After doing research on the general uses of music in film (blog post found here), I wanted to examine examples of different ways sound is used in comedy films specifically. This will give me a better idea of what to do in my film opening in order to conform to/break comedy genre conventions.
Wayne’s World
from Wayne’s World
Wayne’s World (1992) was directed by Penelope Spheeris and follows the story of two friends who are trying to promote their radio show. Towards the beginning of the movie, there is a scene where Wayne and his friends are driving through the streets of Aurora, Illinois singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. In this scene, the sound switches between diagetic and nondiagetic which adds a cohesive element to the entirety of the scene. As for ambient sound, Garth’s car is making really loud noises to show that it isn’t in the best condiotin, which adds to the humor of the scene. There is a part where Wayne and Garth pull over to see their friend Phil, who is clearly drunk, and the music stops playing. After a humorous exchange of dialogue, they all get in the car and the music starts again. As they continue driving, the characters head bang, play fake drums, and make funny faces in sync to the song. This in itself is comedic because it comes across as silly.
from Wayne’s World
When Wayne gets out of the car to look at the guitar, he says,”It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.” Behind this dialogue there is angelic, hopeful music. Wayne looks right in the camera and makes a very serious yet comedic face, which makes the combination of visuals and sound so humorous.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) was directed by Stephen Herek and tells the story of two teenage boys who time travel in order to get an A on their history report. Throughout the film, whenever Bill and Ted think of something clever or do something spectacular, they do an air guitar solo with their hands. Whenever they do this, a guitar solo sound motif plays. It happens every time and each time it gets funnier, mostly because the occasions they choose to do the air guitar are just plain stupid. My film opening won’t be able to include a sound motif because it would seem awkward; I am only making the first two minutes and there typically aren’t sound motifs in the first two minutes of a film.
Ghostbusters
from Ghostbusters (2016)
This article by NPR talks about how the original Ghostbusters (1984) (composed by Elmer Bernstein) and the Ghostbusters reboot (2016) (composed by Theodore Shapiro) used music to convey comedy to the audience. Shapiro chose to score Ghostbusters (2016) like a gothic horror film. His style of composing for comedy films is to compose a serious soundtrack that contrasts with the humorous actions going on onscreen. The director of Ghostbusters (2016), Paul Feig, said,”I find the only way to make things funny is to put funny people in real situations. Because of that, it’s very hard to then kind of put a funny score onto it.” This offers an explanation for why Shapiro chooses to compose this way; he believes comedy is made funny by the people, not the music. Rather than using music to highlight the comedy, which is more difficult and may be seen as cheesy, he uses music to create irony and deepen the humor to a new level. This is something that I don’t think I will be able to achieve in my title sequence since it is such a short amount of time. However, this strategy is really interesting and good to know about for future reference.
So far my title sequence has existed without sound. I wish I could leave it this way because I have a sinking feeling that once I add sound, the quality of my video will go down. The main thing that is concerning me is choosing a soundtrack; I have no idea where to start. From my previous research, I gathered that a lot of comedies centered around teens use primarily rock soundtracks. However, I want to learn more about music in film and decided to do some research.
Music in film is a powerful tool, one that is often overlooked by typical audiences. Most audiences aren’t thinking about the nondiagetic musical score that accompanies an action sequence; they are focused on the action itself. However if sound was taken away, audiences would notice. The overall pacing and feel of the the scene would be totally different; the audience wouldn’t be as invested in the film as they previously were. One of my sources put this effect into words perfectly by saying,”You can impact your audience visually in what you show, and you can impact them audibly in what you let them hear. But when you can harmonize the visuals with sound in a meaningful way, that’s the moment your audience goes from simply seeing and hearing, to actually feeling.”
When choosing the music for a scene, several things must be considered. The first is if the scene would have a richer effect if it was silent or just contained ambient sound. It’s important to realize that not all scenes need music; sometimes silence is more effective. The second is the purpose of the music; what are you trying to accomplish? The final thing to consider is the way the music effects the action and dialogue it is paired with. Is the soundtrack overpowering? Is there too little of the soundtrack?
After color correction, I decided the next step is to add titles to my opening. But when I went to do this, I realized I didn’t know how to do it effectively. So I started to research the best ways to integrate text into a title sequence as well as look back at my past blog post on titles and fonts.
Typography in General
from The Breakfast Club
Through my research, I found that the text part of a title sequence is called typography. The more formal definition of typography is “the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed.” Typography is information conveyed in an appealing way that makes the viewer want to read it. When making text appealing, it is important to consider font, color, placement on the screen, and integration into the scene. The source I looked at references the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol title sequence and how it uses certain camera angles to sort of “set up” the text; these camera angles subconsciously indicate to the viewer that text will be appearing on the screen and that they should look for it. It’s important to note that Mission Impossible isn’t in my genre so the strategies they use may not necessarily apply to my project. However, it is important that I’m exposed to different techniques in case I decide they are applicable to me. The source I read warned against using cheese fonts, which is something I have to be especially cautious of because of my chosen genre (comedy). The source also mentions it’s important to use fonts within the same family, but different thicknesses. For example, bolding some words and leaving others alone. This is something I noticed back when I first began researching titles in title sequences. Below are some examples of what this looks like.
Font Conventions
I have a whole blog post on this already (see Titles, Fonts, and Representation) but I will recap the main points here since I am starting to add titles into my title sequence. For their titles, comedies typically use simple fonts colored in white or another bright color. Like I mentioned above, titles often include a mix of bolded and unbolded letters.
I’ve decided to research a movie similar to mine that has been through the business side of filmmaking in order to generate some ideas for how I want to produce, finance, and distribute my film. I chose Lady Bird (2017), which was written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It was produced by A24,Scott Rudin Productions, and Entertainment 360. It was released on November 3, 2017 and distributed in the US by A24.
Early Stages
Greta Gerwig
The first draft of the script for Lady Bird was 350 pages long and had a totally different name: Mothers and Daughters. Director Greta Gerwig spent several years editing the script down to 200 pages and changing the title. She then askedher manager (Evelyn O’Neill at Management 360) if she would be willing to produce the film. Despite not having any prior producing experience, O’Neill accepted the role. Both of them began meeting with various producers and financers, as well as giving the script to select writers. Through this process, they obtained enough financing to account for a $10 million budget.
Production
Gerwig directing lead actress Saoirse Ronan
While $10 million seems like a lot of money, it wasn’t enough for Gerwig and her crew to shoot on location. They ended up shooting at the outskirts of LA, a single-story home in Van Nuys, and Catholic school in Pasadena. Production on the film began in August 2016 and proceeded mostly on schedule. According to my sources,”Gerwig turned out to be a machine when it came to keeping on track, leaving little room for time-wasting improvisation.”
Exhibition
Gerwig interviewing
Lady Bird used platforming as it’s method of exhibition, premiering at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2017 and at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2017. Like I said earlier, Lady Bird was released to four theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 3, 2017. The film grossed $364,437 opening weekend, with an average of $91,109 per theater. It was released to more theaters and made a total of $78,928,896 worldwide.
Interesting Facts
Gerwig worked closely with cinematographer Sam Levy in order to build a 110-page shot list that included blocking for every scene.
“Every bit as important as the settings was the soundtrack, and Gerwig toiled to assemble just the right playlist of early 2000s music. “No one in Sacramento knew who The Kinks were,” she says of her hometown’s lack of a counterculture. She leaned on Counting Crows, early career Justin Timberlake and Dave Matthews, whose hit “Crash Into Me” plays throughout the film. Gerwig also constructed an on-set playlist of ’90s and ’00s bangers, including selections from Blues Traveler and Alanis Morissette, that she would play in between shot setups.” (an interview with Gerwig, linked below)
“If these men — because it’s mostly men that have the money to make movies — had daughters or were raised with sisters, they totally understood the movie. They were like: ‘Yup, that’s my wife and my daughter.’ Or ‘That’s my sister and my mom.’ If they [didn’t], they would say, ‘Oh, do women really fight like that? Weird.'” Greta says in an interview.
After researching some common representation issues found in films in my genre, I decided that in order to fully understand how representation is portrayed I needed to analyze a scene from within the movie; not just the opening sequence. This excerpt from Clueless (1995) gives the audience the impression that women are emotional, superficial, and stupid, while it portrays men to be insensitive and immature, yet somehow still in control over the situations they are in.
Mise-en-Scéne
Various elements of mise-en-scene are used in the excerpt from Clueless in order to show gender representation. When the excerpt opens, we see Cher wearing a bright yellow shirt with a matching cardigan and a white tank top underneath the cardigan. We also see her friend Di, who is wearing a black and white skirt with a matching blazer, a red shirt, and a very prominent white and black hat. Their hair and makeup are simple, yet beautiful. The women clearly care about their appearances. This directly contrasts with Di’s boyfriend, who is wearing jeans that sag so low you can see his underwear and a green beanie. He doesn’t look as presentable as the women, which shows that he doesn’t care at all about how he looks.
from Clueless
The blocking in the debate class scene shows Cher to be at the front of the class, which the rest of the class watching her speak. Cher fills the frame with her confidence, however this blocking is meant to be ironic. Cher sounds ridiculous when she is debating, and by showing the rest of the class together and her separate, it gives the impression that she is being laughed at for her stupidity.
from Clueless
The most important prop in this clip is the report card, which Cher claims to have received a C- on. This shows that she isn’t the brightest, which adds to the idea that women are stupid.
Cinematography
As for cinematography, a high angle over the shoulder shot was used to when filming Di in the conversation between her and her boyfriend. This shows Di to be inferior to her boyfriend. A low angle over the shoulder shot was used in this same scene when filming her boyfriend. This shows that he is in control of this situation. Based on the elements of costuming mentioned earlier, it is clear that he is too immature to even dress nicely. So it is kind of odd to see him in control/having power over another person. This use of high/low angle shots also makes women appear weak.
from Clueless
The push in on Cher when she is debating is kind of ironic. Usually push ins indicate some sort of revelation, but when we are watching Cher and listening to what she is saying, we are not getting that “Aha!” moment; in fact, we begin to see her as kind of stupid.
Editing
from Clueless
The editing in this clip during the debate scene helps to create the ideas of gender listed above. It begins with Cher, who is speaking in front of the class. Then the clip cuts to the class, who is clearly not paying attention to what Cher is saying. Then the editing takes us back to Cher, who is continuing to speak (these cuts could all be considered match cuts because they preserve continuity in the scene). Then it cuts to the male teacher, who is clearly unimpressed with Cher’s speech. Finally, it cuts back to Cher who is finishing her tangent, and then back to the class, which erupts with applause. The match cuts used in this clip, especially the cut to her teacher, serve to further the assertion that Cher, while seeming confident, clearly has no idea what she is doing. This emphasizes the point that women are stupid.
Sound
from Clueless
Dialogue is the most useful aspect of sound employed by this clip. Cher’s friend Di says to her boyfriend,”I do not wearing polyester hair!” and “…cheap Kmart hair extension”. This gives us the impression that she is superficial because she is judging things based on their apparent quality. Di’s boyfriend says to her,”Is it that time of the month again?” and the male teacher tells a student,”Could the suicide attempts be postponed until next period?” These lines of dialogue show that men, who are in power over the relative situations they are in, are insensitive and even demeaning.
I decided to do some research on the types of titles and fonts found in coming-of-age comedies, as well as how different groups of people are represented.
Titles
The generally accepted order of titles is:
from Mean Girls
Name of the distribution company
Name of the production company
“A (producer’s name) Production.”
“A (director’s name) film.”
from Mean Girls
Starring…(starting with the lead actor/actress, then followed by the most important supporting cast)
Featured cast members
The title of the movie
Casting by…
Music by…
from Mean Girls
Production designer
Editor
Director of photography
Producer, Produced by…, Executive Producer
from Mean Girls
Based on the…(not applicable to my project)
Written by…
Directed by…
This order can sometimes be changed so that the distribution company, production company, and title of the film go first and the rest follows, or so that the title of the film is last. I will go back to this post when editing my film so I know what order to put my titles.
Fonts
When introducing the title of a coming-of-age comedy film, simple fonts in bright colors on black backgrounds. A few of the words are often bolded, but not all of them. None of the fonts have “tails” on the ends of their letters, which means they are using a sans serif font. The letters aren’t usually handwritten in coming-of-age comedies, but in just comedy films, sometimes handwritten, blocky fonts are used. Juno (2007) uses very animated and handwritten fonts, while the title sequences that I did in-depth research on use simple fonts (see above). I also noticed that the fonts used in title sequences don’t use lowercase letters; they are all capitalized. I don’t like the look of handwritten fonts, so I will be using a modern sans serif font, such as Dosis. I really enjoy the simplistic look of all capitalized titles, so I will be using this in my title sequence.
Representation
from Legally Blonde
Most comedy movies make fun of common gender, race, and class stereotypes. They often make women, races other than white, and the wealthy appear unintelligent. One way films do this is through a “dumb blond” female character, such as Cher in Clueless (1995), Elle in Legally Blonde (2001), and Karen in Mean Girls (2004). Women are often the target for sexual jokes that would be considered sexual harassment if they were said in the real world. The “male gaze” is a concept that is heavily used in order to make these sexual jokes. Comedies often make black and hispanic characters seem “ghetto”, violent, and poor while asians are shown to be nerdy.
from Lady Bird
Representation in coming-of-age movies is slightly more complex. In coming-of-age films with female leads, the “coming-of-age” part often focuses on a woman coming into her sexuality. They often do this after being used by a male romantic partner, which shows women that this is the only way to be comfortable with who they are and shows men that’s it’s okay to use women. There is also a clear distinction between economic classes in coming-of-age cinema; the protagonist is either poor (like in Lady Bird) or rich (like in Clueless). Like comedy films, the wealthy are often portrayed as stupid.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
from The Edge oenteen
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.
from The Edge of Seventeen
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.
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.
extreme long shot
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.
from The Edge of Seventeen
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.
from The Edge of Seventeen
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.
long shot
mid shot
mid shot
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.
from The Edge of Seventeen
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
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:
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.
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.
from Lady Bird
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.
A Lot To Learn 