The IB learner profile

Knowledgeable: Students must be knowledgeable so that they may include all the necessary information in their work and apply this information.

Risk Takers: Some ideas may not seem like a good idea, taking a risk could introduce you to things you never would have considered before that could benefit your work.

Reflective: Students must be reflective so that they can review what they have done wrong and improve upon it for the best grade possible.

Caring: Students should be caring to create a great learning environment; a caring environment can increase student’s confidence and encourage them to work harder and with more enjoyment.

Communicators: Students should be great communicators with others and their teachers, great communication is very important as it helps with knowing what you want to do, what you should do to improve etc.

Principled: IB students should be principled so that the correct learning environment is created and that the right morals towards other people and their community are respected.

Inquirers: Students must be enquirers; they must be exited and eager to learn about many different things and must not be afraid to ask.

Balanced: Students must be able to balance their own lives, school, social lives and health should be balanced so that students are in their best health.

Open-Minded: Students should be Open-Minded; they must be open to different options and techniques that could help them with their work.

Thinkers: Students MUST be thinkers; they must be able to put a lot of thought into the work they do so they can create the best work possible.

 

film studies Activity 2

Historically significant films                             

Battleship Potemkin (1925) directed by Sergei  Einstein. I would class tis film as a historically significant film because it changed how films are made.

The Seventh Samurai (1954) directed by Akira Kurosawa. I believe this is a historically significant film because the story has served as inspiration for many great films.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) directed by Victor Fleming.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) directed by Sergio Leone

 

 

mainstream films

A Bugs Life (1998) directed by John Lasseter.

The Breakfast Club (1985) directed by John Hughes.

Deadpool 2 (2018) directed by David Leitch

Love, Simon (2018) directed by Greg Birlanti

Toy Story (1995) directed by John Lasseter.

Art film

Submarine (2010) directed by Richard Ayoade.

Fitzcarraldo (1982) directed by Werner Herzog.

Alphaville (1965) directed by Jean – Luc Godard.

Manhattan (1979) directed by Woody Allen

Activity 1

Inquirers- In Film Studies, it’s important to ask questions, whether it’s about a director’s choices in a film, or how things work, asking many questions is the only way someone could be successful on this course. 

Knowledgeable- Knowing a lot about films and having watched many films can help you in film studies. As it means you are able to identify different techniques, and styles that can help you create your own film. It also means that you’d understand what makes each film unique to a director. 

Thinkers- You need to think outside of the box in film, in order to stick out amongst all of the competition you are going to face in the subject. 

Communicators- Being able to talk to others is extremally helpful in film, as you will have to work with others when it comes to making a film, because no one can specialize in everything. As well as that, if you’re able to communicate with other, you can both share little tricks you’ve found, such as editing tenancies or likewise. 

Principled- This is important for film, because it means that your kind and honest when ti comes to giving credit, in a film it’s important that you should give credit where its due, so that people can become successful off their own work. 

Open-minded- Being open minded means that you’re open to accepting new ideas from different people, to improve your skills in Film. 

Caring- Being caring in film is important, because oyu need to be kind to any actors your working with, weather you’re the director or another actor. 

Risk-takers- Being a risk taker means that you’re able to improve your skills in film, by taking risks other people may not, meaning that you can develop a unique style and become famous for it. 

Balanced- You need to be balanced in this subject, so that you can balance how and when you’re doing work, with what the audiences what, but also with what you want to make in a film. 

Reflective- Being able to look back on your own work and accepting criticism is important, so you can become better in areas you struggle in, in film studies. 

Activity 2

Activity 2

Historically Significant films: Battleship Potemkin, The Seventh Samurai, Fitzcarraldo, Once Upon a Time in the West.

Art Films:  A Bugs Life, the Shape of Water, the Wizard of Oz, Deadpool 2, Submarine, Alphaville, Toy Story.

Mainstream Films: The Breakfast Club, Love Simon, Manhattan.

 

  • Battleship Potemkin: 1925 Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein.
  • The Seventh Samurai: 954 Japanese epicsamurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa.
  • Fitzcarraldo: 1982 West German adventure-drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog.
  • Once Upon a Time in the West: 968 epic Spaghetti Western film co-written and directed by Sergio Leone.
  • A Bugs Life: 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter.
  • The Shape of Water: 2017 American romantic dark fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
  • The Wizard of Oz: 1939 American musical fantasy film directed primarily by Victor Fleming.
  • Deadpool 2: 2018 American Superhero film directed by David Leitch.
  • Submarine:  2010 coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Ayoade.
  • Alphaville: 1965 French New Wave science fiction noir film directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
  • Toy Story: 1995 American computer-animatedbuddy comedy adventure film directed by John Lasseter.
  • The Breakfast Club: 1985 American comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes.
  • Love Simon: 2018 American romantic teen comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti.
  • Manhattan: 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen.

 

Film plays a big role within setting the standards of society as the concept of a popular film eventually becomes reality due to the population who watched it wanting to imitate the admirable characters. The mainstream films tend to be based around common real life situations in order to relate to an audience and gain popularity. Art films are based around fantasy and commonly used as an escape from reality and require large levels of creativity for one to become popular. Historically Significant films are based around real life events that happened years ago. Most historically significant films have been modernised and are known to be inaccurate, as directors try to make the situation more appealing and interesting for the audience. The reason popular films make a big impact on society is because life imitates art, so eventually mainstream and semi-realistic storylines can become reality. This is also why movies with dark and triggering concepts, such as suicide, tend to get a lot of hate despite being popular. Film makers tend to romanticise certain events to make it entertaining for an audience rather than depressing, to increase popularity. Therefore, people worry that these films will influence society as they do.

Activity 1 – IB Learner Profile

Inquirers – Film students should be interested in learning new things and new skills, like how to use different programs and how to edit to a professional standard. This will help them to become more knowledgeable and better at the subject.

Knowledgeable – They need to learn in-depth knowledge of the subject, including the history of film, which they can use to create their own films. This helps them to develop their understanding of films and the process behind creating them.

Thinkers – Film students will think in creative ways to overcome different challenges that face them while creating, filming and editing different projects. They should also be critical of their own work, and always be thinking of ways to make it better.

Communicators – Students need to be good at communicating their ideas to others in confident and creative ways. This will help them to work effectively in teams, and will help their ideas to become something physical.

Principled – They will have a good sense of morals, allowing them to become excellent team workers. The students will have respect for others and their ideas, and show enthusiasm with others when working on group projects.

Open-minded – Film students need to be open to new ideas from different sources to include in their work. This includes input from other people, criticism and taking inspiration from successful films in the past.

Caring – All film students will show empathy towards others, and make them feel included when working as a team. They will also commit to the task in front of them, and do their role to the best of their ability.

Risk-takers – Film students need to try new things and experiment with ideas to make their work the best it can be. They also need to be able to approach unfamiliar situations with confidence, making them able to work under any conditions.

Balanced – They need to keep a balance in their lives, to ensure that the work doesn’t become too much for them. This will help them to perform better in class, and it will also make others around them feel more confident.

Reflective – They need to look back on their work and evaluate it, learning what their weaknesses are and working to improve them. This will ultimately improve their standard of work over time, as they learn from their mistakes.

Film Recommendation – Love, Simon

My film recommendation is Love, Simon (dir. Greg Berlanti, 2018). This drama/coming of age story takes places in a high school, and the main character is Simon, who has a secret online relationship with another guy from his school. During the film, he’s blackmailed by someone in his class, who threatens to tell everyone his biggest secret – he’s gay. This genre of film isn’t what I usually like and watch often, but this particular film was really enjoyable. Normally, I prefer sci-fi or horror films, but I really enjoyed Love, Simon, mainly because of the intriguing plot and fantastic cast. So far, it has grossed $66.3 million across the world just at the box office. After its release, many celebrities promoted the film – some of them buying out theaters to offer free screenings for members of the public due to the important message that the plot contains.

 

 

Activity 1

       IB Learner Profile

  • Inquirers: Independence in learning will help film students to analyse plots of movies better than they did before. Naturally, people when watching movies blindly follow the story with no thinking involved – which can make it hard for certain, people to understand movies that use a lot of symbolism and metaphors. Therefore learning to inquire will widen the range of movies the student can watch and understand.

 

  • Knowledgeable: To explore global ideas and learn a broader level of knowledge will help film students to follow along educational films or movies that focus on international significance that is necessary to the film – therefore understanding these ideas will help you to understand the film much better.

 

  • Thinkers: To apply complex problems to one’s thinking can help initiate problem solving which is useful for film students when making assumptions to movies and engaging in the storyline.

 

  • Communicators: To learn to express ideas and collaborate with others, a film student’s mind is filled with creativity and the ability to come up with original concepts and ideas for a story or a movie. The process of teamwork is important within film studies because the course involves group projects that require high levels of creativity.

 

  • Principled: Learning the principles can create a fair environment for groups to work together on film projects so each individual student can express their ideas and be involved, rather than a leader controlling the project.

 

  • Open-minded: Considering other team member’s ideas will help film students to work together smoothly and efficiently with minor complications within the project. Listening to someone’s original ideas, that differ to your original ideas, will help you grow as a person because it opens your mind to more possibilities and creativity that you may not have considered before.

 

  • Caring: Showing compassion towards others will help to encourage people’s ideas and inspire their creative thinking to grow, and it will also help the person showing compassion, skills such as leadership within a group. This is helpful to a film student because better ideas will be used if you have respect and integrity within your team as members won’t be afraid to express them.

 

  • Risk-takers: To explore new ideas and strategies, you are opening up more possibilities for new and more creative concepts and ideas for a film student’s project.

 

  • Balanced: To have balance within your well-being, you can focus on the positive and achieve greater things as you are set on moving forward and developing academically as a person. This is important for film students because one who is balanced will feel more at ease with their work and truly feel as though they are benefiting from the course and will be able to feel pride within their creativity.

 

  • Reflective: To understand your own personal strengths and limitations, you are able to know when you will be helpful and what you can contribute to your work and team. This is important for a film student because it will give order to ideas and won’t have them thrown around randomly and waste time if you know your limitations and what you can actually bring to the table. Plus your strengths will be specifically used within your work therefore your best is applied to everything you do during the course.

 

 

Film Recommendation – Hereditary

Hereditary.

A chilling horror film that focuses on a haunted family, the daughter of which is secretly the host for a demon king. Throughout the film, each member of the family is affected, one by one, until eventually the true intent of the hauntings is exposed.

When watching this film initially, it was not particularly enjoyable to me since i’m not a fan of horror movies. However after digging into the plot and looking at the context, the whole story made sense and came together very well.

not for the faint of heart, there is a good amount of gore in this film and the psychological horror aspect can be upsetting to some viewers.

if i had the choice to watch it again  i probably would not as is not as interesting when you know the whole plot. However it is worth a watch for the first time and watching the plot reveal itself can be very intriguing.

this film is rated 15+