Research into ‘indie coming of

age romance’ genre

Jamie Ruby and Sam

Studio logo

We are going to use Space cow pictures with the font ‘peach milk’.

Our first idea was ‘clockworkPictures’

Our second idea was ‘Hungry fish films’

Film influencesPerks of being a wallflower: http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rWKrtym8Hs

- Typical protagonist; teenage boy who is quite socially awkward and has few friends. Then he meets a group of people who except him and he begins to feel less excluded. The group of friends are different and

do not follow the crowed, similarly to him. Sometime has a male best friend.

Music; music is a strong focus point to the film. The music in these genres are typically unknown artists/indie/rock music. in this film they focus more on rock i.e. David Bowie and the Smiths.

Typography; In this film, the story is told through the letters of the protagonist hence the type write like font. The typography is normally quite unconventional and independent looking.

Film influences• Submarine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A3wO4HPylg

Typical protagonist; A teenage boy who is a bit strange according to the rest of society.

Doesn’t have many friends quite independent. Meets a girl who he falls in

love with and she accepts him for who he is.

Music; The music for this film is all original music created by arctic monkeys lead

singer, Alex turner. The style of the music is indie acoustic which is a typical genre of

music for this genre of film. Other music for the film was also composed specifically for

the film by Andrew Hewitt.

Film influences• Silver linings

playbook:http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+silver+linings

Although this film is slightly different to the other films it is still of the similar genre; ‘romantic comedy drama.’ The key difference is it is not a coming of age film.

Protagonist; although of a different age, the character still has the typical conventions of a protagonist of this genre. He is male and has some issues. He has just been released from a psychiatric hospital and is therefore quite isolated. There is then a girl who helps him through this time and he falls in love.]

Music; The music to this film is more mature as the story is based around adults apposed to teenagers. Music is composed specifically for the film by composers such as Danny Elfman.

Narrative techniques:• The Narrative techniques used in the Romantic Indie genre vary,

but not too much. I have noticed that in the opening scenes and trailers of films there is a voice over explaining the story, also that a lot of the protagonists are writers or have a notebook type of thing in which they write down problems or a story, the voice over's usually explain or say what they are writing. For example, the perks of being a wallflower or Submarine. Another Widely used technique is restricted narrative, this is used to focus on the protagonist and the person they love. Each scene focuses or revolves around them, any viewpoint other than the protagonist is about them. The film follows their every move.

• Key ingredients - Love story/heartbreak storyline: Often based around teenagers at school who are

unpopular. Write down how they feel/ a story. Perks + submarine The struggle of two people being together. , Perks of being a wallflower:- About a unnoticed boy who wants friends, is a writer. Restricted narrative. At school. Follows his every move. The whole story is told through the letters that he writes.

Micro elements• Micro-elements:• -Cinematography: Long establishing shot, lots of

close-ups/Extreme close-ups between protagonist's).

• Editing: Cross dissolves and fades during slow scenes. Jump cuts during fast paced scenes.

• Mise-en-scene: Lighting-often very bright and happy to reflect situation. During a fallout, dark and gloomy/rainy. During a make-up is often sunny. Costume- Depends on setting and who the protagonist is. I.e. school students means school uniform. When out side of school they have their own unique look. Submarine-has a long coat. Perks-wears a suit.

Film analysis- Perks of being a wallflower • Character types

protagonist: The protagonist in Perks of being a wallflower is 15 year old boy Charlie. Charlie is a white-American and has just started high school. His main interest is in writing and the entire film is told through the letters he writes.

• Antagonist: There is not really one specific antagonist in this film; the antagonist would be everyone outside of his friendship group (society).

• Best friend: Charlie’s best friend is 18 year old Patrick. Patrick is gay and is secretly seeing the quarter back of the high school football team in secret. Charlie is the only one who knows about this and he helps him through some serious issues that he faces. ( Patrick does the same for Charlie)

• Mentor: Charlie’s mentor is his English teacher. He sees Charlie potential as a writer and gives him different books to read to challenge him. They form a strong bond and the teacher always look out for him.

• NARRATIVE• Linear/non linear: the structure of this film is non linear, this is because the

story is told through Charlie's letters so we are constantly going through time.Flash backs are also used to tell us about his early life and why he is the way he is. Narration: The narration is restricted in this film as the whole film is told through Charlie's eyes. He narrates through his letters and we see events how he has experienced them. Enigma code: Enigma is raised about the characters personality by mise-en-scene (props and costume) Enigma is raised about Charlie's life through flash backs of his relationship with his aunty who died. We are able to see things that have happened to him which can indicate why he is the way he is ( his illness)

• Ending: The ending of this film is closed. All issues are resolved and everything ends on a happy note. We don’t however know what happens to Charlie but we notice a development in character.

The micro elements of perksCinematography: Close ups and mid shots are frequently used as this film is heavily based around specific characters.so these shot types are used to show their importance. Establishing shots are also used to establish the setting as perks is set in a small town as are many other films of this genre.Editing: The focus on editing in this film is mainly on continuity. As the film is based a lot on the dialogue and occasionally switches through time so it all has to make sense. To do this they mainly use fade ins/outs and cuts which makes the film quite slow pace which is a typical convention for this genre. The typography used is an American typewriter style. This is used as the protagonist is a writer and tells a lot of the story through his letters written on his typewriter so this is used to tell us about the character. Sound: the music in this film Is of an indie rock genre ( Bowie/ The Smiths) it pays an important part as one of the groups main connections is through music and it also has significance towards the end of the film. Sound is commonly diegetic in this film as they want us to feel the surroundings of the environment as they want us to be able to relate to the characters. Even if this is just where they live. The non diegteic use of narrative( voice over) plays a very important part as it is how the story is told. Mise-en-scene: the props give us an insight to the characters as a lot of the props are important. The costume is very important in this film as it shoes us how Charlie is different ( he wears a suit). This is implies he genre as the protagonist is typically slightly different in someway to everyone else. Setting also indicates genre as it is based in a small area which is another convention of this genre.

How does perks develop/challenge the genre

Evident : There is an evident protagonist from the start and the characters are young teens in high school. The protagonist has a best friend who is funny and quirky. It is based in a small town and based around a small set of characters.

Development: The girl although independent and quite tough normally has issues. This is evident in the film however the protagonist normally helps her through this, but in this film the protagonists issues are a lot more serious and effect him a lot more which is quit different in this genre.

Challenged: the boy and the girl do not get together in the end. The feelings are expressed but they do not end up together and he does not get the girl of his dreams.

Charlie and sam Charlie and Patrick

The ‘friends’

Charlie

Film analysis- Juno• -Story: The storyline of the film Juno is about a young girl who gets pregnant at the age of 16, and the

struggle along the way. The father is a unpopular, nerdy teen who is the best friend of the protagonist. Juno puts the baby up for adoption and there are a couple problems along the way.

• -Protagonist and characters: The protagonist is a Caucasian, female, 16 year old student who aspires to be in a band. There is no antagonist. There are not many characters in Juno due to its use of narrative techniques. The characters are: Juno (protagonist), Paulie bleaker (father), Leah (best friend), Mac and Bren (dad and step-mum), Vanessa and mark, (adoption parents). Each character plays a very important role in the story.

• Paulie: The father, who is quite nerdy and clean. Conflict between the protagonist and him.• Leah: A quirky and jokey character who is Juno's best friend. Always with Juno.• Mac and Bren: Always support Juno and help her. Some conflict between Bren and Juno.• Vanessa and Mark: Very important to the story, conflict between each other and Juno.• Narrative techniques: The story is linear, however, throughout the film there are a couple flash backs

of the same scene. The films spans over nine months, although it does go through all four seasons: The films starts in autumn and goes to each season to show how far along the pregnancy Juno is and the future. There is a omniscient narrative, the film does focus mainly on Juno but there are moments where the story isn’t about Juno. There is a narration over certain parts in the film to show what Juno is thinking, but no one else.

• Conflict, enigmas and open/closed ending: There is some conflict in the film. However, the conflict in the film isn’t big deal. Juno and Paulie argue and make-up. Juno and her mum often get at each other as a step-mother and daughter do. Although, there is conflict between Vanessa and Mark which affects the story and this is focused on more than the others.

• The ending is both open and closed. For Juno and Paulie, we are told what happens, therefore for their story it is closed. Whereas for the baby, she is adopted and we are left to wonder what happened to it, creating an enigma and open ending.

How does Juno develop and challenge the genre?

• Conventions:• Evident-Protagonist and characters are young teens in

school. The protagonist has a best friend who is quirky and funny. There is love/fallout and heartbreak/make-up. There is a small amount of characters and there is a closed ending for the protagonist.

• Developed- There is a omniscient narrative due to the small amount of characters. Focuses on a 16 year old girl rather than young adults as well as the theme of pregnancy. To follow along with the pregnancy, seasons are just to tell the time. There is a open ending for different characters such as the baby.

• Challenged- The protagonist is a girl and men don't play such an important role in the film. However, towards the end they have a big role. Also, the theme of pregnancy is a unused convention of a indie romcom.

THE MICRO ELEMENTS OF JUNO• -Cinematography: 1. Long/establishing shots to show setting. The setting is of a small town/school or a house. This is typical in an

indie rom-com to set the scene. Also, extreme close up shots of the actors are used during important situations to show either love or to create tension through their emotions and facial expressions.

• 2. Linking back to extreme close-ups, we get a deep insight to what the character looks like and how they act. Also linking back to long shots, we get an idea of where they live and how people act.

• -Editing:1. In Juno and typical indie rom-coms, the style of editing is different from normal, due to the fact of the films being independent and more creative. There is a lot of graphic match when switching scenes, especially when moving from one season to another. When changing scenes, normally there are not any jump cuts, but rather a movement from one to another to add continuity. Due to the films use of transitions, the pace is quite slow; this is typical in a romance film. 2. A montage is used when introducing characters, such as how they get dressed or what their room looks like, this is used to give an insight on the characters lives and how they act. 3. The use of typography plays an important role in the narrative; Juno has quite a light-hearted font that represents it. This links into the narrative as it shows that the film isn’t going to be serious; this can also link to the genre of the film. Another factor is that in scenes with narration or flashbacks, the editing becomes more creative, more use of transitions such as wipes and graphic match.

• -Sound: 1. The music in the film is very independent as it was made for the film, it plays a very important role as the protagonist and her friends love music and the protagonist wants to be in a band. The music overall is romantic and slow, which links to the pace of the film. The score of the films is used during scenes with dialogue as the artificial music has lyrics. The score is very slow and gentle, very light so you can hear dialogue. 2. There is a lot of diagetic sound due to the locations in the film. When are school, there is ambient noise from people walking and talking. When in a car, other cars passing by and the engine rumble. Typical sounds when in these environments. This is used to show what it would be like to be in the situation of the character. Also, Just the music the protagonist and her friends listen to give an insight to the characters. 3. Sound plays a very important role in the narrative, the use of non-diagetic sound with voiceovers is used a lot to show what the protagonist is thinking, or to explain a situation. All diagetic sounds and ambient noise fades out.

• -Mise-en-scene:• 1. The genre is shows through its location and use of props, whether it is in a small town or the school, the props at that locations

create the scene and genre. A lot of the props are focused on to further create the scene, such as pictures of a family and what each room of the house looks like, and what’s in it.

• 2. The characters a created through Mise-en-scene. They have their own costume that they always wear to represent them. Their performance creates the attitude and personality of the character, how they act and talk with other people determines this.

• 3. The use of pregnancy allows that over time the protagonist will get bigger due to the baby growing; this is used to create a linear narrative. The films takes place over nine months to show her life through her pregnancy.

Juno MacguffPaulie Bleaker

Mark and Vanessa LoringLeah

Mac and Bren Macguff

A film that challenges the genre• Silver linings: Although this film is slightly different to the other

films it is still of the similar genre; ‘romantic comedy drama.’ The key difference is it is not a coming of age film.

Protagonist; in this film the protagonist is in his mid 30s apposed to in his teens, although the character still has the typical conventions of a protagonist of this genre. He is male and has some issues. He has just been released from a psychiatric hospital and is therefore quite isolated. There is then a girl who helps him through this time and he falls in love. It also follows the issues of divorce which is a more mature concept.

Music; The music to this film is more mature as the story is based around adults apposed to teenagers. Music is composed specifically for the film by composers such as Danny Elfman.