Author: Mr G

Teacher
Posted on in Reflective Journal

Your Film Studies Blog

Whilst our blog is a way of sharing ideas and resources with you. You also need to record your exploration of film, your experiences of being a creative film maker and reflections on your learning.

This individual and personal record is called, ‘The Reflective Journal’.

Here is an example from last year.

This journal will be your course folder and you must spend approximately 2-3 hours every week maintaining it. Mr Gregson will be regularly checking  (using the journal league) to make sure that it is being maintained and that you are completing posts on the following:

Production Roles (Practical Tasks)
  1. Inquiry into techniques employed within specific production roles
  2. Identifying your creative intentions.
  3. Uploading planning documents, drafts and completed exercises / films sequences.
  4. Reflecting on what you have learnt and how you might do better next time.
Exploring Film (Analysis Tasks)
  1. Uploading your analysis of the films / clips we study.
  2. The explorations of the contexts which surround the films you watch.
  3. Reflections on your work and how you wish to develop your understanding.

The platform you are going to use to record and publish your Reflective Journal is going to be Word Press – Edublogs.

Starting your blog.

Right click here and ‘Open in new tab’. http://blogs.grammar.sch.gg/

1) Click on ‘Get a Blog’

  • Your username should be your name all lower case, no spaces e.g. ‘edgregson/filmblog’
  • You must use your school e.mail account, e.g. ’83gregsone01@web.grammar.sch.gg’
  • Get it to ‘Give you a Site’

2) Then you will be asked to give your site a name.

  • Your user name should be formal e.g. Ed Gregson (Reflective Journal)
  • Select ‘Search Engine Blocked’
  • Prove you’re not a robot.

3) You will then have to check your school e.mail

You should get an e.mail which looks like this.
  • You should follow the activation link.

The link should take you to a web page, which looks like this.

4) Login

You should now receive a second e.mail with your username and password, which you should use to log in to your blog, using the link in the email:
  • Login (using the username & password provided).
  • Change your password in the dashboard (record the password somewhere).
  • Update your profile so it suits.
  • Start blogging.

5) Join the Class Blog

  • Click on the ‘My Class’ button in the top left corner, just below the Edublogs logo.
  • Click search for a class and search ‘ibfilm1921’
  • Send a request to join
  • A link to your blog will appear in the border of the Film Studies AS blog.

Choose a mobile friendly theme and one that scrolls down so that you don’t have to open and close posts all the time.

6) Structure Your Blog

You need to give your blog a bit of structure so that you can backtrack and find your work later on. To do that you need to set up some categories:

Go to “Posts > Categories”

Create the following categories:

  1. Cinematographer
  2. Editor
  3. Sound Designer
  4. Screenwriter
  5. Director
  6. Textual Analysis
  7. Genre
  8. Narrative
  9. Representation
  10. Contexts
  11. Video Essay

Whenever you create a new post you should give it the corresponding category in the reflective journal league.

Blogging Help

Before asking a teacher for help with any aspect of your blog that you are stuck on please use the Edublogs ‘Help and Support’ page. Its accessible through the Edublogs logo in the top left hand corner of the screen.

Task 2:

Create a new post called ‘My Favourite Film’. Embed the slideshow you created into that page and write a brief, 50 word, reflection on what micro or macro features of the film attracted you to it.

Posted on in Genre

The Problem with Genre…

What? Genre, a problem…?

You may be thinking that, ‘If films follow the same generic blueprint (repertoire of elements), why aren’t all genre films exactly the same?

Genre films tend to change, tend to evolve. In fact some theorists suggest that genre follow cycles: they are born, become popular, are overused and become predictable (even cliche), are parodied and then die….They are then reborn and freshly articulated for a new generation (think La La Land).

Task 1:

So let look at a film, which at first glance appears to be clearly within one genre:

  • Which genre does this film belong to?
    • What features of the scene point to it being a that genre?
  • Why might it not belong in the that genre?
    • What ingredients from other genres did George Lucas steal and mix into the film?

Help: If you’re stuck this is a great article on genre and why perhaps Star Wars doesn’t fit fully into the science fiction genre. Click on image and search (Cntl F) ‘Star Wars’ and see what it has to say about the film’s genre.

Task 2:

Watch this film clip and discuss what genre(s) it seems to fit into…

  • What features of the scene point to it being a that genre?
    • Does it look like a film from the same genre as Star Wars?
Extension Viewing on Blade Runner

Posted on in Genre

Genre (Part1)

Genre is like a cake…

When you make a cake you follow a recipe, in films the recipe is called the repertoire of elements. Most cakes use the same basic ingredients, same as in a genre film, these same ingredients are called generic conventions. 

‘Genre is similarity and difference’ – Altman

This deceptively simple idea from Altman suggests that when you explore a film in terms of it’s genre you are essentially studying how far it follows the recipe and how far it subverts (mixes in new and unexpected ingredients) audience expectations.

TASK:

What are the ingredients (conventions) of a particular genre?

  1. In pairs or small groups given a genre (in secret) and you need to create a pictorial representation of that genre. The picture cannot include words, unless they are sound effects, which you might associate with the genre. You should include cartoon images of:
    • characters
    • settings
    • props
    • events in the story
    • the look of the film
  2. Once you’ve finished take a photograph of your poster
  3. In about 20-25 minutes time your poster will be shown to the whole group and they have to look at those conventions on your poster and guess what the genre is.
Reflective Journal (Blog)
  1. Identify the genre your discussing & embed a YouTube trailer of that genre
  2. Please upload your poster image to your blog
  3. Reflect on the elements of your poster, which refer to the repertoire of elements evident in your film.
Independent Study

Watch one of the documentaries on genre by Mark Kermode:

Posted on in Film Elements

Our Favorite Films

What’s the best film you have watched this year (so far)?

What were the reasons you loved it so much?

These reasons often are something to do with the
MACRO FEATURES… 

Task (Complete for Independent Study)

Create a slide like the one below on your favorite film.

You can take a copy of this slide if you click here and then go to ‘>file>make a copy’

Quotes and Citation (The Rule)

You are quoting someone else in this slide and the rule is:

It’s fine to copy and paste someone’s words, but you must give them the credit!

In the notes of your slide show, you should put in the reference for your source. Use this website to generate a Harvard Reference for your quote.

Posted on in Contexts, Textual Analysis

Welcome to Film Studies IB

Welcome to a new adventure in Film…Studies.

We will give you the opportunity to learn about the key roles in film production in a hands on way. Together we will  explore film in a variety of ways and will encourage you to study films that you love.

Here is a rough outline of the course.

The IB is an international course and at its heart is a desire, ‘to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.’

Film is a wonderful way to give you a window into the wider world and to learn about other cultures and perspectives. So, whilst we will be looking at some British & American films we will be also exploring films made in other countries.

So the first film we will be working on together is a Spanish Film called Pan’s Labyrinth.

You can watch the whole film here, but will need to use your school Google account to access it. Otherwise we have several DVD copies.

You need to watch this film in it’s entirety over the next weeks. We will be exploring this film in lots of different ways and there are bound to be spoilers, so please make sure you have watched it by next Monday (there may be a test to check you have watched…)