Risk Assessment

The potential risks we could run into while filming could depend on the different areas we are filming in, for example if we are in a area near a lake or with the danger or water such as rain then we need to protect the camera from water and also use safety like strapping the camera around the neck of who ever is filming so it is secure and does not drop and get damaged. I is also a good idea to keep the camera in the secure pouch when it is not being used and strapped around the person taking care of the camera at that time, you can also avoid the camera being left behind and lost.

although the area we have chosen to film in is secure and well known by members of our group, it would be better if we film most of our shots in day time to reduce the risk of possible theft of equipment being lost.

Responsabilty for the all the equipment we are using and taking out is very important as the equipment is expensive and costly for the college if it is lost therefore it is crucial that we take care of the equipment and have it safe and under supervision at all time. As a group we will not be taking out or using the equipment unless we are filming for our project as it is better like that. Also lending or giving the equipment to other people who are not part of the project will not be happining to avoid any damage or loss of equipment.

As a group and individuals we all take responsabilty for the equipment and know that we have to maintain them and give them back to college the same way it has been given to us.

Teen film; Final Idea

We needed to change our idea slightly as we did not have all the props and locations required for a young Dj therefore we made some adjustments.

As a change from our previous initial idea; the urban teen drama film will now be about a young male (played by Andres) who is an underground MC who is determined to become apart of the music industry no matter what it takes, However is being held back by his hustling lifestyle of selling drugs for a living.

Chase is well known as a drug dealer in his area and is struggling to define himself as a rapper, as everyone associates him with the 'dealer' and doesn't think he will be determined to the music career. However he has one friend who continuosly motivating him to pursue in his passion and move away from the drug dealing lifestyle. As well as being a drug dealer and trying to make it as a rapper, he also has his eye on one girl Ashleigh (played by Lashay), but she is not interested in someone who is selling drugs to make a living however as she starts to notice his potential and determination for becoming a rapper she grows to show interest in him, romance ma be in the future for Chase.

To display this in the opening sequence we will need to use various techniques, with the camera we will use various shots; such as close's up, mid shots, long shot etc. Another is aspect is sound we will be using non-diegetic sound of a r'n'b track to show the stereotype of a road boy. Also editing there will be various such as; match cuts and cross cuts. Mise en scene; of hoodies, tracksuits, mobile phones, hackney, angel etc.


The plot for our film was an original idea, however we were inspired by the teen movie Kidulthood, as there are many similarities such as young boys (teenagers) and it is also based in London and a British movie. And also we would to use various shots and editing skills the the displayed.

Teen Film; Initial Idea

Our teen film idea is about an urban drama called BackSpin which is based in local area Angel.

The basis of the opening scene is about a teenage boy (played by Andres) who want's to become an upcoming Dj and that is his main focus, he hasn't succeed so far and he been turn't down on multiple occasions by various radio stations, although he has potential no-one else seem's to notice this apart from his male best friend who continously encourages him to keep on going forward with his dream. As well as being interested in the music, his dream girl (played by Lashay) has caught his eye but she is not interested in someone who is failing, until she notices that he has potential and she begins to develop some connection/feelings for the upcoming Dj and a romance may be on the hands for him.

To display all these features in our 2 minute opening scene; we will use various shot types such as, close up's, long shots, mid shot and 2 shot. Another aspect is sound we would have non-diegtic sound of R'n'B/Rap music to display the stereotype of a young teenage boy who wishes to pursue a career in music. When it comes to editing a uses of match an cross cut will be very beneficial to get the idea of the film across to the audience.

Locations and Props

The locations and props have been inspired by teen film Kidulthood, as we have decided to create our teen movie based on a similar urban outlook which will be filmed in the local area of Angel/Hackney.

Specific locations: City and Islington sixth form College, Goswell rd, Lordship rd and Hackney estate.

We have chosen these locations to reflect on our main characters lifestyle of being a drug dealer however is passionate about becoming an MC.
For an example we will end our opening sequence with a longshot of Hackney estate which will be followed by a tracking shot of Andres walking downstairs whilst listening to music as he is on his way to college.

For our props we will use clothing that the characters will wear on a everyday bases such as;

• Hoodies/Jackets
• Jean/Tracksuit
• Mobile Phone/Headphones
• Backpack/ Handbag
• Baseball caps/ Wooly Hats

the props are so that the setting and the story line all link in and look realistic and also the audience can see themselves in the movie or understand what the story line is about.

Researching Music and Sound

The sounds we added to the clip fitted in well with the timing and what the movie was about. The opening and knocking on the windows were sounds that we included which made it look as if it was part of the original clip, which was very innovative. the main sound we chose to play through put most of the clip was slow and related to the movie, altogether the sounds we added made it look as if it was a original clip from the movie.

Although the scene started off with screaming and shouting, which we had no sound added in as we had no dialogue. However the silence was also useful as it helped emphasis the distress within the scene. As the scene changed to the guy coming out of bed, we found that the music was slow and calming which could relate to the character and helped portray him as tired and slightly annoyed. It helped emphasis how he was used to his parents shouting and therefore we found suited the scene. The sound changed towards the end to a more upbeat sound as we were shown the bedroom of the girl who is into basketball. The camera shots where changing to different objects in her room and was as though the image changed with the beat which was interesting and mad the clip a whole lot enjoyable.

We also attempted the technique of layering different sounds to pull the clip together. The layers we added included the sounds of a knock and the opening and closing of a window. We found these sounds added a slight realism into the clip and possibly made it look much more professional. We also learnt something else new which was reversing sound, which we found to be a very useful techinque which we hope to implant into our own teen film opening.

Preliminary task

The beginning of the remake and the original breakfast club both have the same opening showing the "universal pictures"  followed by the opening credits and the same 80's type music, then the voice over introduction from one of the characters, we had to do our own but with the same script so we could do a shot by shot remake accurate. we attempted to recreate  the scenes and use our surroundings to the best of our advantage in order to try and keep up and make the remake as similiar to the original as possible with the limited resources we had.

Initially we studied the opening clip and took note of the key clips that we would be able to do and also we looked at what the main characters were for example : the jock, the brain, ect. The original opening scene was very well done as it was produced by universal pictures of course it had the proffesional made opening credits how ever we did attempt to recreate these and it did turn out really good when comparing. Although there are many differences between the original and our remake we done very well when you put the time we had and the limit in resources into perspective.

We had to change some thing around from the remake such as our use of transport. In the original we have each character coming in in a car and the criminal walking, however we had to change this as we did not have access to a moving car. We had the option of using toy cars in which we could have been creative with, however we found that there was no realism within this so changes had to be made. Andres came up with the idea of using the car park within the college. We filmed different cars and attempted to be creative with the shots and angle to make it look as though it was moving. Unfortunately as the cars were not in motion we had to cut of the character of the basketcase. We as had to change the entrance to the rebel due to the same reason. Luckily enough we found a motorbike which we though was quite rebelious and would suit that character. In that sense we had added our own modern twist on the remake.

Each member of our group took up a task in order so that we could keep up with our bloggin, filming and editing which helped save time and remain on top while we finished our remake of " The Breakfast Club"

The sound, camera and mise on scene of course is much better in the original, however we had difficulties finding a quiet location for us to film within college and the lighting of course wasnt up to hollywood standard but satisfactory for our location.

Overall we believe it was a good remake with all the limitations we had to overcome.

Teen Opening Scene

The opening scene of Adulthood is very straight forwards and quite original in it's order of titles. It does not stick to the conventions of a title sequence as it has the main titles of the producers and distribution companies behind the movie. It then goes into a flashback from the first part to the prequel "Kidulthood" here  the audience are introduced to the main characters and to a basic idea of the story that follows. Following this is a timelapse entering a party of "6 years later" where we are introduced to a few more of the main cast. At the end of the 3 minute opening the name of the movie appears. The movie then gets straight into the action and at no point are the audience made directly aware of the main cast and crew. However there are different shots which introduce the all if not most of main characters within the first 10 minutes or so.

Costume

The costume in the opening is very effective as it was quite realistic to what the youths of today wear. The costumes included popular pieces of clothing such as hoodies and leather jackets as well as big name brands such as "Adidas" and "Puma" which would attract their target audience and make the movie that bit more relatable. The colours of the costumes also was reflective of the genre of the movie. There was a lot of black,grey, dark green, dark blue, brown which is suggests to the audience that this going to be a dark, gritty movie which are often associated with the British grime thriller/ drama movies.

Other Mise-en-scene

The use of mise-en-scene in the opening was very indicitive of the genre of the movie and immediately portrayed to the audience exactly what the movie would intail. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie props such as guns, knives and drugs appear. This shows to the audience that the movie will contain violent action. A negative of all these props appear so early into the movie is that for someone of the wider audience who is not usually a fan of this genre may be put off, also these images just reinforce the negative stereotypes of teens that are often portrayed in the media. Again these stereotypes are heightened in the scene where the middle class male is being robbed by the young teens in his car and the scene where one of the young male teen characters is being released from jail. That being said, Adulthood was very accurate with the dialogue and body language of the characters. They used dialect which the teens now a days often used and had conversations which were realistic to the target audience. This helps boost the relatablilty of the characters and therefore helping to make the movie more successful.

Camera

Throughough the opening a wide range of shot types and angles are used in order to add to the mood of the opening and therefore entice the audience making them want to continue watching.

Editing

The fast paced editing in the beginning of the opening during the flashback refects the action taking place in the scene  and adds to the suspense of the scene. The cuts to a blank black screen to break up the action also help achieve this effect. The use of the timelapse was suggestive of the fact youths haven't changed much in terms of activites they engage in and how they behave and dress. This was shown through the party in the beginning of the opening going into the party "6 years later".

Sound

The music in the opening scene in particular the party clips is real music for today's grime scene and so will relate to the target audience.

 

Shot By Shot Remake

Shot by Shot Remake; Editing

Shot by Shot Remake; Filming

Our task was to create a shot by shot remake of the opening of 'The Breakfast Club'. We tried to be creative and think of many different ways to recreate the opening scene and it was difficult as we did not have cars or drive which is the main source of transportation for the characters so it took a lot of thinking and planning as to how we can recreate this. Andres came up with the idea that we should use the cars out in the car park of the college. Luckily we found a few cars which we decided to film in different ways and then we will find creative editing ideas to help recreate the scene. Also as there was no moving car for the 'Basketcase' or the 'Criminal', we found a motorbike and decided that could be the mode of transport for the rebel. This also adds our own twist to it. As we were able to overcome this difficulty we are now more confident that we will be able to figure out an alternative to any problems we may encounter especially if it is with transport and filming. Now that filming is out of the way, all focus is onto our editing.

Shot by Shot Remake; Planning

Our task is to re-shoot the opening of the film: The Breakfast Club

The opening is introducing each character, through the use of their mode of transport. There is a voiceover introducing the story of the film and what's about to happen. 

There's 5 characters:

1. The Princess. She's a rich girl, spoilt by her dad to get whatever to wants.
2. The Brain. He arrives in a family car, showing his family have a say in his education etc.
3. The Athlete. the popular guy who is the one with the sport life and education with a scholership
4. The Criminal, arrives on foot, walks in front of a car, careless 
5. The Basketcase, arrives in a car that drives off once she has come out of the car

Modes of Transport - Cars, Walking

Locations - Outside/inside college, canteen, corridors

Roles
Basketcase played by Aneeka Peart
Criminal played by Lashay Brown
Princess played by Nahida Ali
The Brain and The Athlete played by Andres Felipe

Planning
Props: Mobile phone, plastic/real cars, cameras, glasses
Costumes: Dressed similar to characters
Voice over by Andres Felipe

As a group we have decided to use a range of locations/transport/props to expand on our ideas when filmimg. Due to us analysing a film intro that show characters sitting in actual cars, it is likely going to be a challenge to attempt to film the scenes the exact same way; which is why we are changing locations from the original loactions seen in the film.

The canteen is going to represent the cars which is going to show the dialogue between each individual character and their parents, however shots of the plastic cars will be incorperated to seem as if we are actually sitting in a car. For an example, The breakfast club intro, the first character is introduced by a close up of the front of a BMW car, to imitate this we would capture a close up of one of the plastic cars followed by a midshot of the characters having a conversation.

The Breakfast Club Storyboard

Travelling and Arriving

As a class we analysed the opening of Breakfast Club (John Huges, 1985), the opening was of various students most probably key to the film travelling on their way to school for a detention on a Saturday at 7.00am. The way the characters arrive suggests their role in the film e.g. rich girl, jock, weirdo and

loner. The first character arrives in a BMW sitting in the front seat with her father, the use of dialogue between the father and daughter "missing school to shopping" and the camera shot mid close up on both characters displays how she is wealthy and spoilt in other words 'Popular Rich Girl'. The 2nd character is shown through a jump cut, of the son, younger daughter and mother all in the front of the car with very little space between them. the dialogue and tone of voice from the mother shows she is disappointed and has a lot of pressure on him , the car is an old beaten up car displaying he does not have much money and his mother wants better for him in other words the 'Unpopular Student'. The 3rd character is shown in a close up of the father and son sitting in the front seat, the use of the varsity jacket, and dialogue about football and good car suggests that he is the 'Popular Jock'. The 4th character is walking alone with no school bag of family, also when the car is close to running him over he didn't move a muscle and continued to walk this may mean he is the 'Rebel' of the film. Lastly the 5th character is in an old car, sitting in the back there was no close ups of the family talking just a long shot of the car, when the daughter went to say bye the car drove off and the use of dark clothing suggests that she may be the 'Loner' of the teen film.

Travelling and Arriving are key to opening drama's, Mise en scene and Camera angles/shots have a big impact on how a character is perceived as they give a suggestion to the viewer of who plays what character this is done through use of stereotypes, camera, editing, sound and mise en scene. For a teen drama the characters are usually travelling to college or school after a school break, 1st day of term etc.

As a group in our own teen film to travel and arrive to scene's we could use a small variety of transport that we have access to such as; bus, car, train, cab, walking, bike etc. We are limited when it comes to transport as we are young students, however in our teen film this would be justified as the characters are teenagers also. The easiest transport to convey stereotypes is through walking. It shows more of a realistic point of view to see teens at the age of 17/18 to be making there own way to college than getting taken by there parents.

Represenation

What is representation?

Representation is how someone is displayed or perceived by an audience in mass media. They are usually shown to be conveying typical characteristics of a certain type of person, such as their dress code or their personality. Representations are not fixed and can be interpreted in many different ways, based on who the consumer is. Although producers possibly expect all consumers to view stereotypical characters the same way, individual differences have and effect and allow different perceptions of the same character to be seen. Age, Gender, Race, even regular media consumption and location can all have and effect on how we view certain representations in media.

Examples of the sort of stereotypical characters that are expected to be found in teen films:

1. The Mean Girl (also known as 'The Queen Bee')

Regina George from 'Mean Girls'

Regina George is easily identifiable by her tight clothing, short skirts, heels, small handbags and the recurring theme on pink. Typical locations for her to be found is either school, her home or the mall. She has her clique, who are known as the plastics and she's always the main one easily visible when with them. She has members of her school wrapped around her finger as you can see in the image above how she in being lifted by a couple of guys. She also dates the popular jock in the film. 

2. The Rebel/Criminal

John Bender from 'The Breakfast Club'

John is known as the criminal in 'The Breakfast Club' due to his juvenile behaviour. He is constantly in trouble and being bad. His appearance is quite scruffy, with a long coat and ripped clothing, which fits his appearance as a bad boy. He is also identified as the Criminal as his smokes a lot and partakes in illegal activity such as drugs. His attitude to education also shows how he is a rebel. 

3.The Popular Jock 

Zack Siler from 'She's All That'

Zack is the popular jock in the film 'She's All That' that every girl dreams of being with. He always found to be with members of his team at school, the beach or parties. The Ideal clothing you would find him wearing is his Letterman jacket. His attitude towards others are possibly uncaring, as at the beginning of the film it starts off without him paying attention to those who are seen to be low on the hierarchy of high school.

Travelling and Arriving

Travelling is portrayed in a variety of ways in a film, whether it is being used to introduce a scene or character. For an example, in teen film High school musical the beginning of the first scene bagan with students leaving a school bus showing the characters arriving at their school.
However the storyline may also focus around a vechile, for an example teen film Dude where's my car? centres around a missing car that is to be found.

Future tense when in process of creating our own teen film, transport such as: Bus, Train, Taxi, Pedal bike and Walking could be incorperated into our short film.

In teen film The Breakfast Club, the intro of the film was analysed as a group and 5 characters were shown in 5 modes of transport which reflects on each individual personality.

The first character is introduced by a close up of a BMW car which instantly represents the character to hav wealth. As the scene continues, midshots are shown of a young female and her father.
The young female character is represented as spoilt through her body language and diagetic sound of her voice which sounds 'conceited'.

Second character, is introduced by a midshot displaying who is in the car. A young male with his mother and sister are seen looking 'cramped' in a car as the mother is nagging the male about him attending school. Multiple over the shoulder shots and a three shot are shown displaying the facial expressions of the charcters, this is followed by a long shot of a old,beaten car reflecting the characters 'fed up' attitude.

Midshots of a young male and his father is captured in a car, having an in-depth conversation about achieving a scholarship. The young male portrays a angry/aggitated mood as well as being seen in a baseball jacket, this is followed by a medium close up of a Jeep when the character leaves the car which all clearly represents the stereotypical 'jock' character.

The fourth character is captured in a longshot carelessly walking across the road to the point where he nearly gets ran over by a car. The image of the character having his hands in his pockets, sunglasses and earphones represents he is likely to be the incendiary of the film.

Lastly a standard, uncustomed car is captured in a long shot as a young female is seen getting out from the back seat. As the charcter leans forward to say goodbye to the driver, the car speeds off leaving the female standing there alone. This instantly shows the viewer that this character is the 'loner' portraying an unloved image.

Travelling and Arriving Task.

Travelling and Arriving are key to opening drama's as they give a suggestion to the viewer of who plays what character this is done through use of stereotypes, camera, editing, sound and mise en scene. For a teen drama the characters are usually travelling to college after a school break, 1st day of term etc.

As a class we analysed the opening of Breakfast Club (John Huges, 1985), the opening was of various students most probably key to the film travelling on their way to school for a detention on a Saturday at 7.00am. The way the characters arrive suggests their role in the film e.g. rich girl, jock, weirdo and loner. The first character arrives in a BMW sitting in the front seat with her father, the use of dialogue between the father and daughter "missing school to shopping" and the camera shot mid close up on both characters displays how she is wealthy and spoilt in other words 'Popular Rich Girl'. The 2nd character is shown through a jump cut, of the son, younger daughter and mother all in the front of the car with very little space between them. the dialogue and tone of voice from the mother shows she is disappointed and has a lot of pressure on him , the car is an old beaten up car displaying he does not have much money and his mother wants better for him in other words the 'Unpopular Student'. The 3rd character is shown in a close up of the father and son sitting in the front seat, the use of the varsity jacket, and dialogue about football and good car suggests that he is the 'Popular Jock'. The 4th character is walking alone with no school bag of family, also when the car is close to running him over he didn't move a muscle and continued to walk this may mean he is the 'Rebel' of the film. Lastly the 5th character is in an old beaten up car, sitting in the back there was no close ups of the family talking just a long shot of the car, when the daughter went to say bye the car drove off and the use of dark clothing suggests that she may be the 'Loner' of the teen film. Mise en scene and Camera angles/shots have a big impact on how a character is perceived. 

As a group in our own teen film to travel and arrive to scene's we could use a small variety of transport that we have access to such as; bus, car, train, cab, walking, bike etc. We are limited when it comes to transport, as we are at a young age however in our teen film this would be justified as the characters are teenagers also. The easiest transport to convey stereotypes is through walking. 

Travelling and Arriving

As a class we analysed the opening of The Breakfast Club by John Huges 1985. From this clip we found that the way in which a character arrives to a destination helps create an image for them which is normal stereotypical.

In The Breakfast Club the opening is of teens arriving to their school for detention on a Saturday. Although we found that majority arrive in a car there is a difference within their car models which helps create a character for them. We clearly analysed 5 different stereotypical characters which are to be found in a high school in America. These included;

• The Princess
• The Brain
• The Jock
• The Baskestcase
• The Criminal

The first character to arrive was the princess. She came in a BMW and sat at the front with her father. Her mode of transport helped portray her wealthy family. The camera shot was a mid two shot which helped show her father and capture their wealth as well as emphasise their dialogue. The conversation was about her father not being able to get her out of this Saturday detention which showed that she was the rich spoilt character, a daddy's girl who gets whatever she wants.

The second characters arrival was of the brain. The first shot with the brain was inside the car and showed the brain, his sister and mother all cramped up into the car. This gives the audience that this is possibly a family car and of a lower class to there first. There was a clear comparison between the 2 characters. The car seemed to be beaten up and look like it lacked commitment to keep it intact and of a good standard. This helped emphasise the lower class family feel to the character.

The Third character is the jock who arrives in a jeep. Although the shot begins with the character in the car with his father. We are also able to tell he is of an adequte wealth and this is also portrayed though his dialogue based upon a scholership. The character is shown to feel a slight aggitation from his father which helps portray the typical jock character.

The Fourth character is the criminal who we find to be casual walking across the road even though a car is coming with no absolute care in the world. This helped emphasis his lack of interest as to what is to come and that he is a complete rebel. As we find him walking with no family or interaction with anyone we are clearly able to identify his character.

The last character to arrive is the Basketcase, who also arrives in a car. We are shown no interaction of this character with her family and find that the car leave as she walks ahead to say 'bye'. Also she is sat at the back of the car which came help show tha neglect her character has from her family which is possibly deffered on to those around her as school.

Overall we have found that although the mode of tansport is significant in portraying a character, we cannot completely neglect the camera, mise-en-scene, sound or editing as they helped to also create the stereotypical character and make them possible to be identified by the audience.

As a group, we have found that we would be limited as to what modes of transport we can use to portray travelling and arriving in our own teen film opening. This could be a problem that we encounter however this task has helped us to think of alternate was in which we could use. We figured we'd have to stick to the usual transport of buses, trains, walking and using a pedel bike. However we found that if we do wish to use a car we could possibly find a family member or an older friend who would possibly like to help us with our teen film and therefore we may be able to use a car if needed.

Travelling and Arriving

Our group was given 'Walking' as a way of transportation from one destination to another. The storyboards above is how our group went about this form. We decided to portray this though a character who would stereo-typically go by as being a rebel. This helped us decide a starting location which is 'Hackney Estate'. This is due to the urban culture and feel which is associated with the location. Also as the character is a teen we decided the destination should be college, therefore we end with this location. We have a range of camera shots, such as long shots, mid shots, close ups, point of view shots and worms eye view. All these shots help pull together the characters surroundings which helps add to this urban feel. The sort of costume we have imagined our character to have also has this urban touch; parka jacket, woolly hat, jeans/tracksuit. Also the sound used would be urban, possibly UK rap. 

Order of titles : Juno

Order of titles: The Roommate

In this lesson, we explored the different 'titles' that order to become the opening of a film.

Using Time Toast a timeline has been created to show the order of the various titles from production icon- director.

For an example, I used the film 'The Roommate' and I was able to develop my knowledge on knowing the order of the titles at the beginning of a film. The film presented the majority of the title sequences in order, however the distribution icon wasn't present but this could vary depending on the production company.

The order of title sequences at the opening of a film is important as it structures the film from the beginning allowing the audience to have an insight on what there is to expect whether from actors to music.

TimeToast - Order of the title

Timeline

The order of the particular opening title 'Pretty in Pink' uses different conventions than the general order of the title, as the distributor and production icon are done as one. I found that under actors 'Pretty in Pink' also presented the co-stars and also executive producers is presented a little earlier than the general order, I think this could be due to the difference in time as 'Pretty in Pink' was released in 1986. Although there are some differences the order of the title that was posted early is still presented throughout every film just with very minor changes. The order of the title is very important structure of the opening sequence of any film. 

Order of the title.

This is the order that the opening credits are displayed in generally they may vary depending on the film. The order of title is shown in the very beginning of the opening sequence in any genre of  film. The whole point of order of the titles is to tell the audience about the most important/main people of the film e.g. director, main cast, costume, editor etc. This is a key part of our project as we ourselves as a group need to include this in our 2 minutes opening sequence.

Representation and Stereotypes

What is representation?
Representation is the way in which media portrays ideas/topics from social groups to different subcultures and how audiences acknowledge these portrayals.
The typical representations are: Gender, Ethnicity, Age and Regional/National identities.

Use of Representation
The use of representation is used in the movie 'Mean Girls', as the character Regina George is portrayed to be the 'popular girl' throughout the movie.
The audience identify her character through the use of mise-en-scene as she is seen to always wanting to be centre of attention as well as 'looking down' on most of the other characters.
Another character, Aaron Samuels is portrayed to be the stereotypical 'hero/love interest' as he is seen to have a caring and sensitive personality however this could become confusing to the audience as he was previously in a relationship with the villain Regina George.
Lastly, main character Cady Heron is portrayed to be the 'innocent nerd' in the movie, who has returned from Africa back to the USA. Although her character changes to be a mean girl in the midst of the film, she becomes the most favourite character by the end, which also links to the movie High School Musical as character Gabrielle Montez is also portrayed to be the 'innocent nerd' as well as being a transfer to a new school. The character is also shown to develop strongly throughout the movie as by the end of the film it is seen that she has hidden talents of being a singer and also finds her love interest.

To conclude, there are no particular characters I like/dislike however the combination of different personalities always makes the film interesting and exciting, which allows myself to expect the unexpected in a film.

representation and stereotypes

1. Representation is how a character is presented to the audience in a scene or movie which links in with stereotypes as it is a generalisation of a certain group of people e.g "The Jock." The Jock is always the character that has slicked hair and all the ladies want to be with, always wears a baseball jacket to represent the high school "football team" most oftenly linked to the head of the cheerleaders until the ugly pretty girl comes along and he begins to like her, most high school teens movies are stereotypically similarly  The representation and stereotype of a character such as this sets the character in a movie which will immediately help the audience identify who they are.

2. Jim Levenstein in the American Pie is the desperate virgin that wants to lose his virginity before prom, he's not really popular but has a close group friends he is always with. they are all young around the age of 17/18 and love to talk about women and sex the usual vulgar talk young males are used to.  therefore the main target of this movie is similar to the age of the main stars so they can relate to what is going on in the movie. 

Fogell also known as Mclovin in "Superbad" is a hilarious character who is the stereotypical  unpopular nerd in high school until there is a complete change in his character when he meets some police officers who change him and make him a "bad ass". He wears glasses and fitted tucked in shirts, very smart look which shows his representation to the audience for them to identify his character.

John Tucker in "John Tucker Must Die" is a stereotypical Jock at high school all the females love him and want to be with him he is a cocky character, he wears the high school football team jacket, he's a popular guy around school, everybody seems to look up to him.
  3. There is no particular character in a movie or tv show i dislike i only dislike the fact that it becomes  boring as it is very repetitious and predictable as all stereotypical high school movies have the same type of characters and dilemmas, which is the only problem, hollywood need to change it up a bit and make it less predictable.

Representation and Stereotypes

REPRESENTATION

Representation is how someone or something is displayed to an audience in mass media. When representing it usually certain features of someones personality or appearance for the audience to understand and connect with the character. A representation can be interpreted in many various ways depending on the person watching it as they will relate to it from their personal experiences ( can be due to; age, gender, race etc.). Representation is usually exaggerated for the audience this is done by stereotypes; a stereotype is a generalisation/assumption of a certain group of people it can also be defined as categorising people. Stereotypes can be displayed through camera, miss en scene, editing and sound. 

Some examples of character stereotypes:

• Popular guy

Camera- Starting from feet and following up 

                 Close up

                 Tracking

Mise en scene- Varsity

                             Expensive car 

                             Trainers

                             Lockers

                             Blue

Editing- Match cut

           

Sound- Non diegetic (Pop Music)

              Diegetic (Girl screams, dialogue)

• Weirdo/Geek

Camera- Long shot

                 Canted angle

                 

Mise en scene- Dark colours

                             Smartly dressed

                             Outside

                             Camera

                             Dark hair

                             Glasses

Editing- Cross cut

Sound- Diegetic- Chatter

                                School Bell

                                Footsteps

• Popular girl

Camera- Medium shot

                 Tracking

                  Close up

Mise en scene- Blondie

                             Pink

                             Short skirts

                             Heels

                             'Followers'

Editing- Match cut

               Sound bridge

Sound- Non diegetic (Loud music)

              Diegetic (Laughter, chatter, footsteps)

Out of all stereotypes my favourite on is the popular girl as they always represented in the same way e.g. blonde, mean, dumb, rich and many teenagers can relate to this type of character another reason is because they are always in a teen drama movie.

Holiday Homework: Teen Film Analysis

Step Up (2006)

Opening Clip:

Plot:
Tyler (Channing Tatum) is on the wrong side of the tracks, mixed up in a world of drugs, crime and violence. One night after getting kicked out of a party, he and his friends break into an arts school, committing vandalism. After getting caught he has to pay of by doing community service in the school. Attending the arts school is a girl named Nora (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) who is preparing for a showcase which is a step for her future. After an unfortunate accident which cost her her partner, he only choice is to have Tyler help her.
It's a film where 2 different worlds collide.

This film is appealing to teens, as it consists of themes which they can relate to, such as;

• crime/violence
• drugs
• dreams and aspirations
• school 
• love/romance

As the clear binary opposition in this film is a bad boy who's in a world of crime and a good girl who's working hard to achieve her dreams. 

There is a difference in clothing, where those from the guys world are in the streets therefore tend to wear baggy clothing with a range of hats, where as those of the art school have more either formal clothing of dresses and such or clothing comfortable for dancing.

Also there are also a couple of party scenes in the film, which is what teens are able to relate to. These parties include, loud music of hip hop or rnb, dancing and drinking. These are all rebellious acts and mirror the teenage stereotypical image. 

With the camera shots, there seems to be a frequent use of long shots as well as mid shots, this could be due to the fact that the film is dance based and these shots are able to capture the movements, however there are some close ups during the 'final showcase' especially within the audience which could possibly be to capture the emotions of the audience.

At the beginning of the film, there is use of cross cutting, which helps highlight the 2 worlds of the main characters, Tyler and Nora. The film cross cuts between two dances, one which is more hip and street with breaking etc and the other ballet which is more calm and soothing. This could possibly give the slight hint as to what this film is about and it gives the basic underlayer that it is about 2 worlds comming together.

Wild Child Analysis

Wild child is a typical teen drama targeted at females aged 12+; the film was released in 2008. In the opening scene there are credits of the main people involved in the film that displayed (e.g. actors, editors, directors etc.) which was accompanied by some non – diegetic calm music. The camera helped display the sub genre, binary oppositions and stereo types; in the very beginning the camera lead us to a young females room which was made clear through mise en scene as the room was filled with posters, pictures, bold/bright colours, which was shown through a long shot the camera zoomed into a close up of the main character (Poppy Moore) when she is asleep which is when the non – diegetic sound switched from calm to loud pop music as her eye’s opened and she spoke.

When moving onto the next part of that scene there was a match cut between the bedroom and the kitchen when there was a two-way dialogue from the sisters, the camera is used to show over the shoulder shots this makes it clear who is talking to whom. There is another form of editing used to which is match cut to introduce a new scenery viewed through a mid long shot of outside the house with all of Poppy Moore friends which is clarified through mise en scene showing the big white house, greenery, pool, moving van. There is also diegetic sound of shouting, screaming and dialogue that show how the main character is the rebel of the film, the camera is also used again as a low angle shot to show the sister looking down to her big sister in disappoint displaying typical characteristics of a teen drama.

There is a match cut for when the father is introduced into the scene through tracking the diegetic sound becomes quieter and you hear more mutters and sighs. Mise en scene is then used as the father is wearing a shirt; sunglasses and dark dull colours show a binary opposition from the teens vs. parent. When the father and daughter (Poppy Moore) are talking it is over the shoulder to show who has a higher authority the tone of voice also suggests that the father is fed up. Sound, mise en scene, editing and camera all add up in this particular part of the opening scene as is displays the typical characteristic of conflicts between parents and children.

Binary oppositions is shown very boldly when Poppy Moore is sent to England, there is a cross cut from the beautiful sunny America to the rainy and gloomy England where all the pupils and students are in dull, dark and smart clothing to suggest this is boring and also the weather reflects the mood of Poppy. When showing a long shot of the boarding school there are very obvious cliques; younger students (1^st year), good/smart girls and the evil kiss up’s. When the main evil kiss up who is also the head girl of the school goes to approach Poppy she is shown through a close up camera angle which is joint with the non – diegetic sound of music with tension to show she is evil and up to no good, there is also diegetic sound of footsteps which increase in sound as she comes closer.

In the opening scene the audience of females gets a vague idea of who the main cliques are and who is good or bad. Binary oppositions are shown throughout by the main factors of CAMERA, EDITING, SOUND AND MISE EN SCENE.

Film Analysis: Mean Girls

Mean girls is a teen comedy film, released in 2004. The plot of the film is based around one particular teenage girl named Cady, who has returned from Africa back to the USA however is attending a public school for the first time in her life.
The film also includes three other teenage girls who aim to mould Cady as apart of their group, however this plan backfires into Cady wanting revenge against them.

The film is a representation of how female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on teenage girls. Although the film is produced to be a comedy, serious issues are also portrayed such as bullying and sexual themes.

Throughout the movie, A vast amount of characters are presented such as: the innocent nerd, popular mean girl and hero/love interest; these specific characters are known to be the stereotypical personalities found in a teen movie.

Mise en scene, camera, sound and editing all show a clear binary opposition of the 'innocent girl' vs 'the mean girls'. For an example; the use of clothing worn on Cady is casual as she is mainly seen wearing jeans/trousers and a t-shirt whereas the mean girls are seen to be in glamorous clothing wearing skirts/dresses, heeled shoes with matching handbags. However during the middle of the film as the transformation of character Cady happens, her appearance changes which instantly gives the viewer an insight on her new attitude.
This is portrayed in the clip below:

During the clip there are number of cross-cutting between the dialogue when the characters are speaking. For an example, when the characters are in Regina's bedroom continuos cross-cuts are used which has been used to contrast the characters as one shot captured Cady whilst the other shot captured the three other girls showing a clear differentiation in their lifestyles.
As the clip continues, at the end a voice over is heard which is represented to be Cady's thoughts. This sets a different scene to what we see as it is clear that the character is uncomfortable in the new environment she has been introduced to which intrigues the viewer into how this changes throughout the film.

The Bling Ring