Shot List

These are the shots that we used in our teen angst film. Shots such as the long shot of the clothes piling up the bed and of the mean girls entering are conventional for the teen angst genre. We took some of these ideas from films such as mean girls and clueless.

Scene from Clueless

Scene from Mean Girls

Preliminary task

This is our preliminary task that we had to film and edit. We were given a storyboard with all of the shots that we had to include but could change the script freely. The shots included close ups, long shots and mid shots. We were also told that we had to include a shot reverse shot, match on action and the 180 degree rule. These are all examples of continuity editing and are used throughout media and films. This was all good practice for when we came to make our teen angst film.

Match on Action is the idea of one action being portrayed through two different shots. This usually included cutting out a section of the action in order to keep it interesting and to not waste time showing boring, unnecessary shots. In our preliminary task we used this when I opened door. The first shot was me going to open the door and the next shot was me walking through 

The 180 degree rule where you always film from the same side of the room in order to not confuse the audience. During in a conversation this is useful as the people won't keep switching the way they are facing. This is shown in our preliminary task when Taylor and myself are having a conversation.

Shot reverse shot is an important example of continuity editing as it helps to show interactions between characters. If this isn't used then a conversation between two characters might not be clear and may be confusing for the audience to follow. We used this, again when Taylor and myself were having a conversation. 

Story Boads

Final Prodcution Company Logo

This is our final production company logo. We used one of the draft ideas and added stars around it to represent the fact that we produce high quality films. This is similar to that of Paramount Pictures. The iconography of London and Britain in the middle of the logo shows that the USP of our films is the fact that we are a British production company and the British social realism this brings. We have a simple, serif font which is placed in a film strip. This connotes that we are a low budget, independent company. This is an idea which we took from the Take Two Production company logo as they are similar to us as they are also a small, low budget company. Again, we made the production company logo black and white which connotes simplicity and that we are low budget

Target Audience, USP, Settings and Locations

The target audience for our film is Females aged between 13-18. This is because girls usually enjoy watching teen angst more as they can relate to the situations and also get enjoyment out of how the characters in the film react to and deal with the problems the encounter. We thought the age was appropriate because they are the people who are experiencing the problems and situations within the film but in their own life. Many of the features within the film that will attract teenage girls are; Admiring boys, arguments, and that it is seen from a girls perspective with lots of features of a typical girls life.

Our unique selling point is that we are low budget, independent, British production company and so this is reflected in the film by the British social realism, whereas films like Clueless, High School musical and Mean Girls are all set in America on a high budget so can everything look more expensive and the school look setting and props look realistic due to the high budget. The British social realism means that the British Audience can relate to the film more as the situations will be accurate to their life. Also the different social groups in the film will be accurate to what they have experienced more than an American based film.

The main settings in our film will be in school, at the main characters house and in the school car park. Later on in the film a party scene is also included but this will not be included in the opening although we may include party invites to help foreshadow later events. We chose the school setting since the story line is about a new girl joining her new school and the audience are very familiar with this setting. We will film this at our school which includes locations such as lockers which connotes school settings. Also the front of the school which will show it is in a school.

Title Sequence Idea

This is the idea we presented to the others in our class. We used the idea of getting ready for the characters first day at school and meeting the other main characters as this instantly tells the audience what the story will be about. Easy A is one film that instantly gets into the school setting while the title sequence continues and you also see some of the characters. 

Character Ideas

We plan on having 4 main social groups within the film. These are the popular girl group, the popular sporty boy group, the less popular girls and the clever, nerdy group. These groups are stereotypical of the teen agnst genre as the audience will usually fall into one of these groups and so can relate to them. This will enable them to enjoy and understand the film more.
Our main character, Maddison, will fall into the less popular, but nicer girl group. However she tries to fit in with the popular girls during the film as she thinks this will help her get closer to the popular boy. The less popular girl group are a nicer group who care about their education and work hard as well as having fun and enjoying themselves.
In comparison the popular group don't care about their grades and only care about how others perceive them. They want to be the centre of attention, are usually self centred and always expect people to look up at them. However in films that we have studied such as mean girls, the popular group of girls think everyone admires them but they are actually despised by everyone. This is usually evident in a film as the popular group often aren't as popular by the end due to an event that has happened. Our character in this role is called Amber and she is seeing Dylan. She feels like she is untouchable and that she is the most popular girl in the school. When the new girl (Maddison) joins the school she instantly makes sure she knows who she is by picking on her. Also The popular girls are stereotypically good looking.

The popular boy group are stereotypically sporty, popular and attractive. This group is important as the target audience are girls so they will enjoy the film if there is an attractive character. Sometimes a well-known, attractive character can persuade people to watch a film. Within the film the main character in this popular boy group is called Dylan. He is the cause for conflict between Maddison and Amber since they both like him. Again, girls can relate to this as they have experienced this in their life.

This is the slide from the presentation we did to the class with our initials ideas

Research into Teen Angst films

Most teen angst films are school related as this is the place that teenagers form relationships with their peers, whether it is hatred, love or friendship. They also spend lots of time there and the majority of their teenage years are focused on school. The films are usually set in high schools as this the age group of the target audience (12- 18). This is because the target audience can relate to this location and the feelings for the above reasons. Some examples that I have seen this in are:



The main characters in teen agnst film are girls. This is because they are stereotypically the gender that faces more problems emotionally and mentally that the target audience of girls can relate to. However there is usually a love interest that is a boy. He is stereotypically good looking and girls can relate to this aswell. There are usually two main social groups of girls. There are the 'good looking, popular, bitchy girls' such as the three girls in the mean girls picture above and the 'innocent, less popular, nerdy girls' such as in the easy a picture.


In studying other films in the teen angst genre there were a few title conventions I noticed. These include pink/stereotypically girly colours, different sized letters and the majority of them were in sans serif font. The pink colours are stereotypical of the young female gender and so would connote that this is the main target audience for the film or the film is a teen angst. The different sized letters included in the titles could connote uncertainty and confusion which is how the characters could be feeling about the situations in the film. The sans serif font connotes that the film is relaxed and not a serious film. It indicates that the genre is friendly and relatable. Back grounds are also stereotypically pink for these same reasons.

Basic Narrative Idea!

•       Madison is new student at sixth form who becomes friendly with a group nice, average girls who care about their school grades.

•       The popular good looking male is involved with the main girl in the popular girl group and they are seeing each other. However he slowly starts to become interested in the new girl. 

•       Madison leaves her group of friends to join the popular, mean girl group to become closer to Dylan and changes to be popular, two faced, self absorbed and treats everyone who isn't popular like they are less important.

•       Madison is invited to the popular girl's house party where she finds herself with Dylan and they kiss.

•       The popular girls catch them and are unhappy and so turn everyone against Madison.

•       Dylan starts to ignore her and act like it was a mistake when they kissed in order to stay with the mean girl. He remains popular as he is scared of being hated.

•       Madison becomes hated and isolated and so returns to her old group of friends realising they're her true friends.

•       Dylan finally leaves the mean popular group to be with Madison as he feels this will make him happier and she forgives him.

•       In the end the popular girls are seen by the rest of the school for what they really are, horrible and self-centred. Madison and Dylan are happy together.

Initial Ideas

These are some of the notes that we made during lessons while brain storming ideas, including the narrative, character ideas, title sequence and ideas for company logos. These were the first ideas we had thought of and so we hope to expand on these and implement better ideas as well as thinking further into the process and coming up with titles, shots and and a script.

Production Company logo ideas

These are two ideas that we have had for our production company logo. The first connotes progression but also that the film we produce are not boring as the film strip is not just in a straight line but goes up and down. The film strip has stars on it which connotes that we produce good quality films. The effect of the film strip is that it shows we are a low budget production company as it is old equipment as opposed to modern cameras and filming techniques. The fact it is called 'Star Productions connotes good quality and excellence. The yellow font connotes happiness and contrasts against the black of the film strip.
The other idea mainly reflects the British Social realism of our film, this is done by having many recognisable land marks from London as the main image. The fact that it is all in black and white reflects the simplicity of the company and also that is a low budget film. Again the font reflects the simplicity of the company and how low budget it is. 

We are going to look to try to combine the two logo ideas we have to have it reflect the British Social Realism but also the quality of our of films. This will be done by trying to combine the stars with the Second logo. However this may not work and we could end up coming up with a new idea completely or just keeping one of these two original ideas.

Teen Angst Mood-board

 

This is a moodboard for the teen angst genre of film. It includes films such as High School Musical, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Mean Girls, Hairspray and Juno. These images are stereotypical of the teen angst genre, as the films are usually based around teenage girls who have a love interest and are faced with a situation or problem that they eventually overcome. The films try to portray the stereotypical life's of teenagers of that time. Billy Elliot and Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a counter type of the teen angst genre as far as the main character is a male.

Production Company logo research

The words '20th century fox television' is in capital letters and is also in the form of a statue. There are also spotlights which help show it is very important along with the above mentioned. Also the height of the monument implies that they are considered one of the big five when it comes to production companies. The statue is a golden colour which has the connotative effect of suggesting they are the best. Examples of their films include; Ice Age, Dodge-ball, Garfield, The day after tomorrow and The Simpsons movie.

The boy is on the moon fishing, above the clouds. This connotes that he could be dreaming and that he is in a special place which suggests that the films they produce could be very special and like fairy-tales. Also the fact he is on the moon could connote that the films are 'out of this world'. The text is all in capitals and in a sans serif font. This connotes they are a serious company. Examples of movies include; Shrek, Madagascar, Kung-fu panda and Over the hedge.

The logo is very plain as it only has the word 'Film' on a red background. However the white lines resemble the shape of a '4'. As the word 'Film' is the main focus of the logo it tells the audience that they do focus on films and not television. Some big films they have produced or co-produced are; 12 Years a slave, 127 hours, Slum-dog Millionaire and This is England.

The 'Warp Films' logo denotes the shape of the world. This connotes that warp films are or aim to be globally recognised. Also the name of the company is going through the middle of the 'world' which connotes that the aim to be a part of everyone's life. The colour is black and white which connotes that the company are basic or simple. The text is at a slight angle suggesting progress and that they are successful. Some films they have produced or co-produced are; This is England, Submarine and Donkey Punch.

The name 'Take Two' connotes that they aren't perfect and it might take a while or 'two' to get it right. Also there are two t's that stand for the initials of the companies name and these are made out of film reels which automatically connotes they are a film production company. The whole logo is on a positive slant going upwards. This connotes progress and that they are moving forwards successfully and positively

Easy A title sequence analysis

0:09 - "Screen Gems, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company." - Is in the middle of the screen, sans serif font, blue text, only text on screen.

0:15 - "Screen Gems Presents" - Only text on screen so it is important, middle-left of the screen, all in capitals and so is important, "Screen Gems" is bigger, blue font.

0:24 - "An Olive Bridge Entertainment Production" - sans serif font, white colour which contrasts with the background and is different to the previous titles, top of the screen, not much else to look at on the screen so audience will pay attention to it.

0:30 - "A Will Guck Film" - Name is bigger than the other text, sans serif font, white font which shows this and the title before are both different to the first two titles.

0:35 - "Easy A" - Main title, mixed serif and sans serif font, white and red font, the 'A' is serif font which looks more like a girls handwriting relating to the characters, shoes in tree on the screen showing mischief/rebellious characters/plot, hear the bell from a school connoting a school setting, previous shot was of "Ojai North High School" setting the scene.

0:45-1:41 - Cast names - Tracking shot/establishing shot/point of view shot around the front of the shot showing the names which are integrated within the scene which shows they are probably the actors names, and spread throughout the shot, all in white, sans serif font and all same size showing they are all relevant to each other, voice-over at the same time beginning to set the story up,

1:44 - "And Emma Stone" - White font, sans serif font, title is on same level as character displayed in the shot which shows it is probably her, both on floor showing she is perceived as less important by other characters and not socially important, although she is the main character as it is her doing the voice-over and is the last cast title.

2:20 - "Casting By Lisa Miller Katz csa" - lower on the screen shows less importance than the first few titles, sans serif font, 
2:31 - "Costume Designer Mynka Draper" - white text, sans serif font, to the side of the screen as less importance than what is happening on the screen which is a conversation.
2:45 - "Music Supervisor Wende Crowley" - white text, sans serif font,to the side of the screen as less important than the content on the screen.
2:50 - "Edited By Susan Littenburg" - White text, sans serif font, bottom of the screen so it is still easily seen but does not distract the attention away from the story.
2:57 - "Production Designer Marcia Hinds" - White text, sans serif font, bottom of screen, same shot as before as it is a shot reverse shot.
3:10 - "Director of Photography Michael Grady"- White text, sans serif font, bottom of screen so less important and out of the way of the story, at an angle to keep audiences attention still on titles as well as the story.
3:36 - "Produced by Zanne Devine, Will Gluck" White text, sans serif font, placed on a sign in the background, keeps the title sequence interesting and allows audience to pay attention to the conversation on the screen.
3:51 - "Written By Bert V. Royal" - White text, sans serif font, placed more in the middle of the screen as it is seen as an important role.

Fish Tank (2009)

Mia and Connor

 This is a mid-shot from the film 'Fish Tank' which is a British set and produced teen angst film. Being a British coming of age film means that it is a counter type as most teen angst films are usually set in an American school and around the American lifestyle. However, in this the film the main plot is about a girl, Mia Williams, who lives in a flat in a lower class part of England and has had troubles at school and has been suspended. She also doesn't have many friends and nobody really appreciates her. In addition she argues with her family a lot, including her mother. These things are all stereotypical of the teen angst genre but are emphasised and exaggerated more than usual in 'Fish Tank'. This is because it is set in England and so the USP is British social realism. Mia turns to drink whenever she can as this helps her to reduce her stress and forget about her problems. Many teenagers do this but most only do it socially and do not do it on their own. The main event in the film is that Mia tries to steal her mum's new boyfriend. She does this successfully and her mum doesn't blame her boyfriend but blames her daughter. It is stereotypical that a teenage girl has problems when it comes to love and is interested in a guy but it is not usually her mums boyfriend.

Joanne

The main characters in the film are; Mia (below), the girl who is suspended from school and steals her mother's boyfriend. She is violent, troubled and unaccepted by many people. This is supported by the fact that in the film she headbutted a girl because of her dancing and that she is suspended from school. She ends up sleeping with her mother's boyfriend who then regrets sleeping with her. The next character is Tyler, who is Mia's sister. She is younger than Mia although they argue a lot. Tyler is in trouble less with both her peers and the school. Another main character is Joanne (above), Tyler and Mia's mother. She is portrayed to the audience as a counter type as she does not act very responsible since she acts promiscuously. She is also not a very caring character as when her boyfriend sleeps with her daughter, she puts the blame onto her daughter. The other main character is Connor who is Joanne's boyfriend. However during the film Mia and Connor start talking and eventually end up together. This is the main reason for Mia's falling out with her family and friends. Connor is a stereotype as he is good looking, dark haired and tall love interest in the film. However he is also a counter type as usually the love interest in teen angst films are usually young and at school as this is the age of the main character such as Mia but also because the audience can relate to this more. However Connor is much older than Mia and so this is unusual for teen angst films. The last main character is another love interest in the film who is more of a stereotype to the teen angst genre called Billy. Billy and Mia meet when Mia finds a horse and is taunted and abused by Billy's brothers. Billy and Mia eventually move to Wales.

Mia

An example of the gangs shown in Fish Tank

The main settings in the films are estates in Essex/London. The estate in Essex is particularly "rough" or lower class and are stereo typically high in crime, gang culture and not looking particularly attractive due to it being quite rundown. This is supported by the picture above, it is predominately urban and doesn't look attractive or somewhere that the higher class would choose to live. This is the type of estate that Mia grew up on by living in a flat. This adds to the USP of the film, the British social realism. This means that estates in Britain are portrayed in films as somewhere that isn't very glamorous or pleasant to grow up and that life can be tough and doesn't come easy. However most Hollywood produced teen angst films show a character growing in america and focuses on the school/social life of the character progressively getting better.

Most of the mise en scene in this film connotes a negative effect on the life that the characters live. For example, when inside their home, the lighting is mostly low key lighting foreshadowing the negative view on life many of the characters have, particularly Mia. Many of the actors in the film are from or lived in Britain compared to actors in big Hollywood films who are usually from America. This is usually done as the actors know what life is like in their respected country and so in small, British, independent films such as fink tank, the British social Realism and stereotyping can be as accurate as possible. Also in small, independent films, many of the actors are not big names in the acting community and so are often not as popular whereas big Hollywood films can afford to pay popular actors/actresses and so attract a larger audience who are interested in watching these actors/actresses. This means that independent films have to rely on other USPs.The only appropriate examples of iconography are that Mia is shown with alcohol and it portrays to the audience that she drinks regularly. This connotes that she is troubled/she has many worries which is stereotypical of teen angst characters. It also shows the audience that this is a common sight/experience on estates in Britain. Other examples of iconography for British made teen angst films is that the estates look run down. This is down by litter, rundown shops, and damaged property/furniture.

Mean Girls Research

 

This picture is from a scene in mean girls. It is a mid-long shot showing 3 girls, each looking in a mirror. This shot type allows the audience to see what the characters are wearing but also their body language and facial expression. The characters are teenaged girls as teen angst films are mostly targeted at girls between the ages of 12-18 years as they can relate most to the characters. Two of the three girls are wearing skirts which connotes that they are very feminine girls and this is a stereotype of teenaged girls. Another reason they could be wearing skirts is to catch the interest in boys as this is stereotyped as the main focus of girls this age. One other possible reason could be that they are trying to rebel against rules of school/society that has a certain expectation of what they should wear. This is done purposely so that the audience can relate to this as they may also be thinking/feeling this way. The blonde girl is in the middle as she is blonde, pretty and often the leader of the group of friends. Putting her in the centre of the shot and the three girls portrays her as the centre of attention which may reflect on her attitude to most things in life. Also the lighting is fairly low key around the edge of the room but is high key on the girls, particularly the one in the middle. Again this portrays her as the centre of attention and the leader of the group. The girl on the right is the only one wearing trousers and not doing her make up. This is a countertype of girls in teen angst films as they are usually wearing girly clothes such as skirts and these clothes are often pink. Also girls are stereotyped to care a lot about their appearance and this is shown in this picture as two of the girls are looking in a mirror and doing their make up while the other girl is looking in the mirror at herself

In this picture from mean girls, it shows that the group of girls are in a shopping centre. This is a stereotype of girls as they are often thought to enjoy shopping and socialising with their friends. This shot is a long shot as you can see clearly what they characters are wearing but also what is around them. The setting is a nice setting as it looks like it is high quality and somewhere that could be expensive. This connotes that the girls are not lower class and more likely to be middle class. It also shows that they are not scared to spend money and so probably care about how their peers look at them. This is a stereotype of teenaged girls as they often want to be popular and looked up at by their friends. There is high key lighting that shows that this is a light hearted scene and that nothing terrible is happening and they are enjoying themselves. All four girls are wearing pink which is stereotypically a girl’s colour. 3 of them are also wearing skirts which is, again, another thing that portrays them as stereotypical very feminine girls. An example of iconography is that they have handbags and this is very common in teen angst films since many teenaged girls will have handbags to look after their belongings.

The main narrative in the video is that a new girl, called Cady, joins the new school after leaving where she grew up in Africa as her parents were conducting research out there. This was her first time in a public school so she was unfamiliar as too how the social hierarchy works. At first she befriended two people called Janis and Damien. She learns from them that the highest social status she could have is from being friends with the 'Plastics'. Cady is accepted into the plastics and her and Janis hatch a plan to bring down the leader of the plastics, Regina George. Cady learns about the 'Burn Book' and also falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels.
Cady carries on ruining Regina's reputation and her popularity. She turns her friends against her by telling them that Regina sees her as a better friend. She also tells Aaron that Regina has cheated on him with another boy. She also goes on to trick Regina into eating high calorie nutrition bars by telling her that they will help her lose weight. After this it turns out that Cady has lost her personality and has changed and become more like Regina.
Regina decides to leak the contents of the 'Burn Book' and spread rumours around the school. She makes up a fake rumour about herself in order to put the blame onto the other members of the 'Plastics', including Cady. The girls are made to apologise to their peers and when it comes to Janis, Regina makes a joke about her sexuality. Janis them reveals about her and Cady's plan to ruin Regina's reputation, with the support of the rest of the school. Regina runs out of the school upset, where she gets hit by a bus and rumours start that Cady pushed her.
Cady is distrusted by everyone, and she takes the blame for the 'Burn Book', she feels less guilty after this and even joins the matheletes where she realises that insulting people's appearance won’t help her with her situation.