Before starting to produce our title sequence, I had to conduct a survey in order to fully understand our
demographic. I set up a questionnaire
on ‘Question Pro’ and then using social media such as ‘Facebook’ we asked
people to do the survey. After a week of
our questionnaire being online, I collected the results. 50 'teenagers' took part and 27 were male and 23 were female. Here are our results for every question;
14 March, 2014
Teen drama research
I continued to research into different teen dramas that are
out there..
Teen dramas have got to be one of my favourite styles of film and TV because I can personally relate to them in some cases, as they are based on issues that teenagers will probably have to go through at least once in their teenage life. These issues/ problems are:
1.Coming of age
2.First love
3.Rebellion
4.Conflict with parents
5.Teen angst
6.Alienation
7.Sex
8.Drugs
9.Alcohol
10.Sexuality- (gays and lesbians)
Codes and conventions of the teen film genre are different depending on the film, the most common conventions of a TV drama can include but they can include alcohol, drugs, high school and parties. This shows that when dealing with a teen drama we have to focus on the codes and convections so the audience understand our representation of teen drama as they can see it in our opening sequence. The classic codes and conventions of teen film come from American films where one of the most widely used conventions are the stereotypes and social groups. The stereotypes usually used include:
Teen dramas have got to be one of my favourite styles of film and TV because I can personally relate to them in some cases, as they are based on issues that teenagers will probably have to go through at least once in their teenage life. These issues/ problems are:
1.Coming of age
2.First love
3.Rebellion
4.Conflict with parents
5.Teen angst
6.Alienation
7.Sex
8.Drugs
9.Alcohol
10.Sexuality- (gays and lesbians)
Codes and conventions of the teen film genre are different depending on the film, the most common conventions of a TV drama can include but they can include alcohol, drugs, high school and parties. This shows that when dealing with a teen drama we have to focus on the codes and convections so the audience understand our representation of teen drama as they can see it in our opening sequence. The classic codes and conventions of teen film come from American films where one of the most widely used conventions are the stereotypes and social groups. The stereotypes usually used include:
•The Geek/Nerd
•The loner
•The outcast
•The new kid in school
Apart from the characters there are many other codes and
conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around high schools
as this allows for many different social cliques to be show.
THE 10 BEST TEEN DRAMA FILMS OF ALL TIME
1) The breakfast club
2) fAST TIMES AT Ridgemont HIGH
3) Ferris Bueller's Day off
4) Dazed and confused
5) Empire Records
6) 10 things i hate about you
7) Ghost World
8) Donnie Darko
9) Juno10) the perks of being a wall flower
As part of research I watched some of the following teen/drama films to get the sense of what the codes and conventions are of a teen drama, displayed above are the top 10 teen drama films brought to you by pepsi.com
http://www.pepsi.com/en-gb/d/content/15536483/The-10-Best-Teen-Drama-Films-of-All-Time
12 March, 2014
What do teenagers like and dislike? (Primary Research)
What do teenagers like and dislike? (Primary Research)
I interviewed 20 teenagers between the ages of 15-19 on what they like and dislike. I gave them a range of things to like or dislike (from food to fashion), and here are the results:
-Food: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Drinking: 17/20 liked, 3/20 disliked
-Parties: 16/20 liked, 4/20 disliked
-Smoking: 8/20 liked, 12/20 disliked
-Sex: 15/20 liked, 5/20 disliked
-Fashion: 17/20 liked, 3/20 disliked
-Social networking sites e.g. Facebook/Twitter: 18/20 liked, 2/20 disliked
-Smart phones: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Taking photographs: 18/20 liked, 2/20 disliked
-School/College: 1/20 liked, 19/20 disliked
-Parents: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Friends: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Films: 19/20 liked, 1/20 disliked
-Music: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
From conducting this survey, I have found out that on average, teens mostly like food, smart phones, friends, parents and music. Because it was a minor survey, that does not conclude that all of these things should be included in the film. It simply allows a few themes and ideas to include within our film.
The knowledge that most people from my survey do not like school or college is also useful, because from that information, we could include some sort of rebellion against school in our film.
Things I included in my survey
I interviewed 20 teenagers between the ages of 15-19 on what they like and dislike. I gave them a range of things to like or dislike (from food to fashion), and here are the results:
-Food: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Drinking: 17/20 liked, 3/20 disliked
-Parties: 16/20 liked, 4/20 disliked
-Smoking: 8/20 liked, 12/20 disliked
-Sex: 15/20 liked, 5/20 disliked
-Fashion: 17/20 liked, 3/20 disliked
-Social networking sites e.g. Facebook/Twitter: 18/20 liked, 2/20 disliked
-Smart phones: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Taking photographs: 18/20 liked, 2/20 disliked
-School/College: 1/20 liked, 19/20 disliked
-Parents: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Friends: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
-Films: 19/20 liked, 1/20 disliked
-Music: 20/20 liked, 0/20 disliked
From conducting this survey, I have found out that on average, teens mostly like food, smart phones, friends, parents and music. Because it was a minor survey, that does not conclude that all of these things should be included in the film. It simply allows a few themes and ideas to include within our film.
The knowledge that most people from my survey do not like school or college is also useful, because from that information, we could include some sort of rebellion against school in our film.
Things I included in my survey
What do teenagers like and dislike? (Secondary Research)
What do teenagers like and dislike? (Secondary Research)
Continuing my research on our target audience for our film - teenagers, I decided to get to the bottom of things and find out what teenagers actually like and dislike. From this, my group and I would be able to include these things in the film (or not), and be more aware of what appeals to our teenage audience, and what doesn't.
From my secondary research, I have found out that teenagers like:
-Loud music/Ipod
-Sleeping in
-A messy room
-Hanging with mates
-Ditching parents
-Phone
-Hot boyfriend/girlfriend
-'Cool' mates
-Social networking sites e.g. Facebook/Twitter
-Junk food e.g. McDonalds
-Food in general
-Taking photos with friends
-Taking 'selfies'
-Being alone sometimes
-Parties
-Drinking
-Porn
And apparently they do not like:
-Nosy parents
-Chores
-'Bitchiness'
-School
-Homework
-Being bored
-Babysitting
(Research carried out from www.wikianswers.com)
Of course, this is a large generalisation and not all teens will like and dislike all of the above. But as an average list, this research will help my group and I to consider our film content.
Typical 'teen' situation
Continuing my research on our target audience for our film - teenagers, I decided to get to the bottom of things and find out what teenagers actually like and dislike. From this, my group and I would be able to include these things in the film (or not), and be more aware of what appeals to our teenage audience, and what doesn't.
From my secondary research, I have found out that teenagers like:
-Loud music/Ipod
-Sleeping in
-A messy room
-Hanging with mates
-Ditching parents
-Phone
-Hot boyfriend/girlfriend
-'Cool' mates
-Social networking sites e.g. Facebook/Twitter
-Junk food e.g. McDonalds
-Food in general
-Taking photos with friends
-Taking 'selfies'
-Being alone sometimes
-Parties
-Drinking
-Porn
And apparently they do not like:
-Nosy parents
-Chores
-'Bitchiness'
-School
-Homework
-Being bored
-Babysitting
(Research carried out from www.wikianswers.com)
Of course, this is a large generalisation and not all teens will like and dislike all of the above. But as an average list, this research will help my group and I to consider our film content.
Our Teenage Audience
Our Teenage Audience
Our film 'Isn't that Illegal' is aimed mainly at teens from 15-19, although it may also attract young adults.
Because our film is specifically a 'teen drama' and, of course, has its main characters played by teenage actors, it is important to know what the teen audience will like and what they will most want to see in our film.
I started by carrying out some secondary research on what matters to teenagers. Here are some thoughts:
Teens share five characteristics that make them 'uniquely young':
Detached: No one desires the company of teens—they’re not unreserved as the way children are, which is why adults and children love being around each other. Because adults have reservations about spending time with teenagers and teens are skeptical of other teens—that leaves teens essentially on their own.
Oppositional: Teens define themselves not as who they are but who they are not—so the street savvy girl is highly focused on, say, not being the girl who likes riding horses.
High on influence: Teens develop special mix of exalted optimism and self-confidence when they discover their ability to understand and influence areas they’re interested in, such as politics and NGO causes.
Boundless: Teens experiment with limitations—they don’t try to experience their existence (like children do to feel the love of their parents) or to seriously engage in activities on the other side of social norms (as when adults visit swinger clubs to feel “free”). Instead, teens are simply interested in answering big questions about their abilities.
Fleeting: Teens feel entitled to change their mind and shift their fundamental ideas about the world—not because of insecurity or a lack of reliability but because that ability is seen as a fundamental privilege exclusive to being a teenager.
(Research used from www.redassociates.com)
By discovering these five aspects of what makes a teenager, well, a teenager, I can now get some further ideas of how to portray 'typical teenagers' in our film.
Photo of variety of teenage girls
Our film 'Isn't that Illegal' is aimed mainly at teens from 15-19, although it may also attract young adults.
Because our film is specifically a 'teen drama' and, of course, has its main characters played by teenage actors, it is important to know what the teen audience will like and what they will most want to see in our film.
I started by carrying out some secondary research on what matters to teenagers. Here are some thoughts:
Teens share five characteristics that make them 'uniquely young':
Detached: No one desires the company of teens—they’re not unreserved as the way children are, which is why adults and children love being around each other. Because adults have reservations about spending time with teenagers and teens are skeptical of other teens—that leaves teens essentially on their own.
Oppositional: Teens define themselves not as who they are but who they are not—so the street savvy girl is highly focused on, say, not being the girl who likes riding horses.
High on influence: Teens develop special mix of exalted optimism and self-confidence when they discover their ability to understand and influence areas they’re interested in, such as politics and NGO causes.
Boundless: Teens experiment with limitations—they don’t try to experience their existence (like children do to feel the love of their parents) or to seriously engage in activities on the other side of social norms (as when adults visit swinger clubs to feel “free”). Instead, teens are simply interested in answering big questions about their abilities.
Fleeting: Teens feel entitled to change their mind and shift their fundamental ideas about the world—not because of insecurity or a lack of reliability but because that ability is seen as a fundamental privilege exclusive to being a teenager.
(Research used from www.redassociates.com)
By discovering these five aspects of what makes a teenager, well, a teenager, I can now get some further ideas of how to portray 'typical teenagers' in our film.
09 March, 2014
Reflecting on original idea
 |
| Notes from pre-production process |
-Showing only four characters (Georgia, Jason, Jacob and Nalika) rather than six
-Titles in the sequence were embedded differently to make the editing simpler
-Music soundtrack was changed to 'F For You' by 'Disclosure' instead of music by 'Don Broco' - we changed this because the soundtrack fitted a lot better
-We shortened the 'pregnancy' scene due to timing and so that the opening would be less dramatic
-The settings we used were a bathroom and three bedrooms, instead of shops and outside houses, as the setting flowed better with the idea of 'teenagers getting ready'
Hopefully the changes we made during editing will help to create a flowing and successful opening sequence!
07 March, 2014
25 February, 2014
Production Diary entry - 25/02/14
Tuesday 25th February 2014 - 13:00-16:00
Today, my group and I continued editing, and hopefully created our final cut (excluding titles and music).
We added a music track to our film opening today, which we finally decided would be 'Disclosure - F For You.'
We chose this track because it is an extremely catchy song, which would create audience engagement. It also went really well with the timing of the film, even before we rendered it!
Originally, our music track was going to be a song by Don Broco, for the 'alternative edge', but we eventually decided that the music track should be very engaging and fitting with the variety of fast-paced and slower shots.
We chose this track because it is an extremely catchy song, which would create audience engagement. It also went really well with the timing of the film, even before we rendered it!
Originally, our music track was going to be a song by Don Broco, for the 'alternative edge', but we eventually decided that the music track should be very engaging and fitting with the variety of fast-paced and slower shots.
We had to mercilessly cut our film opening, cutting out huge chunks of shots that we had worked very hard on. Some examples are:
-The phone conversation between Jacob and Georgia (we had timed it to make it sound like a real phone conversation)
-Many of Nalika's shots e.g. perfume shot and alcohol shot
-Many of Nalika's shots e.g. perfume shot and alcohol shot
-Many of Georgia's shots e.g. walking into the bathroom and pregnancy test shots
-A few of Jacob's shots e.g. cologne shot
We had cut out Nalika's entire scene at first in order to fit the phone conversation in, however we decided today that the film would look much neater with Nalika's scene without dialogue, rather than a conversation with dialogue.
We will also have to mute quite a bit of the diegetic sound from our film, for example the camera clicking, in order to make the music fit with the film even better.
We will also have to mute quite a bit of the diegetic sound from our film, for example the camera clicking, in order to make the music fit with the film even better.
All the shots we took throughout our filming process will later be posted onto this blog as 'deleted scenes', however due to the time limit of two minutes, and keeping the film engaging, we had to cut put as much as we could.
Behind the scenes
For this production we didn't want to spend much money on props that we could easily manufacture or acquire at home. For example Eva made the pregnancy test box from paper: she had printed out a template and then stuck it on a box to give it shape.
Eva posing with the 'pregnancy
test' prop!
12 February, 2014
'Behind the scenes' on Nalika's scene for our film opening
This video is our 'behind the scenes' video from when we filmed Nalika's scene on Tuesday 04/02/14. The filming went efficiently well and we took many shots. We later realised that we had far too many shots and had to remove some, but we always said it was better to have too many than too little. An overall success!
Evaluation on Editing Session - 12/02/14
Evaluation on Editing Session - 12/02/14
I did a bit of editing for our film opening today. As my group and I had selected all the shots that we wanted to keep yesterday, it was easy for me to get started on cutting the shots, and ordering them suitably.
However, I could not get as much editing as I would have liked done today, for the simple reasons that the editing suite was only available for me to use for one hour, and I wanted opinions from the rest of the group.I tried to get a reasonable amount done with the time given, nonetheless.
I cut the shots down as much as I could to save precious time, and ordered them in a way that I think would look creative. Of course, this is not the final cut yet and I will need to get further opinions from the rest of my group, and the teacher, to make it look flawless.
So far, the editing of the film opening is going well and is a lot of fun to do, as well as being a chance to be as creative as possible!
I did a bit of editing for our film opening today. As my group and I had selected all the shots that we wanted to keep yesterday, it was easy for me to get started on cutting the shots, and ordering them suitably.
However, I could not get as much editing as I would have liked done today, for the simple reasons that the editing suite was only available for me to use for one hour, and I wanted opinions from the rest of the group.I tried to get a reasonable amount done with the time given, nonetheless.
I cut the shots down as much as I could to save precious time, and ordered them in a way that I think would look creative. Of course, this is not the final cut yet and I will need to get further opinions from the rest of my group, and the teacher, to make it look flawless.
So far, the editing of the film opening is going well and is a lot of fun to do, as well as being a chance to be as creative as possible!
11 February, 2014
Our Pitch For our Teen Drama Film Opening
This is our Pitch for our opening title sequence for 'Isn't That Illegal'.
During our pitch we conducted primary audience and genre research with our classmates.
Film Pitch
Below is the video for the film pitch we presented to our class. Overall, it was quite successful, although we did have a few hiccups. For example, some of the links took quite a while to load, but this didnt cause too much of a problem. Overall, we had quite positive feeedback from the audience, for the most part. We were able to conduct our primary research, by asking members of the audience to come up and answer a few survey questions. (In return for chocolate). This was quite useful, as we were able to gain an understanding of what teenagers want in a teen film. During our pitch we conducted primary audience and genre research.
Below is the video for the film pitch we presented to our class. Overall, it was quite successful, although we did have a few hiccups. For example, some of the links took quite a while to load, but this didnt cause too much of a problem. Overall, we had quite positive feeedback from the audience, for the most part. We were able to conduct our primary research, by asking members of the audience to come up and answer a few survey questions. (In return for chocolate). This was quite useful, as we were able to gain an understanding of what teenagers want in a teen film. During our pitch we conducted primary audience and genre research.
31 January, 2014
'Behind the scenes' on Georgia's scene from our film opening
We created this video after shooting our 'Georgia' scene today. We had fun making it, but used our time productively to create a hopefully successful scene.
'Teen TV' book for research
I borrowed this book - 'Teen TV' - (edited by Glyn Davis and Kay Dickinson) from the library for research. It includes information mainly on 'Teen Drama' television, but it explores the overall teen genre, therefore I thought it might be useful. It also goes into depth about the importance of television in teen life.
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