Film studies coursework- task 1- student film 3

 

The final student made film that I've used for my inspiration is called The exam. You can tell just from the title that this is most likely a teen film because exams are always key parts of teenager's lives. Like lot's of teen films, it starts in the boy's room, where he has overslept. We tell this through several quick shots showing his alarm clock. We then see him hastily get ready for the day cutting quickly between different locations showing the protagonist getting ready. When he arrives at the exam hall and sits down, the inner monologues start: we hear everything that the main protagonist is thinking about and feeling. This almost puts us in his shoes, especially when he starts to day dream as we are transported to his "dream imagination". This works well because we get a real sense of what he is going through and everything that he is thinking about. While the storyline is simple, like other teen films, it works really well.

Film studies course work task 1- student made film 2

 

The next short film is called Steven. It follows a teenage boy, going through typical teenage struggles such as school and families. We can tell that this is a teen film straight away not only because of the age of the main character but also because of the typical teenage props like game controllers and phones. The short film starts with cross cutting between the two stories of the house: the upstairs, showing Steven gaming and the downstairs showing his Nan watching T.V. We then see after multiple attempts, the Nan telling Steven to feed the dog, before him returning to his room, a key stereotype of teenagers. While this is happening the director has used multiple interesting shots and transitions. We then see he get's a message from a girl, leading to use seeing into Steven's thoughts as he wonders who it could be. After several shots of him at school, underlying the fact that this is a teen film, we see Steven go to the meeting place, which is a park, a popular teen location. It is then revealed that the message is from his Nan, suggesting that this could be a hybrid between teen and comedy.

film studies course work-task 1- student made film opening 1

The first student made fil that I've used for inspiration is a short film from the Wymondham high film studies YouTube channel. What I really like about this film is the simplicity of it, however it is crammed full of impressive techniques and skills. We can class this as a teen film because it follows one character who is a teenager. Apart from him, we don't really learn anything else about any other characters. We also know that this is a teen film because it is set in the normal world and the majority of the film is set in a school. Although I am just making the intro for a film, this short film follows the day in the life of this school boy. The introduction is of an inner monologue, finding out about the thoughts of this protagonist. While this is playing, we see his morning routine, consisting of him debating what to wear or eat as well as him getting washed all put together using an Edgar Wright style type of editing full of repeated quick shots.

Film studies coursework-task one- scene 3 Wayne's world opening

The third opening scene I've chosen is Wayne's world, which is a 90's teen movie. During the scene, we are introduced to the five main characters who are all in a car together. We can tell that this is a teen film because the 5 characters are all older teenagers, who we presume are the protagonists and will play an important part of the film. The setting is a city which the group are driving around. It is also set at night time which is famous for often being a time when teenagers go out at. There are several moments of this scene which are humorous, suggesting to the audience this could be a hybrid between teen and comedy. All the characters are young, underlying the fact that this is a teen film.

Film studies coursework-task 1 The breakfast club opening

 Opening scene 2: The breakfast club

Once the opening titles have finished, the film starts with an establishing shot of a school which is obviously a key location in the film. After this we see several different shot's of locations in the school, which are clearly important otherwise they wouldn't have shown them. These shot's are full of props that you would expect to see in a school which continue to relate strongly to the teen genre. We can also tell that these shots and props are important because they must relate to something that either happens later on in the film or is explained later on in the film. Once these shots have played, we are then introduced to the 5 main protagonists of the film. It is very clear that the genre is teen because the location is a school, which is often a location in teen films mainly because school is always a big part of a teenager's life.

Film studies coursework - task 1 Ferris Bueller's day off

Opening scene 1:

The opening of Ferris Bueller's day off