Course Outline

  • Part 1: What is Film
Essential Questions- What is film? How has the film industry shaped our society? Why are movies so popular?
Discussion- What are the various elements of film?
Characters
Script
Sequence
Soundtrack
Dialogue/Language
Location
Make up/Costumes
Camera shots
Special Effects
Genre
What are the different roles?

  • Part 2: History of Film
Essential Questions- How has the film industry evolved over time? What has caused this change?
Teacher Presentation-  History of film.

  • Part 3: Storytelling
Essential Question- How has film expanded the art of storytelling?
Discussion- What is the difference between a story and a plot?  (Novelist E.M.Forster had these suggestions: A story is a series of events recorded in their chronological order.
A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance.)
Watch movie from Storytelling section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 1-3
Movie Review

  • Part 4: Sequence
Essential Questions- What is Sequence? (How the story is put together)
Discussion- How is sequence different from storytelling?,  How can the sequence of a movie influence the story? Can playing with the sequence too much make the movie confusing?
Watch movie from Sequence section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 4
Movie Review

  • Part 5: Character
Essential Question- What role does a character play in a movie? Why are they important.
Discussion- How does a character help drive a movie? Give examples.
Watch movie from Character section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 5-6
Movie Review
Submit Assignment 1: Book vs Movie.

  • Part 6: Soundtrack
Essential Question- How can a movies soundtrack impact the audience?
Teacher Presentation- History of sound in film.
Discussion- What genres rely the most on soundtracks and why? How does sound enhance emotions of a scene in
Horror, Sci Fi, Comedy etc?
Watch movie from Soundtrack section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 7-9
Movie Review

  • Part 7: Location
Essential Questions- How can a films location influence the movie?
Discussion- How is a film location decided? What makes a good location? Why? Does a location need to be big?
Watch movie from Location section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 10-12
Movie Review

  • Part 8: Visual Effects
Essential Questions- Why are special effects important to film? How do they enhance the movies experience?
Discussion- What are some of the more memorable movie special effects?
Watch movie from Visual Effects section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 13-14
Movie Review

  • Part 9: Costume and Makeup
Essential Question- Why are costumes and makeup important to movies?
Discussion- What effect do costumes and makeup have on a movie/audience?
Watch movie from Costume and Makeup section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 15-16
Movie Review

  • Part 10: Genres
Essential Questions- What is a genre?
Discussion- What defines a genre?
Watch movie from Genre section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 17-20
Movie Review x 4 (One for each film watched)

  • Part 11: The Remake
Essential Questions- What makes a classic? Why are they made again?
Watch movie from Remake section.
Required Work:
Journal Entry 21
Movie Review x 2 (One for each film watched)

  • Part 12: The Blockbusters
Essential Questions- What makes a film a blockbuster?
Discussion- How does a film become a blockbuster? If a film is a blockbuster does it make it the best movie?
Activity 5: What Makes a Blockbuster?
Have the students look at blockbusters over the years and figure out what made that film a blockbuster. Use a Venn Diagram.
Journal 9: Think about the different time periods and how that played a role in making the film a blockbuster. Would a blockbuster today have been one back in 1920 or 1960? Would a blockbuster from 1920 or 1960 be one today? Why or why not?
Movie Review 14/15- Students must write a movie review about each of the movies.

Watch movie from The Blockbusters section.
Required Work
Journal Entry 22-23
Movie Review

  • Part 13: Animation
Essential Question- How has animation evolved over the years? How has the impacted the movie industry. How does animation allow us to manipulate storytelling?
Discussion- How has animation evolved over time?
Watch movie from the Animation section.
Required Work
Journal Entry 24
Movie Review