Representation In Films

Learning Comment:
Social groups are represented in a number of different ways. The use of setting is particularly effective in establishing the social group as they are mainly set in a high school and teenagers are the ones to be there. Also, sound is particularly effective when it comes to showing what the characters personality is like- for example heavy music is used when the character is supposed to be bad whereas light, soft music is used when the character is nice. Moreover, clothing is also useful in portraying what the character is like- for example dark clothing suggests that the character is evil, simplistic clothing connotes that they are innocent and good and short, tight clothing usually suggests that they are popular and self absorbed. Fast paced jolty editing displays elements of chaos which would be associated with a character who is rebellious and possibly bad.

Narrative Structure

Learning Comment:
what I need to include:

• A clear villain, helper and villain shown. These are usually introduced in the opening (Propp's character theory)
• An equilibrium and disruption of equilibrium. I need to introduce something that will cause havoc with the previously peaceful storyline (Todorov's Equilibrium theory)
• Show binary opposites in my opening (Levi-Strauss) to show that there will be conflict between these two opposites and engage the audience.

Analyse Previous Students Work

Learning Comment:
I think that the use of point of view shots to show the characters view point would be effective in creating more empathy towards the character and to gain insight into their private thoughts and feelings. This could be accompanied with a voice over/monologue to show their private thoughts. I also think that zooming in on parts of the setting would be effective in setting the scene and therefore would enable me to show if the place the characters are in are dangerous or in fact are nice without having to set up an elaborate set. Music is very effective in the construction of a narrative as it shows the situation of the character and whether the situation they are in is negative of positive. The text can also suggest what the genre of film is so therefore I would probably use bright colours in mine to show that it has elements of comedy featured in it.
For my own video I need to:

• Make sure that the music represents what is happening- for example using sad music in an emotional scene
• Use camera angles that give hints on what may happen in the scene - for example POV shots to show that the character is searching for something
• Credit all the conventional people in the opening in an interesting way so that the audience is thoroughly engaged- I could do this by using dramatic music and showing the most important people on a black background to that the audience is not distracted by the setting and the dramatic music would make the audience interested.
• I also need to find a setting that is appropriate for what I am doing- this could simply be set in a school or a place that teenagers are typically shown to hang out at

Audience Research

I used the website 'Canva' to present my survey findings on a poster

Create your own user feedback survey














Learning Comment:
Overall, this task has helped my gain insight into what people actually like in a film and this can be applied to when I make my own opening sequences as I know what themes make an audience attracted to a film and what ones deter them from watching it. Moreover, the question about camera angles was particularly helpful in terms of responses as it has given my ideas about the initial shots I could take to really engage my audience and make it interesting to them- the responses showed a number of people like close ups as it make it obvious who the main character is and gives away parts of their personality which makes them relatable from early on. I have also come to the conclusion that to combat audiences not paying attention to the opening I could start with a really dramatic scene and then add in a black background with credits so that the audience is paying attention to the action but at times can only focus on the credits. Because the majority of the audience of coming of age films were female, I think choosing a female protagonist in my opening would be wise as it makes it more relatable for the audience majority.