Category: All Posts

Eighth Grade Analysis

Today I decided to analyze the title sequence for Eighth Grade (2018). The movie was directed by Bo Burnham and follows Kayla (portrayed by Elsie Fisher) as she goes through her last week as an eighth grader. In the title sequence, I noticed a fantastic use of mise-en-scéne. The setting in the beginning is a pre-teen’s bedroom, distinguished by decor such as pink walls and bedding, posters, string lights on the walls, and encouraging sticky notes plastered around a mirror. Kayla uses various props, such as her cell phone, a laptop that’s playing a makeup tutorial, and makeup, to show she is just the average teenage girl getting ready for school. Her costuming also indicates this; she is wearing a yellow shirt, blue backpack, and a choker. As for cinematography, there were lots of tracking shots of Kayla walking to school and in the hallway. There was an impressive push-out shot towards the end of the sequence; it starts with a woman in a video and pans around the room until it finally lands on Kayla. I especially enjoyed the montage editing that was used; I also liked the crosscutting between Kayla walking in the hallway to various kids doing stereotypical middle school things (sniffing markers, putting in rubber bands that go on braces, and stacking markers). The whole clip sets the adolescent/middle school mood for the rest of the movie. The opening really isn’t that comedic; the only comedic part is the crosscutting between Kayla and the stereotypical middle school activities. This employs dry humor because the intended audience is older than Kayla’s age, so they can now laugh at the stereotypes of those years that they probably experienced themselves.

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The opening of Eighth Grade is a really good example of a coming-of-age opening, but doesn’t employ enough comedic elements for me. I hope to include more comedy in my title sequence, however this may change when I begin scripting.

Mean Girls Analysis

I also analyzed Mean Girls (2004). The movie was directed by Mark Waters and is about how a girl named Cady (portrayed by Lindsay Lohan) adjusts to life at her new high school. Here are some things that I noticed throughout the sequence:

• The first shot is a low angle two shot of Cady’s parents. They are giving her instructions on what to do with her lunch money and asking if she remembers her phone number. We get the impression the are speaking to a small child.
• There is an over-the-shoulder shot from the point of view of her parents, and Cady pops out from between their shoulders. Center framing is used. It is clear she is not a child, so it is funny that she is being treated as one.
• Cady’s dad uses a camera to take Cady’s picture with her mom. There is a freeze-frame and a camera click when the picture is taken; Cady’s mom looks like she is about to cry. A close-up shot is used. This is a stereotype of how mom’s behave on their child’s first day of school, but it’s ironic that she is behaving in this way when Cady is clearly a teenager.
• We hear another camera click and then there is another freeze-frame, implying that another photo was taken. Cady’s mom is bawling and hugging her, while Cady looks scared (in a comedic way). A close up is used again.
• Narration: “I know what you’re thinking; homeschool kids are freaks.”
• After Cady says this, it cuts to various clips of supposedly “home-schooled” children doing weird things (spelling an impossible word at a spelling bee and saying something that is clearly incorrect about guns and religion). The costuming of these “home-schooled” children makes them look odd as well; the spelling bee girl is wearing thick glasses and pigtails, and the religion boys are dressed like farmers. A country sound motif is used when the boys are onscreen, most likely to insult their intelligence.
• Various freeze-frames of Cady in Africa with her family while she narrates; this is a quick way to get background information on the characters to the viewers. This is a flashback.
• After the flashback, Cady is at school and about to go inside.

This is a very busy film opening; the use of freeze-frames and narration makes the title sequence packed with information. I like the fast start, however I am concerned that if I start my title sequence with this much going on I will lose sight of what I actually need to accomplish.

Sources

• Eighth Grade Title Sequence
• I own the Mean Girls DVD, but it can be rented here: Mean Girls Movie

In order to get a feel for the way coming-of-age comedy films begin, I decided to watch The Edge of Seventeen (2016), directed and written by Kelly Fremon Craig. This movie is about a girl named Nadine (portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld) who has struggled to fit in her whole life. She and her mother always seem to be against each other, and it gets even more difficult when her dad dies. Her older brother (Darian) has everything handed to him on a silver platter, while she has to struggle to obtain less. All she has is Krista, her best friend. But when Krista starts dating Darian, Nadine’s struggles get even tougher. This film addresses the themes of first love, family issues, friendships, and the problems teenagers face when they are discovering who they are. It employs a mixture of verbal, slapstick, and deadpan comedy, which makes the film pretty funny. I really enjoy this movie and immediately thought of it when I came up with the idea for this title sequence.

Some of the following images may be blurry, but the meaning behind them is still clear.

Mise-en-scène

Costuming

Nadine is wearing black sneakers, gray socks, a yellow skirt patterned with white dots surrounded by blue and red, a gray t-shirt with a red logo for a university, and a bright blue jacket with red, yellow, and white stripes and a fur collar. Her hairstyle is nothing extraordinary; it is wavy, maybe a little tousled. Her makeup is very minimal; so minimal that you wouldn’t even notice it. Her outfit doesn’t match, but the colors sort of go together in a way that grabs the eye. This disheveled appearance allows us to get an idea of Nadine’s quirky personality.

Mr. Bruner (portrayed by Woody Harrelson) is dressed, quite frankly, like a teacher (navy shirt with checkered dark green and burgundy lines) which doesn’t really tell us much about him other than the fact that he is…wait for it…A TEACHER! It may indicate a cynical personality, but we don’t really get that vibe until he begins speaking.

Lighting

High-key lighting is used throughout the intro. It shows that the action is taking place during the day and at a school. High-key lighting is a convention of many comedy movies, so it makes sense that it was used in this instance.

Setting

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The title sequence is taking place at a school during the day. It is clear that the school day has already been going on for quite a while by the time Nadine arrives. A school setting fits the genre conventions of both comedy and coming-of-age films.

Props and Decor

The clip begins with a shot of Nadine’s feet getting out of a red car. The car is an important prop, since it often symbolizes freedom in coming-of-age films.

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As Nadine moves through the school, we see various decor elements that indicate to us that it is in fact a school. We see kids with backpacks and books, lots of stairs and walkways, as well as a hallway full of lockers and bulletin boards. When she gets to Mr. Bruner’s room, there are desks, filing cabinets, bulletin boards, a globe, a computer that looks ancient, and lots of papers.

On Bruner’s desk, there is a half eaten wrap and in his hands is a book he is reading. These props (and the lack of students in the room) indicate that it is his lunch break.

Bruner picks up a piece of paper and pretends it is a draft of his suicide note. This prop was used to add dark humor to the scene.

Cinematography

The movie begins with an eye-level shot of the ground. Then, the red car comes into the frame and we see feet get out of the car. The shot focuses on the back of her feet. Center framing is used.

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As the feet begin walking, we get get a tracking shot of them walking away from the car and towards the school. The camera then pans upwards to reveal the main character (Nadine) pumping her arms nervously as she walks through the school grounds.

There is a medium long shot of Nadine walking quickly down a set of steps. You can see her shake her arms a bit, as if she is shaking off something she did.

There is another close up tracking shot of her feet as the jog down another set of steps. They are slightly obstructed b y other people’s legs and feet, but it is clear which ones are Nadine’s. There is another mid shot of Nadine walking.

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As she enters the school building, an extreme long shot is used. Then it cuts to a medium long shot of her, you guessed it, walking through the hallway.

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There is another close-up tracking shot of Nadine’s feet going up stairs. Once again, they are slightly obstructed by other people’s feet and legs. The constant close-ups of her feet and tracking shots of her journey through the school emphasize a constant state of frantic motion. Then there is another extreme long shot as she finishes climbing the stairs.

Next is a series of high-angle tracking shots of Nadine walking through the hallway. Center framing is used to distinguish her between the rest of the crowd.

There is a side profile close up shot of Nadine. It is still a tracking shot. You can see her hair blowing behind her as she speed walks through the hallway. She puts her hands on her face, almost like she did something she wants to take back.

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Next there is a long shot of Nadine entering a classroom. It is a two-shot, since there is a teacher in the room. Mid shots are used during Nadine and Mr. Bruner’s conversation. Center framing is used on both of them. The framing shifts from a mid shot to a close up of Nadine in the middle of the conversation. This was most likely for comedic purposes. No over the shoulder shots are used in the conversation, which is most likely because the relationship between Nadine and Mr. Bruner isn’t a close one.

While Bruner is reading his “suicide note”, it shifts from mid shot to close up. This is only to emphasize a comedic point, and then it returns to being a mid shot. Nadine’s framing shifts back to mid shot.

Editing

The title sequence for this movie seems to start in the middle of the story. What I mean by this is that the events happening in the clip are not the first events of the whole story; there are events that precede it that we haven’t seen yet. This intrigues the viewer, instilling them with the desire to know more. The overall pace of the intro is fast. There are an abundance of match-on action cuts as Nadine walks through the school. When she gets inside and is walking past the lockers, there are multiple jump cuts that show the passage of time and to keep the clip fast-paced. The pace slows when Nadine arrives at Mr. Bruner’s room; shot-reverse-shot is used to show the conversation.

Sound

The upbeat song that plays in the opening is “Who I Thought You Were” by Santigold. There is a lot of ambient sound in the opening, such as a car stopping, footsteps, and people talking. Nadine’s heavy breathing when she finally gets to his room adds a comedic element to the scene, and it continues when she is out of breath when talking. Nadine speaks very rapidly and seriously, while Bruner speaks calmly and sarcastically. Nadine begins her lengthy speech with,”Look, I don’t wanna take up a ton of your time… But I’m gonna kill myself.” Then goes into a lengthy narrative about how she doesn’t really know how to do it but she thinks she’s going to jump in front of a bus. Mr. Bruner tells Nadine he was just drafting his own suicide note, which read:

“Dear everybody. As some of you know, I have 32 fleeting minutes of happiness per school day during lunch, which has been eaten up again and again by the same… Especially badly dressed student, and I finally thought, you know what? I would rather have the dark, empty nothingness. I really would. It sounds… relaxing. Have a nice life without me, f***ers.”

His tone is thick with sarcasm. All the dialogue in this clip screams coming-of-age, and also adds dark comedy to the film.

Conclusion

The Edge of Seventeen is a great resource for me to use when working on my final. I noticed that not a lot happens in the opening scene of a movie; most of it was just her walking, and then it was a simple conversation between two characters. It is fast-paced and lively. I think the way Nadine is costumed and may pull from that for my final

Sources

• https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-edge-of-seventeen
• https://www.tunefind.com/movie/the-edge-of-seventeen-2016
• I streamed the title sequence from Netflix.
• I used various IMDB links throughout this post. Their specific URLs can be found when clicking on them.

I decided to do some research on the conventions that go along with coming-of-age films. Coming-of-age films focus on a young protagonist who grows up throughout the course of the plot. They either blossom into full adulthood or learn a valuable life lesson that shows maturity for their age. In order for these films to successfully get their message across, they need to be realistic and relatable. The characters should be real people that the audience can see themselves as. The problems they face have to be practical and not outlandish. The plot can’t be too complicated, otherwise it becomes too obvious that it is a movie and not real life. In other words, the audience really has to buy what the filmmakers are selling. Another thing I discovered about coming-of-age films is that they are often combined with comedy (ex. Juno, Clueless, etc.). This is good news for me since this is what I have chosen to do for my final.

Genre Conventions

A few of the common themes that can be found in coming-of-age films are:

• the tensions of teen and young adult life
• the struggles of growing up
• peer pressure
• teen parties
• money struggles
• rebellion
• friendship
• romantic relationships
• family problems

I think I will be able to use at least one of these themes, most likely the first one. I won’t be able to go in-depth on these topics, but I will be able to scratch the surface.

• Common character types include:
  • A young protagonist who is maturing throughout the course of the film. They are typically quirky and don’t “fit in”.
  • A parent/mentor figure who guides the protagonist through the journey. They often use “tough-love” on the protagonist. Parent characters often take on good cop/bad cop roles.
  • The protagonist’s best friend. They go through the journey with the protagonist and often help them along the way.
  • The protagonist’s romantic partner. A lot of coming-of-age films showcase first love, and the protagonist’s first crush is often a very important character in their development.

Common settings in coming-of-age films are small towns and school events, such as football games, pep rallies, and dances. There are also a lot of scenes that take place in cars while the characters are driving.

Coming-of-age movies follow a lot of the same story formulas. One of these involves the turmulous relationship between the protagonist and their parents. These will often start out with the protagonist seeing their parent as the enemy. The climax is typically a huge fight between the teen and their parent and the end is when they understand their parent’s actions and possibly reconcile. Another avenue available to coming-of-age filmmakers is the exploration of first love. This story formula follows a protagonist’s first crush/real romantic relationship. Discovery of sexuality is a huge part of this story formula. There is always an epiphany moment in which the protagonist realizes something about themselves or the world around them. Lady Bird(2017) does a great job of combining all of these elements.

I plan to go more in-depth on presentation aspects of coming-of-age films when I start analyzing title sequences. One thing I did find, however, is that lots of coming-of-age films feature rock and roll music scores.

Sources

• https://www.filmsite.org/comedyfilms.html
• https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/Secondary/PDFs/English/EdexcelGCSEDigitalCommunicationStudentBooksamplepages.pdf
• http://www.lfpl.org/mylibraryu/pdf/coming-of-age-session1.pdf
• https://www.filminquiry.com/beginners-guide-coming-age/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jM75Pw_DP4
• http://www.gvsd.org/cms/lib02/PA01001045/Centricity/Domain/…/COA_The%20Body.ppt
• I used various IMDB links throughout this post. Their specific URLs can be found when clicking on them.

Today I began researching genre conventions for comedy films so that I have a better understanding of how comedies are supposed to look. The purpose of comedies are to make audiences laugh. They often exaggerate the situations the characters are in, the way the characters speak, the way they act, and their personalities. One of the sources I explored was Film Site. They described comedies as films that,“observe the deficiencies, foibles, and frustrations of life, providing merriment and a momentary escape from day-to-day life.” Comedy films often have happy endings, even if the humor they employ is cynical.

General Formats

Through my research, it became apparent that there are two “general formats” that comedies follow: comedian-led or situational. Comedian-led comedies depend on a popular comedian (such as Tina Fey, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, etc.) to guide the viewer through various sight gags, jokes, and sketches. These types of comedies often require the actors to improv in order to get the feel of the scene right. Examples of comedian-led comedies include Sisters (2015), Night School (2018), and Grown Ups (2010). Situational comedies are narrative-driven movies that include comedy elements. They have a clear story arch and don’t focus on a popular comedian, even if one happens to be in the film. These types of movies are often combined with other genres to form hybrids. Examples of situational comedies include Clueless (1995), Eighth Grade (2018), and Friends (1994-2004). For my title sequence, I will be relying on situational comedy since I will not have access to a well-known comedian.

Types of Comedy

While researching, I also discovered different types of comedy:

One type of comedy is slapstick. Slapstick comedy is characterized by bold, physical actions that are meant to make the viewer laugh. Tripping someone or throwing a pie in someone’s face are examples of this type of comedy. Home Alone (1990) is a film that employs this form of humor, specifically in the scenes where the burglars break into Kevin’s home. I feel like this form of comedy will come in handy when making my title sequence since it doesn’t require dialogue.

Another type of comedy is deadpan. Deadpan humor is “the deliberate display of a lack of or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness of the subject matter.” This is also known as dry humor. An example of this form of comedy can be found in the red wire scene from The Office (2005).

There is also verbal comedy. Verbal comedy is when a person uses a play on words to express humor. Oxymorons, hyperboles, understatements, misuse of language, onomatopoeias, double entendre, and puns are examples of ways to incorporate verbal humor. The key here is that it must be said; if it is just an action, it is not verbal comedy. An example of this in a film can be found in Avengers: Infinity War, when Peter Parker’s friend Ned yells, “We’re all gonna die!”. I don’t think I will be able to use much of this form of humor in my title sequence, however it is important to know about.

Dark comedy is when a film uses sardonic humor to explore serious topics. It can be used in many different types of film (thriller, documentary, horror, etc.) in order to provide comedic relief after those serious scenes. The ending scene of Get Out(2017) is a great example of this. While Get Out is a thriller/horror film, it contains elements of dark humor throughout. I won’t be using this in my title sequence, since the early scenes of a film don’t often have enough serious scenes to warrant using dark comedy.

Parodies/spoofs can be defined as,“a humorous or anarchic take-off that ridicules, impersonates, punctures, scoffs at, and/or imitates (mimics) the style, conventions, formulas, characters, or motifs of a serious work, film, performer, or genre.” The Starving Games (2013) is a great example of a parody. From the trailer, it is clear that the filmmakers are making fun of The Hunger Games (2012). I won’t be doing a parody, however it is important to understand this form of comedy.

Genre Conventions

After learning about the different types of comedies, I researched common themes, settings, character types, story formulas, and presentation methods for comedy films. It’s important to note that comedy is a very fluid genre; it can be combined with other genres very easily, so there are some conventions that will be more useful to me than others. However, it is still important to research all of them so that I can pick which ones I want to include.

• I’ve noticed that common themes in comedy films are:
  • Good vs. Bad
  • Idiocy/Stupid Mistakes
  • Drugs/Drinking
  • Friendship/Family
  • Conflict

As for settings, comedies can really be set anywhere depending on 1) if it is combined with another genre and 2) the plot of the film. Still, some common settings include schools, houses, and bars.

• Some common character types include:
  • A group of protagonists that has members with the following traits: the idiot, the worry-wart, and the level-headed leader.
    • A single protagonist with one of the above conditions is also common.
  • An antagonist who has something the protagonist wants or teases the protagonist.
  • A mentor/parent who bosses the protagonist around and often gets annoyed with them.
  • A person that the protagonist meets during the progression of the story. They can either have a positive or negative impact on the protagonist.
• Comedies often star male leads with women in supporting roles.

Comedies can have any assortment of story formulas since they are such a fluid genre. However, there are a few common story formulas unique to the comedy genre. A lot of comedies feature an epic party that is essential to the plot line. There are often drunk people who the audience can laugh at. Other comedies feature a plot that is driven by school activities, such as football games, pep rallies, and classes.

As for presentation, comedy films often use high-key lighting. Lots of long shots are used to show the action that is occurring, and close ups are used to show reactions to the action. Push-in shots are used to show realizations and “A-ha!” moments, while pull-back shots are used to show abandonments (only in situations where it would be funny to do so). Brightly-colored decor is used in comedies.

Sources

• https://www.filmsite.org/comedyfilms.html
• https://www.filmsite.org/funniestscenes1.html
• https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/AssetsLibrary/SECTORS/Secondary/PDFs/English/EdexcelGCSEDigitalCommunicationStudentBooksamplepages.pdf
• https://www.allmovie.com/genre/comedy-d648
• I used various IMDB and Youtube links throughout this post. Their specific URLs can be found when clicking on them.

Welcome to my blog! This is where I will show the process of producing my final project, from research and planning to filming and editing. When I was getting ready to submit my proposal, I had no idea where to start. I originally thought of doing a horror film because there are so many directions to go in for that genre. However, I don’t really like horror movies, so I didn’t want to dedicate 3 months of my life to something I would dread doing. Instead, I decided to do a comedy/coming-of-age film entitled A Lot To Learn. I wanted my film’s plot to explore the impact that teachers have on the lives of their students. My parents are both educators and often reconnect with people they had as students 10 to 20 years ago. These people are adults with full time jobs and kids, yet they still remember what my dad taught them in biology class, or the sound of my mom’s high heels on the classroom’s tile. I’ve always been fascinated and inspired by this connection that seems to prevail through time. However, in my title sequence, I will only be able to scratch the surface of this complex topic. I plan to appeal to a PG-13 audience; teenagers to middle aged men and women. In order to get them to see my movie, I will have to advertise mostly the comedic elements of my film since that is what appeals to audiences of those ages.

When I came up with this idea, I immediately thought of movies such as The Edge of Seventeen and Mean Girls. These movies deal with the struggles of being young and trying to fit in as well as exploring the student-teacher dynamic through comedy. I plan to conduct thorough research on comedy/coming-of-age genre conventions and title sequences in order to produce the best possible film opening. I’ve made a list of films whose title sequences may be good to look at for research purposes.

I’ve also come up with a rough schedule for each stage of making title sequence:

• Research: Complete by 2/3/19
• Scriptwriting: Complete by 2/10/19
• Pre-Production: Complete by 2/24/19
• Production: Complete by 3/3/19
• Post-Production: Complete by 3/17/19

Sources

• https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2016/11/14/a-qanda-with-hailee-steinfeld-who-stands-on-the-edge-of-seventeen
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/mediaindex