Research - The 2000s

     When deciding to continue my research on the genre teen : coming of age, my immediate thoughts were examples of classic films we all know and love. To be specific the first two films that came to mind were "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and "Aquamarine". These two movies share a theme of girlhood and the importance of female friendships.

Pop Culture 

    In the 2000s teenagers were heavily influenced by the media. This included reality TV and films. Music genres such as pop and hip-hop, where teenagers idolized their favorite singers and bands. The internet and social media started to play a huge role in shaping culture. Popular platforms like Myspace represented a teen's identity, where they shared music and posted photos. Celebrities have always been a strong influence, many people follow the lives of their favorite reality TV stars, artists, and actors. Pop culture was rapidly changing, it emphasized humor, creativity, and identity through music and fashion. 

Fashion

    Clothing in the 2000s was influenced by pop culture, it was loud and bold. Many trends included low rise skinny or bootcut jeans, mini skirts, capris, baby tees, platform sandals, heels. Brands like Juicy couture and Von Dutch. Details like rhinestones, bright colors, and patterns. Accessories like chunky jewelry, sunglasses, large belts, and many hats were used to complete the look. Fashion emphasized individuality. 

https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/g26907530/2000s-fashion-trends/

Beauty trends

    Makeup looks focused on glamorous and bold features. Some common trends included shiny and glittery lip glosses. Frosted eyeshadow in shades of blue, silver, and sometimes pink. This was then paired with bold eyeliner and mascara. Unlike the thick, fuller brows seen today, thin eyebrows were a very popular look in the 2000s. Hair styles often seen were side bangs, fully straightened hair, and blonde highlights. Some celebrities that were seen as huge influences included Britney Spears, The Kardashians, and Paris Hilton. 

https://lofficiel.in/beauty-2/keeping-an-eye-on-the-past-2000-2011-beauty-trends/

    Taking inspiration from the 2000s era is very appealing to filmmakers, this is because of the nostalgia it brings to the viewers. This was a very iconic and amazing time. Music, clothing, makeup, and technology from this time period is very recognizable, when wanting to create a 2000s inspired film it is important to take these details into consideration. 

Research - Finding Inspiration

    When coming to the decision about wanting to make a 2000s inspired film, many ideas and concepts rushed to my head. It was very exciting to take inspiration from many of my favorite movies. I wanted to physically visualize these thoughts, I wanted to see what this would actually look like. Using the website Pinterest i gathered photos and arranged the into collages. Let’s break this down! 

    When initially deciding on creating a 2000s inspired film opening I wanted to find past film I could take inspiration from. I used films like “Wild Child”, “The perks of being a wallflower”, “13 going on 30”, “Princess protection program”, “High school musical” and many more. I have created two bison boards, one based on the 2000s teen experience and the other based on 2000s films I will be taking inspiration from. Creating vision boards is a very essential step as it allows me to visualize my ideas.

2000s teen films

2000s teenage years

    Now it is time to visualize what these 2000s characters would look like. As a group we wanted to choose new names and personalities for the characters we had created. Although this is not the final representation of what the characters will be like, this is a perfect way to gather inspiration for the future planning. 

    To begin, Arianna is the first character we have created she is a calm and studious girl who loves fall, music, and reading. Clothing is a big part of how a character is perceived, her wardrobe consists of dark washed denim and darker purples and blues. When creating these mood boards I wanted to focus on certain color schemes so that everything would have a consistent aesthetic. As noticed colors are slightly muted and pictures have darker lighting. Arianna is meant to have a down to earth personality, a girl who has many rules, and is not afraid to be herself.

Arianna’s mood board

Arianna’s Wardrobe

    On the other hand we have, Alejandra. This character is very outgoing, she is more impulsive than Arianna. She is the type of character in 2000s teen movies to be seen as popular or well known.   

    Alejandra is a sweet girl with lots of energy. She is seen as someone who is a bit careless and loses time easily. Her wardrobe was a bit tricky since my teammates want Alejandra to have a pink and sparkly outfit. However Alejandra consist of clothing brands like "Ed hardy" and "Victoria Secret". The majority of it includes denim, pinks, oranges, animal print and mainly black outfits. Alejandra is a character that loves sunglasses and jewelry. She wants to be seen, she is confident. 

Alejandra’s mood board

Alejandra’s wardrobe

    Creating collages is one of the best ways to visualize your thoughts, being able to psychically see what is going on in your mind may help clear overlapping thoughts that may not make total sense. These mood boards very accurately depict how I want these characters to be viewed. Although many details are yet to come I do think it is a great start.  

Research - Genres reflection

    The world of film involves many different genres. That is truly one of the beauties of filmmaking, so many different narrative elements, styles, approaches that contribute to the film categories. When doing research on what genres I would like to look into, I decided on teen, romance, and horror. 

Genre: Teen film 

    The first genre I did research on was teen film, it is a genre centered around adolescents. It involves common themes like first love, peer pressure, fitting in, school life, and rebellion. Teen films define nostalgia, relatability, and are centered around emotion. This genre relies on dramatic and comedic situations; it is meant for teenagers to see as relatable it reflects everyday struggles of growing up.  

Examples: 

https://www.theringer.com/2020/08/24/movies/what-is-a-teen-movie-red-dawn-friday-night-lights-brick

Genre: Romance 

The second genre I looked into was romance. This genre is focused on characters finding strong emotional connections, discovering love, and facing challenges with themselves and others. Some may view it as the cliched genre of “happily ever after”, but many times it involves the heartbreak and tragedy of human relationships. I have always loved all forms of romance movies, I enjoy watching rom coms with my mom. It resonates with a broad audience that attracts people of all ages. It creates millions of iconic films.  

Examples:  

https://nofilmschool.com/romance-movie-genre

Genre: Horror 

    The third genre I did research on was horror films. This is an extremely broad category since it has become more popular over the years. This genre is designed to create fear, unease, and anxiety. It explores fears, supernatural, psychological threats, and terror. What makes a horror film? Filmmakers often use jump scares, dark atmospheres, suspense, unsettling sounds, and music, and sometimes even gore. Audiences seek adrenaline, discomfort, and the ability to face your fears in a safe environment.  

Example:  

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-horror-definition/

    When doing research on the three different genres, I made a mental and physical note on what makes every genre different. There are many characteristics that categorize a film into different genres. What makes a genre a genre? Teen, Romance, and Horror all have many distinctions that qualify films into that genre. While doing research, it was important to think about what would be needed to make a film in each genre. Whether it was something I was interested in seeing through or if I was able to meet these requirements. 

Research - Film Opening

    When being given the challenge to create the beginning of a film it is often over looked how important a film opening actually is. Me and my group have decided to gather an overall view of what it truly is and how we can meet what is expected of us. Here is what I have learned!

    A film opening is typically the first few scenes of a film, it introduces the story to the audience. This establishes main characters, setting, genre, and tone. 

    The opening is very important since it is the audiences first impression of the film, it must grab their attention. It sets the expectations for the rest of the film. It gathers an idea of what kind of the story is about to unfold, it creates curiosity and the need to know what happens next. The tone of the film opening is also very important, audiences subconscious look for hints about the film.  This includes clothing music, lighting, any short dialogue , and more. It helps the audience understand what type of story they could possibly expect to see. 

    Effective film openings are made using many different techniques. This consists of establishing shots to share the initial location of the story; dialogue or narration provides plot and introductions to characters, and finally sound effects and music is often used as a huge give away to what the mood of a story may be. In some film openings conflict is shown almost immediately to show off important events that affect the rest of the film, however in other films mystery I built up as the main conflict isn't shown till later in the film. 

    Film openings set the narrative, drawing audiences into the world of film. An impactful opening can introduces questions that will be answered throughout the film. It introduces excitement and interest. 

Here is one of my most recent favorite film openings: 

    "Baby Driver" is a 2017 action thriller film, it immediately grabs the audience's attention as it introduces major factors to the story line. From the first scene we are introduced to the main character "Baby" right after he executes a high speed getaway. It shows Baby listening to music as he always does throughout the film. It is a fast paced energetic scene that perfectly captures what the rest of the film will be like. 

Sources:

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/purpose-of-a-film-opening-74634867/74634867

https://clinttill.net/blog/the-importance-of-your-opening-shot

https://laibamansoor.weebly.com/research/task-1-what-is-a-film-opening

Research - Sub-genres

   After doing research on the different genres of film, I learned that over the years many genres have even been separated into many more genres; these are known as sub-genres. While it may seem confusing, sub-genres are simply more specific to categories of the preexisting genre. There have been so many talented filmmakers that it was hard to classify, for example, all romance movies to be the same when they all had visually and emotionally different appeals. They refine broad categories into a more generalized group. It helps to target specific audience groups, for better marketing and promotion. 

Teen: comedy

    Teen comedy films are lighthearted comedy films targeted towards teenage experiences and teen humor. This subgenre turns relatable, everyday situations into humorous plots. A teen film is based on interests, slang, fashion, fears, dreams, and adaptations of a certain time period. It explores different themes like characters' social lives, friends, family, school, and more. These usually center the protagonist for one story line, then branches off to a few storylines based on the protagonist's close friends or family, like a sibling. Teen comedies may also be known as teen sitcoms. Many popular teen comedies are television programs that contain a set of characters that navigate different humorous scenarios for every episode. It occurs in a recognizable and consistent setting like a home or workplace.

Source 

Teen: coming of age

    A good coming of age film usually becomes very popular very quickly. This is because of the broad audience it attracts. Coming of age represents a large age range, usually teens to young adults, however it brings nostalgia for older audience groups. Coming of age focuses on the struggles and constant change teenagers are going through as they figure out life as they come closer to adulthood.

Source film examples

Romance: fantasy

        The sub genre, romance fantasy, combines the beautiful elements of a love story with the magical or supernatural world. While the narrative mainly focuses on the romantic relationship between sets of characters, it builds on realities that seem impossible including fictional kingdoms, magic, or even mythical creatures. Themes that are often seen in these types of films include destined love, sacrifice, good vs. evil, fate, and forbidden love. This sub genre appeals to audiences that enjoy imaginative worlds and storytelling. It is a world where magic and love exist. 

Source

romantic: comedy

    A romantic comedy, also known as a rom-com is a film genre that tells lighthearted love stories by combining humor and romance. The story line follows two characters as they meet and develop a different kinds of romantic dynamics. Rom-coms follow many different fun dynamics, for example friends to lovers, when opposites attract, love triangles, fake relationships that become real, a second chance romance, and my personal favorite enemies to lovers. Comedy is used to add witty dialogue, awkward but funny moments, and entertaining situations to keep the audience intrigued. 

Source

horror: thriller

    A good horror thriller film is designed around tension, fear, and suspense. It combines the elements of horror, dangerous, and scary threats, with mystery and fast paced suspense. These films use intense music, unexpected plots, and dark settings to bring fear to the audience as they are unsure as to what will happen next. Themes include characters facing unknown factors, survival, and psychological fears. The audience is purposefully made to feel uneasy and nervous as they are kept on the edge. 

Source

horror: supernatural 

    Horror has become a very broad genre as it can including many ways to induce fear. The subgenre of supernatural features themes that go beyond the natural world, challenging the laws of reality. Usually including an unexplainable phenomena. This involves ghosts, portrayal of death, miracles, spirits, magic, gods, demons, and more. Some supernatural horror films are based on religion, while others are usually based on gruesome violence that feels incomprehensible. 

Source

    After doing research on several genres and subgenres, I have decided to continue my research on teen : coming of age. I really enjoy how teen coming of age filmmakers targets serious topics that many people go through and turn everyday situations into visual representations. Everyone views life differently. To be able to accurately capture early years of life is something I find very interesting.