The core academic-content standards have five thematic strands:
1.0 Film Language. Students learn to read and interpret visual text by developing a film vocabulary, identifying editing techniques, and analyzing film elements within selected scenes.
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Content Standard
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Outcomes by Level (I = Basic II = Intermediate III = Advanced)
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1.1—Developing a film vocabulary
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I: Students explain what is meant by frame, shot, scene, composition, key lighting, visible and invisible sounds.
II: Students identify high-angle and low-angle shots, distinguish shots of varying camera distances, identify basic camera movements, identify high-key and low-key lighting.
III: Students understand what is meant by contrast, depth, and texture; distinguish between objective and subjective point-of-view (POV) shots; describe three principles of lighting a frame—direction, intensity, and quality; identify elements of sound layering.
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1.2—Understanding film content
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I: Students identify basic story elements found in all film narratives, including character, setting, conflict, rising action, conflict resolution, and theme.
II: Students identify characteristics of film genres, specifically film drama and science fiction film; identify the cause-and-effect events that lead to a story’s climax; identify flashback and foreshadowing in stories told visually.
III. Students explain both internal and external conflicts as expressed in a film; identify scenes that reveal parallel story lines.
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1.3—Understanding a film’s narrative structure
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I: Students describe the purpose of each of the three acts in a film’s narrative structure.
II: Students describe the inciting incident in act 1; identifying rising action in act 2; identify falling action in act 3.
III: Students identify shots and scenes that reveal expository information; explain the connection between the inciting incident and the climax; explain how voice-over narration reveals expository details and serves as a unifying element in all three acts.
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1.4—Identifying editing techniques
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I: Students explain the difference between real time and reel time; identify scene transitions, including cut, dissolve, and fade.
II: Students explain what is meant by montage; explain how juxtaposition of images in a sequence creates meaning and affects reel time.
III: Students explain what is meant by continuity and pacing and understand how continuity and pacing can both compress and expand time in a film.
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1.5—Analyzing elements of film composition
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I: Students describe how the arrangement of elements within a single frame suggests meanings; describe how image and sound work together to create meaning.
II: Students understand the principle of thirds in composition; identify visual and sound symbols used by a filmmaker to suggest meaning; describe how lighting and music contribute to the emotional tone of a shot or scene.
III: Students analyze how the use of light and shadow suggest meaning; distinguish between explicit and implicit information; interpret film elements in the composition of a single scene to derive meaning from the scene.
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2.0 Historical and Cultural Contexts. Students understand that a film is both a historical/social document and a cultural artifact. Students analyze social issues presented in film and form conclusions about the ways in which film influences and is influenced by the society in which it is produced.
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Content Standard
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Outcomes by Level (I = Basic II = Intermediate III = Advanced)
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2.1—Connecting film to history and culture
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I: Students identify the period in which a film is made and the period in which a film is set; explain the difference between history and culture; understand why a film is a cultural and not a historical document.
II: Students distinguish between historical and cultural documents relative to a film’s story, setting and theme; view and interpret cultural documents relative to a film’s distribution, including a movie trailer and a movie review.
III: Students analyze promotional techniques and materials for a film during the period in which the film was made; analyze critical reviews or public opinion about the film at the time it was released in theaters, comparing those viewpoints to present-day reviews.
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2.2—Identifying and interpreting film depictions
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I: Students explain what a film depiction is.
II: Students interpret depictions of race, gender, and social class in a film and determine whether the depiction is positive, negative, or neutral.
III: Students explain the techniques the filmmakers use to create depictions.
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2.3—Identifying and interpreting social issues and historical events as presented in film
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I: Students identify social issues or historical events presented in a film.
II: Students describe how a film presents social issues or historical events.
III: Students analyze social, political, economic, and other factors; make conclusions about how society influences and is influenced by film.
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2.4—Identifying characteristics of a film documentary
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I: Students describe the difference between a documentary film and a feature film.
II: Students understand that a documentary is a representation of reality using moving images.
III: Students research moving images for use in developing a topic for a documentary film.
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3.0 Production and Creative Expression. Students understand that film is an expression of a director’s personal vision produced through a collaborative process. Students understand and distinguish the various filmmaking roles that contribute to the final work of art.
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Content Standard
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Outcomes by Level (I = Basic II = Intermediate III = Advanced)
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3.1—Understanding the filmmaking process
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I: Students describe what happens in each of the three stages of making a film—pre-production, production, and post-production; understand what a screenplay is; explain what is meant by directing, screenwriting, production design, cinematography, acting, film editing, and music composition.
II: Students describe the director’s role in each stage of production.
III: Students understand what is meant by the director’s vision and the collaborative process.
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3.2—Identifying creative and/or technical skills in the filmmaking process
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I: Students identify the various professionals and craftspeople that collaborate to make a film.
II: Students explain the tasks of the director, screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer, actors, film editor, and composer in making a film.
III: Students understand how the various filmmaking roles work together to create a single film.
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3.3—Analyzing a film’s visual design
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I: Students explain what is meant by a film’s “look,” or visual design and style.
II: Students identify elements that contribute to a film’s visual design, including set design and construction, props, location, costuming, and make-up; explain how lighting and editing contribute to the film’s visual design.
III: Students evaluate and comment on the choices made by the director, production designer, and cinematographer in creating a film’s visual design.
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4.0 Viewers’ Response and Aesthetic Valuing. Students understand that a film is a work of art. Students describe, interpret, and analyze a film’s visual design. They respond to and make informed judgments about film, deriving personal meaning from the work. They express their viewpoints through oral and/or written presentations.
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Content Standard
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Outcomes by Level (I = Basic II = Intermediate III = Advanced)
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4.1—Understanding our film heritage
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I: Students explain what film preservation is; understand the purpose of the National Film Registry.
II: Students distinguish between film preservation and film restoration; identify qualities that make a film eligible for the National Film Registry.
III: Students evaluate and nominate films to the National Film Registry.
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4.2—Deriving personal meaning from film
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I: Students express an opinion about the film, using film language and supportive details and references to specific scenes or elements.
II: Students understand that each person interprets and reacts emotionally and intellectually to a film in a different way.
III: Students analyze how the film did or did not have personal relevance, citing specific examples from the film.
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4.3—Assessing the merits of film as a work of art
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I: Students explain characteristics that make a film a work of art.
II: Students identify and explain qualities of the film that make it a success or a failure, given the filmmaker’s intended theme and audience; create a step-by-step process for others to follow in critiquing a film.
III: Students analyze how the film did or did not have personal relevance, citing specific examples from the film; understand the purpose and process of writing a film critique; write and present a film critique.
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5.0 Cross-Curricular Connections. Students first tap their knowledge of other disciplines to study a film. They then apply what they have learned about film to other disciplines, making connections between film and literature/language arts, film and history/social studies, film and other arts, and film and sciences.
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Content Standard
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Outcomes by Level (I = Basic II = Intermediate III = Advanced)
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5.1—Understanding relationships between film and the other arts and disciplines outside the arts
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I: Students identify common terms in film study with other subject areas (e.g., characterization, symbolism, composition, depiction, etc.); use visuals to communicate ideas in other subject areas.
II: Students apply knowledge of film content and narrative structure to writing personal narratives; apply knowledge of film depictions to analyzing political cartoons in social studies; use visual symbols and elements of composition to depict the history and cultures of other civilizations.
III: Students communicate ideas for written and oral presentations using moving images or elements of film composition; work collaboratively with others in problem-solving projects; study a social issue and research archival film to create a multimedia presentation that reflects that time and culture.
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5.2—Identifying professional filmmaking skills and roles
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I: Students identify filmmaking roles.
II: Students identify the skills needed for various filmmaking roles, such as director, screenwriter, production designer, costume designer, cinematographer, actor, film editor, and composer.
III: Students research two or more works of specific filmmakers and analyze how their training and experiences influenced their work.
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