Summer Research

I have selected 4 film trailers;

1. Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. Boyhood
3. Me, Earl and the Dying girl
4. Paper Towns

Overall perception:

All of these films have a different and unique but modern approach to cinema and cinematography, however they are all from a similar genre being indie, coming into age movies, which is the genre in which I am thinking of doing for my main project. Each of these films have different stories, but have a common goal, to appreciate teenage years and the life we live, as we will not have another. 

This is a trend in which seems to carry on throughout Indie history, that we should see the beneficial sides to our lives and to show that there are a lot of bumps along the way, and even if you have quirky characteristics you can still become a better person.

Media language:

The language consists of context to do with school, education and relevant situations that the characters are in such as mental illnesses, dying, parties ect. These are relevant conversations in which I will consider to use on my trailer.

Sound:

Each of the trailers have a soundtrack, I have watched all of these films and some of the soundtracks I do not think are relevant to the film, such as the first trailer as this film is quite calm and slightly more emotional, compared to the uplifting soundtrack attached to the video. Also I realised that some of the trailers use more than one song, this is to change the overall feeling of the film, to show there are different emotions throughout, especially as this becomes relevant to the emotional rollercoaster most teenagers go through. This makes me think that I would need to include a soundtrack of one or more songs that would be relevant to either the character or the overall tone of the film.

Mise - En - Scene

Majority of the mise-en-scene of the trailers are in a school environment, in houses or out in the open (but this is a rare occasion). This shows the representation of teenagers as they do not go to many places, a part from the common, consistent places. This helps me to understand another feature of what I can use for my trailer, I can use houses, and schools for the main miss-en-scene of my project. I also would prefer to make a mix of both English and American styled cinematography, this is because I do not want my characters to wear a uniform as a signification as our youth, like you would see in an English film I would prefer to wear casual clothes as their costume. This is because it is easier to portray the characters characteristics this way, instead of through the rest of their costume and language. I also like the idea of including a bedroom scene as this is a common place for a teenager to hide or 'hang out'. 

Camera:

A variety of shots are used in each of the different film trailers, this is because it depends on the perception you want of you overall product. With the first trailer there are a lot of long shots, medium close up shots and dolly zoom. Whereas the second trailer includes a lot of close up shots, medium close up shots and high angled shots. The third trailer consists of eye level shots, close up shots and medium close up shots as they want you to be directly in the action. Finally the fourth trailer consists of lots of long shots, extreme long shots and medium close up's to show that there is a lot more to the film than just the characters. 

I feel that I will take more inspiration from the first and last trailer as I want to show the perception of both the outside world, and the characters and how there is a lot more to life than just what they are living. 

Editing: 

Most of the editing throughout the trailers are simple with either continuity editing and cut editing. This is to make sure the audience can see the different sections and frames of the trailer. It also helps to show that there is a link between the editing and representation of teenagers, as all of these films are based from a teenagers point of view. The representation or stereotype is that teenagers lives are supposed to be chaotic, and that they stop at moments they might not want them to, therefore using a cut edit makes the transition from different situation look chaotic and unplanned.
However in some of the trailers there are fades to different parts of the trailer, for example the first trailer includes fading, but not always to black. This is because the fades continue to similar parts to the characters life, for example school. Also some of the fading is to link to the sound bridge that the image catches up with the sound so that the audience can follow along with who is saying what.

I have also seen that some of the trailers that are similar include cut editing to title pages. This is to lay out plainly what is going on in the characters life, and to give a more indie effect to the film, as this is a common convention of Indie trailers and in some occasions, title frames are included in the actual film, to signify time passing, 

Representation: 

The overall representation of the teenagers are rebellious, caring about their friends, and feel misunderstood about their situations, therefore may turn to drugs or rebelling. This is something which I hope to challenge in my trailer and overall project, due to wanting to change the stereotype of teenagers. They should be appreciated for what they do, how unique each of them are and how they need to be influenced to make the most of their lives as a teenager instead of throwing it all away by being lazy. There is also a dominating theme of love throughout the trailers and representation of teenagers, this is something in which I would like to include as I think that this will bring in a wider audience of teenagers, this film will not be known as a 'chick flick' due to the romance but will bring in a wider audience of females due to their being a love situation involved.