Research- Film Habits

During half term I watched several teen angst films including mean girls and easy a to further my knowledge on teen angst conventions. I regularly watch teen angst films in my spare time as they appeal to me and I fit the target audience.

Research-Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

Explanation

For my preliminary task myself and my group followed a detailed story board to create a mini film whilst incorporating many different camera angles and shots. We filmed all the different parts to fit together to create a sequence as our preliminary task. We had 3 actors in our film which started out with somebody approaching a door which we shot as a long shot so you can see the character clearly. Then we moved on to doing a close up of the door handle as it creaks to add suspense to out film. Lastly we then used both the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot to film a short conversation between two characters. After filming we then had to edit our film on a programme called premiere pro so that it all came together and flowed continuously and didn't cut between scenes so quickly. During our editing we used a wide range of editing skills to improve our film further, for example we used cutting, merging and fade to black which helped our film to look more sharp.

What We Learnt

From the preliminary task I have learnt many different camera shots for example close ups, high angle, low angle and mid shots. I have also learnt how to follow the 180 degree rule which is where you film over the shoulder of and match on action. I also learnt continuity as our first attempt didn't work out so we had to redo it and have persistence. I also learnt how to use the editing programme adobe premiere pro and how to cut, merge, scale and fade to black to improve quality. If I was to redo this preliminary task I would improve the filming quality and think about the different camera shots differently to increase quality of our film further. I would also make the conversation longer so it didn't look rushed and untidy.

Incorporating Shots

In our preliminary task there was many different shots we had to incorporate into our film. For example we used close up of the door handle being opened which added suspense and tension. We also had to incorporate a shot reverse shot which focused on a conversation between the two characters which made it easier for the viewer to be involved in the film and to make the conversation flow better and focus on one person at a time. Lastly we also included the 180 degree rule which made the film flow more easily and not make the viewer confused.

Research-Juno Film Opening

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging Research

Angus, Thongs and Perfect snogging was released in 2008 casting Georgia Groome and Aaron Johnson as lead roles Georgia Nicholson and Robbie. Georgia Nicolson is fourteen, and is the usual, everyday awkward teenager who lives with her annoying parents and her cat Angus. Georgia as well as every other girl in the school has a crush on the Robbie who is in a local band called the Stiff Dylans. The plot revolves around her embarrassing and awkward diary entries where she writes about humiliating moments and her unfair life which seems to keep getting worse. Robbie is in a relationship with a stuck up blonde girl called Lindsay who Georgia expressed her hatred for and confrontations with. Georgia experiences a first kissed first love with her best friend and family, as well as wishing she was a different, prettier person and blames her parents and the world for it. At the end, Georgia ends up with Robbie and has her perfect 15th birthday party as well as realising a bunch of teenage angst lessons, coming to terms with growing up and accepting herself.

Setting

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is located and was filmed in London. The setting is a located in an English seaside town, where the colours are dull and the weather isn't dreadful and raining most of the time. This is connoted by the use of seaside fish and chip shops located in the filming of angus thongs and perfect snogging. It is no where near comparable to a glamorous LA town which makes the storyline more realistic and the teenage audience can relate to it more and be more involved in the plot as they can relate more.

Mise en Scene

In the plot of the film the teenage girls have several sleepovers which is a stereotypical thing of teenage girls to do. In the scene you can see the pink bedrooms of the characters which emphasises they are girly girls who enjoy gossiping and talking about boys at sleepovers which makes to more relatable for the target audience. There is a lot of girly events in the film such as eyebrow waxing, tanning and talking about underwear. This helps to identify the age where teenage girls are becoming self conscious and are trying to find ways to make themselves more appealing to the opposite sex. The teen angst target audience will be able to directly relate to this as they are likely to be going through the same struggles for examples boys problems and trying to stay thin.

Research- Clueless Opening

Clueless Opening Sequence Conventions

The film opening starts with the production company logo which is paramount. It introduces the company by showing their logo and through a cartoon sequence which is shown throughout the film opening.

The title is introduced in the film through a smooth transition from the production company to the logo. The title is in the same font as before which stands out and is very colourful. Their is a change of colour from the last shot and this is done to keep the audience engaged and it helps to highlight that the film opening is about to start.

In this screenshot there are many teen angst conventions to cover the genre clearly. Firstly the main character of the film is shopping and this is a event that the target audience enjoy throughly and would be able to relate to. It also highlights the fact that stereotypically when girls are shopping they are happy. The fact that this is shown quite early in film shows that teenagers may be able to relate to the main character and will be more enticed in the movie and will want to watch it.

Mise en SceneMise en scene was crucial when creating the characters personalities and egos, this was mainly through costumes and make up all iconography of a stereotypical female, as you see in the picture above the girls are shown in short skirts and popular fashions of that era, the mobile phones suggest the girls came from wealth and this was also portrayed in locations set in the girls homes, one example was Chers home which props were used alot showing off her cars outside and the posh interiors and technologies emphasizing her wealth.

The Settings

I have previously mentioned that the film was set in Beverly Hills, known for its celebrity status and wealthy residents. This impacts the film as it creates the characters to be young aspiring celebrities and fashion icons, brought up with brand new technology the girls are all portrayed to be fashion-conscious and attached to their phones all the time. 

Research- Production Companies

The name DreamWorks suggests that this production company can be perceived as a factory which is in the process of making dreams for its audiences. This is further emphasised through the use of a night sky, clouds and a crescent as these aspects are associated with night time where dreams will take place. A glow is used on the moon and the young boy in order to bring it forward to the audience’s attention, potentially suggesting that this production company aims its films towards a younger target audience. All of the important aspects in this logo are a light colour which connotes the idea that dreams are supposed to be innocent and pure.

Universal uses a sans serif font of their company in order to emphasise the idea that the films they have produced are loved world-wide or even by the whole universe which is also in capital letter. This is then further emphasised by the use of the world and space behind the title which enables the audience to see a visual representation of how many people supposedly love these films. The use of the white company title against the dark space colours allow it to be brought to the audience’s attention in order for them to identify the fact that this particular company has produced this film.

The main colours on the MGM logo are black and gold which instantly suggest power and authority. Also with the lion in the centre which shows an animal of strength, power, pride and leadership, connotes that the company are professional and have a lot of expertise due to the old fashioned nature of the logo as it involves film tape. The roaring tiger shows they're fierce and a competitor; other companies should be afraid. The gold shows they have wealth.

Reseach-Severn Title Sequence Analysis

Title Sequence Of Severn


Timings of openings

2 seconds- Image of a book with pages

6 seconds- Still image of a book with the writing 'new line cinema presents' also on the screen

10 seconds- image of a pair of hands, distorted and in black and white

14 seconds- actors name appears on the screen 'Brad Pitt' black background with white creepy writing

18 seconds- close up of fingers with blood and mud on then and holding a small silver blade

22 seconds- flashing across the screen with white don't and fades to black

31 seconds- shadows flash across the screen as well as another actors name 'Gwyneth Paltrow'

34 seconds- close up of a pen writing on paper, 2 images of this image overlapping, so one looks like a shadow, one more actors name 'Richard Round tree'

37 seconds- red filter over camera, slightly blurry picture with bits of random writing flashing across the screen

41 seconds- image of scissors cutting up photography films and lots of shadows in the shot

46 seconds- small photograph of a child in black and white, this is over more photographs and pages of writing

50 seconds- close up of a newspaper cuttings in a birds eye view, drop of blood splattered on the page

56 seconds- actors names 'John Cassini, Reginald E.Cathay and Peter Crombie'

60 seconds- extreme close up of a thumb smudging ink on a black page, POV shot

67 seconds- Writing in the background, blood like smudges in the foreground with black marker pen on top of that

71 seconds- black background with an image of a boys face in the right hand top corner, black marker pen going through his eyes. White writing 'casting by...' in the foreground

74 seconds- red filter over the camera again, boys face in the same place again but completely crossed out this time with black marker pen and red over the top

77 seconds- top half of the shot has a red filter, image of photos(dark room) bottom half of the image is upside down of a pen writing, Writing in the foreground 'music by Howard Shore'

87 seconds- close up of dirty thumbs and a line of tiny hooks, writing in foreground 'production design'

90 seconds- books of writing with a page of handwriting on the top, the page is upside down

94 seconds- photographs in the background, clear filter over the camera which has black smudges and dots all over it. Reminds me of looking through a microscope or splattered blood.

99 seconds- extreme close up of dirty thumbs playing with a needle, black background

103 seconds- lots of flashing images and quick cuts

Last 15 seconds- lots more flashing images, more writing which includes 'produced/directed by...'

128 seconds- film starts, end of title sequence