Mise-en-Scène – the arrangement of the scenery, props, and actors on the set of a film.

	ART FILM	MAINSTREAM FILM	HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT FILM
A Bug’s Life		X
The Shape of Water	X	X
Seven Samurai			X
The Wizard of Oz		X	X
Once Upon a Time in the West	X
Love, Simon		X
Fitzcarraldo	X		X
Alphaville	X

A successful film that makes a large sum of money in the box-office is usually a part of a well-known franchise with a high standard that the audience trust. It is typically one that is suitable for all ages.

Bankable Stars

In the film industry, a bankable star is an actor capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by being in the film.

Genres

Franchises

Adaptations

What makes a good film?

The key elements that make a good film are a mixture of a passionate director, a well-written script and outstanding actors, combined with great cinematography, an emotive story and a unique soundtrack. However, there are many more factors that can be considered to make a film “good”. What makes a film good can also differ depending on the audience and what they enjoy. 

As an example, I will be using the film ‘The Dark Knight’ which was directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. It won the People’s Choice Award for Favourite Movie in 2009 and was ranked as the 15th greatest film in history on Empire’s list of the “500 Greatest Movies of All Time’.

As with most of Nolan’s films, ‘The Dark Knight’ has one of the best casts of talented and well-known actors. Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in the film, even posthumously won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

One of the main reasons why ‘The Dark Knight’ is a good film is because of the underlying messages it presents. It shows that when faced with a crisis situation, the best and worst traits in mankind emerge. This was proved multiple times throughout the film, but the scene where this was most prominent was during the tense boat sequence towards the end of the film where an ultimatum was given to the passengers on both ferries.

The soundtrack in ‘The Dark Knight’ is incredibly unique and tense and was composed by Hans Zimmer. A soundtrack can introduce a tone throughout the film, as is the case with the Joker’s theme (“Why So Serious”) which consists of two notes played by electric cello, solo violin, guitars and a string section. Zimmer used razor blades on the string instruments to achieve the tortured, twisted sound to join the character on screen. A soundtrack can also portray hidden feelings such as, in the main theme, Zimmer used two repeated notes to represent Batman’s pain and guilt.

A good representation of mise en scene in this film is the last time the Joker is on screen. In the scene, he is hanging upside down as Batman confronts him, however the camera rotates so that the Joker’s orientation appears right side up. This reflects his final turning of the tables on his adversary, and being upside down with the Joker’s anarchy in these final moments leaves the audience in a state of unease that, even though he may have not won every battle, his plans with corrupting Harvey Dent has succeeded which shows that he won the war.

The film might appeal to many due to the amount of genres it covers such as action, superhero, thriller and drama. In films, genres are important because they give a standard for the audience and they know what to expect.

In conclusion, there are many factors that work together to create a good film, but the most important element is to create an interest for the audience.

Feature Film

Actor in a Feature Film

Actress in a Feature Film

Original Film Soundtrack

Director of a Feature Film

Knowledgeable	Film makers must be knowledgeable in order to give an insight and opinion with careful reasoning.
Risk-Takers
Principled
Balanced
Communicators
Reflective	A film maker needs to be able to reflect on their own work to make it as good as they possibly can.
Caring	Film makers have to be caring towards other communities, religions and ideas about culture, and also take into consideration the preservation of nature.
Inquirers
Open-Minded
Thinkers

YEAR 1

1. Summer Task (What makes a good film? )
2. Activity 1 Induction slides: Connecting the IB Learner Profile to Film Studies
3. Activity 2 Induction slides: Categorising Film.
4. Activity 3 Induction Slides : Identify a Formula for Box Office Hits
5. Mise en Scene “Chaotic vs Anally Tidy” Examples.
6. Mise en scene definition
7. Mise en Scene Choose a Film which you think demonstrates “excellent use of Mise en Scene” and explain why. (Remember to illustrate your ideas with still images from the film!)
8. Homework WK 1: (20 /09/21) Film as Art “Spectrum” Activity (from Monaco How to Read a Film).
9. Blade Runner First Response and Memorable Scene
10. Homework WK 2: (27 /09/21) Blade Runner Mise En Scene Essay (E MAIL TO ME DIRECT)
11. Cinematography/Cinematographer definition (28/9/21)
12. Diegetic, Intradiegetic, Extradiegetic gaze examples (30/9/21)
13. Shot Distances Examples (1/10/21)
14. Shot Angles Examples (1/10/21)
15. Shot Movement Examples (1/10/21)
16. Shot Types Table (4/10/21)
17. Kubrick Shot Types (Steadicam, Symmetry, One-point Perspective) (15/1021)
18. The Shining First Response (15/10/21)
19. Homework WK 3: Shining essay on Cinematography (18/10/21) (E MAIL TO ME DIRECT)
20. Definition of Editing (18/10/21)
21. Kuleshov Effect Tableau (20/10/21)
22. Simple Edit of Joker Opening Sequence ( 22/10/21) Uploaded to Exported and uploaded to Microsoft Stream Channel – Put link on Blog/Share with teacher
23. J Cuts and L Cuts – definitions and examples (5/11/21)
24. Match Cuts – definitions and examples (5/11/21)
25. Homework Week 9 Whiplash essay on Editing (12/11/21) (E MAIL TO ME DIRECT)
26. Sound Tasks from PowerPoint (19/11/21)
27. Sound of Metal First Response (23/11/21)
28. Homework Week 11 Sound of Metal essay on Sound (29/11/21) (E MAIL TO ME DIRECT)
29. Sound Practical Task The Shore upload to M drive and place blog link to the finished project on your Microsoft Stream channel (29/11/21)
30. Complete Portfolio Roles Choices (10/12/21)
31. Complete research into chosen roles (10/12/21)
32. Complete research into inspirational practitioners (17/12/21)
33. Complete 2X Inquiry Paragraphs/ Film Makers Intentions for Role 1 and 2 (17/12/21)
34. AFTER XMAS AUTEUR presentation 9 PP Slides uploaded to the blog (AS pdf) by 8/1/22
35. Cinemagoing in Jersey Blog Post 10/1/22
36. Story of Film Questions Part 1 on the blog 10/1/22
37. Birth of Hollywood Presentations 26/1/22 & 27/1/22 (Send individual slides to Ms Magowan by 31st of January)
38. Citizen Kane Written tasks on blog 14/2/22
39. Citizen Kane Practical Tasks 18/2/22
40. German Expressionism Cabinet of Caligari Blog Posts 14/3/22
41. German Expressionism Cabinet of Caligari Essay 14/3/22
42. German Expressionism Cabinet of Caligari Practical Task 18/3/22
43. Russian Constructivism Blog Tasks 25/3/22
44. Russian Constructivism Essay “Strike” 25/3/22
45. Russian Constructivism Gerasimov Editing Task 25/3/22
46. French New Wave Blog Tasks 8/4/22
47. French New Wave Essay “La Jetee” 8/4/22
48. French New Wave Long Take Practical Task 25/ 4/22
49. Choose Films and Film Focus (on the blog) 25/4/22
50. First draft of research question 2/5/22
51. Finalised research question on the blog 9/5/22
52. Deadline for the first 1600 word draft of your comparative essay  e mailed to me 27/5/22
53. Have completed the Screenwriting Session Homework (on blog /one per group) by 15/6/22
54. 2nd Draft of Comparative Essay e mailed to me by 17/6/22
55. Have formed production team for Collaborative Project and assigned roles by 17/6/22
56. Have completed the Narrative Mapping task on slide 17 of the Screenplay Structure Slides
57. Collaborative Project – have created a screenplay outline by 1/7/22
58. Comparative Project -have assembled a first draft in premiere by 1/7/22
59. Comparative Project – have marked up script and recorded V/O by  24/6/22​
60. Collaborative Project – have created a shooting schedule and shooting script by 15/7/22
61. Have uploaded a completed  Comparative Project by 15/7/22