Educerie · IB Diploma · Film

Coursework checklist

Run this on every draft. Every "no" is fixable now.

Analysis, not plot

• [ ] Deleting every sentence that recounts what happens would leave substantial content.
• [ ] Someone who had only read the screenplay could not have written my analysis.
• [ ] I write about the presentation of a character, not the character as a person.
• [ ] I avoid "this shows that…" as a substitute for explaining what a technique does.

Evidence

• [ ] Every observation carries a timecode.
• [ ] There is at least one timecode per paragraph.
• [ ] I name shot sizes, angles, movement, focus and lighting specifically.
• [ ] I identify patterns and changes, not only isolated shots.
• [ ] For each major claim, I name the alternative the filmmaker did not take.

Sound

• [ ] My analysis contains at least one substantial passage on sound.
• [ ] I distinguish diegetic from non-diegetic.
• [ ] I have considered off-screen sound and silence.
• [ ] I address the relationship between sound and image — whether they reinforce or conflict.

Avoiding mechanical readings

• [ ] I do not apply fixed meanings (low angle = power, red = danger) without evidence from the film itself.
• [ ] I read each choice against the grammar the film has established.
• [ ] Where a convention is broken, I say so and analyse the break.

Breadth

• [ ] My material comes from more than one national cinema.
• [ ] Non-Anglophone films are analysed on their own terms, not as departures from Hollywood convention.
• [ ] My comparative study has a genuine basis for comparison, stated as an area of inquiry.

Comparative study — as a video essay

• [ ] My own editing, sound and image choices are part of the argument.
• [ ] I use the form's advantages: side-by-side comparison, matched cutting, overlaid sound.
• [ ] It is not an essay read aloud over static screenshots.
• [ ] Every clip used is credited.

Film portfolio

• [ ] For each role, I state what I was trying to achieve.
• [ ] I record the decisions I made, not only what was produced.
• [ ] At least one documented attempt did not work, with what followed.
• [ ] The same role appears at intervals, so development is visible.
• [ ] Process is photographed or recorded at the time, not reconstructed.
• [ ] Every reflective entry ends in a decision.

Higher level — collaborative film project

• [ ] The boundaries of my role are clearly identified.
• [ ] My reflection addresses the collaboration honestly, including constraints imposed by others.
• [ ] I state what I would do differently, specifically.

Academic integrity

• [ ] All films referenced are credited with title, director and year.
• [ ] All clips used in the comparative study are attributed.
• [ ] Any music or footage not created by my team is licensed or credited.
• [ ] Contributions of collaborators are identified.

If you can only fix one thing: add a paragraph on sound. Most student film analysis addresses the image and ignores half of what the film is doing, so a substantial, timecoded passage on sound design is the single highest-value addition available to almost every draft.

Educerie · written from the published IB Diploma Programme structure for Film, first assessment 2023. Original text. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.