two sentences of WHAT YOU DID
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

My List

  • EE Criterion A
  • UW College App
  • UBC College App
  • History practices
  • History MTG WW2
  • Math Discussion 6
  •  Spanish la dieta video
  • Environmental science systems chart
  • Journalism interview
  • Journalism report

List Prioritization

  1. EE Criterion A
  2. Journalism interview
  3. UW College App
  4. Spanish la dieta video
  5. Environmental science systems chart
  6. Journalism report
  7. History MTG WW2
  8. Math Discussion 6
  9. UBC College App

 

STEP 3: SET A TIMER

https://giphy.com/gifs/time-clock-konczakowski-d3yxg15kJppJilnW
  1. Set a timer for your first task
    1. Decide how long you think it will take before you start
  2. Start working
  3. Repeat this process for 45 minutes for as many tasks as you can complete, then take a 15-minute break
    • Get up and get a drink of water
    • Get up and go for a walk
    • Every 20 minute blink your eyes 20 times while looking at least 20 feet away
      • This is good for your eyes

Start steps 1 through 3 again, repeat for your school day

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

David Allen image
Oct. 2020 Lucidchart interview with David Allen
Image from FastCompany Magazine, https://www.fastcompany.com/3026827/the-brain-hacks-top-founders-use-to-get-the-job-done
Image from FastCompany Magazine, https://www.fastcompany.com/3026827/the-brain-hacks-top-founders-use-to-get-the-job-done
  • Reflect on GTD and getting to the top of the colorful list above for a minute
    • How can the GTD process help you tame the crazy-busy dragon of modern life?

  • Then, go for a 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
  • Write a few sentence reflection
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

OPTIONAL EXERCISE – Literally, read the article and go for another walk 🙂

Katia Verresen homepage
Katia Verresen, kvaleadership.com

“I coach C-suite executives and rising stars from the earliest startups to Fortune 100 companies. My passion is to help ambitious leaders achieve their full human potential.”  – Read more about Katia…

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

  • Write only a few sentences of WHAT YOU LEARNED
  • In one or two sentences, describe a PROBLEM YOU SOLVED
  • DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

  • Give feedback on this week’s class Content and Process
  • DELETE THIS WHOLE SECTION, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Recipe For Success: Bong Joon-Ho

Recipe For Success: Bong Joon-Ho

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/02/fish-monsters-barking-dogs-and-roach-patties-the-films-of-bong-joon-ho/

Bong Joon-Ho born: September 14, 1969 (age 51 years) Bongdeok-dong, Daegu, South Korea

Success to be is being innovative and proficient in something you enjoy doing, and to be able to overcome problems and challenges in original ways. Success is embodied by the ability to overcome a challenge by strategizing and using a mastery of your skills while simultaneously not exploiting resources and others around them. Bong Joon-Ho is successful because he has created an interesting story out of common tropes and ideas. He created something original despite the ease of recycling material between creators. Everything he creates has a message displayed in an unexpected and interesting visual and emotional presentation.

Skills for Success

1.) Creative originality

Bong Joon-Ho explains that he must remain true to himself, because he doesn’t know for sure what the public wants to see, so he creates a story for himself to enjoy.

2.) Holistic understanding and study

Bong Joon-Ho studied sociology and spent a large amount of his time in clubs in college. He has worked with many different nationalities and directors for movies, creating a wide variety and resources to build his stories on.

3.) Communication skills

Bong Joon-Ho puts most of his effort into collaboration and communicating with his peers and staff. He values the thoughts and opinions of his colleagues and relies heavily on the people around him to give him ideas and criticism.

Challenges Overcome

Bong Joon-Ho struggled with the challenge of finding success in South Korea, a “country with an oppressed and obscure film community”(insider). Through this, he spent lots of his time meeting people and communicating to find a large resource of people to work with. Through this, he found people that supported him and he could support himself. With the network he built in this obscure community they created connections internationally, learning more and more and strengthening their own local system further. Bong Joon-Ho has been one of the first Oscar-winning non-English film winners with the film parasite, opening the door for all the people who believed they couldn’t make it where they live with the resources they have.  

Significant Work

Parasite was a masterpiece from South Korea, a culmination of everything Bong learned, winning an Oscar for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, International feature film.

Resources

Include three resources in your entry, unless it is someone you know, then you can be the information source.

EXAMPLES:

Story of Film Episode 3- The Golden Age of World Cinema

Story of Film Episode 2- The Hollywood Dream

Story of Film Episode 2- The Hollywood Dream

 

from  Wikipedia.

Episode 2 – The Hollywood Dream

1918-1928: The Triumph of American Film…

…And the First of its Rebels

The Story of Film: Episode 1 – Birth of the Cinema

Episode 1 – Birth of the Cinema

Introduction

a lie to tell the truth- this is filmmaking

cinema used as an empathy machine

Romantic films always in a rush

there’s a pause in the story used to show realism

reflects truth that all humans feel that we can’t just produce mechanically.

images and ideas excite us

looking into bubbles to see trouble

much of what we assume about movies is off the mark. film making is racist by omission

1895-1918: The World Discovers a New Art Form or Birth of the Cinema

regular place documented in the first actualites’

created in the black moriah

Lumieres believed in actualites, the factory shot was the place of the first movie that was shown by them.

was innovative and unsettling to the audience

a conception of reality that people could witness

 

 

first jump cut ever used in film to make a man appear

first special effects  used by Georges Melies

inspired people with the dream to project because of Melies

first to film at the front of a train creating a slow tracking shot known as the phantom ride

Claude Lanzmann used the phantom ride to narrate the tracks that took the Jews to Auschwitz.

uses a tracking shot on light to make it feel as if the film itself is tripping

used the first close up to show the cat eating in more detail. created naturally and comfortably

closeups of a dead woman’s hand and hair being lowered by the bridge to show the feeling of despair in the scene.

zoom and extreme closeup used to show the people that he realized something deep inside Fonda.

became a quick way to show ideas and communicate

1903-1918: The Thrill Becomes Story or The Hollywood Dream

by 1903 film makers had developed many of the key shots to show a story but couldn’t edit, this was the first film that was cut to see a progression of events and time.

shot the first scene using double exposure to show that a man falls asleep to jump into a film.

first introduced parallel story structure, not what happens next. shows what happens at the same time

first film that they would allow actors to turn around, giving birth to a different look into action

was startling when he wouldn’t show the face of Anna Karina

girl in this film was anonymous

Florence Lorence was burned into peoples mind after media outrage

Less censorship meant actors could be more sexual and hollywood learned from it in what they could have

added an element of sublime to their film inspiring a dreamy fictional feeling to the film, or sense of surreal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Rebirth of a Nation (2007) dir. DJ Spooky

 

 

 

 

Session 6

Summary

Role

Director

Intention (SMART Goal)

By March 18 as part of team 3 I will have completed Walter Murch’s “Direct The Eye” tutorial to be able to create valuable eye guiding scenes for Project 6 in our film production cycle.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

  1. Martin Scorsese known one of the most influential and greatest directors was a New Wave Era director in Hollywood. Scorsese’s body of work explores themes such as Italian-American identity, Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, faith, machismo, crime and tribalism. He is best known for his work in Goodfellas and Taxi Driver.

Training Source(s)

  1. we will use Trello to organize our production and stay up to speed.
  2. I will begin to make tasks for each production team member and assure that they stay on their job.
  3. I will now start storyboarding with the screenwriter and cinematographer, identifying our points of tension in our film.
  4. After storyboarding, I will identify important and key shots on our shot list with our cinematographer.
  5. I will ascertain that every team member is clear on their understanding of their role and their tasks.
  6. I will now choose a specific setting, and a time when we can all get together.
  7. Once pre-production is completed I will work with the editor to get the visual experience and pacing of the film that is desired.
  8. Then I will make sure that the film is uploaded and delivered to Leduc.
  9. After that I will create the presentation slide show and share it with everyone to edit their own evidence and reasoning into.

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Skills Commentary

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

Reactions to the Final Version

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

Grammar and Spelling

Editor

Text Analysis: Up in the Air

IMDb link to movie informational page

Cast and Crew

Notes

  • Got people who recently lost their jobs in the recession to come in and go through the firing process again and get more realistic reactions
  • Asked people to respond the way they wish they responded to their loss of career, or respond how they initially reacted to their loss of position.
  • Made it feel relaxed and more like an interview so that the people were relaxed
  • Needed to make everything fast and clean inside the airport to make it feel like a relaxed and pleasurable experience to travel because its “not planes, trains, and automobiles.”
  • needed to show that Ryan Binghum’s place of comfort was the airport.
  • shot from 10pm to 4am to be able to film in actual airports.
  • TSA volunteered time
  • made intro to look like old postcards
  • backpack speech came from a life experience where his house burned down and he realized it was oddly freeing to have all of his stuff gone as long as him and his wife were safe.
  • used lots of motion in cinematography to create that “hustle feeling.”
  • Decided to give Jason Bateman a beard to change his character from most of his other roles.
  • Camera couldn’t point down so the Cessna’s would have to dive bomb to get the footage they needed.
  • designed the bar scene where Alex and Ryan (Vera and George) to seem like a romance form the 80s-90s.
  • Scene was improvised by Vera and George
  • Wanted to show a mystery through shooting in a curved hallway.
  • shot entirely in a functioning open airport. dealt with people bewildered by George Clooney walking through the airport.
  • Wanted to show Jason Bateman’s character as completely artificial so he decorated his office with store bought memorabilia.
  • Set up cameras completely on dance floor a 4×8 foot board coated in plastic that you can control a dolly on.
  • Rolfe Kent: Composer–
  • excellent at making low key comedic music
  • Rolfe Kent makes all the music in his studio and adds all the music one by one
  • Used bark to hide spring so that it stayed winter
  • A song if its right or wrong will put you into the right or wrong tone
  • most important tonal piece
  • very specific and carefully thought out