“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

2022-23 Films (Pick ONLY One for your TA)

Past Sample Student Work

Across The Universe

• Justin’s Post
• Jadee’s Post

Pan’s Labyrinth

• Neil’s Post
• Dexter’s Post
• Sam’s Post

Handmaid’s Tale

• Laari’s Post
• Satchel’s Post

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:

• Thoroughly read the TA requirements in IB Film Guide PDF (including rubrics) (15 minutes)
• Review the TA Task Details
  • Clear cover page with the Title of Film & Timecode (5-minute film extract)
  • Sans serif 12 point font
  • In-text citations
  • List of all sources
  • The textual analysis (1,750 words maximum) is intended to be a formalist exercise rather than a thesis-driven
    essay.
  • The focus of the work should be on how meaning is conveyed through the use of film elements in
    the chosen film text, with consideration of the cultural context of the film and communicated through the
    use of relevant and accurate film vocabulary common to the study of film and appropriate for film analysis.
  • In this task, the examiner is looking for evidence of the extent to which the student is able to demonstrate an
    understanding of:
    1. The cultural context of the chosen film text
    2. The use of film elements to construct meaning in the selected extract, using appropriate film vocabulary
    3. How the identified film elements in the selected extract relate to the cultural context of the film, to the film text as a whole and, where appropriate, to other films, as identified by the student
  • At the start of the textual analysis, students should clearly state which film elements they are going to
    discuss.
  • The list of all sources used is excluded from the textual analysis word limit
• Read Examples and Scoring Guides (45 minutes)
  • Textual Analysis Example 1 (scoring)
  • Textual Analysis Example 2 (scoring)
  • Textual Analysis Example 3 (scoring)
  • Textual Analysis Example 4 (scoring)
• Review the Big List of Film Terms (15 minutes)
• Review the Text Analysis Worksheet (PDF) (5 minutes) – Used in Peer Review, too
• Explore the CHS Library: capital.osd.wednet.edu/academics/library (5 minutes)
• Explore The Moving Image Source Research Guide: www.movingimagesource.us (5 minutes)
  • The Moving Image Source Research Guide is a gateway to the best online resources related to film, television, and digital media
• Explore Mr. Le Duc’s Film Resources Page (5 minutes)
• Examine the TA Poster 1 (PDF) (5 minutes)
• Examine the TA Poster 2 (PDF) (5 minutes)

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  (10 minutes)
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

Notes:

• Girl watching a man with a cat – creepy feeling
• A man enters the house – provides drugs for the son’s father? upset his father cannot pay him back
• Father is a gambler and takes medicine for pain, or addiction?
• Takes son’s car as payment for the father’s debt – son worked many days in order to get the car – shows anger and the audience feels for the son
• Son works for a rich family – steals earrings from daughter

1. 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)

• Camera movement can make it appear like a hallucination – slow wobble, blurriness to focus, zoom in and out slowly
• Sound – often creates intensity with change in music

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)
   • Narrative (Le Duc will fix this link)
   • Camerawork: Angles, and Movements
   • Composition
   • Lens: Depth of Field (Le Duc will fix this link)
   • Mise-en-scene
   • Blocking / Position of characters
   • Acting/body language
   • Acting style / method
   • Lighting / Cinema Lighting
   • Color scheme – black and white, constrast with very light and very dark
   • Set/location/props
   • Set design
   • Costume, hair, makeup, class, gender fabric, color
   • Sound Design
   • Soundtrack/Score
   • Editing
4. Research to support your notes (1 hour)
   • Re-read Criterion A (Cultural Context) Rubric
   • 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)

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)