just turned eighteen - Planning - Script

Madison (voiceover): Hi, I'm Madison. I've just turned eighteen and this is my last year of sixth form. Summer holidays were great but now it's back to reality. This is Jennifer, she's my absolute best friend in the whole wide world.

Madison (to Jennifer): I have no money.

Jennifer: Oh, I've already got it for you.

Madison: That's okay, thank you!

Madison (voiceover): This is Ethan. He's the number ten striker for the school football team and I know he has an eye on me but I'm having none of it.

Madison (to Jennifer): Do I look alright?

[TITLE: just turned eighteen]

Jennifer: Wait.

Madison: Ugh, okay.

Teacher: You're late, again!

Madison (voiceover): Everyone's just blaming me for being late. I mean, I can't help it that I'm just so popular

Film Production Company Logo Analysis

Dreamworks

Dreamworks are well known for making animated films and TV shows that appeal to children but can also be enjoyed by adults. Successful films produced by the company include 'Shrek', 'Madagascar' and 'How to Train Your Dragon'.

The logo shown here is the standard logo but the company changes some features depending on the film - for example, the 'Madagascar 3' logo was set in daytime and the 'Kung Fu Panda 2' logo was designed in a Chinese style to fit with the film being set in China. The clouds are used to show off the company's skill in making animated films and the detail that they put in to their work. The boy fishing on the moon is recognisable by everyone and has been kept the same since the company began so that the viewer will feel nostalgic whenever they see the logo.

Paramount

The word 'Paramount' being at the top of the mountain connotes that they are at the top of the industry and the mountain suggests that they are a powerful and large company; the word also means "supreme", which tells the audience that their films are better than any other company's. The stars in a circle around the company name suggests that they make high quality films and that they're a well rounded brand. The detail used in the logo connotes to the viewer that they pay a lot of attention to detail in their films and that they are good quality.

Universal

The company has put emphasis on their 100th anniversary and this shows the audience that they are hugely successful and know what they are doing due to much experience. It also connotes that they have experienced film-making as technology has changed and they have adapted and changed with it. The bold, white letters stand out to the audience and catch their attention, and the gold outline connotes winning and quality. The words are curved around the Earth and this connotes that their films are from around the entire world and show the whole picture. The logo is HD and animated to show that they are good with effects and CGI and that their films are as good quality as the logo.

Disney

Disney are famous for making films based on fairy tales, such as 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella', and their films are aimed at children but are also intended for their parents to enjoy too. The castle in the background of the logo emphasizes the fairytale theme of the company and and the castle is lit up contrast with the dark sky in the background. The blue and pink colours in the sky show that the company targets their films at both boys and girls. The logo looks as though it is a signature and the loopy, silver font makes it stand out from the dark background. There is an animated trail of sparkles that go over the castle, which was used in the original logo and makes any adults watching feel nostalgic as they would've watched Disney films as a child. The entire logo is animated to show the audience that the company are good at animation as the majority of their films are animated and they have improved their skills along with the changes in technology.

Different Shot Types

Typical Representation of Teenagers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhdwT1sZaig

Preliminary Task

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ3SrgHDWnc

just turned eighteen - Planning - Initial Pitch

Powerpoint

Madison Young is bossy rich teen from an upper class family and is a stereotypical daddy’s girl. She is also a high school student in her senior year of school and she has decided that she no longer cares about anything anymore. Her best friend Jennifer Hill who blindly does what Madison says without looking the other way is trying her hardest to change her new view of life, after being friends for 8 years their friendship has never been stronger. Ethan Wells is the typical socialite jock who is the number ten point guard on the high school basketball team, he has had his eye on Madison for a few months now and this year he vows to woo her before senior prom commences, but she on the other hand is constantly trying to push him away.

Costumes, props & make up:
Ethan- Shirt, black jeans, trainers.
Madison – Brown wig, posh clothes, normal make up, purse and bag
Jennifer – Casual clothes and natural make up

Our production company’s name was inspired by an important media term and the word “Power” and the use of multiple stars connotes that our company is huge in filming. 

Our tagline tells the audience that movies not associated with "Mise-en-Power" are boring and dull.

These are some of the conventions that we thought of when creating our film.

We are going to use happy, up-beat music with a voice-over of the main character to set a school themed atmosphere over the title sequence. This will then entwine with Madison talking about her life and introducing some of the characters.

Feedback 

We showed this PowerPoint to our class and received feedback from them:
- Our teacher told us that it would be too hard to convince the audience that the film is set in America so instead we decided to use the American stereotypes but in an English setting.
- We forgot to add music to our presentation so we asked people for their opinions at another time and they said that they liked the title music but not another one we picked for the first scene, so we changed it to another type of music.
- The class liked the idea of a voice over so we made sure we kept that in our final product and they liked what our production company logo connotes so we didn't change it.
- We were told to add more to the story so that it would be interesting so we added a group of popular girls who don't like Madison.

High School Musical

High School Musical is centred on the two main characters Troy - the start player of the school's basketball team - and Gabriella - the new girl who is top of her classes. They initially meet on New Year's Eve, where they realise that they both like singing, and then end up being in the same tutor group in high school. Both of them want to audition for the school play but they don't want to do something new and different, and they eventually end up auditioning and getting a call back; this annoys Gabriella's friends, Troy's team and Sharpay and Ryan - the twins who get the main roles in every school play. In the end, Troy and Gabriella get the roles, win a basketball match and win a maths competition, teaching their peers that it isn't always bad to try something new.

This long shot of Troy handing in his phone and sitting sideways on the chair to talk to his friend shows that he's rebellious. The long shot of the classroom also shows that everyone in the class is a typical teenager who doesn't really like school as they aren't paying attention to what the teacher is saying and are instead socializing. The bright colours of their outfits add to the overall happy mood of the film and is typical of a teen film that's aimed at younger teenagers.

This mid shot has the two main characters in focus to emphasise that they are important. Sharpay is wearing pink clothing to emphasise that she is girly and fashion conscious. Her expression shows that she's excited to be talking to Troy, while his expression shows that he's feeling uncomfortable - it's typical of a teen angst film for the popular girl to have a crush on the popular guy.

This over-the-shoulder shot shows that she is nerdy because in this scene she is telling the teacher that the calculations on the board are wrong while talking to Sharpay - which emphasises that she is extremely smart. It is emphasised that she is the opposite of Sharpay by her clothing because the colour scheme is a lot darker while Sharpay's look is very pink and bright - reflecting their personalities.

Mean Girls

Mean Girls is a teen angst film that focuses on Cady, a home-schooled teenager who goes to public school for the first time, as she attempts to make friends and adjust to being in a school. She becomes friends with two art students – Janis and Damian – who warn her to stay away from the “plastics”, the popular girls that are led by Janis’s enemy, Regina George. Regina invites Cady to sit with the plastics at lunch times and Janis uses this to her advantage by making her ruin Regina’s popularity. Cady agrees to the plan because she thinks that getting rid of Regina will allow her to date Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron, but ends up becoming the new leader of the plastics. This leads to her falling out with Janis, Aaron admitting that he preferred her before she turned plastic, getting bad name throughout the school, and “pushing” Regina in front of a bus. The film ends on a prom in which Cady wins prom queen and makes an apologetic speech to her peers, restoring all of her friendships.

The main protagonist, Cady, is constantly portrayed as being out of place in a school and tells the audience this through her narrative of the film that will sometimes relate her current situation to how animals used to act when she was in Africa. She is very good at maths – which is shown as not stereotypical by her being the only girl in her school’s maths team – but she isn’t very talented at socialising and this leads to many of the problems in the film.

Regina is a stereotypical teenage girl who is spoilt and likes clothes, boys and talking to her friends. Although she is meant to represent the “popular” girl that every school has, her character is exaggerated to make the film more interesting for the audience. An example of this is her first appearance where she is carried in by her classmates and this emphasises how much the other students love her but also shows that she has power over them and they wouldn’t want to face the consequences of if they didn’t keep her happy.

The other plastics – Gretchen and Karen – are also stereotypical teenagers and are portrayed as only being Regina’s friends because they are air-headed and will agree to anything Regina says. Karen is portrayed as being dumb and is repeatedly told to “shut up”, while Gretchen is smarter but scared of Regina. The three of them wear pink frequently throughout the film which is a typical girl colour and enforces their stereotype of being girly and fashion conscious.

This scene shows the main characters in a school cafeteria which is relatable as the target audience is teenage girls. The three plastics are on one side of the table with Regina in the middle to show that she’s the leader of them, and they are all facing towards Cady which makes her seem lonely and exposed in front of them – this is further emphasised by the high-key lighting that makes the place appear more open. The mid-shot allows the audience to see all of the characters while also keeping the busy cafeteria in the background, which adds to the realism of the film. They are all wearing casual but fashionable clothes and makeup which is typical of girls their age and shows that their appearance is important to them.

In this scene, the girls are in the mall and gossiping about their fellow classmates which is a very stereotypical thing for teenagers to do outside of school. They are all interested in what Regina has to say – emphasising her role as queen bee – but Cady’s body language shows that she is uncomfortable; her clothing also connotes that she doesn’t really fit in as she is the only one in jeans rather than a skirt and her outfit isn’t as fashionable as the others’.

The main settings for the film are a high school, a mall and the character’s houses, and these make it seem realistic and relatable as the teenage audience will spend most of their time with their friends inside or outside school.

Juno Opening Sequence

- Autumn - big font, hand-written, black and white
- entire title sequence is drawn

- immediately shows studio "Fox searchlight pictures presents" - hand writing, white on green grass - only colour - makes it stand out
- all writing on screen for about 2 seconds
- information easy to read and big - all in the same font - diary?
- 3rd title jumbled on to screen - different - "a Jason Reitman film" - about a second between titles
- "JUNO" changing colour, big, title, important

- "Ellen Page" next to girl, title sequence is about her - she's the main character - smaller than "Juno"
- 3 titles in a continuous shot - supporting actors, font colours contrast with the background
- "Michael Cera" by guitar - foreshadowing character
- actor's names fade in and out with the background
- "casting by" in red like the girl's top, "Mindy Marin" yellow like bottle in girl's hand
- "costume design" in same style
- Music by" and "songs by" moving almost in time with the music - contrasting colours
- colours of the titles match the colours of what's on the screen - same colour scheme
- all titles are slightly off-centre - different to first few titles
- camera pans up from her feet to show another title

- "executive producers" and "produced by" break rule by showing text in colours that aren't elsewhere on the screen
- "directed by" bigger than the other titles
- about 24 titles
- titles are moving around the screen

Clueless

This film follows Cher, a rich, popular high school student, who tries to help out others using her knowledge and the help of her equally rich and popular best friend, Dionne. To begin with, she tries to get two single teachers to date in an attempt to improve her bad report card, but realises that she actually likes helping others and “adopts” a new, uncool girl, Tai. The best friends give her a makeover and attempt to get her a boyfriend – which backfires when Tai announces that she fancies Josh, Cher’s ex-stepbrother and the guy that she likes too. After some drama, Tai falls in love with another guy named Travis, Cher kisses Josh and their friendship is intact again.

Teens would be drawn to watching this film because it follows the lives of teenage girls like themselves and they may be able to relate to some aspects. The story is also a romantic comedy, which is very popular with teenage girls and encourages them to watch it.

This scene shows that the girls are nerdy and this is very obvious to who is watching the film because they are holding books and folders. The girls on the right is more typical of a teen angst nerd because her clothes aren't as stylish and expensive as Cher's. The colour scheme of the girls' clothes is very earthy and dark, which contrasts to Cher and Dionne's usual outfits because they are usually dressed in very bright clothes. Tai's facial expression shows that she is not as confident as the popular girls and that she feel less insecure as part of a group. This film doesn't follow the usual stereotypes of teen angst films because the popular girl is usually dumb and doesn't care about school.

What I have learnt about making a film

I made a risk assessment prior to filming that outlined anything that could be a risk and how to prevent any harm coming to the actors, cameramen and equipment. An example of this was preventing the cameramen from standing on tables or chairs to get high-angle shots and this was avoided by getting the actors to lie on the ground with the tripod at its tallest setting.

As there was five people in our group, we had three of us be actors and the other two in charge of operating the camera. The settings used in the film were just places around the sixth form and although the settings weren’t that important as the film is a swede, we tried to find places that didn’t look as much like a school. After watching the footage, I realise that some scenes have classroom posters in the background but I think it adds to the comedy.

Our camera and tripod didn’t have a handle to allow us to shoot panning shots well but we worked around it by using many static shots that cut quickly. The tripod was used at all times to ensure that the shots were steady and professional looking and it gave us good shots that made the overall film clear to the audience.

We were given an hour to film our swede so we stayed near to the media department to save time looking for locations to film. I think that our group was very good with time management because we knew exactly what we wanted to film and how we wanted the camera shots to look.

The film had no budget and we surpassed this by providing our own costumes, make-up and props. I think that the casual clothing added a sense of realism, while the ketchup used for blood added to the parody aspect.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxoht1h4QY0

How do you and your peers use film?

To find out how my peers use film, they were asked to answer questions in a survey which I collected the results from. There are 22 people in the class and all of them watch films regularly.

The majority of the class has been to the cinema over 10 times this year – which was probably due to a new cinema being opened downtown a few months ago – but very few of the students surveyed buy popcorn and drinks, which I think is because buying food from the cinema costs a lot and people of my age don’t have much money.  I have been to the cinema many times in the past year, and I went to see the same film multiple times because I liked it so much and wanted to make the most of seeing it in 3D while I could. I don’t buy any popcorn or drinks because I go to the cinema many times and I can’t afford to get more than entrance to the film each time.

I watch Hollywood action/adventure films the most in the cinema because I love the genre and I tend to watch them in 3D because I am unable to watch films in 3D outside of the cinema and I think that the 3D makes action films better. 17 people in the class also watch more Hollywood films and are influenced most by the trailer, which I can associate with myself as I will watch the trailer of a film to decide if it’s worth watching. I think that TV trailers are better than other forms of advertisement, such as posters, because they show parts of the films but also leave you in suspense and wanting to know what will happen.

14 people in the class watch films online rather than on DVD and 13 of them stream films illegally. Although I buy many DVDs, I also tend to watch films mainly online via my tablet as the DVD may not be released yet or it may be too expensive. My family isn’t subscribed to a company like Netflix because we are able to find films online for free and it seems pointless.

Nobody in my class, including myself, makes their own films and posts them to sites such as YouTube. I do like to watch other people’s films online but I wouldn’t consider making my own because I am much younger than all the other film makers online.