Coming of Age Films Moodboard

This moodboard shows typical themes of coming of age films, for example, drugs and relationships. Films of this genre revolve around and are aimed at teenagers and their struggles through the most awkward stage of their lives.

The Fault in Our Stars Poster Analysis

Generic Conventions of Coming of Age Films

Diary Entry 1

I am currently planning on my film being a coming of age comedy, for example, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Submarine. Both of these films have elements of comedy and romance in them, although I would not class either of them as that genre. I will analyse trailers of both to see what I would have to do in the one I make to ensure that it engages my target audience, which would be 15-25 year old females. This is because my main character will be a female, one of my friends so aged 17, although I do also want to include a male co-star who will play a notable role in the trailer. Possible themes in my film would be relationships, death and sexual orientation, although the latter would be hard to convey in a trailer that is two minutes or less without giving the plot line away.

The Notebook Poster Analysis

Legend Full Length Trailer Analysis

• The film is a historical crime drama, we know this due to the voiceover's first line being: "England in the 1920s" and the use of props that are conventional of the crime genre, for example, guns and violence
• more characters are introduced, although there is much more focus on the twins and their relationship, clearing showing that they are protagonists and highlighting the unique selling point of the film
• the theme of romance is presented through a relationship between one of the twins and a woman, which will appeal to a female audience more than the teaser trailer would, although they are not the priority
• the cast, other than the woman that one of the twins is romantically involved with, are all aged 20+ males, which is the target audience of this film. There is a brief appearance of a female dancer, who, according to Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, will have been placed in the trailer to attract the TA.
• the music is traditional of the era, not contemporary at all, which suggests that the film is authentic and would appeal to fans of that genre
• a mid shot is used in the last scene of the trailer to show both of Tom Hardy's characters side by side, as this clearly shows the unique selling point and makes it memorable because it is at the very end. A bird's eye view is also used in a scene as one of the twins is holding someone out of a window, which, showing one above the other, suggests the balance of power in a clearly hierarchical society
• The pace in the full length trailer is much slower, although it speeds up towards the end. The contrast engages the audience and does not allow them to get bored
• The dialogue is dominantly the twins, whose slightly different voices highlight the unique selling point of Tom Hardy's acclaimed acting of both characters. This also clearly shows that they are the protagonists of the film
• The credits and intertitles show the production companies Studocanal and Working Title, as well as social networking sites that the film has accounts on, which will appeal to a younger audience that are experienced with technology.

Legend Teaser Trailer Analysis

• this is the first trailer we looked at as a class before deciding on the genres of our films and is a historical crime drama, shown by generic conventions such as guns and casinos
• apparent narrative is foreign gangsters some to London looking for members, suggested by the dialogue, although it is still mysterious, which engages the audience
• unique selling point is that Tom Hardy plays both Kray twins, which is highlighted by one of the first scenes being them on either side of an unnamed character
• target audience of 18+ males as this is what all the cast shown in the teaser trailer are
• non diegetic sound used is contemporary indie rock music, which would appeal to fans of the band whose song it is
• close ups used to introduce characters, a long shot to show one of the twins with a car, which demonstrates their wealth even in their brief introduction
• there is a contrast of fast paced action shots and slow dialogue scenes
• there are about 4 characters speaking and a lack of voiceover
• special effects used in the teaser trailer are the obvious editing of Tom Hardy as he is playing both twins and an explosion
• credits and intertitles show the production companies (Studiocanal and Working Title) as well as the headings 'Power', 'Fear' and 'Family' before the title, which outline the main themes of the film

Link to Year Twelve Blog

http://zoehineg321.blogspot.co.uk