Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The opening sequence of "New Guy" both develops and challenges the forms and conventions of teen comedy films. Although most of our opening sequence adheres to the conventions of the genre, we aimed to challenge some character representations and stereotypes. This allows our film to be more unusual and original, fitting it into the indie sub-genre. However, we had to consider our intentions of including enough of the typical conventions to attract our target audience. Also, we wanted our characters to be realistic and relatable for our targeted audience members. Our plot consisting of a new boy joining a high school in London is a typical narrative that would be in a 'coming of age' film.

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF TEEN COMEDIES

1. SOCIAL LIFE/SOCIAL CLIQUES

Most teen comedies incorporate social events (such as parties) and create humour for the audience as the focus of the main character usually revolves around their social status or popularity. These social gatherings are intended to show the different friendship groups within a school or university. The mise-en-scene of these settings usually involves dark lighting and loud music, and includes themes such as socialising and drinking.

Using this website I created a photo montage to show examples of films which include the concepts of social lives and friendship groups. (Left to right: Project X, Superbad, Project X, Pineapple Express, 21 Jump Street, John Tucker Must Die, Easy A, The Inbetweeners, Superbad)

How our sequence conforms to this convention: Our opening includes Arthur walking through the corridor amongst segregated social cliques. The other characters are either conversing, listening to music or playing sports with each other which signify the different friendship groups and social lives in the school. 

How our sequence challenges this convention: Our opening sequence does not include a party or social gathering outside the school. The entire opening takes place during the daytime and the idea of social separations is only shown in the school corridor. 

2. AN OUTSIDER/EXCLUDED CHARACTER

The main character is generally portrayed as different from the others, and ends up alone or excluded. Their characteristics or behaviour could include being socially awkward or having difficulty making friends in a new environment. (for example, Cady in "Mean Girls" joining a new school after having been home-educated). This creates humour for viewers between age 15-24, particularly in "Superbad" as the Seth and Evan's lack of social skills cause them to embarrass themselves. The function of our opening sequence is present the life of an isolated teenager, as in "John Tucker Must Die".

(Left to right: Juno, Desperate Housewives, Superbad, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Mean Girls, John Tucker Must Die, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Jeune et Jolie, Easy A)

How our sequence conforms to this convention: Arthur enters the school appearing confident and easy-going but soon comes to realise that he is disregarded by other students that make rude comments and push past him. He has to find the headteacher's room alone amongst the chaos of the hallway. (Cady in "Mean Girls" also finds herself overwhelmed by groups of students in the corridors).

This still from our opening shows how Arthur feels excluded and alone:

3. CASUAL/INFORMAL COSTUME AND PROPS

Usually, costume and props play an important role in distinguishing between different social groups in a film. For example, a typically "nerdy" character is dressed unfashionably or in smart clothes whereas the more popular characters would be perceived as conventionally attractive and wearing casual clothes.

 

The target audience would find Fogel's costume ("Superbad") humorous as he attempts to be fashionable but ends up conforming to the stereotypes of his character.

This scene from "21 Jump Street" reinforces the idea that costume and props depict the status of a teenage character (particularly in a school environment). The target audience would recognise this reference to teenagers being overly-concerned with appearance and infer the status of these characters based on their costume. 

 

Mike in "17 Again" defies the conventions of a teenage boy

The characteristics of the family in "Little Miss Sunshine" are demonstrated by their costumes (for example, Dwayne is portrayed as an anti-social teenager through his dark hair and casual clothes)

How our sequence conforms to this convention: Arthur is dressed relatively casually to connote his confidence, the audience will expect him to be popular at school. The intention of our group was to initially show characters that are overly-concerned with their appearance, and then realise the unimportance of it by the end of the film. "21 Jump Street" also fits this narrative format. 

How our sequence challenges this convention: Ironically, the more unusually-dressed characters seem to have more friends and look down on Arthur, (the group of goths push past him, other characters make spiteful comments in the background). This inversion of stereotypes is similarly demonstrated in "21 Jump Street" in which Greg finds himself a social outcast despite being good-looking and well-dressed.

4. STYLE - HIGH-KEY LIGHTING AND SATURATED IMAGES

Generally, openings of the teen comedy genre are heavily graded and saturated to convey a busy or exciting environment. Teen comedies often include light-hearted humour and make the gritty themes associated with 'coming of age' films seem less serious. This allows the film to include darker themes without losing the comedy element to them. The camera also tends to have a deep focus (wide depth of field) to further portray a busy and overcrowded setting. 

Brightly coloured clothing and props connote youth in "21 Jump Street"

How our sequence conforms to this convention: Actors in the corridor scene wear brightly coloured clothes, these images have been graded to add more saturation to them. This makes our sequence more lively and engaging to the audience. Our film is slightly less saturated than the images in "21 Jump Street" as we have included darker themes (such as exclusion of certain characters, loneliness).

A still from our sequence after grading

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF FILM OPENINGS

1. MORNING ROUTINE 

Many comedy openings consist of a morning routine with an upbeat soundtrack to introduce the main character. The "Legally Blonde" opening establishes Elle's character by focusing the camera on her movements so that the entire narrative revolves around her life. Comedies and dramas are conventionally structured to present the main character at the beginning and allow their life to unfold later on, (as in TV series "Ugly Betty").

How our sequence conforms to this convention: Our sequence similarly draws attention to Arthur's movements (through the split screen) and includes key iconography in the room such as clothes and a basketball. Arthur is also the only character being presented which puts emphasis on his importance in the film. Our opening also has a fast pace and rhythm to connote the busy life of a teenager. The brief shots and fast camera movement give the effect of an overcrowded school and further exhibit Arthur's overwhelmed feelings.

2. CLASSIC NARRATIVE PATTERN AND NARRATIVE THEORIES

This Prezi briefly summarises the narrative theories incorporated in our sequence and other media products of a similar genre:

Generally our sequence develops these narrative patterns, as Arthur's role is to move the plot along by being the main focus of the first scenes. Another film which directs the audience to one particular character (Aaron) is "127 Hours" in which there are no other actors present in the opening. In many indie films, the main character is perceived as a 'victim' and the audience feels empathetic towards them, (for example, "Precious" or Isabelle in "Jeune et Jolie"). There is usually a 'bad' or 'villainous' character also, as we have presented Arthur's problems as a result of certain teenagers at school.

CONVENTIONS OF TITLES

Titles of indie or teen films tend to be simplistic, messy or hand-written. For example, the opening for "Juno" incorporates drawings of the setting so that the titles blend in well with the background.

How our sequence conforms to this convention: The 'brain flower' font used for our titles is similar to fonts used in typical 'coming of age' films, but a more simplistic version. Our titles are effective in connoting the indie sub-genre also. They are subtle in our sequence so that the audience's attention is focused on the action of the sequence.

How our sequence challenges this convention: Our titles are not as distinct or noticeable as in "Juno", as they would take the viewer's attention away from the narrative of the opening. Having the titles appear more subtly is effective for our project as there is a lot happening in the sequence.

Examples of titles in our opening:

Titles in the split-screen were particularly effective as they did not detract attention from the main action:

Conclusion - Overall, we conformed to and challenged certain conventions of the teen comedy genre. This allowed our audience to relate to characters as well as reconsider their preconceived ideas about high school.