The Spiral Syllabus
One Way To Roll.. In a Spiral
This syllabus uses a spiraling structure: roles build one by one, and understanding deepens as students circle back through new layers of film and analysis.
A Flexible Approach
This page details a syllabus that I have built over the years and loosely follow. I say 'loosely' because I find that it's always best when our teaching is responsive to the interests and needs of the students. It is also loose because some projects take more time some years and some take less. As you know, the school year also is unpredictable and the curriculum must be (as much as it can be) flexible and adaptable.
A Spiraling Approach
“Spiraling” refers to idea that content is introduced, and then re-introduced at more sophisticated layers as the students move through the curriculum. By introducing roles one at a time, the students not only have the opportunity to focus on one at a time, but build on each others' knowledge and skills as they are introduced to new ones. The spiraling also allows for deeper and deeper layers of analysis to be applied to filmmaking; alternately, more sophisticated filmmaking approaches lead to deeper analysis.
A Path to Follow, A Path to Stray From
With that in mind, this page may serve whatever suits your needs best. It may be a path to follow, a path to stray from, or a point of comparison for your own preferred style and/or approach. You may find parts of it useful and some parts less so. There is much on this site that links back to this page to put these ideas in context. However, each page will also stand on its own as an independent concept/lesson/approach.
Use the expandable panels below or click on the sub-pages which serve to organize the included lessons & student-facing pages.
Finally, this is not a day by day structuring of the course but it is flexible enough to fit into your timeline. Each school has its own limitations and opportunities. Some schools are not able to meet IB's recommended hours while others might exceed it. Some schools may be in communities that facilitate students producing films outside of schools, in other places that is more difficult. Time, locations, and expectations for student work in class vs. out of class is very dependent upon your environment.
Year One: Semester One
Rationale: Year One of IB focuses on how film language creates meaning. Alternating analytical tasks with practical filmmaking helps students scaffold skills that build both toward the creation of a portfolio and lay the groundwork for a conceptual understanding of the Textual Analysis.
Key Insight for Semester One:
In the first semester I recommend not teaching screenwriting at all, or at least not dialogue. This serves two purposes; first, it forces the students to learn to communicate in other aspects of film language. This is an essential understanding of the course. How can I communicate meaning as a cinematographer? As an editor? Second, it prevents them from simply telling the story. Screenwriting is in itself a difficult craft that should be used to create meaning in conjunction with other aspects of film language. Without defining how, for example, writing dialouge is different than everyday communication, or even playwriting, students will have a hard time balancing this method of communicating and meaning making in film language with the others.
Year One: Semester Two
By the end of the first year, the students should have completed the Textual Analysis and have completed the majority of the work on their portfolio.
Key Insight for Semester Two:
Semester one and much of semester two is about building skills in understanding how meaning is made in film; both from an analytical and practical perspective. Approach semester two as an opportunity to synthesize these understandings with emphasis on preparing for the Textual Analysis and a ‘final’ Portfolio Film (meaning a final for the year, not necessarily their last portfolio film). This will set students up for success in their second year with a solid foundation for the Comparative Study, any additional opportunities to create films for the Portfolio, and the Collaborative Film (for HL).
Year Two: Semester One
Key Take away for Y2S1: At this point in the curriculm, students should have a solid foundation in how meaning is created in film language. This semester is an opportunity to go deeper and work further towards the depth of analysis that is necessary for the Comparative Study, and the filmmaking skill that is necessary for the Collaborative Project and/or additional Portfolio Films.
Year Two: Semester Two
Key Take Away For Y2S2: IB ends earlier than the rest of the school year in most places, and this is a short semester for wrapping things up. By the time the students start the Comparative Study, in the Spiral Syllabus, they should already have a solid grounding in Film Theory (see below notes on Genre and Movement). This is also when students can look back over their production work, reflect, and refine the work they've done for their Film Portfolios. This final activity of reflection and synthesis is not only important for the assessment, it is also a meaningful way to end the course.