The IB film students at Woodrow Wilson High School are gaining lifelong skills that will help them beyond the classroom.
“You learn a lot about working with a team,” said Lucia R., a senior. “You work in groups a lot in school, but for film class, it’s different because everyone has their own vision, and you have to work together to create one vision.”
In addition to working as a group to shoot, edit, and produce film projects, students also stand in as actors for each other as needed.
With so many moving parts on any given day or project, cooperation is key, said Porter D.
“It takes a lot of compromise,” she said.
A senior, Porter said she signed up for film for a creative outlet.
“The aspects of film I find interesting are cinematography and the artistic aspects of it. I like art, but I’m not really into painting or drawing,” she said. “I thought this class would be a fun way to explore my creativity.”
A staple at Woodrow for years, the IB film class is led by Jessica Raff, who started teaching the course two years ago. Students begin as juniors, and assignments are a mix of research assignments and hands-on projects that give them a chance to work with equipment.
“During the first year, there’s a lot of practical application,” Raff said. “They learn the basics and get the chance to be behind cameras. Students learn new editing software that is not TikTok or Adobe Premiere Pro.”
As students progress through the program, they complete other assignments like exams and comparative studies on critically acclaimed films, representing multiple genres and languages. The class also has movie days, where they watch films and critique each other’s work. Guest speakers are also brought in throughout the year, giving students a chance to learn from people who are in the field.
“Woodrow is so lucky to have a lot of parents who work in the film industry. It was shocking to me to see the breadth of experience parents have, and how willing they are to come in and share knowledge and help kids shape where I am not an expert,” Raff said. “I love doing that for our students.”
While the IB film class is for upperclassmen, Woodrow also offers an introduction to film class for sophomores, which gives students a taste of the kinds of courses and subjects they will learn if they sign up for the IB program.
That’s where senior Ava N. discovered a knack for the field.
“We learned a lot about the history of film, and I wanted to keep going,” she said.
The students say they quickly learned what all goes into making a short film.
“One of our assignments was to do a three minute film, and it took two hours,” said Anna N. “I didn’t realize how tedious it would be in the beginning.”
Their hard work and dedication paid off, as students entered their projects into various film festivals throughout the semester. Recently, their classmates advanced to the second round of UIL film competition, and Woodrow was the only 5A school from the district to make it that far.
An art teacher and working artist, Raff wants to ensure her film students have the chance to have their work seen by the larger community.
“Coming from the arts, we’re so used to wanting our art to go on display. In film, we have film festivals,” she said. “There are several film festivals we participate in, and even though we’re coming to the end of the year, there are still exciting opportunities to take advantage of.”
But for Raff, the most rewarding part of teaching the program is watching her students go through the entire creative process.
“Obviously, it’s awesome to know your students entered a film into festivals, but it’s also equally rewarding to have movie days in the classroom where you see the finalized films on the big screen and everyone claps for them.”
