Monthly Archives: November 2021

Nov 6

IB Text Analysis Worksheet:

“Director/Conductor” by La Chachalaca Fotografía is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Summary

A guide to planning, researching, and creating your IB Film Text Analysis

  • Follow the directions for each step below
  • Include for your notes, where required

Student Work

Across The Universe

Pan’s Labyrinth

Handmaid’s Tale

Guidance for Your 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)
    • 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 using The Text Analysis Guide: 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

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 clipPLACE 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 ExpositionWriter, Director, Producer, studio, year released Main characters, conflict, identify the genre. Identify the aspect ratio.
Context of Extract in Film – briefly describe the sceneAt 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 movieWhy 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 pictureLive 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.
MusicIs the music telling you what to feel?  Music can be used as a counterpoint to the action.
EditingEllipsis (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 ContextIn 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 AudienceTeens/adults or male/female age group, college education art crowd, liberal, conservative, Christian
Generic Expectationshttp://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html also research  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tropes
ThemesMan V Man, or one of the others, is this film an allegory?
Motifs/SymbolsWhat specific devices support your definition of the theme? Look for recurring elements.
Film CriticismBoth 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 1Proofreader:
Revision 2Proofreader:
Revision 3Mr. Le Duc

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)

External Assessment Criteria SL and HL

Peer Review Checklist

Nov 6

IB Comparative Study Worksheet 2021-22

“Film scripts for sale in Soho! #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #movies” by Nat Ireland is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Summary

A guide to planning, researching, and creating your Film Comparative Study

  • Follow the directions for each step below
  • Include for your work where it is required

Student Work

Guidance for Your Work

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5GVyf2UDWsc%3Ffeature%3Doembed
https://youtube.com/watch?v=F24rKFVlB2Q%3Ffeature%3Doembed

“Simple formative analysis of film elements, no matter how precise or insightful, won’t cut it which is why the research question needs to be crafted in such a way that it provides scope for theoretical and socio-historic exploration. It’s basically an EE in disguise but focusing on two very different textual sources.”

Steps and Tasks

  1. Brainstorm possible films for the task. You must select TWO films from contrasting cultural contexts.
  2. Brainstorm and justify at least three different areas of FILM FOCUS for your two chosen films.
  3. Brainstorm and justify at least two different CULTURAL CONTEXTS for your two chosen films.
  4. Consolidate your ideas and develop at least three different RESEARCH QUESTION topics for your study.
  5. Finalize your choices and select your RESEARCH QUESTION. Choose two films for comparison.
  6. Develop the main arguments you will make about your topic.
  7. Collect evidence from the films that support your argument.
  8. Research secondary sources for information that supports your argument.
  9. Write your Narration and plan the audio-visual components of your video essay.
  10. Record, assemble, and edit your Comparative Study Video Essay.
  11. Create a Works Cited document (separately) once your Comparative Study is finished.

Comparative Study Task Components

For this assessment task, each student identifies, selects, and researches each of the following task components.

  1. TASK 1: One area of film focus.
  2. TASK 2: Two films for comparison from within the chosen area of film focus, one of which originates from a contrasting time (historical) or space (geographical) to the personal context of the student, and the other film identified for comparison must arise from a contrasting cultural context to the first film. Students are required to select films they have not previously studied in depth. The selected films cannot come from the prescribed list of film texts provided for the textual analysis assessment task and, once selected, the films cannot be used by the student in any other assessment task for the DP film course or the extended essay.
  3. TASK 3: A clearly defined topic for a recorded multimedia comparative study, which links both the selected films and the identified area of film focus. Each student should invest time in researching, developing, and honing their topic (which in most cases is likely to be expressed in the form of a research question) to ensure it is clear, focused and concise, in order to provide them with the maximum potential for success in this task. The topic should seek to enrich the student’s understanding of the chosen area of film focus and should avoid a plot-driven approach to the comparison.

The assessment criteria for this task requires students to provide a strong justification for the choice of task components as part of the recorded multimedia comparative study. This includes the student’s justification for how films arise from contrasting cultural contexts.

1. FILM Choices List

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  1.5 hours
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 KANEYear, Country, and Director of the film.e.g. 1941, USA, Dir: Orson Welles
Train to Busan2016, South Korea, Dir: Yeon Sang-Ho
Carriers 2009, USA, Dir: Àlex Pastor and David Pastor
The Crazies2010, USA, Dir: Breck Eisner

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.
Genre- Action-ThrillerBoth films portray a protagonist fighting their way to safety from a virus that has taken over the world. Including fighting and escaping which evokes a heightened feeling in the viewer.
Genre- Horror-ThrillerBoth films induce a reaction of fear from the viewers from high climatic scenes. The protagonists have to fight off a virus infecting humans while finding trust in strangers.
Style- Arthouse ActionBoth films have cultural differences between European-American and Asian techniques. The Korean film is a high-sped not overcomplicated film with a basic structure while the American one is high/low-sped with a series of events.

3. Chosen CULTURAL CONTEXT

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  30 minutes

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.
GeographicalTrain to Busan released in 2016 is a South Korean film about a zombie-virus outbreak. The protagonist was on a train to Busan when a girl started to transform from the virus, the main character must find a way to reach their intended destination while avoiding the zombies. The film contains South Korean techniques that differ from other countries.

Carries in 2009 is an American film about a group of people searching for a safe place that is virus-free while trying to avoid being infected. The group will face many challenges that will cause them to make rash decisions. It is filmed with high-climatic scenes through American techniques that are popular.
SocialTrain to Busan released in 2016 has a social aspect being one of the first zombie movies produced in South Korea. It is shown throughout the film which the director made decisions on certain ideas that related to Korea’s history. The movie also shows the protagonist and antagonist as ordinary people so that the viewers can relate to them.

Carries in 2009 shows the social aspect throughout the film between the protagonists. As they go through situations and events new challenges appear that they must solve. In doing so they must follow the rules that were established. When a rule is broken this develops a problem that the group must face.

4. RESEARCH QUESTION Possibilities

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  20 minutes

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 FocusTopic for Comparative Study (written as a research question)
Genre- Action-ThrillerHow does a pandemic world affect the social aspects of the characters in an action-thriller film?
Genre- Horror-ThrillerHow does the cinematic movement of a horror-thriller film evoke a fear-induced reaction?
Style- Arthouse ActionHow do diverse cultural aspects in a thriller genre of film sway the audience?

5. Final Decisions

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

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 FocusFilm 1Film 2Contrasting Cultural ContextTopic for Comparative Study practice task (written as a research question)
Action-Thriller (genre)Train to Busan (2016)Carriers (2009)socio-geographicalHow does a pandemic world affect the social aspect of the characters in an action-thriller film?

6. Developing Your Topic

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  1.5
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.
The adrenaline of being in a dangerous situation against a threat makes people group together or become enemies.


Train to Busan: At the beginning of the film when the citizens realize that the spreading of the virus has started, their first instinct is to protect themselves and not consider anyone else’s safety.
Salarymen group together to show the unity of corporate men.
The people on the train realize that they must work together to fight against a common enemy.
The father realizes his working addiction and the lack of time spent with his daughter, so his new mission is to make sure she survives.

Carriers: The group of 4 makes their way to Turtle beach and refused to help a man and his daughter when they see that she is infected.
Later their car breaks down and they end up tagging along with that man and his daughter.
One of the members, Piper, becomes infected by the little girl and hides it from her friends.
The members have secrets kept from each other and it becomes revealed as the film progresses.
When the other 3 find out that Piper is infected they make an emotional hard-ship decision.
The type of social class/relationship a person is in affects the way they are perceived.Train to Busan: On the train ride we can see the various levels of social classes in one place. It unites the different classes of wealth. There is a CEO, a high school sports team, elderly sisters, a man, and his pregnant wife, and a homeless person.
When the salarymen tied off the door with their ties that highlighted the unity of a group that has something in common.
The film is very anti-corporate since the workaholic citizens realize that they missed out on life.

Carriers: It shows two brothers and their girlfriends trying to navigate a safe path to their destination.
The other relationship that is shown through the film is the father and daughter. This connects with Train to Busan with the other father and daughter.
In one scene a doctor is ‘aiding’ infected children while being infected himself (he is actually trying to end their misery).
The way the zombies/infected are portrayed in the movie induces emotions that vary.Train to Busan: The chaos of a zombie mob is intense on the train scene since the people are stuck in a small closed area.
Within a small area, this can help the audience connect more with the character’s personalities.
If a valued character in the movie dies from a zombie this can make the viewers feel a degree of heartbreak considering the way they died.
The zombies in the film are very fast and smart, something that is different than the usual zombie films.

Carriers: When the infected little girl was choking Piper had to make a decision of whether to help her or not. That showed an intense decision-making scene.
The film’s timeline is unique where it starts in the middle to end of a dire situation. Where this group of teens have been surviving the virus and are deciding to find a safe place.
Being infected is not only killing the person but also making the people around turn against them. Like how the doctor was trying to poison those infected kids or when a person in the group became infected.

7. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Primary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  1hr and 40 mins
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.)
-At the beginning in the train, where the zombie spreading is starting
-This scene shows how quick and attentive the zombies are and the way the scene is full of chaos. It also highlights the fastness of the transformation of a bitten person.
-Train scene at the beginning
-Shows how the father was fending for himself and his daughter while that man is being attacked by a zombie.
-When the men have to fight a crowd of zombies to get to the other side
-Shows that they learned to work together to defeat an enemy instead of being selfish.
-When the men have to fight another crowd of zombies but this time it’s a group of teammates of one of the boys.
-During this scene the boy doesn’t know if he can fight these zombies because they were once his friends. This shows a stressed emotion and a hard decision.
-A group of corporate men has a decision to either let in the people from the other side or not.
-This might show the differences in social classes that might have affected their decision.
-The group fought their way into the safe part of the train and is being forced out by the other group.
-This group consisted of different levels of classes of people, which might have impacted one of the reasons why they were not let in the area.
-This scene is outside near the railing of a moving train.
-The father risks his life to make sure that his daughter is safe and in the end gets bitten.
-The group stops at a gas station
-Brian makes Piper get out of the car because she was infected. This shows how even the people closest to you will abandon you because of a dangerous situation.
-The scene where the group find the doctor
-The doctor is trying to poison the infected kids. The kids trust him because he has a medical degree but he lies to them and overused his power.
-The group runs out of gas so they went to steal a car
-They found a solution and put the infected girl and her dad in the back. This was when they grouped together.
-The scene where Piper and the little girl are left alone in the car and she starts choking.
-Piper makes the decision to help the infected girl but risks the chance of being infected.
-The scene where the little girl has to go to the bathroom
-Brian wants to abandon them out there but his brother wants the opposite. This shows the betrayal between people.
-The group was caught by a new group of people
-The new group wants to get rid of the brothers but keep the girls. This could be an example of gender inequality/ sexism.
-The group needs more gas
-Brian decides to kill two people to get gas. This is an example of a high-impacted scene where the characters have to make tough decisions.
-Brian becomes infected and the other two have to leave him
-They decide to kill him because they felt like there was no other way. Shows how the relationship between the brothers was affected by the virus.

*Add more rows as needed.

8. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Secondary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  20 min
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.)
Train to Busan: How Zombie Films Explain Society“Aside from this bit of cinematic karma, I couldn’t help but notice some other themes in the film, particularly an anti-corporate and anti-salaryman sentiment”
“Train to Busan centers its story on a father taking the bullet train with his daughter so she can visit her mother, his ex-wife, for her birthday. We learn quickly that this dad spends more time in the office than at home which led to his divorce and leaves his elderly mother to take care of his daughter while he works.”
“Again we are reinforced with the idea that caring for others is a weakness and you should only care about your own wellbeing. “
“…these are some of the fastest and most visceral zombies I have ever seen…”
“the group of salarymen has barricaded the door against them (cleverly highlighting this perverse sense of unity of the corporate men by using their neckties).”
“This event has a clear effect on the father who has now learned the importance of coming together against a true enemy.”
“After all those years of devotion and time spent in the office instead of at home with his family, his job is literally trying to kill him and his daughter. Everything falls into perspective. The only thing important now is that his daughter must survive.”
Carriers (2009)“…as they come across the vehicle with Chris Meloni and his daughter Kiernan Shipka and argument ensues about whether to stop and offer gas or, as Chris Pine urges, to keep on going, before they see the daughter (Kiernan Shipka) hiding in the back with a bloodstained facemask and he accelerates away. The kicker comes when their car breaks down not far down the road and the only course of continuing on is having to go back to conduct a deal with Chris Meloni.”
“…only to discover a tented area inside where doctor Mark Moses is tending a bunch of children before revealing he is infected too, there is no antidote and he is preparing to feed the kids poisoned Kool Aid to put them out of their misery. “
“…Piper Perabo is left tending young Kiernan Shipka when Kiernan to start choking and Piper has to make the decision to break the seal and go to her aid – only for Kiernan to then cough blood all over her and Piper having to hide the bloodstained shirt…”
“…Kiernan Shipka wants to go to the toilet and Chris Meloni cautiously decides to accompany her to the Port-a-Potties across the other side of the carpark in the full knowledge that Chris Pine is urging the others to drive off and leave them there.”
“The scene where they eventually discover that Piper Perabo is infected and the drama that ensues as they decide what to do is emotionally gruelling.”

Train to Busan is a Zombie Action Fim with a Social Bite“The good, the bad, and the ugly of Korean society are all aboard the high-speed train: a bastard CEO, a high-school baseball team, a pair of elderly sisters, a resourceful working class husband and his pregnant wife, and a homeless man derogatively referred to as “an odd person” by a fellow passenger.”
“Train To Busan is a film about doors and separation, a closed society that is terrified of breaking conventions, the body politic scared of their own reflection. When the passengers flee between the carriages we see just how dysfunctional South Korean society really is.”
“Train To Busan of course tackles the rigorous class divide but also the cost of having an education system based upon students being test-ready rather than being equipped to adapt to different challenges. “
“When we see zombies rain from the sky from of the landing skis of helicopters or when dozens of undead soldiers fall from the station onto the tracks, these deadly lemmings remind us of the atrocious suicide rate that South Korea’s brutally competitive education system helps to foster.”
“Train To Busan unites the classes divided by wealth and education as well as over six decades between past and present.”

*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:

  • COMPARE and CONTRAST your two chosen film using the arguments and evidence you identified in parts 6-8, above
  • Begin your narration with a detailed justification for the chosen cultural contrast
  • Use an equal balance of the two selected films.
  • Write in a third-person voice to construct your argument (similar in tone to your Extended Essay and other
    comparative analytical work you have written in Film class).
  • Identify where any WRITTEN TEXT will appear on the screen and highlight this (to reference during the
    creation/editing stage)
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 document separately (Google Doc)

Examples of Possible Task Components

Area of film focusFilm 1Film 2A possible topic for comparative study
Film movement: German ExpressionismThe 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 WaveBreathless (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 comedyNo. 3 (1997)The Big Lebowski (1998)To what extent do “black comedy” films differ according to cultural context?
Film theory: Soviet MontageBattleship Potemkin (1925)Koyaanisqatsi (1982)To what extent are specific features of Soviet montage theory faithfully employed in a contemporary experimental film?

External Assessment Criteria SL and HL

Peer Review Checklist

TASK COMPONENTS (ACTION)Notes / Suggestions
__Assemble Findings
__Develop a personal and critically reflective perspective
__Identify and gather appropriate audio-visual material to support the study
SCREENPLAY
__Justify the chosen topic and selected films
__Make sure that the text is in a formal academic register (can be in the 1st person)
__The balance between visual and spoken elements
__Make clear reference to your sources as on-screen citations (text on-screen)
__Make sure the primary weight of evidence for the study from the two chosen films
__Make sure each film is given equal consideration
__Make sure film language information is communicated clearly throughout (avoid “to be” verbs – make statements like “blah is this.”)
__Make sure information is communicated logically rooted in film language
__Have another student highlight the WHAT WHY HOW in your draft screenplay
VIDEO ESSAY
__Recorded voice and edited commentary numerous times until happy with the material
__Make sure your name and the school’s name ARE NOT IN THE ESSAY
__Make sure to have 10-second title card with:1. Area of film focus2. Titles of the two films for comparison3. The chosen topic
__Include breaks in your recorded commentary to enable other audio-visual material included in the study to be clearly heard (if needed)
__Make sure film clip length matches points being made
__Make sure still images have citations on-screen if you have them
__Make sure text on-screen is legible and spelled correctly
__Make sure information is communicated audibly (levels are good for all sound)
__Make sure information is communicated visually appropriate manner
__Make sure background music is from Creative Commons and is cited
__Make sure edits are clean
__Make sure the presentation is 10 minutes maximum, including title card and credits
__Make sure two films are listed in sources