research and planning of coming of age films

Narrative

There was no narrative in this clip.

sound

The soundtrack from the opening titles is a jazz track and a very upbeat song which gives me the impression that this is a comedy. The music is also another indication that the film isn't going to be a horror film or action or anything like that.

text

From the title sequence of this film I can already tell that this is going to be an indie film because of the colours used and the retro style of the title sequence.The sequence also begins with the companies who made the film; for example in Superbad it started off with Sony entertainment and Columbia Pictures. The text then continued to list the companies who made the film first, then all the actors and finally all the people who were involved in the making of the film.

audience

The target audience for Superbad will be mostly males aged 15+ who like a bit of rude humour.

Makers/ Institutional Elements:

 

• Sony Home Entertainment
• Columbia Pictures

Narrative:

The first character shot that we are shown is an extreme close-up of Ferris Bueller (played by Matthew Broderick) while he is lying in bed. The shot shows the audience his blatant attempt of pretending to be ill in order to get a day off, this introduces the character of Ferris as a very cunning teenager yet in a comedic approach which most teenagers can relate to.

 

Sound:

As the title sequence progresses we are introduced to the sound of a radio playing in the background over an establishing shot of a classic American family home, helping to show the audience that the film is set in an urban location.

 Text:

Before the film starts we are presented with a Paramount Pictures sequence to start introducing the film to the audience.The opening titles for the film are blue on a black background with a bubble writing font. A title of "A John Hughes Film" indicates the genre of the film as comedy as people who are familiar with John Hughes knows that he well known director of comedy films. And the title of the film is shown at aprox 0:15 into the beginning.

Audience:

Teenagers to adults 11+

Makers/ Institutional Elements:

• Paramount Pictures
• John Hughes Film

 

Narrative:

The film is a simple linear narrative. The opening sequence starts in the morning and ends in the night.

Sound:

Music starts of very calm and tranquil whilst the shot shows the girl sleeping in her massive room. It slowly fades out as she wakes, then the girl realises what day it is and jumps out of bed whilst the music turns fast paced and modern. Music faintly plays during the scene where the girl decides to give away her new step mothers clothes and jump off the cliff into the sea with them. The music matches this sequence and peoples reactions.The music dramatically stops when her dad begins to shout, showing something serious is going to happen because of her actions.When the girl speaks about her dead mum to her dad the music matches the mood, as it starts with violins and very dramatic.

Text:

The first text that appears o  screen is the makers of the film which is Universal Studio, followed by the name of Studio Canal and working pictures.
Then the two words "Wild Child" fly on from different sides of the screen and meet on middle left of the screen. They seem to glisten and make a twinkly sound, when the girl rushes towards it they smash. They glisten to represent her current life and how plush her lifestyle is at that moment in time, they then smash to represent how the day is going to turn out for her, a small insight for the audience.

Audience: 

The audience for this film would be teenagers/young adults as it is based on the life of a misfit teenager feeling like isolated and different from everyone else and how she rebels to get attention and get noticed.

 Makers and Institutional Elements:

• Universal Studio
• Studio Canal
• Working Pictures

Narrative:

The scene starts with a male who is sat in a car whom is sad because he had read in the paper that someone had been stabbed, he then has a flash back to when he was 12 years old, his flashback consist of four boys that are sat up in a tree house, and follows with the introduction of the main characters.

 Sound:

Started the opening scene with slow sad music which sets the scene that something traumatic has happened, however when the flash back starts the music changes to a more upbeat and happy music which tells the audience that his childhood was a happy time for him.

 Text:

Firstly, Columbia Pictures appears on the screen almost straight away and is then followed by the title "Stand By Me" in a white bold font.

Audience:

Anyone who is interested in coming of age films

Makers/ Institutional Elements:

• Columbia Pictures

Narrative:

From the opening sequence you can already tell that this movie is going to be about a teenage girl and the struggles she faces, from parents nagging, friends letting her down, teenage strops and much more. This is all revealed in the first 3 minutes.

Sound:

The opening sequence starts off with quite background music and people talking over the top which sets a relaxed mood and gives us an idea by the people talking of what the film is going to be about. However, at 1:27 the song "She's So Lovely" by Scouting for Girls is just played and sets an upbeat mood.

Text:

 The first text very early on to appear on the screen is the institutional makers, this is then later followed by the title of the film at 1:45 this is very quickly followed by the name of the main actress "Georgia Groom" then her name is followed by other important names of actor and actresses. Finally the text is finished with the name of the director "Gurinder Chadha".

Audience:

The target audience of this is young teenage girls from the age of 12-19

Makers/ Institutional Elements:

• Paramount Pictures International
• Nickelodeon Movies
• Gurinder Chadha Film

Narrative:

Amelia"Mia"Thermopolis has just graduated from Princeton University Woodrow Wilsons School and is returning to Genovia with her personal bodyguard Joe. Then on screen is shown Mia's 21st birthday party, where she has to dances with all the eligible bachelors in hope of finding a husband. She becomes attracted to a handsome gentleman named Nicholas.

 

Sound:

The music that is played at the beginning is delicate and relaxing which suggests that the film is going to be laid back and the genre is immediately confirmed, showing  that its not a horror or action film. 

 

Text:

At 1:05 into the opening sequence of the film the title of the film appears on screen in gold writing "The Princess Diaries 2, The Royal Engagement" 

 

Audience:

The target audience of this film is on young girls aged 7-15

 

Makers and Institutional Elements:

• Walt Disney Home Entertainment  

 

 

What I Learnt

I learnt about different openings of films and what a typical opening consists of. ive also learnt how different directors have different styles of film openings.