Planning final project - ideas

As a group we deliberated on many different ideas, the main sub genre that came up numerous times whilst discussing was teen dramas .
our main ideas were pretty straight forward and direct and our inspiration was from teen dramas such as anuvahood, kidulthood and adulthood. We spoke to our teachers about our ideas but they weren't really excited about it as over the past years ideas such as the one we had were used many times. this sort of ruined our spirit and needed help on ideas.
At the end of discussing and debating our ideas with both Mary and Dan we decided to change our idea to a simple but just as difficult idea as the first idea one we had

Planning Final Project - Storyboard

Here is our storyboard for our opening to our final project. We are going to try and make it animatic so we will keep you posted :)

Planning Final Project - Ideas

With my group we have come up with a range of different ideas. The main sub genre that kept coming up whilst pitching our ideas with each other was a teen drama, based around gangs, life on the streets and bullying.

Our 1st idea what we were pretty keen on doing was from getting an inspiration from the opening scene Anuvahood. This was because it had the style we were going for but also introduced each different character in the style which will attract the type of audience were going for. It consisted with a range of different camera angles which was perfect. 

In the end with debating and consulting Mary in the end we decided to change our idea to more of an simple but technical idea. In the end we have decided to do an opening of someone coming into college and a bully following them in right behind them at an intimidating pace who then pushes over the other individual. We have a range of different camera angles which it's going to be placed in our scene, from over the head, close ups, long angle shots, high angle shots etc. we also have an extra shot what we want to keep a surprise as it's a very interesting one. :)

Creative commons

Final edit of clip plus our selected music

The Original Opening Scene

The original opening scene did not have music as a non diagetic sound but featured other sound such as seagulls. We added music to the background which created more of a heart warming atmosphere.  The music has an effect on the audience as it determines how we feel and what we expect of the film. For example: if we had fast paced racy music we would be expecting to see a horror or thriller movie. The music we added brings a light positive mood for this comedy drama.

Shot By Shot Remake - Our Version vs. Original Version

The original opening scene of breakfast club.

Our re-creation of the opening scene in the breakfast club. During our re-creation of the breakfast club, we used props to represent the different characters in each aspect of the scene, we used similar shots as used in the original scenes of this film. Unfortunately we didnt have enough time to film the ending part of this scene which has had an affect on our re-creation as our clip is seen to be fairly short.

Shot By Shot Remake - Editing

we have completed our filming of our shot by shot which took a lot of effort and struggle but we got there in the end... FINALLY!
today we are editing and putting our recreation together which is going to be done by the fabulous aydaruus, as jazzel, hana and myself complete some blogging.

shot by shot remake

As a group our task was to do a remake of the opening scene of the film 'The Breakfast Club'. There are five main characters in the film who are labelled as; 'The criminal', 'The athlete', 'The basketcase', 'The princess' and 'The brain'. These characters match their labels through the way they dress and act. For example, 'The princess' is centre of attention and resembles a barbie doll. There are different locations in the opening scenes such as, the outside of the school, the car scenes showing the different charaters with their families, the classroom, the canteen area and the corridor. The car scenes in the film is a comparison to the type of characters they are because of the types of vehicles they arrive in at school. 'The princess' arrives to school in a new sportscar indicating her wealth. 'The basketcase' arrives to school in a run down car resembling her character.    

Evidence of filming

Here we have Nia with our camera getting ready to film jazzels voice over

 Aydrus editing some film

 Jazzel doing the voice over and Nia recording it

Jazzel blogging



All of these posts are taken in college

Shot By Shot Remake - Filming

As you know were filming a shot by shot remake of the travelling and arriving scene from the breakfast. Here are a few pictures from today.

Shot By Shot Remake - Planning

as a group we are going to remake travelling and arriving scene from the famous film the breakfast club. Today we are creating our storyboard and who is going to play who and what props we are going to use for the mise en scene.

Our storyboard;

 


Our props;

the baseball jacket

the engraving in the desk

graffiti on the lockers

the cars

Travelling and arriving

In todays lesson we watched the opening of the film 'The Breakfast Club' the mise en scene in the opening showed how the different characters showed the characters arriving at their destination and how the vehicles they arrived in represented their characters and characteristics. The main characters were:

THE PRINCESS - she arrived in a fancy BMW driven by a man who is preferably her father, her attire is quite fancy which could represent her and her fathers wealth.

THE BRAIN -  this character arrived to the entrance of their school in a old run down car with his mother and younger sister. In this part of the movie it is seen that he is being encouraged into doing well in school and receiving the grades he needs. As the younger sister is seen in the car with him and his mother could possibly show that his mother could probably be a single mother who's dealing with a lot.

THE ATHLETE - this character arrives in a decent car nothing special, he is dressed in a bomber jacket which is usually worn by 'jocks' in teen dramas. In this part of the opening film his father is seen talking to him about receiving a football scholarship which shows he's sporty and probably popular in school as usually in these teen films the 'jocks' are adored by many especially the females.

Travelling and arriving - BREAKFAST CLUB

In class we watched a clip from 'The Breakfast Club' and it was a travelling and arriving clip. in this clip we saw different characters arriving to the main setting (the school). This clip told us a lot about each character without the use of many words but by the use of the mise en scene.

In this clip there were different character which were:

The princess

The princess arrived to the scene in an elegant BMW with her father calling her 'princess' and handing over some shopping bags which we suggest consists of some expensive gifts/clothing, due to the mise en scene I could easily say that she is very middle class who is most probably spoilt.

The brain

the brain joined the scene in an old red car which consisted of 3 characters the brain, the little sister and the mum and each of the characters were squeezed up in the front seats of the car. because of this I can suggest that the mum is a single mum trying to take care of her kids and work but is also relying on her son 'the brain' to do well at school to get a good job in the future and that is why she tells him in this scene to find a way to study as its detention.

The criminal

The criminal arrived to the scene by walking, but as walking across the road instead of looking to see if any cars were coming he decided to walk in front of a moving car which was very close to hitting him, but we didn't get any reaction out of him as most people would react by jumping or freezing of shock. He was wearing a long black trench coat with his head held down.

The basket case

the basket case arrives in an old banger car driven by her mum/dad guessing. with this character she comes across as a very quiet and shy girl just by her actions and clothing. As she goes to approach the driver to say bye the individual swiftly drove away.

The athlete

the athlete joined the scene in a sports car driven by his father. both were wearing sports gear as he was wearing a basketball jacket and the father in a cap which gives us as an audience the impression that they are committed to sports and the son is most probably an athlete and the father wants him to succeed.

This clip was about these 5 students reporting for a Saturday detention at Shemar high school. While not complete strangers each of them comes from a different clique and seem to have nothing in common. They gather in the high school library where they are instructed by the assistant principal

Travelling and Arriving

 

In lesson today we watched the opening of 'The breakfast club' the mise en scene  showed how different characters had arrived at their destination and how these characters vehicles also represented them. These 5 characters were:


The princess: This character arrives in a BMW driven by her father. We can see both characters dressed nicely and look welthy. The father is wearing a suit with a burberry scarf while his daughter has her hair and makeup done and as she leaves her father passes her a bag of clothes which suggests she is spoilt.

 

 

The brain: this character arrived in an old car with his mother and younger sister huddled up in the front row of this small car. His mother is encouraging him to study whilst in detention and tells him to 'use the time for your advantage' which shows she wants him to do well. Also, the fact that the younger sister is also in the car could suggest maybe she is a single mother and thats why she doesnt have anyone to look after the child.

The athlete: he arrives in a 4 x 4 which is a big sporty car. He is dressed in a varsity bomber which is worn by 'jocks' and shows he plays for a team. His father also talks about him not getting a scholarship and that he shouldnt miss a match. This shows he plays for a sports team and wants to continue doing this sport.

 

The criminal: This character is walking to school with a long coat and wearing sunglasses. We see him cross the road without looking left or right and he walks out infront of a car, this shows he is rebellious and probably doesnt care about anything. He took a risk and this shows what kind of person he is.

 

The basket case: We do not see the inside of the car or any conversation going on. She comes out the back of the car and as she goes towards the drivers window the driver quickly drives away. This could show the character does not talk much or she is shy. she also might not have a good relationship with her mother or father or whoever was driving the car.

Overall, this shows the mise en scene in a film is important and we can tell a lot about the character just by what they are wearing and the things they have.

Order of title sequence

breakfast club-storyboard

Juno- Title Sequence

Analysis of three teen movies

The teen movies that I am analyzing have very different sub-genres and are therefore not similar in any way.

Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: 

This 2009 movie mainly focuses on Scott Pilgrim, a 22 year old man who meets a the girl of his dreams but is shocked when he learns he has to fight off her 7 evil exes if he wants to be with her. The movie started off as a graphic novel and is therefore aimed at boys. The movie has some elements of comedy and action which may pull in a wider audience.

 

Easy A:

This movie is about a high school girl who lies about losing her virginity and as a result is called a 'slut' by the entire school. This movie is more of a romantic drama which will, stereotypicaly, interest girls more than boys. The movie also features comedy.

The Hunger Games:

The hunger games is a futuristic movie centered around a young girl named Katniss who volunterally takes the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, a televised  fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete. This movie is more sci-fi and action and attracts both boys and girls as the main protagonist is a girl. 

A teen Film I watched over Christmas

Over the holidays I watched the movie Twilight. The movie centers around a girl who falls in love with a vampire risking her life in the process. The movie is quite different from other teen movies as it is more fantasy than anything else. Teenagers- especially girls- can relate to some of the characters as she has what they want, true love. The music in the movie is quite angst to replicate the mood of the scenes of the movie as most if the scenes are quite serious. This is similar to how some of the target audience may feel as they may be going through a similar kind of heartbreak  in their lives at this point in time.
There are also binary oppositions shown in the film:

• Good vs Evil
• Vampire Vs Werewolf
• Boys Vs Girls 

Travelling and Arriving

Camera and Editing

This clip shows characters travelling and arriving through the school.

There are many ways that editing and camera have been used. 

Camera:

• Track-so that the viewer does not miss any of the action in the scene, also to establish that Donnie Darko and his friends are important characters in the film
• Close Up-To show that the boy is a rebel, as well as to show his facial expressions while he is snorting the drugs
• High angle Shot-Gives the impression that the girl reading the book has low power in the school and that she is is of little importance to the movie
• Camera on it's side-this gives the impression that something surreal is going to happen in the scene as it confuses the viewer 

Editing:

• Cross cut-this shows us that Donnie is important as it cuts to him opening the doors to the school as he walks in 
• Fast Motion-This is used when the women is walking to establish the importance of what she is doing, it is also funny to watch adding an element of comedy
• Slow Motion-This makes the girls dance moves look more deliberate and dramatic to watch

Character

The characters in the clip show the stereotypical students in American High schools.

One kind of character shown is the popular boy who has all the friends. In this clip that is Donnie Darko, the protagonist of the movie.

Another character portrayed in this clip is the rebel in the school. He is portrayed in this clip as the drug tacking antagonist of the movie. He is shown as rude as he makes funny faces at the teacher and barges past the protagonist.

In Addition, the little nerdy girl who doesn't have many friends is also portrayed in the movie. she is shown to be a loner in the film as she is sitting on her own.

 

Audience Task 2: Analysis Of 3 Teen Movies With Different Audiences

Even though all of these movie genre's are teen films they also cover different sub genres in this and different teen films attract different types of teenagers. 3 prime examples of teen films with different audiences are:

Mean Girls: This film is a 2004 American teen comedy. The film is mostly about how female high school social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. Most of the main characters in this film are females as it follows the most popular clique in school which is "The Plastics" which consist of 3 females and also the new girl who becomes part of their clique. Because of this the audience for this film is mainly aimed at teen females. Aside from the teen genre it also features comedy and romance. Romance is common in teen films although stereotypically more females would rather watch romance rather then males.  

The Goonies: This film is about a group of kids that embark on a wild adventure after finding a treasure map. This film does feature young kids/teenagers and does appeal to the same audience but also has an adventure theme. Stereotypically, more teen boys would be interested into this film as it is about them going on adventure which is what younger boys are in to or even anyone that is more interested in an adventurous theme.

Friday Night Lights:  This film features many genres such as: sports, drama and is also a teen film. The main plot is a film documenting the coach and players of a high school American football team. The film is mainly aimed at people with a passion for sport (stereotypically young boys) The film also features many social issues which are linked in with binary oppositions. these issues include: poverty, segregation, racism and 

socio-economic disparity. Overall this film would attract more males which are interested in football or any other relating sport and this would be the target audience for this teen film.

This is only 3 examples of different target audiences in teen films although there are many other audiences. They all may be teen films but they all feature different genres which attract different types of teenagers within this genre.

The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring

The bling ring is a movie based on true events, that depicts a group of teenagers who are so obsessed with their celebrity idols that they go to the celebrities houses and steal their clothing, jewelry etc. This teen movie is drama with comedic elements. 

This movie may appeal to many teens as it is extremely relateable. One way that it is relateable is that the problems that the teens in the movie are facing are very similar to the ones that other teens may be facing today. Some of these include:

• Peer Pressure
• Rebellion
• Celebrity
• Sexuality
• Friendship
• Drugs
• Crime

The movie also had a wide range of different of settings and places. These help them to connect with the character more easily as they are in the same type of places they spend other teenagers spend their time. These are some examples:

• school
• bedrooms
• cars
• parties
• homes
• police stations

There isn't really a wide range of characters in this movie. In addition the ones that are shown are quite far-fetched and not like the average teenager. The teens, however, are popular which is what a lot of teenagers want to be. They may be able to see what it is like to be these popular people and will therefore want to watch it. The main types of characters are:

• Teenagers
• Parents/Adults
• Authorities

There was also a wide range of music and fashion in these movies. The music and fashion would help to publicize the movie and therefore bring in a wider audience.

Music

• Hip Hop
• Rap
• Dance

Fashion

• Big name brand
• Fashionable
• young
• hip
• celebrity

Donnie Darko Analysis

Location and Mise en scene.

In the sequence I watched of the film Donnie Darko and the arrival to the school there are a range of different locations; outside the front of the school, corridor, playground and the classrooms. During this sequence we get a guide through the school looking at each area in detail which successfully creates the world of this school. This is by filming each area in a great amount of detail by placing key characters in these areas. 

The were a range of different mise en scene such as;

• School
• School bus 
• Uniform
• Books
• School facilities (lockers)
• Uniform

The uniform/clothing is the main aspect in the opening sequence as we can tell by the way the characters wear there uniform what type of character they are. Also we can split the the students from the teachers and see the hierarchy due to the use of uniform.

Editing and camera.

At the beginning of this sequence the camera is at a low angle shot viewing students coming off the bus,  the camera then starts going into a slanted angle which can represent the school as a crazy and hectic setting/environment. The camera is then at a normal angle going through the school as if we were looking through a students perspective. When showing the different characters there is a slow motion editing to it so we can get a full glance of each character. This sets up and creates a complex world of the school.

Donnie Darko Opening Scene Analysis

Characters:

In the opening sequence we see roughly 8 different main characters although there are many other students around these characters. The 'main characters' may have a role similar to: the bad guy, the pretty popular girls and the young kids. I assume throughout the film we will see more of these characters that the camera happens to zoom in on at the beginning. The narrative information could be showing us each character and giving an inside to their personalities. e.g: the student at the beginning who walked through a group of boys after making a face at them shows that other students may be scared of him and he could take the 'cool bad boy' role.


Editing and Camera: 

There are a range of different camera angles and editing techniques in the opening. At the beginning we see children running out of a school bus at a low angle which could suggest the school is crazy and there is a lot going on as this angle makes us feel smaller as we are looking up at these children running, it could also suggest how a person may feel on their first day of school and how hectic it can be. 
The camera also zooms up and has a slow motion edit on the main characters while they do actions which we will see and assume what social group they fit in to.  

The Bling Ring

In lesson we watched a teen film called "The Bling Ring" this film is based on a true story where a group of teenagers take on a thrilling and disturbing crime-spree in the Hollywood hills.The group, who were fixated on the glamorous life, tracked their celebrity targets online, and stole more than 3 million in luxury goods from their homes. Their victims included Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Rachel Bilson, and the gang became known in the media as "The Bling Ring." 

The film did not have a stereotypical teen film storyline although it did have binary oppositions which include: Teens vs authority (parents, police, media) , poor vs rich and good vs bad. The film was also set in very stereotypical places that teenagers would be such as: the kitchen, their bedrooms, clubs and each others houses. 

There were binary oppositions in this film such teen vs authority and teen vs parents

The Bling Ring Review.

In lesson we watched a teen film called "The Bling Ring" this film is based on a true story where a group of teenagers take on a thrilling and disturbing crime-spree in the Hollywood hills.The group, who were fixated on the glamorous life, tracked their celebrity targets online, and stole more than 3 million in luxury goods from their homes. Their victims included Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Rachel Bilson, and the gang became known in the media as "The Bling Ring." 

The film did not have a stereotypical teen film storyline although it did have binary oppositions which include: Teens vs authority (parents, police, media) , poor vs rich and good vs bad. The film was also set in very stereotypical places that teenagers would be such as: the kitchen, their bedrooms, clubs and each others houses. 

The opening of the film featured a photo montage which was a selection of snapshots throughout the film, we could also tell the genre was for teenagers as we see 'Facebook' and other social networks at the beginning and also lots of fashion which is what a lot of young girls are interested in. The opening definitely sets the audience up for what the film is going to be about. 

We could also suggest that the film follows stereotypes that society have on teenagers, for example they are portrayed in a bad way and are stereotyped to be reckless, thieves, spoilt and assume we all take drugs and are always partying but in this film this is how the teenagers are as oppose to having a variety of different groups of teenagers such as: "the geeks".