Group Evaluation Presentation

Evaluation- my thoughts on the finished product

• I believe that throughout our opening, we stuck to the codes and conventions we found from analysing teen comedy films and have constantly tried to appeal to our female, teenage audience. To name a few:

-The setting of a school and girls' bedrooms which are familiar and relatable.
-The costume which was conventional to teens, e.g. school bags
-The props, such as make-up and a mobile phone (teens who have the same phone will instantly relate to this character)
-The character types such as 'geeks' etc; also Propp's character types, JJ being the hero/villian and Jess and Emma the heroines
-The issues within our plot such as frienship and relationships, which are stereotypical issues found in teen comedies
-The music which was fast-paced and contemporary, built up in rhythm which was engaging for the audience and connoted a fast-paced lifestyle stereotypical to teens.

References to British pop culture made it relatable to a British audience. We also used slapstick comedy, with Jess pushing Emma behind a wall, but only to a minor extent.

• I have highlighted above some of the ways we represented teenagers, which is the social group we aim to represent in our product. We have conducted stereotypes, such as the 'popular girl' and the 'geek', and have also conveyed stereotypical issues and lifestyles of teens (as above mentioned). Our audience feedback told us we represented teens 'stereotypically' through these elements.
• I also feel we have developed our skills in working with cameras since the preliminary task. We know to obey the 180 degree rule, and we used camera movements to create verisimilitude, such as panning and tracking, in order to be relatable and realistic to our audience and connote everyday life. We managed to hold the camera steady and the editing ran smoothly throughout the opening. The continuity was probably the hardest part to get right with the second half of our opening.
• The audience feedback was very useful. It told us that we achieved our target demographic as found in our audience profile; the majority of the audience agreed that our opening would be relatable to a 16-yr-old female. They also agreed that an institution that distributes a lot of teen comedies would be most likely to distribute our product, especially Paramount Pictures. This is the institution I had done a case study on so I agreed strongly. Paramount Pictures not only distributes a high numbr of comedy films, but also BRITISH teen comedy films, such as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
• Keeping a blog has helped me organize and keep up to date with my work. It has been extremely useful to go back to things, such as the films analysis, to check we are sticking to conventions, and also to make any changes to casting/shooting schedules.

Best Enemies Film Opening - FINAL!

This is the final, finished version of our film opening for Best Enemies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjqBH4NAuY

Reshooting due to audience feedback

After looking at our audience feedback questionnaire, we found that a lot of our audience commented on the continuity of the last scene. Therefore, we re-filmed this today and it now flows a lot better than before. Mostly, we found that by using a pan in two different shots they flowed much better and did not jump as much. As the actor playing JJ was not available for our reshoot, we had another actor, Dot, take his place.

Next, we plan to get audience feedback for our new and improved piece, and then finish our evaluation presentation and individual evaluations.

Audience Feedback Questionnaire

1. Do you feel our teen comedy is similar to teen comedies you have seen in the past?
Very similar
Quite similar
Similar
Not very similar
Not at all similar

2. How do you feel teenagers are represented in our films?
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

3. Which film company do believe would distribute our film?
20th Century Fox
Disney
Paramount Pictures
Working Title
DreamWorks
Film4
None of the above
Other (please state) ____________________________

4. Who do you feel our film would appeal to?
Male
Female
10-15
16-20
21-25
26+

5. How do you feel we appeal to our audience? Tick the appropriate boxes.
Character Types
Costumes
Setting
Plot
Props
Other (please state) _____________________________________

6. Do you feel this is a stereotypical teen comedy?
Yes
No

7. What do you feel we could improve?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Reshooting and music

Still in the process of editing our opening. We did have to reshoot the last scene again but now we're happy with how it looks. The only problem at the moment is finding music to accompany the first scene in the opening, as the song we use must be from a source with no copyrights. Currently I am trawling through a long list of unsigned bands on myspace.com, however to no avail, as I have found not one suitable song!

Filming and editing our opening (so far!)

We have filmed all the scenes in our opening. We did have to reshoot one scene as we felt it did not flow well with the rest of the action, but apart from that everything went OK. We have uploaded it and so far have put the shots together and added some transitions, however we still have a lot of work to do in order to get it perfect!

Casting and Shooting Schedules

Cast:
Katie Chivers as Jessica
Grace Beard as Emma
James Fowler as JJ
Group of girls includes Lauren Currier, Rachel Webb and Rachel Lewis

Shooting schedule:
Wednesday 11 March 2009 - Film all scenes
Friday 13 March 2009 - Upload, edit and shoot any unfinished scenes
Monday 16 March 2009 - Edit (add music, transitions, titles etc)

Wednesday 18 March 2009 - Reshoot last scene

Friday 20 March 2009 - Edit

Friday 27 March 2009 - Reshoot last scene again and edit (FINAL)

Storyboard for film opening

Will scan this ASAP.

10 minute PPT Presentation- Pitch for Film

How are we conforming to conventions?

We are conforming to the codes and conventions of a teen comedy in our opening in the following ways:

• Settings. Conventional and relatable settings of teenage life including college and teenage girls' bedrooms.
• Character types. Stereotypes of social groups, conventional to teen comedies, are found. E.g. Emma is a 'geek', Jessica and JJ are 'cool' and 'popular'.
• Costume. Clothes will be laid back, casual and quirky so teenage audience can relate to characters. Costume identifies character types; 'geeks' wear glasses etc and 'popular' kids are more fashionable with designer clothing.
• Props such as schoolbooks and a backpack for the geeky character and make-up and a mobile phone for the fashionable, popular character connote character types. Also, props such as laptops and mobile phones will be seen in the girls' bedrooms which are convetional to teen comedies and will let the audience identify with the characters.
• The issues conventional to teen comedies such as friendship and relationships are addressed in the opening, hinting at the plot/narrative to the film. Also, the characters undertake relatable activities to our teenage female target audience such as gossiping and getting ready for school.
• Non-diegetic music will be fast-paced with a steady rhythm, sounding like a contemporary pop song, conventional to teen comedies.

We also thought about an issue which came up in earlier planning when researching comedy films: the difference between British films and American films. The above codes and conventions follow that of a stereotypical American teen comedy, but also apply to British teens too; for example, the setting of a college and props used, like mobile phones. These codes and conventions, therefore, appeal to a western target audience. However, the references to British pop culture (British TV show Jordan and Peter) appeals on a more personal level to our British target audience, and we mirrored some of the self-deprecating humour we found common in British comedies in the character of Jessica, as she is almost like a parody of the stereotypical 'popular' girl.

Script for film opening

Scene One
Jessica and Emma get ready for school.
They come out of their houses at the same time, greet eachother, and begin walking to college.
Emma: "Oh my god. Have you got your essay for English?! Mine took the mick!”
Jessica: Rolls eyes. "As if. I haven't even started it. I’ll just hand it in tomorrow, she won't mind. I couldn’t miss Jordan and Peter last night!”
Emma: “Yeah... but Jordan and Peter won't get you your A Level."
Jessica: “Yes they will. She's an inspiration, she's proper clever. You know I want to be a glamour model.”
Emma: “Well, I plan on using my brain to get my A Levels.”
Jessica: “Yeah, well I plan on using my tits!”

Scene Two
Outside college, a group of girls sit, gossiping.
Girl 1: “Oh my God! Did you see Jordan and Peter last night?!”
Girl 2: “Oh, she is amazing! My idol!"
Girl 1: “Yeah... but he is FIT!"
Girl 3: “Oooo... 11 o'clock!"
Girl 1: “No, it's half 8!"
Girl 3 : "No, look at 11 o'clock!"
JJ: “Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the main recpetion please?”
Girl 2: “Yeah... I'll point you in any direction...!"
Girls giggle.
Girl 3 “Yeah, it's just down the drive and to your right.”


Scene 3
Jessica and Emma are in mid-conversation when Jessica spots her friends. She pushes Emma into a bush a second before they notice her and wave.
Girl 2: “Look down the road!”
She gestures to JJ walking away.
Jessica: “Nice arse! Who the hell is it?”

Film Title: 'Best Enemies'

We decided on a name for our teen comedy: Best Enemies
This simplicity in a title is found in many teen comedies, e.g. Mean Girls. It sums up the plot of our film- a clever ploy on the phrases 'Best Friends'/'Worst Enemies'

Detailed Explanation of Film Opening

• The two girls are getting ready for school in the morning in their respective bedrooms. We do not yet see their faces in full; this opening scene includes only close-ups of props such as Jessica's make-up or Emma's glasses, with perhaps one or two close-ups of their mouths or hair to demonstrate the differences between the girls' character and costumes.
• The accompanying non-diegetic soundtrack will be music following a steady beat with a high-pitched tune, typical of a contemporary pop song in order to engage and relate to our target audience.
• Cut to them picking up their bags in the hallway. Still we do not see their faces; probably a medium close-up/close-up of their feet and their bags as they collect them which will demonstrate the differences in costume- Jess will be wearing high-heels/fashionable girly shoes and will scoop up a fashionable- perhaps designer- bag and Emma will wear scruffy looking trainers and will pick up a back pack.
• So far, the audience can see that these girls are total opposites. We then see a medium long-shot/long shot of two houses, with the front doors next to one another, out of which the girls emerge and greet eachother with some kind of personal handshake or salutation.
• The camera will then track the girls talking from a medium shot/medium long shot, walking up the road to college. We can see they get along brilliantly through ease of body language and conversation.
• Cut to a group of girls gossiping outside college. After some dialogue, JJ approaches the girls (we see this from a cut to him framed in an over-the-shoulder shot. Maybe at a slight low angle to connote how much he is admired by the girls).
• JJ asks where the reception is, sending the girls giggling.
• The camera will then pan to Jessica and Emma walking towards the school. Spotting Jess, the girls wave, wondering who she is with. In a sudden movement Jess pushes Emma behind a wall and runs towards the girls.
• Jessica exchanges some dialogue with the girls about JJ, with one more very long shot of him walking into the college as Jessica comments on his 'nice arse'.
  
  
  

Planning for Film Opening: Character Profiles (so far!)

We drew out some of our characters for our film. Here are some scans.

Jessica:

Propp's character type: Heroine
Name: Jessica
Age: 16
Hobbies: shopping, listening to music, reading gossip magazines
Costume: takes great pride in appearance, revealing and provocative clothes e.g. short skirts, low tops etc
Subjects: art, drama, photography

Emma:

Propp's character type: Heroine; helper
Name: Emma
Age: 16
Hobbies: video games, reading, astrology
Costume: high neck jumpers, glasses, trainers, back pack; not concerned with appearance
Subjects: art, maths, English, technology, physics


JJ:

Propp's character type: Prince at first, then villain
•Name: JJ
•Age: 16
•Hobbies: football, girls, guitar, enjoys working at his dads garage
•Costume: wears designer labels, tailored and well fitting clothes- connotes wealth
•Subjects: still studying GCSE syllabus

Planning for Film Opening: Synopsis of Film

We decided on a plot for our film. Here is a short synopsis.

Beginning Stereotypically, by western terms, a 'geek' girl (Emma) and 'popular' girl (Jessica) are friends outside of college. However, in college, Jessica shuns Emma in order to fit in with the 'cool' kids.
Middle A new 'hot' guy (JJ) starts college, and both girls are determined to win his attention, which causes them to argue and break friends. Emma has a miraculous new make-over which deems her popular and no longer a geek, much to the annoyance of Jessica. JJ decides to pursue Emma at this point, but after a short-lived relationship, Emma breaks it off with him after discovering that he is cheating on her.
End JJ then asks Jessica out on a date, at which point Emma tries to warn her about him out of loyalty to her, but she argues that Emma is just trying to ruin her chances with JJ out of jealousy. However, after seeing him for a while she realises that Emma is right and swiftly breaks up with him. The girls quickly reconcile, find funny ways to take revenge on the boy, and their friendship is restored.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Overall, filming our preliminary task went well although we encountered some problems. This included the difficulty of finding a place to film; we knew our setting would have to be an office environment, as we planned our preliminary task to follow the script and storyboard of a job interview. With limited space and time to film our preliminary task, we started filming it in an empty classroom. However, we encountered an unused office and with the permission of its owner we filmed it all again. This is definitely something that needs more thought when finding settings for our film opening.
It was also difficult to fit both the people in the frame, and often it was difficult to pan the person walking through the door because they had little space to walk. However, the finished product proves we managed this successfully in the end.
We did encounter some technical issues whilst uploading our preliminary task to edit. Whilst importing the tape, the computer froze a number of times- however with time and patience the project uploaded succesfully.
We found that most of the shots we had on the tape were not needed, so this probably contributed to the technical problems we encountered. We learnt from this to concentrate on the task in hand instead of producing useless footage. However, it is important to remember that with a wide range of shots it is easier to create more variety in the project, and where one scene might have gone wrong there will be plenty of back-ups. It was useful and extremely relieving when we found we had shot 3 different versions of one scene, as only one worked well for our piece.
Another issue we encountered whilst editing was use of props. In our task, we have a close-up of a clock that reads the time as 1:05. However, during one of the scenes we were going to use we noticed that the clock read 12:50. Luckily, we had a version of the scene where the clock is out of view; but this is definitely something to watch out for when we come to film our main task.
Additionally, we found that in order for our continuity task to flow, we had to carefully cut the end off some of the scenes where the dialogue had finished and silence was left.
We added some edits to our task including a fade in at the start and a fade out at the end. All in all, this made the piece flow a lot better. Also a fade in from a white screen to the close-up of a clock indicated a lapse of time, which is what we intended to do.
Watching the task, we believe we demonstrated match-on-action, the 180-degree rule and used shot/reverse shots well. In order to abide by the 180-degree rule we made sure we kept on one side of the room at all time, which helped our shot/reverse shots flow extremely well too. Match-on-action was demonstrated throughout, as no action was left uncaptured.
Also, we followed the storyboard and script as planned, aside from taking out a close-up of the door handle as we decided our piece flowed better with one panning shot of the door opening and the person sitting down. I believe we had a variety of camera shots in our piece, including close-ups, medium shots and over-the-shoulder shots. We decided only one camera movement was necessary; the panning shot, as it was only a very short piece and adding too many camera movements would be confusing and destroy the continuity of the task.
To conclude, if I could change one thing about our task it would be to add costume to our piece. We thought a lot about the setting of a job interview, but little about the smart attire that would be required. One rule, we found, for producing a continutity task is simplicity is key. A complicated storylines and 'artsy' camera shots and movement will complicate the piece and miss the aim of the task. Therefore, we are proud of our preliminary task and believe we met the requirements.

Completed Preliminary Task

Can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbRUUJ80Tqs

Preliminary Task: Finished Filming

My group and I finished filming the continuity task. The main issues we encountered were:

• Finding a place to film. We knew our setting would have to be an office environment, as we planned our preliminary task to follow the script and storyboard of a job interview. After filming the whole thing in an empty classroom, we encountered an unused office and with the permission of its owner we filmed it all again.
• Framing. As the office was so small, it was hard to fit both the people in the frame, and often it was difficult to pan the person walking through the door because they had little space to walk.
• Lighting. We realised after filming that in one shot the people are filmed infront of a window, which caused silhouettes.

However, we were pleased with how our shot/reverse shots worked out, as they flowed well. Next we will edit it and more evaluation will be undertaken.

Preliminary Continuity Task Planning

Aim: Film and edit a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a char opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. Task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Script:
The setting is an office.
Interviewer: (on the phone) She was meant to be here five minutes ago!...Yes... Alright...Goodbye.
(door opens)
Interviewee: Sorry I'm late! (sitting down) The traffic was terrible; the weather is just awful.
Interviewer: (sarcastically) Well, we can see your punctuality is intact.
Interviewee: (mumbling excuses) The bus... broke down...
Interviewer: Yes, I gathered that.

Storyboard:
(will scan this ASAP.)

Institutional Issues & PPT

I considered the issues and constraints on pitching my film to the institutions I studied:

• Funding. The British Film Industry rely mainly on American funding, and it would be extremely hard to get funding for an independent film like my own.
• Promoting my film. This also relies on funding from a distribution company.
• Competition. There are other independent directors and companies who might be after my target audience and will also be pitching a teen comedy film to Paramount/20th Century Fox. How can I make my idea grab their attention?

I sent an e-mail to Paramount Pictures to inquire about funding:

Hello, I notice that you have distributed a lot of teen comedy films. I am working on a British teen comedy film and wonder how I would go about getting funding from you.

I will discuss these issues further with my group when we compose a summary of our institutional findings.

Edit: I recieved a reply from Paramount Pictures.

'Dear Grace
We do not take unsolicited material however if you are a first timefeature writer can I suggest your initial port of call should either bethe UK Film Council or the BBC's writers initiative - The Writer's Room.
Good luck with you project.
Kind regards
Alexei

Alexei Boltho

Director Co-production & Acquisitions
Paramount Pictures International'


This e-mail helped me reveal more about my competition; our film opening would be 'unsolicited', so other film producers who may be working with companies associated with Paramount and/or have been invited by Paramount to submit their film, i.e. 'solicited' material, would be more acceptable.
The e-mail reply also showed me how hard it is to get funding, and how new, independent film directors have to start from the very bottom before even thinking about asking for funding from companies like Paramount.

Here is the powerpoint of my institutional findings, which briefly summarises what I found out.

Case Study: 20th Century Fox

One of the six worldwide major American film studios, 20th Century Fox was founded in 1935 as a result of two major entities merging (Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures). It is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
It is also one of the five major distributors that dominate the British Film Industry.


They distribute a lot of blockbusters (e.g. I, Robot) with Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp and Will Smith. Also specialise in distributing comedy films (e.g. The Girl Next Door and Marley & Me)

Case Study: Paramount Pictures

Case Study:
Paramount Pictures

I did a case study of Paramount Pictures, finding that they were huge distributors of teen comedy films: including the American teen comedies Accepted, Mean Girls, Eurotrip and the British teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

• An American motion picture production and distribution company.
  
• The oldest existing Hollywood film studio (founded in 1912)
  
• Owned by Viacom.
  
• Owner of DreamWorks (also distributors of teen comedy films e.g. She’s The Man)
  
  Brief history of Paramount Pictures
  In 1912, Adolph Zukor created Famous Players Film Company.
  Zukor planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the middle class by featuring the leading theatrical players of the time (leading to the slogan "famous players in famous plays").
  W. W. Hodkinson organized Paramount Pictures Corporation in 1914 which is where Famous Players released their films.
  By the end of the 1910’s Famous-Players Lasky and its ‘Paramount Pictures’ (a three-way merger of Famous Players, Lasky Feature Play Company and Paramount Pictures) dominated the film business.
  In 1930, changed its name to Paramount-Publix Corporation because of the importance of the Publix theatre chain.
  In 1935, Paramount Publix went bankrupt.
  However, in 1936, Zukor reorganized the company as Paramount Pictures, Inc. and was able to successfully bring the studio out of bankruptcy.
  Established it’s prominence in distributing comedy productions with the introduction of the Marx Brothers in the 1930s and the actress Mae West who starred in comedy films.
  By the 1930s was turning out sixty or seventy pictures a year.
  Also hugely successful in its cartoon productions, including Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailorman.
  Had a recession in the 60’s
  In the 70’s became partners with Universal Studios and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
  The 80s onwards was highly successful for Paramount.

Institutional Research: BBFC

So my film opening will abide by the regulations of the BBFC, I researched what was acceptable in Certificate '15' films.

'15' – Suitable only for 15 years and over
No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video or DVD.
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.
Language
There may be frequent use of strong language. But the strongest terms will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.
Violence
Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.
Imitable techniques
Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.

- Taken from the bbfc website: http://bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_15.php

From studying the BBFC's regulation and control guidelines, I also know that my film must not break any of the legal, protective and societal guidelines.

Belated decision and looking into codes and conventions for the film

Belated decision...
Whilst discussing the films we watched in my group, we found that the majority of films viewed were teen comedies. We also all found it very difficult to pin down any film as a 'comedy' as they were all mostly sub-genres of comedies. Therefore, we decided a teen comedy would be the best option for our film opening, and also suited our target audience.


As a group, we discussed which of the codes and conventions we found would be possible for us to use in our film opening. We figured the following would be attainable:

• Setting of school, characters' houses, 'parties'
• Non-diegetic voice-over
• Non-diegetic music
• Props- everyday objects e.g. schoolbooks
• Costume; teenage actors already have teenage characters' clothes
• Costume to connote charater types (e.g. thick glasses for 'geeks')

We also talked about the differences between British and American teen comedies, realising that our target audience would be British and our film would have to be set in Britain anyway. We could think of a very long list of American teen comedies, but hardly any British teen comedies- in fact, the only two we could think of were Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Bend It Like Beckham, which are both Certificate 12, so are aimed at a little younger than our target audience. This made us think, have we found a gap in the market?

I also thought about the difference in the style of humour used in British and American comedy films. I have found that in British films the humour is often very self-deprecating, whereas in American films it is a lot more slapstick. As my target audience will be British, I should perhaps focus more on the self-deprecating humour. However, looking at my audience profile, the favourite films, actors and actresses listed are predominantly American. Plus, due to the lack of British teen comedy films, we will have to follow the codes and conventions of American teen comedies anyway. Perhaps a combination of American teen comedy conventions and self-deprecating British humour will make a winning formula.

Powerpoint Presentation: Summary of Films Analysis

In this powerpoint I am aiming to identify the generic codes and conventions in teen/romantic comedies that I will be aspring to use in my own film opening.

Title

Summary of Comedy Films Analysis
Key Generic Codes and Conventions


Slide 1

Sub-genres
I found it difficult to identify any of the comedy films and openings as simply a ‘comedy’. All of them fit into a sub-genre of comedy:
Comedy-drama; Juno
Teen Comedy; American Pie, Superbad, Mean Girls
Romantic Comedy; Bridget Jones, Knocked Up, Just Married
Action-Comedy; Hot Fuzz

Slide 2

A few of them also had elements of other sub-genres too; for example, Juno is a comedy-drama but also has conventions of teen comedy; Knocked Up is a rom-com but has elements of a comedy-drama and Mean Girls is a teen comedy but also follows the codes of a rom-com.
The three whole films I watched were Just Married, Juno and American Pie. All three follow the conventions of a romantic comedy, and the last two films combine this with the codes and conventions of a teen comedy.
I found that the codes and conventions of teen comedies and romantic comedies often intertwine. I found they both follow a romantic story, along with a slight battle-of-the-sexes theme.

Slide 3

Mise-en-scene
Costume…
…connotes stock character types. I found that in teen comedies the ‘geeks’ wore patterned jumpers, tucked in shirts and glasses, which would all be deemed unfashionable by Western terms. The ‘popular girl’ would wear short skirts, often a lot of pink and have a lot of skin showing, to connote her stereotypical provocative nature.
…connotes Proppian character types. I found that the ‘villain’ is easy to establish as they usually wear clothes that contrast with that of the ‘heroes’. For example, Peter in Just Married wears tidy, tucked in shirts and suits, whereas the ‘hero’ Tom wears shorts and sports tops.
…helps to relate to the target audience. Casual clothing such as jeans creates verisimilitude. A teenage audience can familiarise with teenage characters through their costume.

Props…
•…create verisimilitude. Everyday props such as breakfast cereal make the film more realistic.
•…relates to the audience. For example, if someone has the same mobile phone as a character, they familiarise with them instantly. I found that in teen comedies this was most common.
•…connote the sub-genre. Bottles of alcohol, adult magazines, school books and/or cigarettes are conventional to the teen comedy genre. Wine and flowers are conventional to romantic comedies.

Slide 4

Mise-en-scene
The lighting used in comedies is always high-key to create a light-hearted atmosphere and make the characters seem more realistic. This helps create verisimilitude and puts the audience at ease, making it easier for them to familiarise with the characters and identify the ‘hero’.
I noticed that characters’ position in a frame is used to connote their relationship; for example in American Pie, Kevin and his girlfriend are often tightly framed together, whereas Jim and Michelle, having only just met, often have a lot of distance between them.
The movement and gesture within a frame creates comedic scenes in the films. For example, an awkward situation between two characters would be created through tense body language (e.g. Jim and Michelle)

Slide 5

Setting
I found that teen comedies are set mainly in school or college. Secondary locations include parties, characters’ bedrooms and shopping centres.
Romantic comedies often have very idyllic settings, to the point that they become unrealistic. For example, Just Married is set on their honeymoon in which they travel all around Europe, so the settings include Venice and Paris. Although the characters could be arguing there is always an amazing backdrop. These beautiful settings create a fairy-tale like atmosphere about love.

Slide 6

Camera shots and movement…
…establish key themes and issues conventional to teen comedies and romantic comedies, connote character types, create a comedic effect and establish relationships between characters. For example;
Two shots are used to frame a couple, connoting the importance of love conventional in teen/rom-coms through their close body language.
Handheld camera creates verisimilitude, but often it accompanies scenes of drunken characters and parties. Also, the camera sometimes goes in and out of focus. This creates a drunken, heady feeling for the audience too so they familiarise with the characters. Mostly in teen comedies.
Very slow tilts are used to establish the love interest, usually starting from their feet upwards. In teen comedies, this is often the female ‘princess’, and in romantic comedies is usually both the male and female protagonists to show the difference in their costume and lifestyle.
Close-ups on characters’ face helps the audience familiarise with them more emotionally. For example in Juno, there are close-ups on her face when she is upset. This establishes these characters as the ‘hero’, as it means the audience understand them more.
Low angle shots are often used to connote power and popularity of characters in teen comedies, for example the ‘jock’. However, they can also be used to connote comical characters, who often believe they are the popular- for example Stifler in American Pie.

Slide 7

Editing
Straight cuts are used…
…to create verisimilitude. This is particularly in teen comedies so that the audience familiarise with the characters.
…to connote relationships between characters.
…to create a fast pace, particularly during slapstick scenes.
Fade-ins are used…
…to connote the passing of time…
…a change to a different character…
…or sometimes someone passing out when drunk. This relates to a teenage target audience who would be familiar with that situation.
Dissolves are… conventional to romantic comedy films because they add to the fairy-tale like atmosphere by giving the film a romantic flow.

Slide 8

Sound
In all the comedy films I watched, there was a non-diegetic soundtrack, which was..
…light-hearted and upbeat, due to it’s light rhythm. Especially when establishing close friendships and relationships, e.g. the close friendship group in American Pie or Sarah and her mother in Just Married, and also when the camera tracks the main ‘Hero’.
…often contemporary pop songs which would relate to a teenage target audience. Often used in party scenes.
…in rom-coms, and during romantic scenes in teen-coms, gave romantic anchorage to a scene because it was often light, classical sounding music.
Many of the films featured a non-diegetic voiceover from the main character. This helped the audience identify them as the ‘hero’ and therefore familiarise with them. The voiceover was also often very funny and witty and carried the narrative along.
Diegetic dialogue is fused with witty, funny, fast-paced dialogue. There are often arguments between characters which get louder, faster and a lot more exaggerated, packed with witty insults. Also, the ‘villain’ can be established because their tone of voice is often calm and sophisticated (e.g. Peter in Just Married) in comparison to the comically immature heroes.

Slide 9

Narrative structure
I found that teen and romantic comedy films often followed quite a similar Todorovian narrative structure. Generally, they go like this:

Teen comedies:
Equilibrium: Normal high school life, usually following one or a group of ‘average’, ‘geeky’ or ‘new to school’ characters
Disruption: A teen issue of some kind disrupts this equilibrium, usually to do with sex/relationships.
Realisation: Characters realise that in order to be socially accepted they must do certain things (see below).
Seek to solve problem: Male protagonists try to ‘score’, female protagonists try to fit in/date the ‘perfect’ boy (often the ‘jock’). Often more smaller disruptions within these plans occur.
New equilibrium: The Heroes end up with their desired love interest and often a new sense of maturity.

Romantic comedies:
Equilibrium: The completely different lifestyles of a male and female protagonist. Somehow, they meet, which is a disruption to their ‘former’ lifestyles, however creates a new romantic equilibrium.
Disruption: The couple argue due to either exes, misconceived ‘cheating’, dislike from one or the other’s family/friends, and break up temporarily.
Realisation: One or the other, or both, realises they are incomplete without their love.
Seek to solve problem: a ‘grand gesture’ is made.
New equilibrium: The couple have a happy reconciliation.

Slide 10

Character Types: Teen coms
Key stock character types I found in a teen comedy are: the ‘geek’ (e.g. Sherman in American Pie), the ‘popular girl’ (e.g. Leah in Juno), the ‘Jock’ (e.g. Oz in American Pie), the ‘average girl’ or ‘girl-next-door’ (usually the main character so the audience familiarise with them).
I also found that there were stereotypes of social groups in teen comedies, e.g. ‘goths’.
I identified the following Proppian character types in teen comedies:
I found that the ‘hero’ can be male or female; for example in American Pie, the heroes are male, but in Mean Girls the heroin is female. This is all depending on target audience and how they familiarise with the heroes; teen films like Mean Girls would be considered a ‘chick-flick’, having a predominantly female audience, but American Pie would relate more to boys.
In ‘chick-flicks’ the villain is almost always the ‘popular girl’. However, I found that mostly in teen comedies the villain is usually pressure from society.
The ‘mentors’ and ‘helpers’ are friends and family of the hero/heroin, who offer frequent advice and guidance.
The ‘princess’ is almost always the hero/heroin too; sometimes they rescue themselves from their problems but often a male ‘hero’ will rescue the female protagonist, in which case becomes the ‘princess’.

Slide 11

Character Types: Rom-coms
Key stock character types I found in a romantic comedy are: the conventionally, by Western terms, ‘successful’ woman, glamorous and beautiful but unsatisfied without love- the Proppian ‘princess’ who must by rescued by the ‘hero’; a ‘useless’ and ‘lazy’ man, who is still remarkably attractive and whose weaknesses are seen as strengths; the comically and stereotypically over-protective father of the woman who is sometimes the ‘villain’ and the ostentatious yet caring and nurturing mother, who acts as a ‘mentor’ to the princess; the male’s mentor being his father- often a senior reflection of himself. The ‘villain’ is also often an ex or another love interest. Then there is the similarly immature companion of the male, his ‘helper’, and the similarly successful friend of the female, her ‘helper’ (who sometimes have a comical relationship of their own).

Slide 12

Audience Theory
I found that the codes and conventions of romantic and teen comedy films complied with the ‘uses and gratifications’ theory:
Escape: The idyllic settings of romantic comedy films and the fairy-tale like atmosphere created means that audiences can escape into these films.
Identity: The ‘everyday’ props and modern props such as mobile phones and computers, the costume of characters, straight cuts etc. meant the audience could identify with characters and familiarise with their situations.
Social Interaction: This is also meant a teenage audience could communicate with their peers about the films, relating them to their own lives.
Entertainment: The ‘screwball’ style of comedy, combining witty humour with slapstick scenes, means that teen/rom-com are extremely entertaining for audiences.
Also, the ‘hypodermic needle’ theory could be applied. The inevitably happy ending to teen and rom-com films always ends with love. Therefore, they are injecting the audience with the idea that love conquers all. Feminists would criticise this as the female protagonist might lose everything else but still have her male ‘hero’.

Analysing 3 Whole Films

In order to understand the key generic codes and conventions in comedy films I watched three whole films, also paying attention to character types and narrative structure. This should help me when putting together ideas for my own film. Here is what I found...

Juno (2007)

Key generic codes and conventions used throughout the film:
Non- diegetic light-hearted music throughout, especially when camera tracks Juno or Bleeker as they are the heroes, and this makes the audience instantly warm to them. Connotes the comedy genre.
Costume worn by Juno is odd and ‘geeky’; patterned jumpers and baggy jeans. This makes her a more likeable character, as she seems down-to-earth. Typically, the main characters of comedy films are likeable because they are, in Western terms, ‘different’ in some way.
Non-diegetic voice over of main character, Juno, accompanies parts of the film with often sarcastic and very funny comments. Gives the film a light hearted feel and helps the audience relate to Juno.
Handheld camera is often used and creates verisimilitude.
Diegetic sound used to connote the comedy genre; sharp, witty and funny dialogue fused with made-up words like ‘guesstimation’.
Props include guitars, sweets (e.g. tic-tacs) and bottles of Sunny D. These props are normal, everyday objects and create verisimilitude.
High-key lighting used throughout to make characters more likeable, connote comedy genre and create light-hearted atmosphere; however, darker lighting is used in more emotional scenes e.g. when Juno is crying in hospital, which connotes sub-genre of comedy-drama.


Narrative Structure:
The Todorovian narrative theory can be applied, although different disruptions in the narrative occur.
Equilibrium: Normal life for Juno; she is a teenage girl with a family, a best friend and is seeing a boy.
Disruption: Juno gets pregnant with Bleeker’s baby.
Realisation of problem: Juno looks for adoptive parents for her baby, and finds them.
There is a second disruption to this sort of ‘mid’ equilibrium: The adoptive father decides he is not ready for a baby.
Attempts to solve problem: The couple divorce but Juno still promises the adoptive mother her baby.
Problem solved: The baby is born and soon in the arms of his adoptive mother.
New Equilibrium: Juno settles back into life as normal, this time seemingly wiser and very much in love with her boyfriend Bleeker.



Key scenes to help forge the narrative:
She takes the pregnancy test.
She tells Bleeker she’s pregnant; this is where we first see the connection between the two and the love interest is established
She goes to get an abortion and decides against it
She decides to get her child adopted
She finds a couple
She tells her parents
She meets the couple
Gets further into pregnancy and has an ultrasound scan
Goes round to adoptive parents house to show them the ultrasound picture and finds she has a lot in common with the Dad. They have a long conversation.
The mother comes home and there is obvious tension; the disruption in the narrative is introduced clearly here.
Juno and the adoptive mother see each other in the mall and Vanessa ‘talks’ to the baby. This is where the audience and Juno first realise Vanessa’s devotion to and need of this baby.
Juno finds out Bleaker is seeing another girl and is taking her to prom. She confronts him and is obviously jealous. They argue.
She visits the adoptive father again. After dancing to some of their favourite music, he tells her he’s leaving Vanessa and she yells at him to stay with her.
Vanessa comes home and he admits he’s not ready to have a baby. Juno leaves extremely upset after the couple argue.
The couple decide to divorce.
Juno leaves Vanessa a note saying she still wants her to have the baby
After a talk with her father, Juno decides to pursue a relationship with Bleeker. She tells him she’s in love with him and they have a happy reconciliation.
Juno goes into labour.
She gives birth to a baby boy who is soon in the arms of Vanessa.
She continues with life as normal.


Character types
I identified the following Proppian character types:
The ‘heroin’ would be Juno, as she is the main character whose journey the audience follows.
The ‘princess’ would be Vanessa, as she is in desperate need of a baby and Juno, the hero, gives her this.
The ‘donor’ would be Bleeker as he helped to provide Juno with the baby, which after all is the cause and whole point of the journey she undertakes
The ‘helper’ would be her friend Leah who is there for her from start to finish, helping her find adoptive parents, tell her own parents etc.
The ‘villain’ could be Mark as he is the person who disrupts the equilibrium.


Although this is a comedy-drama, there is also stock-character types found in teen comedies because the teenage Juno will appeals to and relates to a teenage target audience. The setting of the high-school and a teenage target audience means the following stereotypical social groups and character types are found in Juno; ‘geeks’ e.g. Juno, ‘jocks’ and ‘popular girls’ e.g. Leah.







Just Married (2003)

Key generic codes and conventions used throughout the film:
Sound: Non-diegetic light hearted upbeat music (Basement Jaxx song used at beginning of film- contemporary band appeals to younger target audience) used throughout. Connotes romantic comedy genre and gives romantic anchorage to scenes filming a connection between Sarah and Tom
Settings used are often extremely exaggerated which makes them comical; either very extravagant or very small, dirty hotel rooms.
Settings also connote character types: small, messy flat for lazy, useless male and huge mansion for rich, respectable female and her overprotective wealthy family
Bright colours and high-key lighting throughout to create light-hearted atmosphere and connote comedy genre
Fast –paced editing used, with quick straight cuts to show both romantic and emotional connection between Tom and Sarah and to reflect disasters and disruptions throughout film
Peter connoted as ‘villain’ through darker lighting and medium close-ups of him that frame his constant jealous, angry and possessive facial expressions
Character types revealed through costume: Peter Prentice wears tidy shirts tucked into his trousers and looks groomed and respectable whereas Tom constantly wears baseball caps and sports shirts. Therefore Prentice is Tom’s opposite, revealing him to be the villain. Also the colours Tom wears are brighter, like red, whereas Prentice constantly wears dark colours like brown, black and grey.


Narrative Structure:
The film follows the stereotypical narrative of a romantic comedy; boy meets girl; problems occur due to arguments, family disapprovals and exes; they realise they are made for each other; an inevitable ‘grand gesture’ found in most or all rom-com films is made; and the couple ‘live happily ever after’. The Todorovian narrative theory can be applied:-
Equilibrium: Tom and Sarah have a happy relationship despite her family’s disapproval of him
Disruption: They get married and immediately disasters happen on Honeymoon, including villains Peter and the woman Tom meets in the bar attempting to break up marriage
Realisation of problem: The couple argue
Attempts to solve problem: The couple realise after every disaster that love is all they need and spend their time happily together despite disastrous situations
Problem solved: Tom makes his grand gesture to win Sarah back
New Equilibrium: The couple are happily together again, this time with respect from her family too because of his grand gesture.

Key scenes to help forge the narrative:
In order to set a comical scene and foreground the disastrous events in the rest of the film, it opens with the couple coming home after their honeymoon childishly playing tricks on each other.
Flash back to their first meeting, establishes romantic connection
He accidentally causes her dog’s death by throwing his ball out the window: this is a significant cause for an argument later on in the narrative
After months of dating, they decide to get married
He meets her family who obviously hate him. Stereotypical character types of over-protective father, bitchy sister and considerate, nurturing mother are introduced. Scene is vital for narrative as the villain Peter Prentice, Sarah’s ex, is introduced.
They get married. Beforehand we find out she’s never told Tom she slept with Peter; another significant argument is caused from this later
Their honeymoon starts with both characters getting nosebleeds and infuriating an aeroplane stewardess- foregrounds their disastrous honeymoon
A series of disasters happen meaning the couple has to keep changing hotels and travelling all around Europe and causes arguments in the marriage
A lot of make-ups and break-ups occur
Peter ‘coincidentally’ bumps into Sarah in Venice
The couple argue about the secrets they have kept from each other and then storm away in opposite directions
Sarah ends up going for a drink with Peter and Tom ends up meeting an American woman in a bar
Both of them end up accidentally kissing these characters; and both of them find out about the other’s cheating
A fight breaks out and Tom and Sarah end up in jail in Italy
Peter bails them out
The couple go back home threatening each other that they will leave as soon as they get back.
Back to present tense. Tom realises he loves Sarah and cannot live without her.
After Tom’s ‘grand gesture’, the couple have a happy reconciliation.

Character types
I identified the following Proppian character types:
The ‘hero/heroine’ is both Tom and Sarah as they are the main characters who the audience identify with.
The ‘princess’ is also Tom and Sarah, and their marriage, as this needs to be rescued by both of them.
The ‘helpers’ would be Tom’s best friend and Sarah’s sister, as they are the characters Tom and Sarah turn to in times of trouble.
Also, both characters seek advice from their fathers so they would be their ‘mentors’.
The main ‘villain’ is Peter as he is the character that attempts to ruin the heroes’ relationship. Other villains include the girl Tom meets in the bar and Sarah’s family.

Stock character types of romantic comedy: overprotective, wealthy father; useless, lazy male hero and similar immature best mate; rich, respectful female character and her bitchy friend or sister; caring, considerate and nurturing mother.


American Pie (2001)

Key generic codes and conventions used throughout the film:
Non-diegetic fast-paced, upbeat music that connotes teen comedy genre and gives film a light-hearted feel. Contemporary pop songs used from bands such as blink-182, appeals to teenage target audience.
This music is heard especially during fast paced scenes and scenes of a sexual nature.
Romantic scenes often accompanied by slower non-diegetic music, emphasising the importance of love and sex which are conventional issues in teen comedies
Settings relate to a specifically teenage audience: high school, parties etc; and are conventional to teen comedy films
One particular setting is used to establish equilibrium at start and end of film: in this film, a café. In both of these the importance of friendship is reinforced, as all the characters meet here at the start and at the end of the film. The theme of friendship is hugely conventional to the teen comedy genre, as connoted here.
Props used are iconic to teen comedies and relate to a teenage audience: alcohol, school books etc.

Narrative Structure:
The Todorovian narrative theory can be applied:-
Equilibrium: The teenage boys live a life of parties and trying to ‘get laid’.
Disruption: Sherman supposedly loses his virginity. This causes the boys to make a pact that they will lose their virginity by prom night.
Realisation of problem: The boys make various attempts at doing this. Different disruptions within characters’ relationships occur, e.g. Ken and his girlfriend arguing about sex, Heather realising Oz is ‘using’ her
Attempts to solve problem: The characters make different attempts at solving their own relationship problems as well as still aiming to lose their virginity. However they are beginning to realise this is virtually impossible.
Problem solved: The boys have gained a new sense of maturity and are not too desperate to have sex anymore. However, they do all end up losing their virginity anyway.
New Equilibrium: The boys meet at their favourite café. They have visibly matured but still maintained their friendship.

Key scenes to help forge the narrative:

Introduction to main ‘hero’ where we see Jim in his room at the opening
Introduced to his friendship group, the other ‘heroes’, in a café
At a party, the boys discover Sherman has ‘lost his virginity’. We are introduced to the ‘villain’, or the ‘false villain’, as we later find out he actually did not have sex.
The boys make a pact that they will lose their virginity by prom night.
Ken and his girlfriend have their first argument, signifying the disruption in their relationship
Oz meets Heather; the audience see instant chemistry
Jim is humiliated in front of the school- his disruption
In an act of desperation, he asks ‘geek’ Michelle to the prom
Stifler humiliates Finch in school, leaving his reputation soiled- his disruption
Oz and Heather argue- the disruption in their relationship
Before prom, the boys have talk a about how their prospects have changed since making the pact. This signals them beginning to solve their problems and moving towards a new equilibrium
Stifler’s party- the boys lose their virginity
New equilibrium established as the boys meet in the café in the end scene.


I identified the following Proppian character types:
The ‘hero’ would be Jim as he is the main character, but as we follow the stories of all of his friends they would also be the ‘heroes’.
The ‘princess’ would also be the boys; specifically the loss of their virginity, as that is what they aim to ‘rescue’
The ‘mentor’ would be Jim’s dad who gives him advice and information throughout the film
The ‘helpers’ would be all of Jim’s friends as they help each other out, and Vicky’s friend Jessica is her helper as she offers her frequent advice
The ‘villain’ would be Sherman, as he poses as the threat to the boys having lost his virginity first, and also peer pressure from society

Stock character types of teen comedy: Jim and Sherman are ‘geeks’, Oz is the ‘jock’, Michelle is the ‘nerd’, Vicky is the ‘girl-next-door’, Nadia is the ‘popular’ girl

Analysing 5 Film Openings

In order to understand how to put together our comedy opening, I analysed 5 comedy film openings.


Analysing Film Openings

‘Knocked Up’ (2007)
The film opens with non-diegetic music; a contemporary ‘rap’ song, accompanied by a very long shot of a small house with a sofa outside, surrounded by trees. Using this prop and framing the trees behind the house immediately gives the character living here connotations of messiness and freedom. There are then a series of straight cuts through scenes of grown men messing around and acting like children. Camera movement is used to give these characters negative connotations of immaturity and laziness: the camera tilts in slow motion as people jump into the pool, reflecting the relaxed, lazy and pointless lifestyles these characters lead. The main character here is established as one man dominates the camera, especially in a medium long shot where the camera tilts up to him with his arms in the air wearing boxing gloves that are on fire. This is a comical shot as it is accompanied by his exaggerated diegetic cheering: he is clearly a grown man but is acting like a child. More about this character’s lifestyle is revealed through a two shot of him and another man taking drugs. This is a comical shot as they sit next to each other, not communicating, and one has a bowl on his head. The non-diegetic music throughout this scene plus a low angle shot of these grown men, two of them obviously overweight, ‘street’ dancing, creates a comical scene that connotes they are dim-witted, immature men who think they are better than they actually are. The camera then tracks these men on a roller coaster, a medium long shot framing them screaming manically, connoting they have a carefree lifestyle and no responsibility. The setting of a theme park also has connotations of childishness and freedom. Their costume is also laid-back; shorts, sports tops etc. which connotes their childish, irresponsible lifestyle. The audience can see stock character types used in a romantic comedy emerging as here we are introduced to the ‘useless’ lazy man whose life is going nowhere.
There is then a straight cut into a totally different setting in which the camera pans a series of props on a shelf, including a small box of tissues, a notebook and an alarm clock. These props connote an organised, respectful lifestyle, which directly contrasts with the lifestyle of Ben (the male main character), as the props used for him are boxing gloves and marijuana. There is also loud diegetic beeping coming from the alarm clock, which immediately connotes that this character has responsibilities. The costume she wears (smart work clothes) also contrasts with that of Ben’s. The non-diegetic soundtrack changes to a more sweet-sounding, friendly tune, with a steady rhythm and cadence, which connotes her lifestyle is controlled, normal and steady.
A very long shot frames a totally different setting to Ben’s small, messy house: Alison lives with her sister’s family in a huge, expensive looking house. The camera pans the father (her sister’s husband) as he plays with his daughter, connoting the responsibilities of family life, and a medium shot of the family frames props such as fruit and breakfast cereal that contrasts with the drugs used in Ben’s scene. Framing the family in this medium shot connotes them to be a close unit with a strong bond. Alison, however, is framed separately. A medium shot of her watching the family connotes that although she is mature and career-minded she is also lonely.
Therefore, the equilibrium is established by giving the audience an idea about these two character’s completely different lifestyles. Each scene tells the audience that this is normality for them. The enigma is posed, as inevitably these two characters will meet somehow, and the audience will be drawn into the diegesis, as it will be interesting to see if these two contrasting lifestyles will clash. This equilibrium of two different lifestyles is a typical opening to a romantic comedy; the typical narrative being the stock character types of ‘useless’ man meets ‘successful’ woman and the clashing lifestyles causes friction, but eventually they realise that opposites attract. The audience identifies with characters; my target audience of girls might identify with the female character and her situation. The light-hearted music and high key lighting throughout and use of everyday settings and props gives the film a relaxed, light-hearted atmosphere that tells the audience this is a comedy film.

‘Mean Girls’ (2004)
The film opens with a low angle shot of Cady’s parents looking down on her. As this is a P.O.V shot, the audience’s initial reaction would be that they are talking to a very young child on their first day of school, as the diegetic dialogue tells us, but the camera tilts up as she stands up and straight cuts to an over the shoulder shot framing Cady standing between her two parents; clearly much older than five. Immediately the film is comical as it is odd that she is so overprotected by her parents at such a strange age: the tightly framed over the shoulder shot connotes this. The non-diegetic soundtrack has a heavy drumbeat and a high-pitched piano, connoting a contrast of two different cultures. A very long shot of the family connotes they are out of place and overwhelmed in this neighbourhood, which is further revealed in a series of quick fade-ins through still frames of Cady in Africa. Accompanied by this is a non-diegetic voice over which establishes Cady as the main character; the Proppian ‘hero’ of the film. The voice over is also sarcastic and funny, and there are also added scenes demonstrating comical perceptions about home-schooled kids; for example, a long shot of a ‘nerdy’ looking girl wearing glasses, zooming in to show her overly pleased facial expression when she spells a word correctly, and a medium shot of a group of boys in a very still frame connoting that they are simple. The non-diegetic music changes according to setting: when in Africa the music sounds tribal due to it’s heavy drum beat, but when in high school the music is fast-paced and sounds like a contemporary pop song, connoting the modernity of American youth which Cady is not used to. The non-diegetic voice-over says ‘Hello high school’ just as there is a jump cut to Cady almost being run over. This jump cut reflects Cady jumping from the bus and accompanied by ‘Hello high school’ an enigma is posed; high school will be overwhelming and dangerous for Cady. Camera shots and movement further connote this: the camera tracks her walking through school, so the audience immediately sympathise with her as their ‘hero’; a medium close-up of her face frames her annoyed and overwhelmed facial expression; a POV shot frames everyone walking towards her which puts the audience in her shoes and makes them sympathise with her; and a long shot frames a very large amount of kids, some of whom are playing with fire, which connotes an overwhelming environment. The camera also pans the scene in slow motion, connoting that this is all surreal to her. As a teen comedy, the audience begin to see stock character types emerge: Cady is the ‘average’ girl, revealed in her normal costume of a jacket, jeans and t-shirt; but she is made to feel abnormal because the kids in high school all wear bright hoodies, so already she doesn’t fit it. The audience are drawn into the diegesis as they sympathise with and relate to the main character and hero Cady, as they will have all had their first day of school. They can also relate to the character type of the ‘average’ girl.
High key lighting is used throughout to establish the comedy genre and give the film a light-hearted atmosphere. As well as stock character types to teen comedies revealed here, Proppian character types are also revealed. Cady is obviously the ‘hero’ and high school the ‘villain’; her parents could be the ‘donors’ as they have sent her on this journey. However, later in the film when a plot develops these character types will change accordingly. The typical narrative of a teen comedy is also posed; new girl at school attempting to fit in. The target audience of teenage girls can instantly relate to this. Also, there is the typical stock setting of high school. We know she will have trouble fitting in because where Africa would be overwhelming to Western teens; high school is overwhelming and dangerous to her. Plus she is very overprotected by her parents at an unusual age. This draws us into the diegesis and helps us sympathise with Cady.


‘Superbad’ (2007)
The opening diegetic music is upbeat and immediately gives the film a relaxed, light-hearted mood, connoting its comedy genre. A low angle shot of a car follows; the shot if from the front of the car and is typically seen in ‘rap’ music videos, giving connotations that the owner of the car is rich and respectable. However, this car is a small, dirty looking car, and as the camera tilts up and straight cuts to a medium shot of the young, fat, curly-haired driver, this scene is instantly comical. Stock character types typical to teen comedies are introduced already: this boy is obviously the ‘geek’ who falsely believes he is actually rather cool. There is then a medium long shot of the boy he is on the phone to, framing him eating cereal and studying. The props used in this scene, such as the book he studies from, and the costume he wears (which is a stripy long-sleeved t-shirt) also give him connotations of being studious and establish his character type of being another ‘geek’. The camera pans the boy in his house washing up his dishes, which would be considered a typical ‘geeky’ thing to do for a teenage boy. However, the lighting in the kitchen is darker which connotes that this character is perhaps more shy and reserved compared to his overweight and boisterous companion. This is further revealed, as there is diegetic music from the car radio, whereas the other character stands in silence in his kitchen. Also, the medium long shot means he is not dominant in the frame unlike his friend in the car. Therefore, two stock character types for teen comedies are revealed here; they are both ‘geeks’, but one is lively and outgoing and probably would not consider himself a ‘geek’, and the other is the timid and quiet ‘geek’. Together, they form a sort of ‘team’, which is stereotypical to the teen comedy genre, and the audience immediately relate to them. The diegetic dialogue between these two characters consists of a small argument over what they consider is ‘good’ pornography. These characters are portrayed as so desperate and pathetic through this dialogue, as well as through the props such as the small car, and it is this that makes them so comical. The equilibrium is established, as it is obvious that this is normal life for these teenagers, as a long shot of the other character coming out of his house and getting into the car without hesitation connotes that this is an everyday occurrence. The diegetic dialogue gets louder here because the two characters are still on the phone to each other despite being face to face, which also contributes to the comedy of this film. Also, there is a pan of the small, dirty, maroon coloured car pulling into a nice, expensive looking and very green front garden to connote that these boys are social misfits, as well as the accompanying dialogue about pornography. These characters are obviously the Proppian ‘heroes’, despite being very easy to laugh at. High key lighting is used throughout to give the film a light-hearted mood and connote its comedy genre. The stock narrative is quite easy to guess from this title sequence. The ‘geeks’ in teen comedy films are almost always on a mission to ‘get laid’ (have sex). This immediately relates to the target audience, as sex is a stereotypical issue in teenage life, and also draws them into the diegesis by posing the enigma: how are they going to do it? These pathetic characters are so laughable and so pathetic that this makes a perfect and very watchable comedy film.

‘Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason’ (2004)
Non-diegetic very light, classical music opens the film, immediately giving it a light-hearted and romantic feel and connoting the genre, as music like this is iconic to romantic comedy films. A high angle shot of a diary, which the camera circles from a crane, connotes its importance. This diary is iconic to the ‘Bridget Jones’ films. A dissolve is then used into the next scene, which is a high angle show of a car. The camera pans it as it pulls to a stop, framing the snow-covered surroundings. Immediately a British audience will relate to the use of setting; cold winters are inexorable in Britain. Bridget’s costume helps to further relate to the target audience as she wears a huge warm coat and a scarf, plus her hair is messy so she is not perfect, which makes it a lot more realistic.
Characters start to be unravelled in the opening; through a high angle shot of Bridget coming into her mother’s house the use of mise-en-scene tells us a lot about her mother. There is an over-abundance of ornaments and patterned wallpaper, and the use of colours; clashing blues and yellows; connotes how ostentatious her mother is, and the over-exaggeration of this instantly makes her a comical character. This is also further established through her costume: she wears pearls, a bright red top with a flower on it and her hair and make-up are perfect. Her body language, framed through a medium shot of Bridget and her mother, adds comedy too; she keeps away from Bridget making sure she doesn’t budge her hair or make-up. There is also non-diegetic whistling, which follows a steady rhythm, connoting that her mother is a very comical and perhaps simple character in the film.
The audience relate to the Proppian ‘heroin’ Bridget through a non-diegetic voice-over used throughout the title sequence. Also, a close-up and pan of Bridget at her mother’s buffet frames her never changing facial expression. The audience know her smiles are fake, because in the voiceover she tells us what she really thinks of these characters. This helps draw the audience into the diegesis; we instantly relate to Bridget and her situation. A pan of the buffet frames the very few people there, most of whom are grown adults dressed in Christmas outfits- a perfect example of the self-deprecating humour that is so common in British comedy films. As this film is a romantic comedy, it relates to its target audience (women) through its main character and the situations she gets in. For example, a medium long shot and tilt down frames Bridget’s ‘pervert’ Uncle feel her bottom; an immediate straight cut to a close-up of her disgusted facial expression helps the audience familiarise with her. The audience next see that Bridget and her father are very much on the same level; a medium-close-up frames them tightly together which connotes their strong bond and straight cuts throughout their conversation emphasises their close connection.
The love interest is clearly revealed next; the camera tracks Bridget walking towards Mark in slow motion, which connotes the emotional connection between these two characters. A close-up reveals her facial expression, which this time we can see is genuinely happy. This, accompanied by non-diegetic very slow and deep music connotes a strong romantic connection. There is then a zoom in on Mark Darcy to connote his importance to her. However, the camera tilts down to show his costume, which is a very ugly knitted Christmas jumper. Again, the idea that one can laugh at oneself is typical of British humour, creating verisimilitude as the audience can see that he is not perfect. The camera then tilts down to show that she is wearing a matching jumper, which reinforces the romance between these two characters, as they don’t mind looking silly together. Costumes like this create a light-hearted mood that the audience can relate to. High-key lighting is also used throughout the opening to connote the romantic comedy genre and reinforce this light-hearted atmosphere. Also, it means that no villains are yet established, so the romance of this film is the most important thing. There is then a dissolve into Bridget’s ‘fantasy’. The audience know it is a fantasy because of this dissolve, and this helps them relate to her more as it creates the feeling we are really seeing into her mind. Dissolves are used excessively in the next scene, especially through shots of Mark and Bridget kissing. They are used to give the film a relaxed, romantic feel, making it seem almost like a fairytale.
Bridget’s ‘fantasy’ is a comical spoof of a typically perfect romantic scene. The idyllic setting; green field and blue sky, contrasts completely with the snowy town seen earlier, although this is very beautiful in itself; this could be connoting Bridget’s need for perfection thus ignoring what she has got. This is an issue that comes up later in the film; so this ‘fantasy’ in the opening is dropping subtle hints towards later disruptions in the narrative. There is a long shot of Bridget and Mark running towards each other, Bridget wearing a long frock and Mark wearing a crisp white shirt and brown trousers. The couple run in slow motion, accompanied by the non-diegetic ‘Sound of Music’ tune. This is all very exaggerated, mocking the stereotypical ideas of ‘true love’, which is not only very funny but relates to the audience, who would familiarise with Bridget’s realistic situation as well as her dreams of a very unrealistic romance. A very long shot of them embracing frames them surrounded by all this beauty, but they look only at each other, connoting true devotion and reinforcing the film’s romantic genre. The camera moving on a crane connotes how ‘out-of-this-world’ and unrealistic this fantasy is, again so the audience familiarise with it.
From watching the opening, the equilibrium is established as Bridget and Mark happily in love. The enigma posed would be the same as all romantic comedies; can they stay this way? It’s obviously too good to be true. This rom-com will inevitably follow the same Todorovian narrative as all rom-coms, the disruption being the couple temporarily breaking up, a ‘grand gesture’ from one or the other being the attempt to solve the problem, and the equilibrium will then be re-established.

‘Hot Fuzz’ (2007)
As this film is of the sub-genre action-comedy, codes and conventions of both action films and comedy films are prominent throughout the opening. Opening with diegetic sirens, the audience immediately are put on edge which is a typical to an action film. However, the abrupt stop to these sirens accompanying a very long shot of a man walking towards the camera connotes that he is not a dangerous character, as the complete silence other than his loud, diegetic footsteps and the very long shot makes him seem small and insignificant; there is no tense non-diegetic music to connote him as the ‘villain’. Also, as it takes him a while to reach the camera, any authority that might have been connoted through his strong, determined body language; or dark lighting to create mystery as we can’t yet see his face; more or less disappears with every step and creates an awkwardly funny atmosphere. A close-up of his face frames exactly the same facial expression he has on his Police badge photograph, which is zoomed in on straight after. The audience start to see that this is a comically arrogant character, which is established in the non-diegetic voice-over, where he talks about himself in third person. A low-angle shot of him and a low-angle close-up of his shoes connotes how bigheaded he is. The close-up of the shoes connotes that he obviously thinks he can ‘walk all over’ anyone. The camera tracks him throughout, connoting him to be authoritative and establishing his Proppian ‘hero’ character type. A quick jump cut frames a close-up of his uniform which connotes his comically exaggerated pride in being a Police officer. His body language is determined and he walks quickly; a tilt of him running up the stairs and then off frame connotes that he is very busy and hard to catch. There is then a flashback of his Police training which is all very fast-paced due to excessive use of straight cuts, connoting the action genre and also connoting his life as exciting and action-packed. However, the comedy side of the genre is revealed through the non-diegetic music; a steady drum beat and a trumpet give it a more light-hearted atmosphere that mocks his seriousness about his profession. Also, his facial expression, which is constantly zoomed in on throughout the flashback, is always the same, matching the cadence of the music and his very monotone non-diegetic voiceover, which creates a comical effect. This opening aims to create a parody of a stereotypical determined, strong and proud police officer, establishing this as the equilibrium. His hard work is connoted through jump cuts to props like pens and paper whilst he is doing his theoretical exam; the excitement he has encountered during his training is connoted through quick pans of officers fighting fire, which connotes danger. However, all of this contrasts with a still medium shot of him giving two old ladies directions, mocking all the hard work he has undertaken, making him a laughable and pitiable character. This helps the audience familiarise and empathise with him, effectively drawing them into the diegesis and making them wonder what will happen to him; whether he will realise that he’s not as powerful as he thinks. The fast pace of the opening, too, engages the audience and sets an exciting atmosphere for the rest of the film. Costume is used effectively in the opening to reveal more about his character; police uniforms have connotations of responsibility, maturity and restrictions, and a very long shot frames him in a line with his fellow officers, all wearing black. This makes him blend in and connotes that his life is not as exciting as he thinks it is; infact, it is quite bleak.

Powerpoint Presentation: Summary of Questionnaire Findings & Audience Profile

Group summary of questionnaire findings

I got together with the rest of my group and we looked at the results from our separate questionnaires. After comparing and gathering together our results we wrote summary of our findings.

The majority of people we asked were between the ages of 15-17, this would have influenced the trends of our results as people of this age group have similar interests in films. Looking at our results we will target our product to this demographic.

Also we asked more females than we did males therefore our trends show that the majority prefer the genre of romantic, comedy and action showing stereotypically the male preference. This was backed up by our results, which showed the majority of males tended to choose action as one of their favourite genres. We have decided to develop our piece conforming to the comedy genre, as this was given as a favourite genre consistently, but we are undecided as to which sub genre of comedy to do.

When we looked at the occupations of the participants, it became apparent that the majority of them were students at varying levels of education, and the majority were studying at A level standard. This will affect our product because we need to be aware that typical students are often stereotyped as having low incomes and so their ability to go to the cinema, and purchase DVD’s etc.

By asking their participants about their hobbies and interests, we were able to see that the most popular hobbies and interests for females were, shopping, socialising, and watching TV. Their hobbies appear to be mundane, and so they may be more prone to comply with Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory of audiences needs to escape into the world of film. This could influence our product, as we need to be aware that our targeted audience are more likely to be interested in watching fictional and unrealistic films.

Also the fact that many of their hobbies involves social interaction again fits in with the uses of gratification theory, in which the audience is believed to want to relate and interact with others. The hobbies are quite stereotypical for our participants gender so we should use stereotypes in our product in order that they can relate to the characters. Therefore our product should something that they could discuss, it has to be something they can identify with e.g. realistic situations to their age range and gender.

The majority of students we asked were studying media studies and English. This means they are liable to be interested in films of a fictional nature with a more creative nature. It is also possible that they were more interested ion independent and art house films, however this theory was contradicted by our results that show that the significant majority preferred blockbusters. This could be because the institutions who produce the films because they tend to produce films that they believe will be the most successful and blockbusters usually fall into this category. The fact that 8 of our students said they study media, which was the second most studied subject from our sample. People studying media studies are more likely to be aware of the nature of our questionnaire and so are more liable to be affected by demand characteristics and so are more likely to answer in a way that they believe we want them to.

When we analysed the character types that were reported to appear in participant’s favourite films, it became apparent that villain’s and heroes are the most common. This complies with Propps theory that all narratives contain specific character types, so we should follow Propps theory when developing our piece and include character types such as the hero and the villian.

The question we asked about character types which our participants preferred could have been worded much better as people especially who didn’t study media studies didn’t understand the question and gave us the actors name rather than the characters name. It might have been a good idea to give an example answer from them to model theirs on.

From our second questionnaire we found that when asked who their favorite actor and actress was the majority of participants chose popular Hollywood actors and actresses who star in blockbusters which were of the romantic comedy genre e.g Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, Britney Murphy, Jude Law and Hugh Grant. Johnny Depp was also a frequent answer given to this question, he has recently starred in a lot of blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean.

Following this we asked the participants if they would be persuaded to make a special effort to see a film if a particular actor or actress was in it and the majority of the participants said that it would depend whether they liked the look of the film therefore we should use stereotypical characters which particular actors portray.

Over half of the participants we asked said that they vary their choices of the genre of the films that they view and the minority only viewed films that conformed to their preferred genre. This works to our advantage, as we are free to choose from a number of different genres and still appeal to our audience.

From our results we can see that the majority of people tend to watch a film with an age classification of 15 therefore we think that we should model our film form this, including the same content that is consistently seen through films of this classification.

When asking our participants we found that the majority preferred British Films so we should make our film including the attitudes and values consisting with the British public and popular British films. We can use research from companies such as working title’s films when developing our product to make it more typically British to the audiences preference.

The majority of the people we asked said that they didn’t favour a particular institution suggesting that it isn’t of any particular importance to them however these people we asked didn’t necessarily know which institutions their favourite films were made by therefore couldn’t answer the question appropriately so we should have informed them more clearly.

Looking at the responses about institutions we can see that linking to the hypodermic needle theory the participants that favoured a particular institution also favoured a particular genre. Each institution could inject particular ideas into the viewer influencing their choices.

Some participants however did favour institutions in particular; these could have been the participants who were students and studying media. The two favoured institutions were Universal Pictures, 20^th Century Fox.

Reflecting on our questionnaire we could see that the question we asked about downloading films wasn’t necessary to develop our product.