Videos

Preliminary Task

Film Opening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRFBuTG3_XA

Question Seven

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task:

Full Product:

I think that my production work has improved since the preliminary task in the terms of Camera work, Mise en Scene, Editing, Organisation and Planning.
I think that the mise en scene is particularly better in the full product in comparison to the preliminary task. This is because the mise en scene matches the conventions better- being set in a bedroom. This is a similar case with the costume, as I feel that it is more relevant and appropriate to the genre.
Also, I think that more movement angles have been used in the full product in contrast to the Preliminary, because in the full product there is a rolling shot used to show how the character is feeling at that time in the morning.
In terms of organisation, I feel that it has been more challenging in the full product. I think that this is because there has been so more more to do including: filming in different locations, finding actors and making sure they can all be punctual, finding the correct mise en scene- costume, set, lighting and props, talking through with the actors what they need to do and arranging transport to the locations. However, I feel as though this has all been done to satisfaction.


Throughout this whole process I feel as though I have taken on the role to 'getting the rest of the group into gear' and I almost feel as though I have been nagging and taking control of the organisation as well as most of the filming. I think this has helped due to the fact everything is now complete and ready.

I have also take the sound into consideration by using a cover version of 'She will be Loved' as the incidental music and score. Although I didn't necessarily agree with this music choice, it is parallel to the action rather than contrapuntal. This took a lot of thought and time in order to make the action match specific phrases in the audio whereas in the preliminary task, if was just the matter of adding it because 'it was funny and appropriate' rather than having an actual purpose.

Similarly, I had to take into consideration the composition of the frames. This included composing the frame so that the main protagonist is in centre shot therefore symbolising that the character is the most important and will be significant throughout the film. This was contrast with the Preliminary Task as we didn't really take anything like that into consideration, it was more like just filming it basically and simply.

Furthermore, I think that the continuity of editing has improved and is more sucessful in comparison to the first task. I feel that this is because it flows better and isnt so sharp and cut. This shows that blending has improved since the first time and more time has been put into the editing. Also, it shows a wider variation of camera angles which means that there is more angles to chose from to make it different and not just same old all of time.

Question Six

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

Throughout this process I have learnt how to use different technologies in the pre-production, production and post-production stages of my film opening. This includes using technologies such as Blogger, Serif Movie Plus and Adobe Premier Pro. Before I started Media I had no idea how to use these technologies, whereas now I have more of an idea, especially when using Blogger. I overcame not being able to use these technologies just by gaining confidence and trying new things such as using effects like slow motion in my preliminary to adding filters in my film opening, seen below.

Also, I have learnt that when using Blogger to try and include as wide variety of different ways of showing information as possible by using: YouTube videos, images, animation and Prezi; not only does this look better but it also makes it more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, I have developed my filming ability by experimenting at home using different camera angles such as: low angle, high angle, over the shoulder, close up, establishing, therefore not only has this increased my confidence but it has also given me the courage to take on a lot of the filming in my film opening. 

<a href="http://goanimate.com/videos/0xTKBzvQT7dQ?utm_source=embed&uid=0yR0Y_5bwLtY" target="_blank">question 6</a> by <a href="http://goanimate.com/user/0yR0Y_5bwLtY" target="_blank">laurenskinner</a> on <a href='http://goanimate.com?utm_source=embed' target="_blank">GoAnimate</a><br/><iframe scrolling="no" allowTransparency="true" frameborder="0" width="400" height="258" src="http://goanimate.com/player/embed/0xTKBzvQT7dQ"></iframe><br/><a href="http://goanimate.com?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=link&utm_term=Video+Maker&utm_campaign=embedse" target="_blank">Video Maker</a> - Powered by GoAnimate.

Question Five

How did you attract/address you audience?

Audio Response

Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product? 

Through my research of Classification Categories it immediately became evident to me that I either wanted my audience to appear in the classification of a 12 or a 15. However, due to more extensive research and talking to an audience aged 13 and an audience aged 15+ it became clear that my film would appeal more to the classification of 12. I think that this is due to a plot being quite tame and not having an immediate reference to sexual activity and violent language without justification.

Lucy (aged 13)
"Hi, my name is Lucy and I love going to the cinema to watch new films. I really like to watch films that are funny but have romance in them as well, like Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Wild Child, Mean Girls and Clueless. The reason I like these films is that they are mainly funny and I really like the actors in them. They are the sort of people that I find in magazines. Also, I like these films because I can see them on my own without my parents and have a good time instead of watching silly cartoons. It is like I am watching a cool grown up film but not at the same time. After watching this film opening, I would like to see this film, especially because I thought it was hilarious when Joe slipped over!"

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=8035653&height=267&width=200


Fact File:

Age group- 12- 16

Gender- mainly female

They are most likely to watch at the cinema: Twilight, Pitch Perfect 

In their spare time they will use media products such as iPad, iPhone, iPod, Facebook, Youtube.

When with friends they might: go to the cinema, go into their town during the day with friends, shopping, McDonalds

Clothing: New Look, Topshop, River Island, Hollister 

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=12556&catalogId=33057&geoip=home#slide1

http://www.riverisland.com/

http://www.newlook.com/

http://www.hollisterco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreView?catalogId=11558&langId=-1&storeId=19659

Question Three

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Through my research I specifically looked at 20^th Century Fox. This was because it was a popular distribution company that almost everyone knew about. Therefore I wanted to make my title sequence similar to theirs and more mainstream rather than appealing to a niche audience and distribution company. 

This distribution company’s title sequence of ’27 Dresses’ is not similar to mine due to few titles as the only titles evident are: 20^th Century Fox, Spy Glass Entertainment and 27 Dresses.
Paramount, is more relevant to my film due to having a lot of titles like in 'Mean Girls'.

The distribution of films in extremely important as it is brings the film to life and connects it with an audience. Also, in the UK, distribution is mainly focussed on marketing and sustaining global products such as films in local markets. The main distribution can be divided into three different stages, these consists of:  Licensing, Marketing and Logistics. It is the logistics responsibility of the distributor to arrange the transportation of the film to the cinema; this is part of a wider coordination of print usage in the UK.  Furthermore, it supplies and circulates copies of the film to theatres, DVD to shops and rental stores. However, it is a time pressured process.

I would like 20^th Century Fox to distribute my film. I would like this to be done by having it advertised on social media sites such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook as it would relate to the psychographics of my target audience.   Similarly, I would like my film to be advertised in magazines such as Mizz and Shout as this would relate to the demographics of my target audience. 

<iframe src="http://prezi.com/embed/nlxusbptjzlp/?bgcolor=ffffff&amp;lock_to_path=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;autohide_ctrls=0&amp;features=undefined&amp;disabled_features=undefined" width="550" height="400" frameBorder="0"></iframe>    - Prezi!

Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Within my film opening there are quite a few social groups represented which are evident.  In terms of social groups there is a stereotypical popular girl, a stereotypical popular boy and a stereotypical nerd. The popular girl stereotypically would act dumb, put on a fake front, and make an effort all of the time appearance wise. This is shown in my film opening through the use of mise en scene and costume in particular as she wears a black dress and little boots.  This costume denotes the ‘little black dress’ that every girl has in their wardrobe or dreams of. However in this case it is customized into a little black day dress which shows the passion for fashion which also would match the personality of a stereotypical popular girl. Although the character doesn’t have the typical blonde hair that a popular girl would be associated with, she has long, thick, mousey brown hair which in my opinion foreshadows that she is in fact putting on a fake front in order to please other members of her social class. 

 Another social group that is evident is the popular boy who is also stereotypical in terms of caring more about his appearance and sport rather than caring about others and his school work. This is shown through the use of costume. In the film opening the character Harry’s clothes consists of a red checked top, in which the colour red could connote being dangerous, jeans and designer trainers. This outfit in my opinion represents effectively the social group: Jock, which he is acting as.  In contrast to this, the character Joe is represent as a nerd through his costume as he wears simple clothing such as a plain t-shirt, jeans and shoes. This denotes the simplicity of the characters and suggests that he is more bothered about school work in contradiction to the character Harry.

<!--[if !vml]-->A replica character of Mollie isn’t really perceived in stereotypical rom coms as her appearance reflects a popular girl whereas her hidden personality represents almost a nerd.  An example of Mollie’s character in social groups includes:

This is an image that in my opinion reflect the character. The image is taken from the movie ‘Mean Girls’. In image one Lindsey Lohan is playing the social group of a nerd, whereas in image two the same character is playing the role of a popular. This is almost parallel to the character in my film opening.

Question One

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

When researching the genre of Romantic Comedies it came to my attention that not a lot of titles were used during the film opening, in fact in ‘Friends with Benefits’ only three titles were used: the company, the production and the actual title. Therefore I wanted to take these these generic conventions into consideration with my film opening; it only feature the production name and the title. I think that this would be relevant and effective because it gave the impression that you didn’t need to credit the actor’s names straight away because you should already know who they are. However, other members in my group wanted to include more titles such as: directed by, costume designers, written by etc. Therefore I was out numbered.

Furthermore, included in the dominant genre of Romantic Comedy there is also a sub- genre and hybrid identity of a ‘Chick Flick’ as it is a stereotypical ‘boy meets girl, they fall in love, and live happily ever after’.  I think that this is effective as it matches perfectly with the main genre and fits the codes and conventions.

Although from the first few seconds of the opening it may seem like the stereotypical conventions of a Rom Com, however during the end it comes clear that there is a break of new ground of challenging the conventions due to a twist in the plot.  I took my inspiration of this from the Romantic Comedy ‘Friends with Benefits’, thus this has had an influence on my opening. The reason I did this was because when I watched the film I was so shocked as it was really unexpected therefore I wanted my target audience to have that same immediate reaction from watching my film opening. 

Full Final Product

Here is my final full product of the film opening- A Geek's Date!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRFBuTG3_XA

I think that the film opening went really well and supports the conventions of a Rom Com as well as slightly challenge them at the same time. 

Editing

Unfortunately, we decided against using the transition of a split screen as we tried it out and it just simply didn't look right of professional at all.
Therefore, we decided to use just simple cuts which I thought flowed and blended more easily and looked overall more effective.

Final Music Decission

Music!

The music that has been decided on is a Cover of 'She will be Loved'.

I personally disagree with this music choice, however, as a group we asked around different people who ultimately decided on this song choice. 

Despite this my disagreement with this incidental music it does parallel the action well and emphasizes key moments which makes them symbolic and significant. 

This is the cover we will be using: 

Music!

Music

As a group we thought it was best to have a popular song but have it as a cover. This is keeping to the conventions of a Rom Com and personally I think that it will be more effective this way and also engage the audience more. 

Personally, I think that the vocal should be a males voice as the the protagonists in the scene are Joseph and Mollie. The reason I think this because that it will relate to the plot and also, the main audience gender will be girls so the girls will listen to the song and probably will relate to a similar situation and think about it more. 

I really like the song, 'What makes you beautiful' by One Direction. 

I think that girls will love the song and can relate to it a lot.

However, we would need I cover due to copyright, so I searched this and came up with a cover of the song by Alex Goot.

I think that this would work very well and also it is a great cover of it and up beat!

I also, like the song 'Superman' by Joe Brooks. This artist is one that teenage girls love and I think that this will work very well as an opening as it foreshadows possible events that could occur. 

The cover of this is also really good and it is by Patrick Mazzolo

However, my group members have different opinions and some of the suggestions they have came up with are: Good time, Torn, She Will Be Loved and I'm Yours. I think that are all great songs but don't necessarily fit to the theme like the two that I have chosen. 

Props for Joe's Scene

The props for Joseph's scene included:

iPhone 4- This establishes modern technology and helps to connote the modern day and generation. It is also a vital prop used as it enables the twist to take place.


Note pad- This basically just represents the age of going to school and cleary connotes the character of being a geek.

Checklist for Setting Two

Checklist for Setting Two

It was essential to organize myself a checklist of what I needed to remember prior to the filming as I was going to be the only one filming and at the location with the actor.  

This made it a lot easier for me to remember what I needed to bring thus it as successful and very helpful. 

Set for Joe's scene

Set of Joseph's House

Bedroom

The bedroom is situated in the attic with its own floor. It is plain natural colours which connotes being simplistic. I think that this showcases the character due to being a simple boy who care more about his education, friends and family then the aesthetics of life.

Bathroom

The bathroom was situated on the second floor, the floor lower than the bedroom. 

Living Room

The Living Room was on the bottom floor, two floors down from the bedroom. This room was basically just used as a passage way from the stairs to the kitchen. The rooms created a strong friendly, family vibe with the wood colours. It denoted a positive atmosphere. 

Kitchen

The Kitchen was also on the ground floor along with the Living Room. The style of the Kitchen matched and reflected well of the Living Room. It was clear that is was a family environment which also represented the idea of it being a loving and friendly scene. 

Risk Assessment for Joe's Set

Risk Assessment for Joe's Set

Before setting up for filming I had to take another risk assessment because it was a different set to what we used.
I went around the establishment and checked for any risks or hazards that could take place.
This included checking that doorways were clear and also the stairs as I didn't want the actor hurting themselves by tripping or slipping over.
Also I had to check I that carpets were secure to the floor as this would also help prevent any accidents in tripping over.
On the all cupboards that were used I had to open and close them all foray before filming to check that nothing would fall out of them and cause any inconvenience or harm to the objects and actor.
Simple things needed checking like light switches and doors to check that they all worked.
By doing the risk assessment it prevent anything risks or hazards from happening and causing any inconvenience to the filming plan.

Risk Assessment for Mollie's Set

Risk Assessment for Mollie's Set

In order to have a safe, hazard free run of filming it was necessary to have a risk assessment.
Due to filming this in my own house I was aware if there was any risks or problems that could arise.

The problem that I had to be cautious about would be to make sure that all floor area were spillage free to  prevent any risk of anyone falling or slipping over. To prevent this I checked that all surfaces were spillage free before the rest of the team and actors to my house.
Similarly, I checked that there was nothing that were constructing any exits such as chairs in case we had to get out of the house quickly for if there was a fir or something.
Also, I checked that there was no obstructions on the stairs to prevent any risk of the actors falling or tripping in scenes. This was very important as I didn't want anyone to fall over and hurt themselves.

When filming outside I had to make sure that pathways were clear and that the actors knew their route and how to avoid anything that was in the way. Therefore, we did practice runs of getting out of the house, closing the door and walking out of the drive along the lane. I think that this made the actors feel more comfortable and that they were more confident in what was happening and their surroundings.

Checklist for Setting One (My House)

Checklist

In order to make sure that we had everything under control and members knew what they were doing it was easier and practical to arrange a small checklist. 

Weather for filming

Weather for Filming

Today I filmed another part to my opening. I looked at the weather this morning and was slightly worried that it could snow again and the roads would still be icy from the weekend but I decided to go ahead with the plan. The roads weren't too bad so getting to the location was reasonably easy. The only thing that bothered me was that on the establishing shot there is snow whereas on the establishing shot on my other location there isn't. This means that I will have to re take the establishing shot so that the weather matches but this should not be a problem.

Tour around the set

Set- Mollie's House

Virtual Tour

Unfortunately, from this video there has been a few switch around of some items in the house.

 

Props for Mollie's scene

Main Props

Mug

This mug was used in the scene of the Kitchen making the morning cup of tea. The reason this mug was used was because it highlights the fact that it is modern day and almost every teenage girl has read the Fifty Shades Trilogy. I thought that this was relevant due to the fact that also in the bedroom there is a Fifty Shades of Freed book situated so it links the two together.

Toothbrush

This Toothbrush was used during the scene in the Bathroom during the morning routine. The colour purple is a stereotypical girly colour which has connotations of wealth, pride and is just a colour that is stereotypically a girls favourite, along with the colour pink.

Comb

This was associated with the Character Harry. It was used and perfromed with almost as a 'Grease' moment and could be quite comical in the fact that he was deadly serious about it. The brush denotes a dominat male that is clearly far more interested in looking good rather than having fun due to the fact that it is carried in his pocket.

Set of Mollie's Scene

Setting of Mollie's Scene

Mollie's House

All of' 'Mollie's.' locations such as the house, bedroom, hallway, bathroom ,kitchen and the interior are all from my actual house This location is set in Mansfield on a private road. The location is quite tucked and out of the way of any main roads meaning that there isn't a lot of traffic. The house is a new build with could suggest that it is rather posh much like a stereotypical house of a 'popular' girl would be.

Mollie's Bedroom

This bedroom is my bedroom at home. It is full of girly items and memories. The colours don't necessarily connote a girly vibe however the patterns and layout of the room do this effectively in my opinion, this is do to frills and wall art with inspirational girly quotes.

Also, placed in the room they're are. Few items that hint a girly room such as: baby pink GHDs, Ted Baker Bag, Makeup, Fake Tan Lotion, Heels. I placed these items around my room to denote and replicate a stereotypical girls room.

 

Mollies Kitchen

Weather check!

Weather For Friday

Ideally I wanted to get the second part of my filming to be filmed today however due to snow this has made it impossible. It's made it impossible because my actor couldn't make it to the set and also not all of us could make it due to roads being snowy and icy.
Hopefully my next option would be to film on Tuesday because the snow should have melted by then.

Lighting for Mollie's scene

Lighting

Mollie's Bedroom

The lighting was natural due to the fortunate time of day. This was very convenient as it was quite bright outside. Filler lights such as, ceiling lights were used to just reflect the time of day and typical morning routine.

Mollie's Kitchen

The kitchen lighting was more challenging as it was a darker part of the house due to the brightness of the lights. We didn't realize that this would be so much of a challenge and an obstacle until we started filming. This caused for improvisation. Fortunately, I had a torch on my iPhone which we used to highlight key features.

Mollie's Bathroom

The lighting in the bathroom was natural as it was quite bright due to the sky light. This allowed more light to travel through and for the surroundings to seem more bright and create a happy atmosphere.

Costume

Costume

The costume needs to be very realistic and stereotypical to gender and social groups.

Mollie

The character Mollie is a stereotypical girly girl therefore this needs to be shown through the use of costume. My interpretation of a stereotypical girl would be to wear pink as the colour connotes love, popularity, and simply being a girl as it is the associated colour of a girl when female babies are born.
With this in mind, I suggested to the actress who I casted as 'Mollie' to bring her own pyjamas that were preferably pink. The reason that I asked her to bring her own was because of sizing issues and to basicallly cut the cost of buying a new outfit. Another costume that we needed was an outfit to go out in during the daytime. I suggested the outfit to be pink, however due to weather conditions this could not be possible as of the season. So I then suggested a black day dress as it can be classy and can be stereotypical as it is 'a little black dress'. In my opinion although it wasn't what I originally suggested I think that it works.


Similarly, the hair styling of the character Mollie helps to portray her character and personality. This is due to the fact that her hair is really long and thick which is stereotypical to a 'popular girl's' style. Although, her hair isn't the steretypical blonde, I think that this works as it foreshadows that maybe she isn't the stereotypical 'popular' girl and that there could be more to her than just her looks and her popular boyfriend.

Harry

The character Harry is a stereotypical lad. In an American school then he would be classed as a 'Jock' in social groups. My interpretation of this character's costume would be a baggy shirt with jeans and maybe some sort of designer trainer such as: New Balance, Converse, Nike Blazers. In my opinion this connotes being free, careless, and tough. I asked the actor to bring his own clothes due to sizing and to cut the cost, meaning that I wouldn't have to spend money on buying a new outfit. This character only needed one outfit as he is only in the opening for a short amount of time.
Similarly, this charcter should have quite a lot of product in his hair to show that he cares about his image and he is viewed.

Joseph

The character Joseph is a stereotypical Nerd. This will be shown through the sterotypical geeky glasses and clothing that isn't made by a designer. My interpretation of this will be dark colour trousers and a plain t-shirt or a graphic t-shirt. This shows that he is a simple character and reflects on the stereotypical nerd that is perceived in the media. Furthermore, this character shouldn't have any product in his hair because my interpretation of a 'Nerd' is to be simple.

 

Casting- Photo Documentation

Casting- Photo Documentation

Joesph Lamb
'Joe'

Joseph Lamb is a student at Ashfield Post 16 and loves Drama! He studied drama in Year 10 and 11 and achieved to A*. In this film opening he plays the role of a stereotypical Nerd who is very shy when at school as he feels intimidated by the rest of the social groups, this is because 'Nerds' are at the bottom of a 'school's foodchain'. The character is very sweet, polite and kind and he represents all things a girl needs in a boy but doesn't necessarily want.














Mollie Leadbeater
'Mollie'

Mollie Leadbeater is a student at Ashfield Post 16. Mollie loves Performing in genral. For her GCSE Drama she achieved a B overall and now she takes Performing Arts as an A-Level along with Drama and Theatre Studies.
The character Mollie is a stereotypical girly girl who is very popular at school. It seems as though she has it all, looks, popularity, brains and a popular boyfriend and at first thats all she has ever wanted. However, as the end of her education approaches she realises that maybe she want something more, such as respect and kindness.The character is a kind and thoughtful character deep down but she hides it as if shes wearing a mask to keep her in her beloved social status.










Ross Johnson
'Harry'

Ross Johnson is a pupil at Ashfield Post 16. He also enjoys performing as he takes A-level Perorming Arts. The character Harry is a stereotypical lad. The character cares more about his looks and appearence than anything else, more than his education and his girlfriend. He has no respect for anyone or anything including his girlfriend Mollie. Also, he is the captain of the schhol football team which is very stereotypical to a popular boy.





Storyboard

Storyboard

Here is a brief outline of our plot.

This includes the 3 main sets used which is: Girl and Boy Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Kitchens and Front of Houses.

This was basically used just as a starting point before developing our idea fully and including camera angles so that we have a better understanding and know exactly what to do when it comes to filming the scenes and opening to the film.


Here is the more detailed storyboard.

Within this, it shows what each take should include as well as camera angles and editing techniques such as fades.

By using this it made the process and devising of filming a lot more easier as it was more simple to understand and it helped to run the process more smoothly.

Sticky Notes were used so I could switch the order if I needed to. I may of needed to do this to make the process even more simple by grouping all of the takes that are filmed in the individual sets, or another example would be to group all the takes which consist of the same costume. This would make the process easier, take less time and be simpler for the actors.

Feedback on Idea

Feedback on Idea

Today I broadcasted my idea for the film opening on Instagram to see if other people liked the idea. I got nine likes on the photograph, meaning nine likes on my idea. This was really helpful for me to see a positive response as I boosted my confidence about my idea. I feel a lot more positive now knowing that others approve of it as well as myself.

Similarly, Jordan who is in my group updated a similar thing on Facebook and tagged me in it so that we could see other people's responses. 

Pitch

Pitch to Peers About my Chosen Genre Idea

<iframe src="http://prezi.com/embed/jrxaeva803m_/?bgcolor=ffffff&amp;lock_to_path=0&amp;autoplay=no&amp;autohide_ctrls=0&amp;features=undefined&amp;disabled_features=undefined" width="550" height="400" frameBorder="0"></iframe>

After me and my group pitched this idea tto the class we were given positive feedback and also improvments to be made or suggestions.
Some of these included:

• Liking the idea of splitscreen
• Use more transitions to make it more interesting and exciting
• Like the idea that the 'popular' girl falls for the 'geeky' boy rather than the cliche other way around
• Make sure that it is unique and stands apart from other typical stereotypical Rom Coms

This feedback was really helpful and It was a great learning experience that was really useful. I plan to take this feedback into consideration and learn from it as I think that it is really important.

Moodboard!

Mood-board

I created this mood-board to help me with inspiration. Included in this I have picked three character that I think are important in a romcom- the jock, the popular and the nerd. I think that this is relevant to an ideal romcom situation as it has romantic images of the ideal stereotypical relation around the side therefore hiding the twist that would be intended. Creating this mood-board has really helped me with ways that I can show the relationship.

Sound Design

Sound Design

I participated in a lesson about sound design. This included listening to a clip and seeing if we could work out what the clip was about just by listening to the music.
I also learnt that sound is 60% and moving image is 40%, therefore sound is incredibly important!

Just by listening to this clip my opinion of it was that is was ultimatley quite creepy and included footage that sounded like a childs or baby's nursery.
Other examples of this would include: buzzing noises, squeaks and drilling sounds.

I found this lesson very useful as it helped me with my understanding or different sound and how important it is to the film.

 

Mean Girls Analysis

Research- Mean Girls

Sound

The sound in 'Mean Girls' starts with a tribal, African type of music with a strong drum beat. This builds tension and the suspense therefore foreshadowing that something will go wrong due to the equilibrium opening. This is used through the majority of the two minute opening credits, but then changes to an upbeat, cheesey American pop song when the establishing shot of the stereotypical American school is set. The contrast in these two songs show the contrast between the two doffernt lifestlyes- Typical American teenager and growing up home schooled in Africa. The dialogue is direct to the audience and almost like a diary, this is quite comedic and is also very stereotypical to most Romantic Comedies. The idea of the protagonist talking to the audience gives the idea that it is friendly and could help some of the audience and relate to them if they have the same problems- show them that they are not alone.

Lighting

The lighting is mainly natural lighting as this is used in most ROMCOMS as it represents a happy environment and connotes an automatic strong, good feeling. A lot of lighting is used when images of Africa is shown as it could suggest that it was when she most happiest, this could also foreshadow that the American lifestyle could not go to plan for her.

Camera Angles

There is a low angle close up of the parents which gives us the impression that they are talking to a younger child that is perhaps having her first day at school. This came across as very patronizing, expecially due to the fact that the character is sixteen years old.

Mise en Scene

 Mise en Scene shows a typical American High School with stereotypical social groups such as: Jocks, Nerds, Cheerleaders talking outside of the building, connoting a typical school day. In contrast to this setting, we see glimpses of Africa which basically just shows and reflects a huge contrast to the living style and could foreshadow that the protagonist may not fit in at the intense high school. Also, the trees could represent a shield that is acting as a sort of protection against the new American Lifestyle. 

(Movie Clip- http://www.putlocker.com/file/DB4154BB5E392F27#)

Research in Costumes

Research into Costumes

Costumes in Rom Coms are mainly just normal clothing to represent and connote that they are just normal people and realistic situations.

For example:

In Friends with Benefits the clothing helps to portray the individuals lifestyles and job through formal clothing. Contrasting this style, there are also just normal everyday casual clothes to connote their normal and everyday lifestyle.

This navy blue suit suggests that the character is a type of business man
yet the loose tie implies that he is still quite young and perhaps has had a
tiring day or journey. The grey silk shirt again portrays a business lifestyle,
however, the low cut V-line top relates to Goffman's Theory showing her femininity.
Similarly, the hairstyle represents a business women due to the stereotypical appearance
of a business women.

Another example would be:

In Mean Girls, the costume reflect the stereotypes and countertypes that help a lot towards the characteristics.

The three girls shown in this image are all dressed in pink which
shows that they are the 'girly' and perhaps bitchy characters in
the film. In contrast to the bright and vibrant colour of red which
is displayed on the central character as this could suggest that
her personality is much more 'ordinary' and doesn't really fit into a social
stereotypical grouping, in fact maybe even a countertype to her gender
and to what 'she should be'.

Through my research on costume in Rom Coms I have learnt that it basically just  helps to portray characteristics and lifestyles easier. It is very natural and ordinary, much like what people like myself would wear. 

Title Sequence- 27 Dresses

Title Sequence- 27 Dresses

Movie clip- http://www.putlocker.com/file/GAQ46WM3E74KGC

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