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 in core skills such as scriptwriting and project planning and advances to more sophisticated production practices including advanced cinematography, editing, and sound design. This work is taught through the lens of Quakerism. Through these higher-level classes, students learn to use film as a vehicle for artistic self-expression by working to identify and execute clear intentions with their work and then tracking those intentions throughout the entire production process and ending often with written reflections.
Below is the list of mods offered, in the preferred order. Most classes are to be taken once but could be repeated with the instructor’s permission.
Production Roles is the initial Advanced Film mod and sets the foundation for all the mods that follow. This class will focus on 3 primary production roles of Writing, Cinematography, and Editing. This class weaves a thread between these 3 roles to show their unique influence on filmmaking and their inherent interconnection. Students in this course are assigned small-scale creative projects to develop proficiency in each role.
Signal to Noise is an exploratory mod in which students explore the profound potential of sound in filmmaking. Since sound is half of the cinematic experience, great attention is given to how sound functions and how sound can be utilized to enhance cinematic storytelling. Students will learn essentials sound skills such as recording audio on location as well as sound editing and mixing. They will also learn how to develop critical listening skills eventually putting it all together to create their own cinematic soundscapes. Through a series of enjoyable projects such as foley and sound effects creation, culminating in an ambitious final project, students will learn how to make deliberate choices that “signal” their message and intention, while simultaneously eliminating all unwanted “noise” in their storytelling.
Filmmaker’s Voice is a director-focused class that highlights the unique influence that film directors have on the filmmaking process. Specific skills will be introduced and practiced to help students develop their voice and lead a film production. To illuminate the course’s objectives, specific directors are studied to better understand how a filmmaker’s production choices can create unique styles of storytelling. Students will then embark on production assignments inspired by the directors studied that will deepen the learning. This course may be taken more than once.
Collaboratory is a film and media production class where students are encouraged to develop their own creative products, akin to an independent research project. In this workshop-style media course, students will be given support to develop a singular media product ranging from a film (narrative, documentary, experimental, etc.), podcast series, website, digital magazine, videogame, or something else. This is an incubator for creators that will offer students the opportunity for independent creative work structure and clear learning objectives. Students are encouraged to enter class with a creative project in consultation with the teacher ahead of the start of the course. This mod is ideal for IB students who need supported time to work on their Production Portfolio, but it is also open to any student with a seed of a media idea that they would like to cultivate.
Min-Max Credit Hours: 1.0-4.0
Parents/Guardians: Please join the Parent and Guardian Association (PGA) for dinner in the dining hall at 5:30 p.m. before its final meeting of the school year on Monday, April 17. The meeting will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the MDA Library Conference Room. Those unable to attend in person may join virtually via Zoom.