Framing (distance) Your mission for today’s lesson is to direct and shoot the following images. For this you will have to alternate taking the images and being the subject for your partner. You will have to take on the role of director and of cinematographer to ensure you get the shots you need. Once you […]
Posts in the Film Elements category:
Cinematography 101
How can a film camera make meaning? Visual Glossary of Basic Camera Techniques The Best Shots of All Time Part 1. A great commentary on some amazing shots and the meaning that they create. Independent Study Using Google slides, start a collage of different shots from this video and label them with the correct shot […]
Introduction to the Camera
Lesson 1 The creative intention Whenever you go and make some film in the IB course, you must define your creative intention. That intention must go at the start of your reflective journal post and should be in your mind as you are making the film or completing the exercise. You should also use this […]
Pan’s Labyrinth Final Essay
An IB Film textual analysis essay is multilayered (like an onion). Here is a graphic, which tries to explain those layers: 1) The outer layer is the context layer. This film was made as a comment on the Spanish civil war, the people who rose to power (the Fascists) and the resistance of some, to […]
Context & Pan’s Labyrinth
In order to understand and appreciate a film more fully we need to study the context…. OK…so…what is context then? Historical Contexts These are the historical events which surround a film’s production. The film itself might also be a response to a specific historical event (as in Pan’s Labyrinth). In that sense there may be […]
Narrative in Pan’s Labyrinth
Narrative Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth. Task: Create a presentation (on Google slides) which analyses the narrative features in the Pan’s. Please work in pairs and use no more than four slides, one for each section listed below. 1) Structure The film starts at the end and takes us back to the beginning – why? Also, […]
Narrative in Film (Part 3) Non Linear Narratives
Non-linear Narratives Films have a big advantage in how they can tell stories. They are not bound by the rules of normal time! Editing can reorder screen time, which is different from reel time (the duration of the film), and this reshaping of the narrative can add to the audience’s pleasure of the film. How? […]
Narrative in Film (Part 2) Character Function
Narrative Function First off, it is important to note that we are not talking about characterisation or representation! We are talking the role the characters have in the narrative. In other words what is their job in the story? This analysis can give us helpful clues to understand the themes and ideas, especially when we […]
Narrative in Film (Part 1) The 3 Act Structure
Introduction to Narrative (The study of stories) When we study narrative we are exploring… The structure/shape of the stories The big events that push the story forward, causing the characters to act / react. When and how important story information is revealed. How the audience is positioned in the story & when we learn important narrative information […]
Representing Ophelia
Most films follow the story of one character, the central protagonist. Typically this central character has to undergo trials and overcome problems as the story progresses. These trails and conflicts change the character and they learn something essential about themselves or a great truth about the world. Today we are going to look at the […]