"life in lockdown montage" coursework

 

“Toast” coursework

Film studies course work task 2 B

 

Opening scene script:

Scene opens in ……’s bedroom. He is asleep.

*Alarm rings*

He gets up, out of bis bed. Compilation shown of clothing being chosen. Quick shots, cutting between different shirts, ties etc.

*Clock ticking in the background*

Parent (in background): Are you up yet?

Shot of him running down stairs

Edgar Wright style editing process of breakfast being made

As breakfast is being made:

Parent: Have you got all your books? Any tests today? Are you up to date with work?

(These questions from the parent fade in and out, showing how …….. isn’t particularly listening)

……… leaves the house and we follow a montage of the journey to school, through different parts of town, ultimately arriving at school.

Location examples:

Film studies course work - task 2 A

Course work task 2 A 

I was inspired to make a teen film as it's quite a unique genre in the fact that there can be lot's of different types of teen film and often, include aspects of other genres within their films.

The plot of the opening 2 minutes of the film follows a "typical" morning for the main protagonist, Liam. While on paper, this may seem a little simplistic however I plan to include various montages and edits in the style of Edgar Wright.

Character profiles:

Liam:

• Main Protagonist
• Age is 15

Mother:

• Mother of Liam
• Age is in 40s

Father:

• Father of Liam
• Age is in 40s

Both parents are seen through the intro from Liam's point of view, so the audience understand his views and opinions on them.

Props:

• alarm clock
• breakfast
• school bag
• school work
• 
  

The genre is teen so the locations all need to be places where you would traditionally see teenagers. Examples of these would include town/city centres, schools and obviously their own homes. Including a school would really help to show that the genre is teen. 

As it's a teen film, the main character needs to be a teenager. Despite this, it doesn't mean that all the other characters need to be the same age. Firstly because it's rare to see a film with all the characters the same age and also it would make the film very boring if there's a lack or variety in terms of characters.   

If the film were to be set in a school, the casting would have to be accurate to the location and the genre. As it's a teen film, the cast would obviously need teenagers to make the genre identifiable. Like mentioned previously, there would ideally be some variety with characters especially in terms of age, meaning not only teenagers would be cast. Having said that, the older characters would need to fit in the genre and things like the setting.

The props would be similar to other things mentioned with the fact that they would need to fit in with characters, setting and the whole teen genre. This means, the props need to be objects that teenagers own. This continues the representation of the genre. The film will follow the chaotic and often difficult start of the day for a teenager. The objects would obviously be things that help him through this process such as alarm clocks and things which he will need when he gets to school.

The costumes will be fairly simple. The film starts with the teenager waking up so his costume will be pyjamas. As he gets ready for the day, the costume will obviously be a school uniform, which needs to be warn by any other students to make it authentic.

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     

 

Applying narrative theory to the opening scenes of Attack The Block and Slumdog Millionaire

Apply narrative theory to the opening scenes of Attack The Block and Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog millionaire:

A key part of slumdog millionaire is that the whole film has a circular narrative, meaning that the film wont be starting at the start and the events that take place wont happen in chronological order. The film starts with a scene that cuts between Jamal's torture and the start of him being on the show. If the film had a singular narrative, Jamal being on the show would happen near the end just before him being tortured. A circular narrative is used so Jamal can explain his experiences which he uses when answering the questions on who wants to be a millionaire.

Attack the block:

In the opening scene of attack the block, Todorov's narrative theorem can be applied. At this point in the film it would be the equilibrium because this is the "normal" life for the characters. For example, Sam is walking home from work which we presume she does daily and the gang are out on the streets causing trouble. However by the end of this scene you could see it as the disruption of the equilibrium because the gang rob's Sam which results in them meeting for the first time.