The document discusses conventions used in opening sequences for coming of age films. It notes that openings typically introduce the protagonist and genre through an equilibrium stage that may provide backstory. Key conventions include non-diegetic music to set mood, minimal dialogue, and titles integrated into the sequence. The document then discusses how the student aimed to apply these conventions, like iconography and music, to their own opening sequence for a coming of age film.

2. From my research, I have studied
the form of opening film
sequences and the
typical conventions from
the genre, "coming of age".

3. From my research, I have learnt how the form of an opening
sequence is conventionally a short sequence, known as
the equilibrium stage of the narrative. During this stage,
the protagonist and the genre of the film will be introduced to the
audience. I learnt how it may represent a back-story which will give
the audience clues towards to narrative. Furthermore, I learnt
how titles are often integrated into the sequence. Sound is another
key convention of an opening film sequence and
is conventionally made up of non-diegetic music to help set the
mood or atmosphere of the scene. The opening film sequence may
contain some dialogue, such as a voice-over, however this is often
kept to a minimum.
Conventions of opening film
sequences

4. When creating our open sequence, we aimed to use
these conventional features of opening film sequences. For the coming
of age genre, particular conventions are:
•Iconography to represent interests of the protagonist and themes
associated with the narrative
•Costumes to help represent roles, personality and the era - (typically modern,
fashionable and on trend)
•Music to help represent an era, create a tone or give clues towards the
narrative - (typically pop music from the 21st century)
•Locations - tending to be set places of leisure (such as a shopping centre or
swimming pool), a school/college (helping to connote the youth of the
protagonist, as well as the theme of education or in
the protagonist's bedroom/home/town to help represent their daily lifestyle,
personality, class etc.
•Often consists of themes such as education, tackling obstacles or relationships

5. When filming our own coming of age opening film
sequence, we used and developed many of the
typical conventions associated with coming of age
films, which made our own opening film
sequence convention. When constructing our own
sequence, one of the main films which we took
inspiration from was the coming of age film "Camp
Rock“, by Disney. We liked many of
the conventions used in this film, such as
the location and iconography and thought that we
would be able to successfully achieve this in our own
work. Furthermore, we liked
the equilibrium and narrative, beginning with a
teenage girl waking up and getting ready for school. I
have done a previous analysis on this film to get more
inspiration on the style of filming and
the conventions used.
Inspiration & Conventions used and
developed in our own work

6. Conventions used in our
own sequence

7. Mise-en-scene: Costumes
 In our own sequence, the protagonist is
dressed in modern, feminine and
fashionable clothing; this helps
to connote up to date personality, youth
and how she is an average teenage girl
within the 21st century. This type of
clothing is often associated
with mainstream films, such as Mean
Girls, adding to the mainstream
aspect of the film, rather than indie.

8. Mise-en-scene: Lighting
 Lighting was also a convention which we developed in our
own work; we wanted the lighting to be high key to help set
the mood and to connote the time of day.

9. Mise-en-scene: Location
 A lot of coming of age films are set in the protagonist's bedroom.
This helps to connote the youth of the protagonist. Furthermore, as
a teenager’s bedroom is like their territory and their own personal
space, it helps to connote their personality to the audience. Due to
this, we decided that the equilibrium of our film would involve
the protagonist getting ready in her bedroom and throughout the
house.

10. Mise-en-scene: Music and sound
 Another convention we had to consider in our own work was
the music and sound. From our planning, we decided to
use diegetic music which the protagonist turns on at
the equilibrium. The style of music is very mainstream for a
coming of age film; we wanted the music to add a happy tone to
the film and link to the narrative of the protagonist going out and
wanting to peruse a goal. We wanted the music to be that
members of the audience would be able to refer themselves to
the protagonist. As well as music, we had to consider the sound
effects within the sequence. I decided to add some bird sound
effects to also help connote the morning.

11. Narrative:
 The main convention which we developed into our own work is how
the narrative of the film is focused on the protagonist and her
achieving a goal, similar to many coming of age films.

12. Conclusion!
Overall, I think
we used and developed the conventions
and forms of "coming of age" films well
with our own ideas. We did not challenge
any of the conventions; we wanted our
film to look similar to other films of the
same genre.