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:

 •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

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.

'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.

Notes from group meeting discussing film opening

These are the notes we had taken during our first production meeting.
We discussed characters, credits, music, settings, research, genre, ideas for the storyline, and how we could do our opening sequence.

Eva's notes at group meeting (21/01/14)



Chelsea's notes from group meeting (14/01/14)

Chelsea's notes from group meeting (14/01/14)

Teen Drama mood board, done by collaging different images, from both the internet, as well as magazines.

LOL
Director: Lisa Azuelos 
Rating: 12
Starring: Miley Cyrus

      

Synopsis:

Pretty teen Lola and her high school friends struggle to elude their bewildered parents, pull off daring hookups and sow some seriously wild oats in this coming-of-age comedy for the social media era.

 

LOL trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

 Cyberbully trailer

 2)    Cyberbully

 Director: Charles Biname

Rating: U

Synopsis:

Teenager Taylor Hillridge finds herself a target of bullying by fellow students through a popular social website in this topical drama with a message. After the abuse makes Taylor afraid to face her classmates, her mother gets involved.

 

3)      The Last Song

Director:  Julie Ann Robinson 

Rating: PG

Synopsis:

Miley Cyrus has top billing as 17-year-old Ronnie Miller, a rebellious former piano prodigy who doesn't hide her hostility after being sent off to spend the summer in Georgia with her estranged father (Greg Kinnear). Rebuffing her dad's attempts to reconnect, the aloof Ronnie begins to thaw when she meets beach volleyballer Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth). Kelly Preston also stars in this contemporary tearjerker based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.

 

4)      Prom
Director: Joe Nussbaum 
Rating : U
Synopsis:

Reinventing a rite of passage event for a new generation of prom-goers, this Disney movie mixes the stories of several high schoolers who are alternately planning on going -- or not going -- to the biggest dance of the year.

 Prom trailer

 

 

5)      Sleepover 

Director: 

Rating: PG

Synopsis:

As their first year of high school looms ahead, four best friends have one last summer sleepover. Desperate to shed their nerdy status, they take part in a night-long scavenger hunt that pits them against their popular archrivals.

Sleepover trailer

 

6)      Ginger and Rosa  

Director:

Rating: 12A

Synopsis:

With the Cold War looming over them, teen best pals Ginger and Rosa share everything in early 1960s London -- until betrayal drives them apart. Sally Potter directs this intimate period drama steeped in the anxieties of the dawning nuclear age.

Ginger and Rosa trailer

 

7)      Anita and me                         

Director: Metin Huseyin

Rating: 12A

Synopsis:

As a recent Indian immigrant, 12-year-old Meena is so desperate to distance herself from her family and become part of the British in crowd that she swears allegiance to the local bad girl, with disastrous results.

anita and me trailer

 

8)      Tuck Everlasting  

Director: Jay Russell

Rating:PG

Synopsis:

When a teenage girl named Winnie gets lost in the woods and meets Jesse Tuck near a magic spring, she befriends his family and learns why they need to keep their lives a secret from the rest of the world.

Tuck everlasting trailer

The synopsis for each film was taken from www.netflix.com.

 

Teen Drama Research - By Eva Peerless

Teen Drama Research - By Eva Peerless

History

• Teen dramas were relatively non-existent within the first 45 years of television
• One of the first popular teen dramas was Beverly Hills, 90210
• They became popular in the early 1990s
• The first teen-orientated shows did not call themselves teen dramas
• The longest running teen drama was Grange Hill - running from the late 70's to the late 2000's

Facts

• The most poular teen dramas are set in affluent locations e.g. The O.C, or fictional small town settings e.g. One Tree Hill
• Most teen dramas have a cast of attractive, upper-middle class characters
• The teen drama genre originated in the United States, but since has also become popular in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada
• Some teen dramas can be sub-categorised e.g. Action Adventure - Smallville
• Teen dramas often include situation comedy

A few examples of teen dramas (United States)

• Smallville
• 90210
• Switched at Birth
• The O.C.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• The Wonder Years
• The Vampire Diaries

 

 

A few examples of teen dramas (UK)

• Skins
• Misfits
• Grange Hill
• Wolfblood
• Hex
• The Biz
• The Cut

ramas can be sub-categorised e.g. Action adventure - Smallville