Project links (2010-2013)

The Haunting (2010)

Love and Money (2011)

The Sitting Device (2012)

Nutcracker (2013)

Independent Research Script Reflection

The link to the research script is below:
IB Film Research Script (2013)

• I believe there was a strong focus in the beginning of the Research Script on the historical context of the genre of science fiction. This is shown in the dedication to a first scene known as the intro scene where the history is introduced and presented how it has developed.
• There is strong depth in the script. However, as the script continues on, the focus is loosing strength as well as strong analysis and reference back to the main question addressed.
• There was a list of resources used however it was lacking in the research script. There was no evidence of any commentary from other film buffs or directors to add credibility to the analysis provided. Overall, there was resources presented in the annotated bibliography showing the background info on historical context yet lacking in film buff commentary.
• Video and audio elements are clearly outlined and detailed with descriptions as well as an indicator of the scene and from which movie is used. Additionally, soundtracks were specified.
• All films clearly relate to the topic and there is a majority of insightful comments that relate to the research question.

End of Year Reflection

Final Reflection:

Independent Film Research:

I don't necessarily have any strengths when it comes to research. I know that I have a large resource to refer to when being assigned the IA which is provided by the teacher. There is a whole shelf of college textbooks provided in the classroom that are allowed to be checked out for the students convenience. Additionally, the EBSCO host is a direct link provided on the schoolloop page for anything that is additional or even specific to be researched. One of the most important resources is the Art of Video page. Over the years i know that MR Bigue has created this one place where students can access all the film resources for technical language, critical writing and anything that can be used in aiding the IA.Although there were a lot of writing assignments, I feel as if they did not help my IA writing process at all. More MINI research scripts should be done to get a sense of how to approach the assignment. By MINI i mean like one movie every month. Each research script is done on one movie. Something like that. There isnt much that needs extra support with, its just finding the right type of assignment to prepare for the IA.

Oral Presentation Experience:

My strengths when it comes to the oral presentation is the pre-writing process because I find myself to write really well in film. What I need help on when approaching this assignment is having time to prepare and practice presenting what I had written down. However, time shortage is not because of not having ample time to prepare, its because I had a lot of assignments piling on at the same time. I could not handle it all. What Mr. Bigue could do to help is to be around more often. I know he tries to be around as much as he can and I know that he has a lot of district stuff with tehcnology to do but it seemed that whenever I did need him he couldnt be around. Possibly, Mr Bigue could try to adjust to the students schedule a little better. I dont know how but I feel it would allow students to excell more than they already are in his class.

Production Experience:

I really enjoyed the position of director and editor however I felt more comfortable as director. Im not perfect at any role, I definitely need a lot of improvement but these were positions I liked because I love having control over the final product. For directing, it should be emphasized by Mr Bigue the necessities of listening to the director. I am a 4 year film student and my 2 year film partners continually undermined whatever I had to say and disregarded any experience I had in film. It was difficult for me to direct because I wasnt listened to by my peers. For editing, extra support could be like to have specific periods or lunches where there are final cut pro tutorials for advanced editing. I remember learning how to use final cut for just one year and it was all basic editing as you would in iMovie. If every year there could be a unit on how to further the editing skills like Special FX and coloring correcting and all sorts of other extra features in Final cut would have been great to learn like at the start of the year. So overal, there should be a couple new units of final cut pro editing taught each new year from Freshman to Senior year so that students have a new set of skills to use every year rather than reusing the same skills from freshman year. Thats what I felt.



The class if overall well structure with excellent resources. However, some improvements could be made to enhance the student experience.

Short Film: Genre Research

TV show NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service)

The genre I feel myself attempting in the short film is drama. I've always appreciated the drama genre because the way a story is told is very inspiring and evokes the proper emotions in the viewer when done right. I generally watch a lot of action movies; however, the model I will be using for the short film is from a TV show called NCIS. This show is a very successful with around 200 episodes which is a testament to how successful the producers are at piecing together the proper pieces for the genre. Additionally, NCIS is ranked the number one drama on TV.

Dramatic plots introduce interactions that produce some sort of conflict between two characters or a character and an event. Throughout the narrative, the conflict will usually intensify until it reaches the climax of the story. From there, the story will then become resolved. The basic story line goes from exposition, rising action, climax and then falling action. From there, the drama then reaches its final conclusion. The characters in movies are usually a small centralized and focused group. There is one protagonist who is always having a group of friends or some source that connects them to the real world. The antagonist is the character that comes to disturb the balance of the protagonists life. He is first represented on a minor scale but becomes more predominant as the plot progresses.

Like every movie, the setting depends on what the script has to offer. For instance, in NCIS, the settings involve an office and other locations depending on what the murder is. Based off the narrative in NCIS, it seems that the settings in drama revolve around one hub that the plot keeps returning too in order for the characters and the audience to come back to one location to evaluate new pieces of information that have been introduced in the plot. The lighting as the genre suggests is very dramatic and is aimed to intensify the facial expressions because a lot of the communication occurs with facial expressions. The lighting works together with cinematography because they both work to select what is most intense on a visage. There are a lot of close ups and is sure to always provide a shot of a character. Additionally, there is nothing to fancy because the camera work is supposed to match the genre. The genre is relaxed so camera work is stable and does not shift from position to position.

LOGLINE: A man is betrayed by all his friends during a time of mourning for the loss of his wife.