Donnie Darko Analysis - Locations & Mise-En-Scene

Donnie Darko Analysis




Within the beginning of the clip, a clear shot of a conventional yellow school bus is established which contributes to the idea of establishing a school environment, along with the teenage males that jump off the bus wearing school uniform as their costume establishing their characters of students.

Conventional Locations:

1. School corridors
2. Playground
3. Lockers
4. Classroom

A sense of separation and cliques is established throughout the clip as the camera pans past the nerds who are seen studying, using books and pens as the props, portraying an image of a strong devotion to their studies and a group of girls who are seen dancing, singing, hugging and smiling, who are all wearing skirts which is stereotypical as not all girls wear skirts all the time  - the 'girly' conventions. The trouble-makers are seen pulling faces to the authority showing a lack of respect and care for the superior. He is seen doing drugs which is considered his prop and establishes him as the care-free student who isn't devoted to his studies.

DEVONS TARGETS FAM

Time to reflect on my progress

In the past i feel that i have not had enough detail in my work. I think i need to improve this.

Also i think i need to have the blog always around me so i can blog more because i can be very lazy at times which i know hinders my performance.

recflection on your progress

 3 good points about my blog: 

+ good use of gifs/moving images. 
+ all my blogs are detailed and contain a lot of information. 
+ always relating back to the topic.

3 things negatives about my blog 

- need to keep update with some work. 
- start blogging about things that link to teen films that are not on task sheet. 
- making layout more interesting for the viewer.

 Things i should consider:

• using images

• creating GIFS

• embedding video

• embedding slideshare

• embedding prezi

• VLOGS

• wordles

• annotation apps

• edited clips in camtasia

• director's cuts

• timetoast

• director's commentaries

• photobucket

• twitter

• interviewing people!

• Go animate!

Reflection on Progress

Reflection on Progress

Throughout this AS Media course, I have gained a countless amount of new skills. 
In terms of editing, I have learnt how to thoroughly edit videos on Final Cut Pro. I have also learnt how to improve a video or film by adding special visual and sound effects in order to enhance a certain atmosphere or emotion to the audience. 

I have also learnt how to consistently produce detailed and relevant blog posts. In order to make the blog posts detailed and visually interesting, I include gifs, photos, videos. All these visual techniques are used as visual representations of the concepts I try portray within my posts. 

I also used presentations for my Pitch as it is more eye catching and interactive with the presenter and the audience, too.

In terms of filming, I have learnt how to replicate shot types, e.g. mid shot, close up shot, long shot, etc. I have learnt which particular equipment is needed in order to create professional videos. For example, zooming is forbidden during filming as it looks very amateurish and unprofessional. We also learnt which shot types are necessary for which moments. For example, a close up shot would be appropriate when trying to strongly emphasise ones facial expressions or emotions.

What to do in order to improve:

Using a wide range of ICT is a useful way of gaining marks and making my blog posts more interesting. 
In order to make my blog more interesting, I will use:

• Slid.es - An alternative to PowerPoint and makes slideshows more visually interesting and interactive.
• Prezi - Another alternative to Powerpoint.
• Vlogs - A video instead of a blog - the video must include all the information that would have been included in the blog. It is like a blog post being presented orally instead of visually.
• Animate - Information presented in a video of pictures.
• Wordles - An eye catching method of writing important information. 
• Timetoast - Schedules or orderly videos presented on a timeline.
• Camtasia - A method of editing videos to make them more capturing.
• Twitter - A social networking site that can be used to advertise upcoming blog posts or videos. It can notify the audience of any important information and can gain us more views on our blogs.  

BLING RING REVIEW

The Bling Ring is a teen drama based on true story about a group of friends who become very rebellious and turn to a life of crime by robbing the rich and famous's homes. The film tackles the typical teen angsts of self-image, friendship and the level of there self esteem, as well as the issue of rebellion and the ease of slipping into crime.

If we exclude the the fact that this is not a typical teen drama, we still see ways in which it is. for example the use of the clique as the main group is still a typical feature of any teen movie. The film also has the 'New Boy' which is the main protagonist in the plot, which is also a key feature of a teen film. However, apart from those two features, there is not really anything else that makes this film a typical teen drama.

Despite it having an extravagant storyline, the film is relatable to the teenagers of modern culture, with it portraying a group of teens being sucked in by the media and being moulded by modern society into what they would call the 'perfect image'. It also is relatable to the modern youth by the way social networking is presented in the film as a hub for literally everything, showing that the generation we live in is a cyber one.

TASK 2- 3 TEEN FILMS

3 TEEN FILMS

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

Napoleon Dynamite gives the teenage audience an insight into the life of an awkward, outcast of a high school in the heart of Idaho. one of the reasons this film was successful was because it had its themes of bullying, popularity, first love, and typical teenage angst. These are all very relatable themes which was probably why it was so successful. It was rated PG and its rough target age group was 11-17 which is the majority of the teenage age range. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDi_AnqwN4

PROJECT X

Project X is a very raunchy comedy about three high school seniors who throw a huge party that spins wildly out of control. This film was aimed at the older teens, 15+, which is understandable. this film is relatable to most teens as i feel that most teenagers want to be a party animal and show there wild side once in a while, which for me i feel is the main attraction for teens to this film. Themes portrayed in this film are sex, drugs, partying, popularity, conflict with parents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvbMfHj63_c

TWILIGHT

This teen thriller is a fantasy adventure about girl that gets caught up in the world of vampires and werewolves. The target audience was probably teen girls aged between 11-15. it contains strong themes of love and desire as well as themes of typical teen angst. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edLB6YWZ-R4

Holiday Task - Analysis of Teen Film

Bring It On: All Or Nothing Review

The film 'Bring It on: All or Nothing' is the third instalment of the 'Bring It On' sequel. All the 'Bring It On' films revolve around high school cheer-leading. All the films from this sequel have a tenuous link as they all feature the similar theme of cheer-leading competition between two competing squads.

This film is a teen film with the sub-genre of comedy. I say it's a teen film as it explores the special interests of teenagers, e.g. First love, heartbreak, how to fit in, being the social outcast, etc. However, it introduces comedic elements in order to de-emphasise the problems the characters face. 

This appeals to a teen audience as it could show them that the problems they face can easily be overcome and forgotten with a bit of humour, happiness and by looking on the brighter side of things. 

This film portrays a negative and positive outlook on teenagers. At the beginning of the film, it focuses on portraying the idea that teenagers are very much socially constructed and shaped by society in which they conform to the social rules.It also conveys that if anyone who rebels against the social rules, they're looked down on and bullied. It connotes that teenagers are now socially segregated into 'cliques' and conform to their own rules that come with the subcultures they belong to. However, towards the end of the film, teenagers are conveyed in a healthy way and the films conveys the idea of teenagers being able to have strong team work and healthy competition which pushes them to work hard for what they want to achieve.

In this teen film, there is a rivalry between two cheer-leading squads. The main character has best friends in one squad which she no longer belongs to and struggles to stay loyal to the cheer-leading squad she is now in. However, her old squad have a bad influence on her which she is unaware of at the start of the film. Throughout the film, we watch the main character grow and recognise which group has a bad influence and eventually chooses to leave them behind, making the smarter choice. 
This has a major link to other mainstream teen films as they all primarily consist of decision making, i.e. whether it's about making the right decision between the right or wrong partner, or about the right or wrong friend, etc.

This film differs from other teen films as the conflict within this film is based upon two cheer-leading squads who are competing against one another, not between two cliques or subcultures which is conventionally what many teen films do. This film connotes the competitive nature of teenagers . It has a good outlook on teens as it shows that they thrive for what they want and are determines which isn't the stereotypical outlook teen films convey of teenagers.

In this teen film, the protagonist moves schools to an area that consists mainly of black people. She is immediately considered as an outsider as she is physically an outcast due to her white race. She is portrayed as a spoilt, white girl as she moves from a rich area, to a working-class area. No one seems to like her at first but she eventually grows on the people and gradually begins to fit in. This is similar to a lot of teen dramas, e.g. The Bling Ring, as the protagonist begins as an outcast and gradually grows to become part of the clique.