Engagement in the collaborative creation of original finished work defines the HL experience for this course. HL students will need to build on the subject matter, skills and experiences encountered in the other core syllabus areas (reading film, contextualizing film and exploring film production roles) and engage in a process of synthesis. This task requires creative cooperation, team work, open-mindedness and problem- solving to successfully take original films from inception to completion. 

The collaborative nature of this syllabus area is fundamental, acknowledging that successful filmmaking most often depends on the combined effort of those involved in the process. Students will experience working as members of core production teams, in addition to their work in discrete film production roles. 

Core production team 

For this DP Film guide, a core production team is a group of students who are fully responsible for defining the scope of original completed films and for ensuring that all creative and logistical aspects of pre-production, production and post-production are carried out successfully. For this taught area, students are required to work collaboratively as part of a core production team of two to four students from within the school community. Students can choose to work collaboratively. They may choose to work with fellow students from their film class, with students from other film classes in the school, or with students in the school who are not studying film. They can also choose to work with a combination of all three options. 

While each student in the group will take on one single film production role (defined below) for each completed film, it is expected that, as members of the core production team, each student will take on numerous other responsibilities and tasks during the project in order to support the cooperative realization of each completed film. This flexible and supportive collaboration is central to this taught area and each student should keep a record of the nature of their collaborations. They should reflect on their approaches to team work, problem-solving, time management and conflict resolution as a member of the core production team, and should evaluate the successes and challenges encountered as part of the creative process. 

Film production roles

For the purposes of the DP film course, students are required to experience working in a variety of film 

production roles. These roles are as follows. 

• Cinematographer—responsible for the camera and for achieving the artistic and technical decisions 

• related to the framed image. 

• Director—responsible for the artistic and logistic aspects of the production, visualizing the script and guiding the other individuals involved in the film in order to fulfill their artistic vision. 

• Editor—responsible for assembling the raw footage, selecting shots and constructing the film in order to meet the artistic vision for the film. 

• Sound—responsible for capturing, creating, sourcing and assembling the audio elements of the film. 

• Writer—responsible for writing the screenplay, for updating the script during production and for supporting others in realizing the artistic intentions for the film. 

Please note: The “one other clearly defined film production role” that appears in the “Exploring film production roles” syllabus area is not available as an option for this taught area. 

Student will reflect on their experiences of watching films and consider how exposure to films and filmmakers might guide and influence their own work, enabling them to set clear intentions for filmmaking. Students should be able to consider how the film elements, areas of film focus, film production roles and cultural contexts they have explored in the DP film course can inform and shape their own filmmaking practices. They should have experience of forming core production teams in order to collaboratively create plans for making at least one original completed film, identifying the roles, responsibilities, skills and techniques required, and formulating intentions for the completed films. 

Students will engage in the pre-production, production and post-production phases, working as part of a core production team to create at least one completed film. Students should be able to make creative choices in order to convey meaning in film production roles and collaborate in a variety of other activities to support the cooperative realization of at least one completed film. They should have experience of documenting their pre-production, production and post-production experiences. 

Students will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their own individual work in film production roles. Students should be able to reflect on their collaborations as part of a core production team, evaluating the successes and challenges of the process and the extent to which at least one completed film fulfilled stated intentions. They should have experience of presenting work in both audio-visual and written forms.