Film
From Script to Screen
Hone your technical skills through the collaborative art of filmmaking. Emphasizing teamwork, self-exploration, and diversity of thoughts and ideas, the program fosters a community where students learn to appreciate diverse perspectives. By working with your peers on projects that span genres and themes, you'll gain a richer understanding of yourself and others. Through this immersive and inclusive approach, George School's film program empowers students to create impactful stories that inspire meaningful dialogue.
In the introductory film classes, students develop an understanding of narrative structure, cinematography, and editing. As they progress, students will focus on genre studies, ranging from comedy to documentary to thriller (and more) to further practice their storytelling and technical skills, while also developing an understanding of film as an academic discipline and learning “how to read” a film. In their advanced work, students simultaneously work to develop a comprehensive understanding of key production roles in filmmaking such as directing, sound design, and cinematography, and where they apply this knowledge to develop their own voices. All in the goal, as the Quakers say “to let their lives speak.”
Meet Your Teacher
Prescott Seraydarian '90
Prescott's love of creative storytelling was cultivated as a George School student, on the stage and behind the camera. Heavily inspired by Quaker philosophy, Prescott’s work has regularly been connected to peace, stewardship, and integrity. After graduating from George School in 1990, Prescott went on to study filmmaking at New York University and then spent over 20 years working professionally in media and film. In addition to his award-winning filmmaking career, Prescott is the author of The Pathfinders Society, a middle-grade graphic novel series published by Penguin and is a PBS certified Media Literacy educator, with a number of publications focused on the importance of media literacy in creating connections, empathy, and justice.
In all of these roles, Prescott’s love of story is center, with a deep knowledge of how technical skills can be used to engage audiences, evoke emotions, and generate impact. Students starting the film and media literacy programs will work towards these same goals—telling creative stories and using media tools to enhance the impact of their ideas.
Film Courses
ARP210A: Film 1 - Fundamentals
Film 1 is comprised of two foundation-building production classes, designed to develop an introductory overview of film as a unique creative medium. This production-based course will introduce skills such as camera operation and composition, story development, project planning, editing, and sound.
ARP210B: Film 2 - Genres & Styles
Film 2 is a highly collaborative track in which students expand their knowledge of film production and analysis by building on skills introduced in Film Production 1 through genre-based film work.
ARP210D: Advanced Film Production
This production-heavy, advanced-level selection of classes leads the student into deeper, more refined areas of filmmaking. This course includes mods that focus on specialized core skills such as scriptwriting, project planning and advances to more sophisticated production practices including advanced cinematography, editing, and sound design.
ARP217Y: IB Film / ARP217Z: IB HL Film
In this two-year course of study, students work both individually and in collaboration to experience the creative process as a way of learning to transform ideas into action through intellectual curiosity and creative thinking. The IB Film curriculum is designed to help students appreciate the value and importance of researching, creating, preparing and presenting, and critically reflecting as modes of learning and communicating.
ARP990G: Storytelling for Social Justice (in Greece)
This course is an immersive experience in Term 2 (October), including travel to Greece. This course explores: (1) the history of storytelling (myth, oration, theater, etc.) in Ancient Greece and its impact on human belief and relationships, with an exploration of how storytelling can forge relationships and reinforce ethical behaviors, (2) the current refugee crisis and its human impact, (3) media-making and journalism, equipping students with the tools they need to tell their own stories for social change.
Producing Peace: Civic Media Literacy & Production
Using historical and contemporary case studies of media, such as historical artifacts, news articles, documentaries, podcasts, PSAs, propaganda, social media, and memes, students explore how various modes of storytelling have the capacity to create conflict, and more importantly, can also facilitate peace. In line with Quaker core values, this class is framed around a query: How can I use my voice through media to improve the world in which I live? To explore this query, students learn how to produce their own media through a series of projects that demonstrate how media can be used as a tool that produces greater empathy, compassion, and justice in our world.