Film Studies

Students in my film studies classes watch movies from the earliest days of American cinema. They are shown films from the silent era of American films, as well as classics such as Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Metropolis, The Kid, and others. One of the main goals of the class is to show students the progression of film, and how filming techniques and genres popular today had their beginnings in our earliest movies.

In addition to learning about film genres and styles, students also learn what goes on behind the camera and in the editing suite. During the first three quarters of the year students learn how to edit video using Final Cut Pro, as well as how to use a video camera. They also will write a short movie script. The entire fourth quarter is given over to making a short film for our school's film festival. In addition to writing, acting, editing, and producing their movie, students will also create a promotional trailer, a movie poster, and a DVD case. Select student videos will be posted to the Coyote Film Festival web page.

Links

• Mr. Rizzo's main page
• Calendar
• Course scope and goals
• Course expectations
• Film Studies terminology
• AFI Top 100 Films
• Grades
• Coyote Net

• SWCTA