Teen movie analysis

2. COSTUME
Costume- Costumes are carefully chosen by the director
to create different meanings inside the viewer's mind.
For example, the main character is wearing black hoodie
which has many connotations. First connotation is that
she is an outcast, meaning she has no friends and is
different from the other girls. The fact that she is wearing
a hoodie differentiates her from others by signifying her
as a tomboy, who likes to wear a boy’s clothes. Also, the
colour black implies evilness and mean which reflects on
the character's personality of her being a rebel. This
makes her stand out from the other girls as she is the
only girl who is wearing black. All the connotations are
chosen for purpose to paint an image on consumers
head.
Colourful costumes are worn by the cameos,
these shows the era that the movie was made in.
From looking at the costume, I think the movie
was made in early 2000.
From looking at the opening scene I could
identify the target audience and the genre of the
movie. For example, the characters are wearing
casual dress such as jeans which portrays them
as the typical teenagers. This suggests that it is
aimed at toward teenage girls as the
demographics of teen wear casual clothes such
as jeans.

3. LIGHTING
The movie has used three point lighting. It is
fairly bright because these types of films
tend to be quite light hearted and nothing
really dark is going on. It helps to create the
right type of atmosphere.

4. CONVENTION
Location- The location of this genre is high school because it's
associated with teenagers as they spend most of their time
there. The characters in teen dramas are all othe similar age,
they are usually set in high school. Teenagers will watch this
movie because it is set in a related place.
Mix of sub-genre- Drama, Comedy and Romance.
Unpopular- In this movie the character is unpopular and does not
want to fall in love. This can be seen with the colour of the
hoodie, she is wearing which portrays she is against love.
However, if she was in love, she would be wearing red to
connate she is in love or wants to fall in love.
Stereotypes - Stereotypes are shown within the opening
sequences. For example, they have shown different types of
cliques to represent different variety of stereotypes, which are
found in high school. As you can see from the image, they are
portrayed as popular and rich by the costume and the vehicle
they own.

5. SOUND
Throughout the opening sequence it has
non diegetic sound. For example, it
starts with upbeat music, which is
catchy, creating a mood of joy and
happiness. However the music
changes to a rock song when the lead
character is revealed. This connotes
she is mean and is a violent and a
tomboy.
The sound bridge is used to show the
scene is linked.

6. CAMERA SHOTS
Establishing shot - The first establishing shot is of tall
skyscrapers in a far distance. Tall skyscrapers signify that
the location is set in the city place. It paints an image of
busy city and overcrowded with people.
Crane- Crank with pan movement has linked to a wide
variety of shots such as Establishing shot, long shot
and mid shot. It helps to show neighbourhood,
surrounding and cameos, which are majority of
teenagers going to the high school. It gives us a
sense of the audience, class and location of the
target audience.
Pan movement- The camera pans from left to the right to
reveal the main character. This creates suspense and
also makes the audience eager to know what it is going
to show.

7. CLEARS
Class- This movie is aimed at middle class. This can be seen by the costume that the main
character is wearing, which are normal jean and a hoodie. If the movie was aimed
towards higher class, she would be wearing a dress, carrying a designer bag,
accessories such as glasses, and noticeable make up. The reason behind aiming the
movie at middle class is because majority teenager falls into a middle class family. By
aiming at them, the movie would be targeted towards the mass amount of teenagers
which could lead to more profit.
Also, her old vehicle that is worn off and has different colours illustrate her class. This
point out that she falls under middle class, as she has her bonnet coloured in white
and the rest of the car with red. Whereas, other blue car is a convertibles which
connotes wealth and the colour blue of the car signifies they are cool. On the other
hand the colour of the lead character is red which implies she is powerful and the
colour may be used to foreshadow that she might fall in love later on in the movie.
Location – The location is in united states which implies that they are aiming the movie
towards US audience.
E- People who are in high school.
a- 16 - 20 - This movie is aimed towards 16 to 20. This can be seen in the choice of
character because they all look like they are in their early 19th.
R- White - Majority of races are white ethnicity. This can be seen in the opening sequences
as all of the cameo and the characters are white. They have chosen white character
so it appeals to wider audience living in an English speaking country.
S- This movie is most likely to be watched by female audiences. This is because drama is
associated with a female rather than male and also the lead character is a female,
indicating that the movie is aimed at female.

8. CAMERA SHOTS
close up - Close up is used to show facial expression of main
character. Close up of her face expression indicates she is
not interested and dislike the music that was being played.
Close up is used to show how the character is feeling.
high angle - to show cars and people crossing. Also, to show
the binary opposite of the two characters. For example
middle class and higher class. This can be seen through
the differences in those car. Red washed out car connotes
the main character belongs to the middle class. However,
other blue car connotes rich and wealth because it is
convertible which is associated with richness. The point of
view or the high angle shot makes you feel powerful and
that you are the one who decide which class they belong to.
Establishing shot - A establishing shot of a high school is used
to show where the movie is set. In this case it is high
school because the target audience are teenagers.
Tracking shot - A tracking shot follows the main character where
she goes. This gives her the importance and indicates she
is the main character of the movie. This helps to lead the
narrative. Steady camera has been used while tracking the
character because if it was shaky it would connate there
was violence involved.