A majority of titles in the chick flick genre look feminine and glamorous to connote the theme. For example, the titles for 'Devil Wears Prada' are gold and red, and the font is of a handwritten style, connoting the feminine cast and the genre of the movie. However with transitions of the titles, they tend to fade out and are replaced by another set of titles shortly after, this technique appears in 'Love Actually' and in 'Devil Wears Prada'. This connotes that this technique is stereotypical to the genre, and to meet the interests of the target audience that watch these films, we would like to adapt this technique and use a similar idea. The title sequences for both movies move quite slowly, so it gives the audience more time to concentrate on the imagery, as well as the titles. The title sequence normally contains the title of the movie, the production company, and the names of the main actors in the films, this connotes ideas that they will be the main character in the film.2) What kind of music/or other non-diegetic sounds are used?
Stereotypically, chick flick movies normally have a light hearted, energetic song at the beginning, sung by a famous musician. For example, 'Devil Wears Prada' had a famous song by KT Tunstall, where the lyrics revealed insights into the plot of the film, and the light hearted music helped to set an atmosphere.
3) What types of character do we see in the opening sequences?
In the opening sequences relating to the genre, the main character is normally a female. However the way they are portrayed varies very much. Like in the 'Devil Wears Prada' we see the portagonist to be scruffy, late, unorganised and by the looks of it, unpopular. Whilst we see the other characters in the opening to be glamorous, neat, pretty and successful. We see these girls in close ups apply ing their make up, making them look glamorous and popular, and with fasionable costumes.4) What Kinds of mise en scene dominate?
In the genre, many of the movies are set in a house or public areas. For example, 'Devil Wears Prada' was set in new york, and in different houses and flats, whilst the opening scene for 'Love Actually' was set in an airport. Films relating to the genre normally contain lighting which connotes to the happy, energetic atmosphere of the film, connoting the theme. However, props within the scene are stereotypical towards genres. Women are seen with make up, hand bags and shopping bags, while men are seen with their cars, beer, football and gadgets, using Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites to make the openings interesting.
5) What narrative codes are employed and how?
The opening sequences of many chick flicks are normally based around Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites, where the conflict interests us between two opposite forces. For example, a man and a woman, and adult and a child. Also, a key convension of a chick flick is close up shots of the main characters. This would give the actor more screen time, so the audience would recognise them as the protagonist.
6) Is there a particular form of cinematography or editing that is specific to the genre?
In chick flicks, there is a type of editing that is popular amongst opening scenes. Parallel editing is used to give the viewer a sence of what is happening in different locations at the same time. This is used to make it more interesting, and to set up enigmas as you can see all, and the characters cant. For our clip we have decided to use parallel editing to create this mood and atmosphere, we also think it will be a good way to introduce characters and a storyline.
There is clear evidence of a proficient level of research into your chosen genre though your understanding of the use of binary opposition is not always clear. You might want to look at your analysis of Love Actually in regard to this. There is evidence of a clearly defined target audience and the beginnings of some audience research though there is a lack of posts on the development of your project from this week.
ReplyDelete