Analysis of the openings of two film scripts (NERD/GEEK GENRE) - YOUTH IN REVOLT

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:59:21 +0100

Youth in Revolt (www.youthinrevolt-themovie.com) is a story about a guy who is coming to grips with his adolescence, finding love in a girl he meets whilst on a short vacation. His 'bad' schizophrenic other side makes him revolt in life, telling him to do the things in which is good side wouldn't do. The following analyzed script is below and the full script is available to download on pdf.

Audience Research

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:47 +0100

Research into our production was conducted in primary and secondary fields. Me and Jack decided we would focus on the genre of teens, as that's the basis for our film, as well as trying to find a void or hidden niche in the film market. Here we sat down and thought of films or TV shows specifically catered for 12-19 year old teens in a spider diagram

From this, we concluded that there aren't many films or TV shows specifically catered for teens, as many of these get higher ratings from adults than teens. This made me and jack think, so we decided an experiment was needed.

We conducted research into what genre of teen film or TV people in our age group preferred. We asked 20 people at random and here are our results in a tally.

This concludes that the 2 most desired genres of teen film are comedy and thriller, both desired in the production me and jack want to achieve. The Nerd Bully is both comedy and has elements of a thriller in-between, but with this we can fill the void in which most teen programs do not, so hopefully our audience will be captivated by our final production

Analysis of the openings of two film scrips (NERD/GEEK GENRE) - SUPERBAD

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:06:51 +0100

Superbad (www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/superbad/) is a typical geek/nerd gene-red film about the events of 3 adolescent boys during the day and night. This film specifically cultures the genre in which me and jack were trying to get, with good overturning bad but from unlikely sources. The following analyzed script opening is below and the full script is avaliable to download on pdf.

Analysis of 3 Film Openings (NERD/GEEK GENRE) - Hitch, Catch me if you can, Mr Bean the movie

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:24:18 +0100

Hitch, a film starring Will Smith is about the fundamental stages in which a man must go through to win over any girl. He plays a love doctor, guiding men toward there true love through there first 3 dates, but with this is his own troubled love life in the midst.

Opening 5 minutes Analysis -

1.Production Design

In Hitch, Will Smith is a love doctor, so his persona has to be very smooth. He walks around in what seems to be a very expensive but casual suit, which sets him apart from everyone else in the surroundings. The set seems to be based on the modern day Manhattan, with busy but successful people, which contrasts Will Smiths role.

2.Colour

Very light pastel colours (green, light blue) to give the audience a relaxing atmosphere in which to view. Cars are modern but black or white, which adds to the smooth aspect of the scenes.

3.Lighting

The lighting is very high key, complementing the colour to allow the dialogue and actors to be the main interaction in the film. In scenes where it is dark, it always stays high key, to not allow a sudden change of mood in the film, and to allow a happy tempo to run throughout.

4.Actors Performance

Will Smith plays an excellent performance in the film, almost speaking in second tense, giving the viewer instructions on how to win any girl over. He plays a smooth acting role, which is complimented with his short cut beard and moustache. Other characters play there physique and stature to how they are dressed, for example with the 'fat person' Will Smith helps, he spills mustard and coke on himself.

5.Diegetic Sound

Typical Sounds of New York play throughout, with taxis and cars, possibly added in with a Foley Artist. These noises optimises New York, famous for the city that never sleeps. In the business environment of New York, there clearly is added 'chat' dialogue, which sets the portrayal of the rich working class environment in which he works in.

6.Framing

The height and angles of the first opening minutes seem to be very long, mid-angle shots of Will Smith, who talks into the camera as if it were a one on one conversation. He is always positioned in the middle of the shot, portraying a powerful role to be the most noticeable in the frame This whilst his soft, comforting words accompany the depth of field in which the camera is set at allows the viewer to be focused on the events happening, but not too focused as to not see other events happening in the background.

A true film starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks about the life of one of the most notorious bank fraudster ever to have lived. The thing is though, is that he's only 17 when he started, which makes this a very good film to focus on teens of different generations and of different cultures.

Opening 5 minutes Analysis -

1.Production Design

As this film is set in the late 60's/early 70's, it was very important to have every detail looking from this era. The opening set portrays a very modern American house of that generation (Huge). Costumes are very typical of the era, with Frank Abagnale's father wearing a full suit and hat, and having a modern Cadillac of the time.

2.Colour

The colour is quite bled in this film, symbolising the era well to the audience. Dark wood was very modern of the era, which is seen a lot in the opening 5 minutes as the interior of the house (which comes under production design too).

3.Lighting

Mostly low key, with the exception of high key when highlighting more serious aspects of the film (e.g when franks father is dancing with his mother). Lighting can also be contrasted with the wall street crash of that era, with the darkness of recession against the darkness of the light.

4.Actors Performance

Di Caprio's character (Frank Abagnale jr) is 17, which must be a very hard role to play from an at the time aged 29 year old man. His hair is gelled back, which researching into haircuts of the time was typical of the teen culture. The main characters in the opening sequence have very bright make-up, which, to parallel against the low key lighting gives them a brighter contrast on screen than extras in the background.

5.Diegetic Sound

Like Hitch, Catch me if you can is set in New York but in a different generation and different setting. There is clearly added taxis noises, which is part of New York as a culture, but also there is a unique sound which evidently would be hard to capture, and that is the sound of car's from that era. Paradoxically to Hitch, this sets and makes Catch me if you can a very clever and well organised mise-en-scene production.

6.Framing

Not just noticeable in the whole film, but in the opening sequence, is that the two main characters of Di Caprio & Hanks are always framed and shot in the centre of the camera, usually a medium shot. This shows they are of the most powerful portrayal, and wanting the viewer to see them as centre of attention to make the narrative true. There aren't any true low or high angle shots in the film, as the action is based mainly central and on the ground, so mid angle shots seem appropriate here.

Mr Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson) is a nerdy but dumb character whom finds himself in the most ludicrous situations in life, with no sense of logic at all. In the movie, he visits an art gallery in America, but successfully manages to destroy an 80 millions dollar painting, which rightly puts the film as 'The Ultimate Disaster Movie'

Opening 5 minutes Analysis -

1.Production Design

With Mr Bean, he wears the same jacket, shirt, tie and trousers which sets him unique from others. As the opening scenes do not take place at his house, instead they start in an art gallery, a huge contrast and parallel vortex against the persona of Mr Bean, who instead is considered a dumb and 'retarded' worker. However the props and costumes of the film are spot on of the era, mainly thanks to its being shot in this generation.

2.Colour

The colour of the art gallery has to be lively, as anyone could tell you that there are no bright colours against a dark wooden surface, however I believe the colour of the film is not seen in the set, but in the liveliness of Mr Bean as he continues to make a mockery of himself.

3.Lighting

The majority of the lighting is high key, as its set inside art galleries which usually need lots of light to display the paintings, so detail to the mise-en-scene has been cleverly thought of here. Lighting on Mr Beans face is high too, as his facial expressions play a huge role in setting the characters persona and actions, which singles him out differently to the other characters.

4.Actors Performance

The Actors Performance around Mr Bean singles him out uniquely as an 'odd' character. Mr Bean clearly has no make up, due to the type of personality he is, assuming he only washes his face. He moves around the screen differently to other characters, as his unnatural appearance has to be shown in more ways than his speech and looks.

5.Diegetic Sound

In the opening sequence, the only true diegetic sound is the weird pondering noises which Mr Bean makes as he goes about his daily life, thus backing up the mise-en-scene off his odd character. The noises of the kettle and stirring of the tea seems natural and unedited, possibly to show a smoother finish.

6.Framing

What is unique with Mr Bean is that he's never really central to the camera, thus distinguishing from the other characters in films I have described above. His character is always in frame though, with a very strong depth of field. The majority of shots in this film are long, singling Mr Bean out from the norm of the people around him. This is a very strong effect, as it portrays him as a stronger character from the people around him.