Independent Research Script Reflection

For the IB Film Independent Research Script, students must produce a script for a complete short documentary production exploring an aspect of film theory or film history, based on the study of films from more than one country. The documentary should be targeted at an audience of film students in the 14 to 18 years age range. The assignment is very fun and I'm willing to bet you that every year, IB films students across the world cheer and cry in happiness when the name of the assignment is mentioned by their instructors.

The script makes clear reference to film history, theory, and genre topic. Using the films Abre los ojos (1997), Memento (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Oldboy (2003), it posits that films historically have juxtaposed the phenomenon of amnesia with plots revolving around the solving of mysteries as a means of concurrently enhancing the audience's perception of the two. It also details the history of such by making short reference to two 1940s that are said to utilize the same technique. Finally, it notes again that all of these films are mysteries in genre.

The engagement with the audience of this film script is clear by frequent explanations or definitions of filmic jargon being made in order to guide the audience's understanding of the documentary -- whenever the audience is visually introduced to a new topic or subject, an audio narration accompanies it soon after as an introduction, while words used that are potential sources of confusion are defined immediately. The script acknowledges a wide scope of cinematic history, from the purported origins of the presence of amnesia in film to almost present-day counterparts. The depth of the argument is admittedly a bit shallow, with the script aside from pushing its own view only briefly touching upon potential counters.

The script only occasionally, yet very clearly, makes use of sources, with each use being marked by an annotation and a list of works cited being included at the end. Unfortunately, much of the analysis seems to have come from the scriptwriter as opposed to from his research. The script is structured in a way that evokes an actual documentary, with points flowing from one to another smoothly and realistically.

It is evident that great, extensive, meticulous care is taken to ensure that the video and audio elements of the script are detailed extremely clearly and are described and linked coherently, with spacing between lines being to the point and the writing being careful and in-depth.

All of the films films referred to by the script clearly relate to the topic. Some insightful comparisons regarding the films referred to and the topic introduced are made with precision.