Task 14: Micro Analysis of Sub-Genres

 

High school title sequence / camera, editing, sound and m.e.s.

High School Drama Analysis - Camera, Editing, Sound, Mise En Scene

Task 15: Analysing High School or Youth Drama Title Sequence

Task 20: Xmas homework

My favourite title sequence

My favourite title sequence would be Snatch.

It gives the viewer a really good idea of what the film will be about from the outset, we first see a group of men in the back of a van taking of Jewish disguises with a huge diamond this hints to us there is some sort of scamming or illegal activity involved. I really like the motif of the objects being passed from scene to scene and character to character its as if the money and diamond are being snatched between all the people in the sequence, it creates a sense of flow and continuity. I think the freezed animated pictures of each character and their names was really good because in title sequences we are not usually told the characters names, so they broke the conventions of title sequences and they did it in such an inventive way by freezing it and making it stand out with bright bold colours.

Macro sub-genre conventions.

Every film has macro elements, including the two sub-genres of Teen Drama films, which are Youth and High-school. A macro element refers to the story the film tells, this is known as syntactic.

For a Teen Drama film they include:

• films key plot
• storyline
• characters
• social groups
• representations

High School Dramas:

The key plot of this film was shown through the animated sequence between the two main characters dancing. They were shown in neutral colours, having a good time dancing as the credits rolled. The two friends being presented in the title sequence shows their attachment and love for each other that turns into separation throughout the film. It also shows, their friendship is a main factor for the film.

The storyline is shown in a chronological order. It shows the teenagers obsession with sex, their youthfulness, family and their importance to education. Also, the characters that are shown are Seth and Evan who are best friends travelling to school whilst saying goodbye to Evan's mother.

The social group the two characters go under is students, as they are both still in education. They have a complex representation as they are disgusting but very likeable because of their sense of humour, sex obsessed yet find it difficult to get attention and insult each other but cannot seem to live without each other.

The key plot  of this film was of University students wanting to meet new people. They decided to live in dorms where they could go to parties and socialise with different people, and this was shown in the opening sequence of the film.

The storyline of the film was shown in chronological order, which was of the main character recently moving inside a dorm and awaiting to meet her roommate, and then she is at a party where she is drawn to someone which hints that there will be romance in the film. The characters introduced was the main girl Sara and two other girls, this shows a bond between the girls that will be forming throughout the film.

Again, just like Superbad the social groups they go under is of university students, they were represented in positive ways, and enjoying their time together by partying, drinking and flirting.

Youth Dramas:

The key plot of this film is of teenagers being against adults - specifically the police. The storyline is shown in a chronological order, however the flashback of riots and aftermath are shown as key events that will be shown throughout the film. The characters introduced are a Jewish man and a Arab man (Said and Vinz) they are shown as being really close, also the police introduced show the hatred the main character has for them which suggest a conflict between them will arise.

The social groups they are represented in are working class males; this is shown by their clothing and the location they are in. The representation of the main characters and police are negative, this means this film is serious and lacks any humour in it.

The key plot of this film is about two boys who have rebellious attitudes. They are both two teenagers who scam people, this is because they need money in order to buy or save their house. The storyline is shown in chronological order, as you see the reason behind why the characters turn to a path that is dangerous and makes their life miserable. The characters introduced are the two main boys, this shows they are attached and have a special bond of friendship between them. Also, it highlights their companionship throughout the film.

The social group the characters are shown in is working class, which is shown by their lifestyle and the location of the film. Also, their representations are shown negatively because of the constant swearing and the dark lightning shown throughout majority of the opening scenes. It also, shows the police being against the youth which shows the conflict between them and the two main characters.



Institutions that produce teen drama films

Institutions that produce teen drama films

What is genre & what is Teen Drama film?

Genre is the categorization of different types of media to help distinguish the type of content within them. In Films, genres help establish which is their favourite type of movie and can help people choose the right type for them.

Teen Drama film is a genre within the film industry that usually revolves around the teen age group and their step of life into adulthood. It focuses on relationships, success, loss as well as their enemies. The target audience is mainly the teenage group, however many adults enjoy the humour or content within this types of films as well.

Shrek

Shrek begins off with the name of the production company 'DreamWorks' which is followed by a short narration which foreshadows what the film is based on. It then shows the title of the movie which is customized in a font that almost depicts Shreks appearance - especially his ogre ears.

The titles are animated and very naturalistic which gives it that effect of a swamp habitat of the main character. This title sequence also gives an insight of the behaviour of the character, allowing the audience to become familiar with him.

X-Mas Homework

TASK 13: macro sub genre conventions

TASK 12: Differences & simularities of sub genres

   

I analysed 10 things I hate about you and grease for high school drama and kidulthood and boyz n the hood for youth drama. From this we can see that high school dramas have more credits than youth dramas probably because high school dramas are usually mainstream and heavily funded whereas youth dramas are usually more independent. we see important additional information behind the titles in both genres. In both kidulthood and 10 things I hate about you, we see the different social groups among the young. In kidulthood it is set in the playground and we see the outcasts, bullies and popular girls likewise in 10 things I hate about you the walk through the school and we see the smart ivy league students, the cowboys and the popular girls. This shows us the dynamics between the characters and gives the audience a good idea of the atmosphere and an overall sense of the film.

Task 13: Sub-genre conventions

Every film consists of macro elements also known as 'syntactic' and the two sub-genres which are High School drama and Youth drama; macro conventions are the structural elements in a film which includes the person who produced the movie along with the audiences for the film, followed by the films cast and plot lines. Some aspects which are usually focused on in the sub-genres are:

- Youthfulness of central characters

- Conflict with relation ships

- Conflict with an older generation

- Management of adolescence by families, schools, law etc...

- Romance

- Sexuality and sexually active

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Task 12: Analyse order of titles for highschool and youth dramas

After analysing two different title sequences from both sub-genres: High School drama and Youth Drama, I recorded the order the opening credits were introduced and analysed different factors from typology to the amount of content (cast or participants of the movie) they mentioned.

One of the Youth Drama films I analysed was 'Kidulthood'. The title scene beings with the 4 production companies which helped produced the movie and goes straight to the movie title which has the typology of big bold text and is a informal typology due to the fact that some letters are written in caps lock while others written in lower case letters and is placed on a black background to allow the film title to catch the attention of the audience instantly.

The title sequence of the Youth Drama 'Kidulthood' is polar-opposite to the title sequences of High School Dramas; '10 Things I Hate About You' consists of several opening credits to the movie beginning with the production company, followed by the movie title which has the typology of an animated font to show that the movie is about teenage life and is sort of in a rough handwritten format to show the handwriting style college students tend to use when talking notes. Title is succeeded by two cast of the main cast members due to the notability of their acting careers then is followed by different types participants of the movie from the production designer to who its written by.

The similarities they both of the sub-genre title sequences that I analysed is that they both mention the production companies that helped produce their movie, however, more differences seem to appear between High School and Youth dramas, for example, the title sequences of High School dramas contain a lot of effort put into them and have a high budget to produce their movie, whereas, Youth Dramas contain only the title and maybe some casts as they are on low budgets and the less and simple their titles are then the low the price.

Analysis of title orders in High School drama and Youth Drama films.

Grease (High School Drama)

In this title sequence there is a huge amount of titles being shown in the order of:

• production
• title and production
• casting crew
• dance and musical sequences
• music supervision
• music and lyric
• associate producer
• produced on the Broadway stage
• editor
• production designer
• director of photography
• based on the original musical
• screenplay
• producers
• director

This long list of credits show that this film was handled by many important people that have worked together to make this film successful. Also, I learned that when the casting crew is mentioned the main characters are always shown first and this helps the audience get a good interpretation of the film before it begins.

The category/type of this title sequence are titles on animation and moving images, this helps engage with the audience and give of an enthusiastic and happy vibe. It also shows the genre of the film which is a musical romantic comedy. This also meets a typical High School Drama title sequence - showing teenagers who are enjoying their youth.

The font is clear and visible, and almost looks like the characters themselves have written it. They are also colourful to match each characters personality that is shown in the background image. For example, when the character Sandy was introduced she was being portrayed as Snow White which illustrates her femininity and innocence. The font adds to this with a yellow font which radiates her lovely nature. This is shown throughout the clip with the various characters shown in the title sequence.

Boyz N The Hood (Youth Drama)

This title sequences credits were completely different from Grease. It had very few in comparison which were only the productions, title, two quotes and the location and year of the films plot.

However, the two quotes that were introduced in the opening sequence were vital to the storyline of the film. Even though, the casts were not introduced to give an insight of how the film will be like, the quotes played a big hand in that instead. It automatically makes the audience understand that the film is about a particular ethnicities hardship towards life.

Also, this category/type of title is titles on a blank screen. This helps show the seriousness of the film as it only focuses on the important facts the audience should know. The font is not creative, but simple and bold. However, word 'boyz' and 'n' used in the title of the sequence gives a sense of uneducated characters, the title is disorganised and this can be a contrast to the characters lives of the film.

Moreover, the footage that was shown in the opening sequence clearly shows the conflict between the students and teachers. A child using a gun, and several gunshots being heard shows the danger and hardship the children will be going through throughout the film.

From my analysis, the differences between a Youth Drama and High School title sequence are shown clearly. High School Drama’s give off a exciting vibes whereas Youth Drama’s are full of tension and go straight to the dilemma of the film. Also, the lack of credits from a Youth Drama may be because of the low budget and because t is a film that is outside the major film studio. However, these differences help the audience acknowledge what type of film they are watching and the use of font help emphasise on the plot of the films as well.

What are the two sub-genres of Teen Drama Film?

Task 11: What are the sub-genres of Teen Drama films?

The two sub-genres of Teen Drama films are youth dramas and highschool dramas.

Youth Dramas: mainly focus on the social aspect of teenage life and how they face dilemmas which is often portrayed with the a male actor as the protagonist. Mostly contains teenagers which are rebellious or are involved in conflict with peers or other citizens. An example of youth dramas are films like 'Kidulthood' and 'Attack of the Block', both these movies contain teens with difficulties of adolescent experiences/scenarios.

Highschool Dramas: mainly focus on teens in the verge or in highschool life and is usually tend to have several social groups within the highschool which they compete with due to rivalry and majority of the time the protagonist is a female and often celebrate the idea of being young or find the idea youth of being fun and joyful. Highschool dramas became popular in the 70s, 80s and 90s and contained a variations with the sub-genre. An example of highschool dramas are films like 'Breakfast Club', 'Mean Girls' and '10 Things I Hate About You'.

4 types of film openings.

There are four main categories of title sequences; they consist of titles on a black screen, titles over still images, titles over moving images and titles using animation or motion. These film openings have different conventions and reason for use.

Here is a worksheet that I have worked on regarding this:

My favourite title sequence is from 'Catch Me if You Can'. This is because I liked the way the title designer used animation to match the plot of the story, which was of a character running away. Many significant objects such as aeroplanes and cars show this.

 

TASK 11: Genre & Sub Genre

	Youth drama	High school drama
Based on…	Storylines are more based on the social dilemmas and situations faced by the main character,	Usually based on the socialization of teens and young adults in schools colleges or at home
Character traits	Main character is usually male- often rebellious and/or in conflict with others like authority, E.g. police parents or teachers	Often main character is a female but the male love interest or otherwise is also a focus
Representations	Youth is represented as   difficult or a problem E.g. Attack the Block Kidulthood	Often the characters are represented as young and fun which is glorified
EXTRA	Teen audiences see it as a more authentic representation in comparison to high school dramas	Usually focus on conflicts within school groups or on changes in the characters, often exaggerated

Macro Conventions analysis of 4 Title Sequences

Macro Conventions of Title sequences

High School Drama:

Superbad

Superbad falls under the sub-genre of High school. The title sequence starts off with animation of two guys dancing. The key plot understood from the title sequence is that two best friends are to be moving up from school soon and will be separated. There is a complex representation of these friends as their conversations are very inappropriate yet they are likeable and funny. These friends are sex obsessed who insult each other and want to do everything to experience the fun that they want to accomplish.

Youth Drama:

Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone - Yougov Profiler.

The YouGov profiler gathered information, which has allowed people to see who is the target audience for the film Harry Potter & the Philosopher's stone.

Each slide shows the demographic, lifestyle, personality, use of brands and use of entertainment of a Harry Potter & the Philosopher's stone fan. For example, a fan would be female at the age of 41 who loves to sleep and go on day trips.

  

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Favourite film analysis.

One of my favourite films I decided to analyse is ‘The Great Gatsby’. The title sequence for this film begins with the name of three different productions one by one. It is then followed by the films title in bold but classic font, which suggests this film, is based during the oldern times. After the movie title being shown, the casts of the film are shown according to their importance towards it. Also, the casts are shown in different sides, from left, right and centre matching the titles font but in smaller size and having different backgrounds. Then after introducing the cast to the audience, the visual effects supervisor and music people are shown. Most importantly, in the title, it mentions how this film is based on a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald – his name was shown in the classic font whilst ‘based on the novel by’ was in a normal, Arial font. Lastly, the executive producers, screenplay and director were shown. This title sequence is animation and motion, which were used carefully to show the rick background of the characters, with matching music.