Travelling and arriving is an important element within teen films. Not only does it show us the location but also its the first time we see the characters. We recognize their personalities and their roles within the movie. Each person from 'The breakfast Club' enter differently and all have different personalities which show through their arrival for example 'The Princess' arrives in a BMW which suggests wealth.
The type of transport a character of a teen film arrives in set the personality that the have, for example if they arrive in a fancy sports car, we as the audience assume that they are rich and athletic. If he or she arrives on a skateboard we automatically know that they are a skater boy or girl. The better the transport the better (sometimes worst) the person's status maybe within the film. There are several types of transports my group and i can use to introduce the characters.
The Underground/trains
Using the train or underground suggest how the person lives far away from the high school/college. They're usually by themselves suggesting this character is lonely, doesn't really have friends or they deliberately separate themselves from others. My group and i could in cooperate this method of transport in our teen film opening to set up a contrasting of two different characters that becomes friends.
The Bus
Using the bus to introduce the character of the film suggests the character is an ordinary person who is calm cool and collected. By introducing the character arriving to high school/college it shows how he or she is an ordinary teenager who wants to get by. I could use the character arriving into the film via bus make him or her like-able, it shows the simplicity of their personality.
Car
When a teenager arrives in a car it can suggest several things depending on the style of the car for example if they arrive in a beaten up car. A beaten up car suggest how the character is from a really tough background which makes them have a low self esteem. Another example is the character arriving in a BMW or a fancy sports car, by them arriving in such a prestige car like this, this suggests how the child is posh, stuck up and we get a sense that they're popular with the peers. My group and i could in cooperate for our opening for our teen film to create a sense of hate towards the person who comes in a fancy car or make the person who comes in a rusty car gain sympathy from the audience.
Walking
Introducing a character via walking suggests that they're an average kid who fit and healthy or they care about the environment. In contrast it can suggest that they don't get enough love from their parents as they don't want to drive them to school. In the Breakfast Club the Criminal is shown to walk to school on a saturday morning suggesting he is used to making this journey to school on a saturday or his parents are tired of driving him to school. My group and i could have one of the characters introduced into the opening walking to show a sense of contrast with the other character as they others may come in a car, bus etc and that person is walking, so it shows the reality of teenagers funding.
British based teen movies wouldn't include teens in cars compared to an american teen film. If the teens where still in high school/College we would see them arriving in different types of transportation such as Bus or Tube. This has a huge difference compared to American teen movies as american teens would be driving from the age of 16, however British teens do not drive at this age. In some ways the form of transport they pick will also depict their character. For example:
Walking
A teenager that walks to school alone tells the
audience that he/she is a 'Loner' or possibly isn't every popular at school, The fact he/she isn't on the bus could also mean that they cannot afford the bus fair or any other form of transportation.
However if there is a group of teens walking this could mean they are the popular kids or friends.
Bus Teens who travel by bus will probably be an average teenager. They usually get the bus with their friends. This also means that the teenager can afford the bus fair which could suggest their parents are middle class, for example the teen that walks doesn't get the bus because they cannot afford it, however this teen does.
Tube
A teenager who gets the tube means that they live far away from their school, This could suggest that the teen lives in the suburbs, an area that is better then the city, Therefore they choose to travel by tube. This doesn't necessarily suggest anything about the teenagers status in school.
Skateboard
A teenager who skateboards to school can suggest that they like to be alone, or it could also mean that they are seen as the 'cool kid' either way by using a skateboard this part of their image. The skateboarder is usually stereotyped as not being a very good student. But sometimes they are actually a very good student.
Teen films generally use modes of transport to present a different stereotype. For example, the jock will arrive in a truck, the nerd or brainy kid arriving in a family car, the princess or popular girl being driven in a luxury car, the criminal having to walk on their own and many more. This is further explained in the blog about modes of transport within The Breakfast Club. Click Here to find out more. These modes of transport are typical for American teen films, however, I will be creating a british teen film and for the opening there will be different ways teens get to school, due to the different environment and setting.
For the teen film I create, there is a wide variety of transport I can use for the opening to represent a particular character. By having students arrive to school in different types of transport, the audience will be able to understand a characters particular role and personality. It also tells us what type of student they may be in the schools social hierarchy. Below are some ways in which students may decide to travel to college: The Bus This is the most popular mode of transport amongst teens in due to how practical it is and can represent the average teens in a school, not really a particular social group. As the majority of teens use this option, this makes it the most convenient and easiest to use. The train/tube This is the second most popular mode of transport amongst teens. This mode of transport is for those who live slightly further away, possibly in wealthier areas. Walking This is for students who not only live near to school but tend to be the lonely unpopular teen within the school's social hierarchy. In some cases, teens who walk may be accompanied by friends but the general view is that those who walk have the least entertaining and loneliest journeys. Bike For those who enjoy riding alone, may also be considered as the unpopular ones with no friends. Bikers could live the same distance as those who take the bus which is why this mode of transport can also be associated with the cool kids, who are considered as rebels since they don't travel by the common way, which is by bus.
Car Despite being very rare, whether it's a parents car or a taxi, this is a mode of transport that is often associated with teens who come from a wealthier background. To be dropped every morning to school requires gas money and road taxes, so even if the car isn't the latest, this still isn't the cheapest option, which is why it's mainly associated with wealthier children.
There are a variety of transport I can use when it comes
to my teen film. For example ; Bus, Car (Parents Car), Train,
Skateboard, Tube, Scooter and by Foot. Using different types of
transport can establish the characters and tell the audience their
position and role within the film. For example sterotypically the rich
popular girls always arrives in the newest car to show off her wealth
while everyone admires. Whereas you have 'The Jock' arrives in a truck
with his team mates. The truck represents masculinity sportsman ship.
'The nerd' will usually arrives with their parents as they need parent
consultation and encouragement. However due to the fact i will be doing a british based teen films we will not arrive in cars as we are not able to drive however we could use our parents to drive us.
For this activity we done a storyboard on how we would film a character leaving and travelling to a destination for example going to school or meeting friends. We decided to do a stereotypical skater border that shows up late for class in the morning.
Titles are placed in the intro of films revealing the most important people first such as the distributor, the production company, producer, director, who stars in the movie, the films title, featured actors, who the casting was by, who did the music and the production designer.
Distributor: The studio distributes the film which appears at the beginning such as Walt Disney. The distributors name is displayed in the beginning because of its contribution to the film. They finance the film.
Production company:Having the production company within the title credits are important because they produce the film. The production company assists with the budget, casting and choosing a director.
Director:The director being included within the film credits is also crucial, George Lucas was fined $250,000 by the Directors Guild of America for
not putting the directors name in the opening credits. This shows how important the director is. Not only does the diector make the film what it is but it also pull the fans.
Actors:The actors who star in the movie are shown as they attract their fans to watch the film. Aswell as attracttheir fans, if it wasnt for them the movie wont be it is. The actors make it the film it is and are credited for their contribution.
Film Title: Finally the title is a key element for the title sequence. The title can give us an insight on the film, era and narrative by its font background image and style.
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