Geeky pretty girl walks through the school corridor, a ball hits her head/body and she falls over. Popular Guy helps her up and she embraces this, then popular girl gets jealous at this and shouts ‘granny pants’ at the geeky girl, who’s skirt has flown up to reveal her underwear.
Geeky girl likes the popular boy but he already has a girlfriend whom is the popular girl who hates her and uses every opportunity to embarrass her especially in front of her ‘crush’ / popular girls boyfriend. Eventually geeky is so put down by this that she goes to get a make over and things take a turn for the best at school. Popular boy falls for her. HAPPY EVER AFTER !
The production company we have chosen to research for our film is Paramount Pictures. We think this particular company will be suitable because Paramount Pictures have produced a number of well known, successful films that fit into our chosen genre, teen romantic comedy. These films include, The Prince and Me, Mean Girls, Crossroads, Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging and She’s Out of My league.
The majority of films, which they have produced, were highly successful at the box office. Angus thongs and Perfect Snogging, a relatively new teen rom-com, has made over £10million in the UK alone. Not only have the films been successful, they also incorporate many of the themes we are considering selecting for our own opening, which include social grouping and relationships, both of which we feel the company portray well through the films they produce. The majority of teen rom-coms such as Mean Girls and Crossroads also have the same audience as who we will be targeting ourselves, meaning it will be a popular production company amongst our own audience, as the previously produced films are likely to have been watched and well received by our target audience, something we found through our questionnaire results, which proved angus thongs and perfect snogging in particular to be an extremely popular choice.
Furthermore, Paramount Pictures is a vertically integrated company because its production and distribution diversion are entwined. This is significant because Paramount Pictures have the control of all elements within the business, therefore the profit and expenditure made by Paramount Pictures is internally contained.
Following on from this, the films, which have been distributed by Paramount Pictures, include Mean Girls and Failure to Launch and they tie into our film because they incorporate the teen comedy genre. In addition to this the distribution company have experience in marketing and distribution of films regarding this genre.
From my question air i found that:
The average target audience age range was from 14-16
The target general target audience gender was female
The general consummation of the film was via DVD
People do think that films out at this genre currently do suit their age range
The most popular teen romcom movie watched is grease
The audience watch films for entertainment purposes
The most likely character to be seen in a romcom movie is a popular character
The majority of people said that they relate to 'The New Kid' character
80% of people we asked said that they expect to relate to teen comedy movies
Most people we asked said that the storyline makes a good movie
95% of people said that they expect a film to be entertaining rather than informative
Most people we asked said that they expect realistic situations in a romcom movie
Almost everyone we asked said that they associate a school environment with teen comedy movies
80% of people said that the environment does determine realism
75% of people said that they expect a film to have a theme
The people we asked mainly said that they expect to see relationships within a teen romcom movie
However 80% of people said that these themes do not relate to them.
In summary of this audience questionnaire, i found that the target audience were age 16 females in order to create a successful teen romcom genre i will need to create a product situated in a school environment and the audience expectation is to create a product that is realistic yet entertaining.
Romantic comedies tend to centered on the idea of ‘true love’ with humorous plot lines. They tend to be about two protagonists, normally a man and a woman who meet and then follows Toderov’s theory beginning with a equilibrium and disruption and attempt to repair the disruption and then back to a calm period, the equilibrium again. However in some rom coms the script writers intend to make the two protagonists hesitant to admit being in love and believe that they do not like each other however the screen writers leave clues that suggest that the characters are a good match and declare their love for each other and the film ends happily typically with one on the following, moving in together, weddings or the beginning of a family.
Comedies began during ancient Greece and often included a sexual element through theater productions and this influenced people like Shakespeare.
The invention of ‘romantic love’ was not ever considered until the medieval period. ‘Romance’ came to refer to ‘romantic love’ theatrical performances, rather than heroic adventures of medieval romance which tended to be about knights winning over a lady and so on.
5 Film Openings Genre Teen Rom-Com First 2 minutes
The Princess Diaries
At the beginning of the opening the producing company have shown who they are and then they go into the film setting showing where the story is set, America. They do this by showing Brooklyn Bridge in New York. They then go onto a character gazing out of her window as though she were a princess. To support this 'princess' idea they then have the female character go down several flaw levels until she reaches the bottom of her house. The ideology supports the idea that she is a princess in a tower and a princess always needs a prince.
Whilst we see the character we can tell she is a school student as she is in her school uniform, by this we know that a lot o the film might be set in a school. Therefore the movie would be set to attract teenage viewers. Whist we have sight of the character there is background music that is talking about a personality as though it is genuinely about the character we see. Another reason that supports the ideology that the character is a student/teenager is that she rides a scooter to school and this is formally known as a child’s travel. Wild Child
At the beginning of this clip the creating company is introduced and then flows onto show a character sleeping. The character that is shown is a teenager and to support this, the character then uses a term of inappropriate language (swears) which is often associated with teenagers and then she jumps out of bed, this is when the main title is shown, next to the character which supports the idea that this character is the important character. This teenage character then throws a party, this connotes the idea of teenagers genuine idea of a 'good time' this is shown with fellow students whom are teenagers this suggests that the main setting of the film is going to be around school. Whilst about to throw this party a guessed sibling comments on how she's 'really done it this time' as though she is going to be in trouble for this party.
Next the teenager jumps off a cliff and this gives an edge to the beginning and the audience will know that something is going to happen. Then a character (a parent) is shown and furiously tells the teenager off. This supports genuine reaction that teenagers get and supports the idea that teenagers always get into trouble. By showing all these teenage acts it is obvious that this film targets the teenage market.
Bring It On
At the start of this clip we are shown a group of cheerleaders chanting inside a sports hall, this shows that the setting is going to be in a high school and it is likely to be about these cheerleaders as they all introduce themselves. The title of the film suggests that the film is all a bout completing and cheerleaders are often involved in supporting a team, whom, is competing. By setting the film within a high school the film will be trying to attract teenagers.
Almost Famous
For the beginning of the clip the way the production company, film creators and the title of the film, is introduced by someone writing these things down on separate pieces of lined paper with a pencil whilst writing these down the person writing makes a spelling mistake and rubs it out and re-writes it, this shows the idea of still in the learning process e.g. school/high school. This suggests that the film is going to be about a teenager and will be targeting teenagers as an audience.
As well as this, the camera does go off to show close ups of certain areas of an assumed bed room that is rather messy, this idolises teenagers as messy people and connotes a teenagers room.
St. Trinians
During the beginning of the clip we are given the production company, this leads onto the producers of the film which is all based/written on top of a bright 'punk pink' colour which looks rough this connotes that the film is going to be perhaps comically girly and rough. Once the titles have been run we are shown a car on a field that looks as though it has been blown up or set on fire as it is smoking this shows that perhaps the setting might be quite insecure. Next we see a car driving up past the car that is smoking, with a young teenage girl inside and her father driving the car, the ideology of this shows that this female character is a student as she is not driving the car and therefore her father is taking her somewhere. We are then directed to a sign post that shows the name of a school, the camera uses a close up of this, which connotes that the car is driving there and this is where the female character is going. Next to this we see a skull with a kitchen knife in, which supports the idea of insecurity and the idea that the film is going to be rough. The camera then uses a crane shot to show the area and where the car is going. The area looks calm and peaceful as it appears to be in the countryside which shows the comical side of the idea of the rough things mixed in with calm surroundings. We then see that the car is driving up to a large building, which the audience will suspect is the school. The car parks outside and we see what the characters are wearing. the female young, teenage character is wearing a school uniform which suggests that the setting is going to be within a school; she is also holding a large bag which suggests that perhaps she is going to be staying at the school. Next we see a desk fall from a high point behind which shows that where this female character is, is quite dangerous. Because of the setting being set in a school and being about girls we know that the target audience for this film would be teenagers.
3 Whole films
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Throughout this movie there are various comical and romantic themes. The film is about a main character called Georgia, who is 14. Georgia is very close with her friends, Ellen, Rosie and Jas. Georgia has a particular crush on a certain boy called Robbie. The only problem with this is that he's already got a girlfriend and she's never even kissed a boy yet. Throughout the film Georgia encounters many comical and romantic things to do with the ups and downs of being an teenager. From this short description we can see that the film is aimed at teenagers and is a romantic comedy genre. Due to Georgia’s lack of 'experience' she goes to see another character 'Mr peter Dyer' whom is said to be a kissing teacher, however from this Georgia experiences some embarrassing scenes that are comical as she soon find out that he likes her. But unfortunately he isn't the guy she wants. Later Georgia becomes closer to Robbie but unfortunately he still has a girlfriend so she decides to try to make him jealous by pretending to like his friend 'Dave The laugh' which turns out to be a disaster as Dave finds out that she was just using him and when Robbie finds out he becomes very disappointed by her. Eventually at the end of the movie Georgia and Robbie get together after a very rickety scenario of Georgia maybe moving to New Zealand!
13 Going on 30
This Movie is about a Young girl called Jenner who on her 13th birthday makes a wish that she wants to be thirty. However unknowingly she wakes up the next day and is a 30 year old woman and has now memory of the 17 years that have passed. She later finds out that she has a famous hockey playing boyfriend whom she does not even remember from her childhood so is comically frightened of him. However she manages to track down her old school friend 'Matt' whom she was apparently fowl to in the last years of high school but now falls in love with him but unfortunately he is engaged to another woman. At the end of the movie Jenna goes back to her old house that she used to live in as a child and sprinkles the wishing dust on her that had turned her 30 and wishes she was 13 again. When she opens her eyes she back at her 13th birthday. From this we can see that the genre of the film is a romantic comedy and the target audience is teenagers.
