Here is the full guidance on your Film Portfolio from IB Central Command.

Mini guide of questions to ask

‘ALL HAIL IB CENTRAL COMMAND’

You can read it if you want, otherwise, here is…

A Summary

You need to create a film reel made of of three sections. Each section lasts no more than three minutes. At least one section should be a complete film / film sequence.

The reel will showcase your developing learning in three different film roles from this list:

1. Screenwriting
2. Directing
3. Cinematography
4. Editing
5. Sound Design

Each section should be made up of clips of film, lighting setups, finished lines from the screenplay and audio you recorded, (clips may include captions TBC) to refer and link to your portfolio pages (see below). Each clip should illustrate your development as a film maker. It should be made up of early workshop materials and mini tasks we did during the first two terms and then should show the development of your understanding and skill within that film role and creative techniques available to film makers.

REMINDERS

The activities, corresponding to the five roles we have covered during the course, and links are below:

Screenwriting, you have…

• Developed an understanding of the three act narrative structure and creating antagonists (monsters)
• Learnt how to shape and build a scene in a screenplay
• Used generic conventions from horror as a blueprint for your ideas developement.
• Defined your creative intentions for your horror screenplay.
• Written a screenplay for ‘Stolen’.
• Used techniques to develop a vision for your horror screenplay.
• Written a screenplay for the Horror opening sequence.
• Developed in conjunction with the director an extended step outline / treatment for your horror sequence

Directing, you have…

• Extended and developed a distinct character from a screenplay called ‘Stolen’.
• In conjunction with the cinematographer planned a shot list for Stolen
• Clarified your definition of the director’s role.
• Written an extended step outline / treatment for your horror sequence.
• Clarified your creative intentions and vision for the horror shoot.
• Blocked and rehearsed actors in horror shoot pre production.
• Coordinated camera and actors on the bunker shoot.
• Communicated given circumstances and emotional tone of the scene to actors.

Cinematography, you have…

• Explored basic framing.
• Explored basic camera movement.
• Learnt the essentials of filming to edit.
• Learnt the essentials of three point lighting & colour.
• Defined some of the rules of cinematic composition.
• Exploring advanced cinematography using a DSLR.
• Story-boarding the montage sequence.
• Created a storyboard for ‘Stolen’.
• Storyboarded the horror sequence in collaboration with the director
• Set up, positioned the camera and arranged the frame during the bunker shoot.
• Used lighting expressively during the bunker shoot.

Editing, you have…

• Learnt how to setup and manage a project (workflow) in Premiere. (RED SCREEN OF DEATH)
• Created a basic continuity edit – The Exchange
• Recreated the Kuleshov Effect
• Edited a montage sequence
• Edited Stolen
• Compiled a video essay
• Horror Sequence:
  • Done vision editing the horror sequence for continuity (sense) and atmosphere
  • Applied effects, filters and transitions appropriate for the horror sequence
  • Used key frames during horror sequence editing.

Sound Design, you have…

• Recorded some basic foley sounds and created a soundtrack for spooky house
• Edited sound and learn basic single and multi-track editing, mixing, effects…
• Recorded a conversation using a shot gun mic and boom
  • Synced recorded asynchronous conversation in post (learnt to use markers)
• Composed music from loops for the horror sequence
• Foley recording and editing for the horror sequence

THE PORTFOLIO PAGES (Keep Reading)

40% of the mark you receive for your Film Studies coursework come from 9 portfolio pages that you compile. NINE, count them…1, 2, 3…get the picture? NINE!

You should write up to 3 pages of portfolio for each of the three tasks you wish to submit. So 3×3, NINE…

The portfolio pages should include images and text and are a place for you to describe your learning in Film Studies. They must show and explain a clear sense of your…

• INQUIRY
• ACTION
• REFLECTION

THIS IS WHAT THE REFLECTIVE JOURNAL IS FOR!

All the evidence is there, or should be. All you need to do is:

1. Choose your three favourite film production roles.
   1. Make sure they are areas where you have lots of evidence to show from your journal.
2. Start lumping in your three pages all the:
   1. Films you watched and studied.
   2. Sequences & shorts you analysed.
   3. Pre production work you did before you went shooting.
   4. Photos of equipment you have been using.
   5. Screenshots from your edits (Premiere, Audition and perhaps After Effects).
   6. Quotes from your Reflective Journal, especially the really good reflections when you talked about you problems and early struggles with the the technology, film process and craft…
   7. Scripts you wrote
   8. Photos of you in action
   9. Feedback you received and reflected on.

and of course…

10. Screenshots from your films and experimental work, with some close commentary on the techniques you were using and the degree to which they fulfilled your initial creative intention, or, failing that, the degree to which it helped you learn more fully the significance of these creative film roles.

You should be begging for more than three pages per film role!

The answer however is ‘NO!’ Three is your lot!

After that it’s about structure and shape, a sense of journey…

It’s about honestly and openly explaining what you have learnt in film. Try to show learning process, texts explored, essays read (or watched) and show that research leading to experimentation. Early successes and failures (where you learnt a lesson) and then onto the more advanced stuff and the creative freedom you were given. What did you do with it?

You should have to cull material or at least summarise the key learning points in early tasks so you can have more space to describe (using terms), give examples from your work (use images) and analysis of the meaning you intended.

We may have space in the last half term for you to take your own path and perhaps develop and advance even further your skills in your three favourite roles.

This is reel (get the pun). These pages are coursework and are as important as you edit of the reel, so in short… This will be your most pressing independent study task for Film Studies this half term and you should be spending 3 hours per week on it from now on!

You will get one lot of formative feedback on the pages and reel from Miss H or Mr G and then it needs to be submitted by…

1. First Draft Deadline: Friday 15th June

2. Second Draft: Monday 2nd July (TBC)

3. Final Deadline: Thursday 12th July.

The final deadline includes any experimental work you wish to add to your pages and reel.

Top tips.

• Use InDesign (if your a confident Media Student) or Google Slides.
• Orientate the page to landscape (the default layout in slides)
• Use a SANS SERIF font
• Use font size 12
• Images should have captions

FINALLY: THE BIBLIOGRAPHY!

You are also obliged to include a page of sources you used. Not one of the nine portfolio pages, so ten pages then… :¬/

This is going to mean a bit of back tracking and also using the centre approved citation system, Harvard. Some sources we used are:

HERE
AND HERE
HERE TOO
SOME GOOD ONES HERE

THERE SHOULD BE OTHERS IN YOUR REFLECTIVE JOURNAL.

EXEMPLAR

Click here to see example reels & pages supplied by IB