Character Research

This is a clip from the 2004 romantic comedy Mean Girls. The Clip is of 'Regina George': a stereotypical upper-class American teenagers. The character is high maintenance this is evident from the 'over the top' screaming. Regina is also wealthy - the character has a very large, ostentatiously decorated bedroom.

She is also wearing expensive looking clothes: tight fitted blue denim jeans, black heeled shoes and a puffy, pink satin coat. Her hair is clipped back however it has been styled.

It is evident that the charcter is a feminine 'girly' character - the colours used in this scene are mainly pinks: Walls, carpet, wardrobe, lamps (a hazy pink lighting), chair, she is even dressed in pink (coat).



This film clip is from the romantic comedy 'Never been kissed' (1999). The charcter in the clip is called Josie: it is evident that she is lonely and hasn't got many friends- she sits alone speaking to a tortoise also the first camera shot is of two photo frames one is of herself, the other is at her graduation with her family - no pictures of friends. The character also is obviously a 'nerd' - she makes pillow cases.

In the living room the charcter has many pillows, presumably ones she has made. The colours in the living room clash: Blue walls, cream curtains, a checked brown/red sofa, white carpet with a beige rug - this represents her un co-ordinated character.

She is wearing an over sized un- fashionable jumper - pink and brown patterns with white tights. Her hair is messily clipped back - for practicality reasons.

These stereotpical characteristics could be used for the binary opposite characters, in our film opening. It is apprant that the characters are two complete contrasts.

Research - Binary opposite character ideas.

The characters Betty and Amanda in the american hit drama 'Ugly Betty' are prime examples of binary opposite characters.

BETTY

Typical Clothes Betty Wears:

Attributes
Caring
Thinks of others
Hard working
Sweet
Wears braces on her teeth
Innocent
'Nerdy'
Wears glasses
Messy, un- combed hair
Colour clashing clothes
Freckles
No make up
Un- plucked eyebrows

Intelligent

AMANDA

Typical Clothes Amanda wears:

Amanda's Attributes

Un – caring

Selfish

Lazy

Bitter

Sexual

Popular

Perfect vision

Perfect teeth
Styled hair

Fashionable clothing
Heavy, perfectly done make – up
Shaped, plucked eyebrows

Dumb

Here is a short clip of Amanda and Betty which shows all the above character research:

In the series of Ugly Betty it is evident that Betty and Amanda are binary opposite characters. The film opening that Olivia and I are going to produce could possibily benefit from the similar characters. To produce the best possible film opening Olivia and I shall research Ugly Betty and analysis the characters in greater depth.

Favourite Romantic Comedy's

I wrote down and watched a few of my all time favourite Romantic Comedy films for inspiration and ideas, I will later compare and analyze a select few of there opening sequences for guidance as to what works and what doesn’t and then apply this information when thinking about our own project .

Genre

The genre we have selected for our opening sequence is ‘Romantic Comedy’, we opted for this as it is a genre that we both thoroughly enjoy and think would be fun but challenging to tackle. Romantic Comedy consists of light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals.

The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two protagonists meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes the two protagonists are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner, or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are; in fact, attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external issues that come with being together. However there is always a grand gesture where love is declared and the film ends happily.

We are obviously not going to use a plot line as in depth as the one featured above as we are only creating a short film opening, however another element of romantic comedy that was brought to my attention when researching is that of opposites, in every Romantic Comedy there is consistently characters that possess opposite attributes, this is also known as a binary opposite. Strauss believed that the world was split into a series of binary opposites. Meaning that essentially one thing can only be defined in relation to something it isn't. An example of this would be that a fat person is only fat because there is a thin option. I have noticed that this idea runs through almost every Romantic Comedy, there are never two characters that are in the slightest bit similar, they are always over the top opposite caricatures. I decided to research this further:

All the above Romantic Comedy films feature binary opposites-

Mean Girls- Unpopular and Popular

Legally Blonde- Smart and Dumb

17 Again- Young and Old

Freaky Friday-Insensibe and Sensible

Pride and Prejudice-Poor and Rich

Did you Met The Morgans?- Country Folk and City Slickers

The Proposal- Laid Back and Uptight

Shallow Hal- Fat and Thin

John Tucker Must Die- Beautiful and Ugly

From the evidence above we have decided to base are opening around two binary opposites.

Film opening research: When Harry met Sally.

The opening credits of the film when Harry met Sally are in my opinion both effective and ineffective. They are effective in the sense that they are bold and clear- with the white writing on the black background. This black and white contrast could possibly represent the two binary opposite characters: the white representing innocence and the black represents and blunt bond character.
However the opening credits run for about 2 minutes with white writing on a black background, which the audience could possibly find tedious. Furthermore the continuous upbeat music seems to become fairly repetitive, which can also become and irritant for the audience.
Therefore Olivia and I will not be using the white on black for our opening credits however the idea of contrasting colours could be used effectively.



It becomes apparent within 39 seconds of the first scene of the film ‘when harry met sally’ it is a romantic comedy. The element of romance is used from the backdrop of the first shot – serene settings with trees either side of the road and slow jazzy music. The next shot (rotating shot) is of a male and female in close proximately and gazing into one another’s eyes, it portrays they are a couple and in love; the couple then begin to passionately kiss. The element of comedy is introduced when a female character in an old, yellow car pulls up alongside them; looking uncomfortable clears her throat attempting to get noticed. The female in the car is clearly an impatient uptight character which therefore makes the scene amusing.
As the film continues (4.11 – 5.23) the characters are represented as binary opposites. Firstly the female driver (Sally) is impatient, sarcastic and takes herself very seriously. However the male character (Harry) patient (waits for the car to arrive), he is down to earth and he clearly doesn’t take himself to seriously – a joker.

I believe that the idea of binary opposite characters could be used effectively in our film opening. Many romantic comedies use the idea of binary opposite characters; it often gives films the element of comedy.

Coursework Deadline Sheet

G321 Course Outline Dec 2009 to March 2010

This is our coursework deadline sheet, this is a guideline as to what we should have done and by when, we are going to try and achieve everything required and meet the deadlines.

Introduction

This blog was created by Olivia and myself so we can share our ideas and planning of our AS Media coursework. We have chosen to work together because we feel as a pair we empathise with one another, and have the same focus and direction.

Our coursework will be the opening sequence of a romantic comedy aimed at teenagers (aged 13 - 19 years). We believe as a apir we can produce the most effective coursework because we have vast resources and are prepared to put in extra hours outside of school time.