In order to understand the stock settings, characters and storyline for teen romance films we viewed 3 different films from this specific genre and analysed the main conventions that were found
Stock setting
The film is mainly set in an american high school where the audience are able to view the young characters in their natural environment. The setting helps to highlight the different characters roles and how they fit in at school ,the audience are able to notice the many different 'cliques' in social groups at school which helps to form the characters identities.
Despite the film being mainly set in a highschool there are also other settings in which some of the scenes are placed:
At homes/ in the characters usual settings- there are many scenes where the girls go to each others houses ,also one of the 'queen bees' has her boyfriend round in her bedroom. These settings are used in order to introduce the audience to the characters natural environment and demonstrate the usual trend within teenagers for them to always be at each others houses
Parties- there are two main scenes involving house parties which are used due to the typical stereotype of teenagers having house parties ,consuming alcohol and destroying the house. It also represents their adventurous side and this setting is used in particular as it creates an enigma within the audience- they are obviously aware that something is going to happen due to the normal drama that house parties cause
Shopping Centre- A few of the scenes are placed in the shopping centre where one of the less popular characters works, it's used as it is a typical setting for teenage girls to visit regularly and many of the 'queen bees' evil schemes are created there
Stock Characters
Cady is the main character in mean girls. She is the 'new girl' in
town and due to being homeschooled is completely oblivious to
the 'mean girls' world. They soon turn her into one of them
which is the main highlight of the storyline. The innocent
home-schooled new girl turns into a plastic which changes her
life
Regina George
Regina is the Queen B and the leader of 'the plastics'- the
reigning trio over the school. At the beggining of the film,
Regina is the most popular girl in the school. However, as
time progresses due to Cady her role is decreased and she
soon becomes the mockery of the entire school. Regina's
house is often shown in the film as the main meeting place for
the plastics and is also the centre of social meetings also- ie.
house parties
Gretchen Wieners
Gretchen is part of 'The Plastics' and comes from a rich
family. She appears in the film as insecure and constantly
under pressure from Regina. She seems to constantly be
worrying about what other people think about her. Regina
has an incredibly strong influence on her decisions which as
the film progresses, makes her crack and turn against Regina
Karen Smith
Karen is a fairly sweet member of the plastics, however
appears as very dimwitted throughout the film and tends
to be the peacemaker of the plastics and stays out of the
fights and the evil plots constructed by the group
Other characters
Aaron Samuels - An attractive American Football player who plays for the school team. He is also Regina's ex-boyfriend and Cady soon falls for him after joining the school which causes a stir between the girls
Janis Ian- An unpopular goth who helps Cady when she first arrived at the school. She was labelled throughout as a social outcast and has constant battles with Regina George that leave her bitter. As the film goes on, Cady abandons her to be a part of the mean girls click
Damien- Janis' sidekick who is also classed a social outcast and is often used to humour the audience and the students at the school
Stock Storyline
- Cady - the 16-year-old home-schooled daughter of zoologist parents is unprepared for her first day of public high school. With the help of social outcasts Janis and Damien , Cady learns about the various cliques within the school. She is warned to avoid the school's most exclusive clique, the Plastics, the trio of girls led by the queen bee Regina George. Regina was once Janis's best friend but they have grown to despise each other since Regina started a rumor about Janis's sexuality in the 8th grade. However, the Plastics take a shine to Cady and invite her to sit with them at lunch and go shopping with them after school. Upon realizing that Cady has been accepted into the Plastics, Janis hatches a plan to get revenge on Regina for what she did to her, using Cady in order to destroy the Plastics.
- Having ingratiated herself with the Plastics per Janis's plan, Cady learns about the "Burn Book," a top secret notebook of Regina's filled with rumors, secrets, and gossip about all the other girls (and teachers) in their class. Cady soon falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels ,whom Regina successfully steals back from Cady during a Halloween party. Cady, who now hates Regina, goes ahead with Janis' plan which involves cutting off Regina's "resources", which include separating her from her boyfriend Aaron, destroying her beauty, and turning Regina's fellow Plastics against her: insecure rich girl Gretchen Wieners and sweet but dimwitted Karen Smith .Cady then starts pretending failure at math to get Aaron's attention and soon choreographs Aaron's breakup with Regina by confessing Regina's infidelity with another boy. Cady also convinces Regina to eat high-calorie nutrition bars by claiming that they actually will help her lose weight. She also turns Gretchen against Regina by making her think Regina thinks of Cady as a better friend instead of her.
- In her efforts to get revenge on Regina, Cady gradually loses her individual personality and remakes herself in the image of Regina. Her act soon becomes reality, and she becomes as spiteful as Regina, abandoning Janis and Damien in the process and focusing more on her image. Regina, now slightly overweight due to Cady's diet sabotage, is excluded from the Plastics and Cady becomes the new Queen Bee. In celebration of her newfound status, Cady throws a party with the Plastics and does not invite Janis or Damien. Janis and Damien then renounce Cady as a friend. During the party, she also alienates Aaron with her unsavory new personality.
- Regina discovers the truth about the bars she has been eating and strikes back by spreading the entire contents of her Burn Book around the school, inciting a riot; to avoid suspicion, Regina also inserts fake slander of herself in the book, in order to focus blame on Cady, Gretchen, and Karen. The riot is eventually quelled by Principal Duvall. Math teacher Ms. Norbury—who also appeared in the Burn Book, where Cady slandered her by saying that she sold drugs—makes the girls realize that all of them are guilty of hurting their peers. She has each girl confess and apologize to the rest of the girls. Janis confesses her plan to destroy Regina with Cady's help, and openly mocks Regina with the support of the entire school. Regina storms out, pursued by an apologetic Cady, and gets hit by a school bus in her haste; rumors circulate that Cady intentionally pushed Regina in front of the bus.
- Now without friends, shunned by Aaron, and distrusted by everyone at school, Cady decides to make amends by taking full blame for the Burn Book. Though severely punished by her confession, her guilt dissolves and she returns to her old personality. As punishment for her part, Ms. Norbury has Cady join the Mathletes—which Damien & Regina both described earlier as "social suicide"—in their competition. There, Cady has to compete against a very unattractive girl, realizing that even if she made fun of the girl's appearance, it would not stop the girl from beating her. Cady wins the tournament and returns to school for the Spring Fling.
- At the Spring Fling dance, Cady is elected Spring Fling Queen and gives a speech to her class that her victory is meaningless; they are all wonderful in their own way and therefore the victory belongs to everyone. As a symbolic gesture, she breaks her tiara and distributes the pieces to her fellow classmates. Cady makes up with Janis and Damien, reconciles with Aaron, and reaches a truce with the Plastics.
- The film ends with the Plastics disbanding by the start of the new school year: Regina joins the lacrosse team as a way to channel her anger positively, Karen becomes the school weather girl (claiming that her breasts can always tell when it's raining), Gretchen joins the "Cool Asians" clique and is their biggest follower, and Cady dates Aaron as well as hanging out with Janis and Damien. Now reasonably well-liked, Cady reflects that the "Girl World" she lives in is at peace
Dear John
Stock Setting
Due to Dear John being based in Carolina ,there are many scenes on beaches whilst the couple have barbiques and long walks- this is incredibly romantic and helps the audience to recognize the relationship between the two main characters growing
John, the male main character, works in the army. Many of the scenes showing him opening letters and thinking about his partner are whilst he is in the Army therefore there these scenes are based in Afghanistan where there is very little visible apart from tents (soldiers accomodation), rubble on the floor, army transport and destroyed buildings
We see both characters homes when they go and visit each others families which demonstrates the backgrounds of both families and how they differ
The settings we see whilst the characters are together are incredibly romantic and relaxing which reflects the atmosphere of the film
Stock characters
There are two main characters in the film, and the storyline follows their relationship
John Tyree
John is a Sergeant in the Army Special Forces. He is on leave from the Army when he meets Savannah however as their relationship builds, John's duties in the army strain their relationship and eventually cause them to both break apart
Savannah Lynn Curtis
Savannah is a student at college. She meets John while she is on her break and falls madly in love with him
- At the opening of the film John is lying on the ground in combat gear with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Coins begin to fall over him as, in a voiceover, he recalls a childhood trip to the U.S. Mint. He compares himself to a coin in the United States Military, and states that the last thing he thought about before he blacked out was "You."
- John is on leave when he meets Savannah , a college student on spring break. Over the course of two weeks, Savannah and John fall in love. John meets Savannah's family, her neighbor Tim, and Tim's autistic son, Alan
- Savannah meets John's father ,a reclusive man who is only interested in coins. John tells Savannah his father's obsession with coins interfered with their relationship, and they are not close. Savannah mentions to John that his father, like Alan, may have autism. This upsets John, who gets into a fight with Savannah's neighbor, Randy and, in the process, accidentally punches Tim. John apologizes to Tim, leaves Savannah a note, and they spend one last day together. After his leave ends, John and Savannah begin a long-distance relationship through letters. Even though John planned on leaving the army, the September 11 attacks conflict him, and he ultimately chooses to re-enlist.
- Over the next two years, John and Savannah communicate through letters. Ultimately, Savannah sends John a Dear John letter, informing him that she has become engaged to someone else. John, deeply depressed by the news, burns her letters.
- Thereafter, John is shot several times by an enemy and, even though encouraged to return home, re-enlists. For the next four years, John takes part in many missions. While waiting to receive orders on his unit's next deployment, John is informed that his father had a stroke. When John arrives at the hospital, the doctor informs him that his father is in grave condition. John, feeling guilty that he was not there, asks the doctor if the outcome would have been different had John been with his father. The doctor does not think so, and John writes a letter to his father, which he reads to him at the hospital. It is then that the viewers learn that John's voiceover at the beginning of the film was from this letter, in which he told his father that the first thing to cross his mind after he was shot was coins, and the last thing to cross his mind before he lost consciousness was his dad, ultimately the most important thing in his life. Shortly thereafter, his father dies.
- John then visits Savannah. He discovers that she married Tim, and that Tim has cancer. Savannah notes that Tim is confined to a hospital and in need of an experimental drug they cannot afford. John visits Tim in the hospital, where Tim apologizes to John for the situation, but indicates that he is happy his son will always have someone to care for him. Tim also notes that Savannah still loves John. John and Savannah have dinner together that evening, and John says goodbye to her.
- John sells his father's coin collection, though he keeps the first mule coin they found together. He anonymously donates the money from the sale to finance Tim's drug. The next scene shows John back with his unit, using the mule coin in a coin toss with his soldiers. John then gets an unexpected letter from Savannah. She writes about how she received an anonymous donation to help Tim with his treatment, which gave him the opportunity to return home and say goodbye to friends and family before he died. She notes that she will always wonder where John is and how he is doing, but accepts that she lost the right to know a long time ago.
- In the last scene of the film, John walks a bicycle down a block and, after stopping to lock it up, locks eyes with Savannah through a cafe window. Savannah comes out of the cafe, and they embrace.
The Notebook
Stock Setting
The film is set in Carolina however, due to the couples seperation and the changes from past to present the setting changes frequently.
- The setting in which Allie and Noah first meet: this is in Noahs hometown at the Carnival. There is a very friendly atmosphere and we get the sense that it is based in a rural area due to the farmer-like characters that we meet there. This setting also includes the abandoned house in which Noah has built his dreams around and makes a promise to Allie that he will transform it. This setting is where Noah and Allie fell in love which makes it a very special place and almost marks their relationship, its also special for Allie when she goes back there which demonstrates that there are a lot of memorys held there for the both of them
- Different houses and a more urban area is introduced for the setting in which Allie lives in now seperated from Noah- she seems to fit in more with the original setting which signifies that she is somewhere she doesnt belong
- The setting in the present- where the old Noah and Allie are now both in the carehome, it's a fairly relaxing place where the couple can enjoy reading books and getting to know each other once more
- Finally, throught out the film there are amazing views shown on the screen. For example, when Allie and Noah went out on to the lake with all the ducks. These settings reinforced the romantic side to the film and made their relationship even more beautiful
Stock Characters
Young Noah
Noah is a very charming ,cheeky young man who takes an interest with Allie as soon as he sees her at the festival and does not stop in his attempts to win her heart. He is a local boy to where Allie stays in the summer and works at the lumber mill
Young Allie
Allie is a young girl from a wealthy family spending her summer in Noah's hometown
Stock Storyline
- The film opens with an elderly man reading out of a notebook to an elderly woman about a story between two young lovers, Allie and Noah. Allie Hamilton is a girl from a wealthy family spending summer in Seabrook. At a carnival, Allie meets Noah Calhoun, a local boy who works at the lumber mill. Over the summer, their romance blooms and they spend every waking moment together.
- One night, Noah takes Allie to an old abandoned house that he promises to buy and rebuild for her. They are about to make love when they are interrupted by Noah's friend, who informs them that Allie's parents had called the cops to search for her. At her house, her parents tell her that Noah isn't good enough for her which he overhears. He starts to leave and Allie follows him, which leads to an argument. Allie and Noah break up, but immediately regret the decision. Allie's family leaves Seabrook the next day and Noah, devastated, writes her one letter every day for a year plus one last farewell letter. He never hears back from her because her mother hides all the letters. After Allie doesn't reply to his goodbye letter, Noah decides to move on and he moves to Atlanta. One day, while at work Noah overhears the news about Pearl Harbor. He then enlists in the army for World War II while Allie attends college.
- While in college, Allie volunteers as a nurse's aide for wounded soldiers and meets the injured Lon Hammond, Jr. — a young man who is handsome, charming, and from a wealthy family. To the joy of Allie's parents, they become engaged; meanwhile, Noah returns home. Noah's father greets him and informs Noah that he is selling his current house so that Noah can purchase the old abandoned house. While visiting Carolina to present to the State his building plans for his new house, Noah sees Allie walking down the street. Noah, who is on a bus at the time, hops off the bus immediately and chases Allie. He sees her go into a restaurant and smiles when he sees her, but he then witnesses Allie and Lon kissing. Devastated, Noah restores the old house, believing that if he keeps his promise to her, Allie will come back. Once he is finished, Noah tries to sell it, but cannot part with it.
- In the present, at this stage, it is clear that the elderly woman is Allie and the storyteller is her husband. She does not recognize their family due to her dementia, and they beg their father to come home with them while he insists on staying with his wife.
- The film switches back again to young Allie and Noah. While trying on her wedding dress amongst family and friends, Allie reads about Noah's house in the paper and faints. Upon some deep thinking, she decides to visit him. When she arrives at Noah's estate, she seems very nervous and attempts to leave by driving her car in reverse. She crashes the car into a wooden gate and it stops working. Noah walks over to her and invites her to the house. They talk and have dinner and Allie makes it clear that she's getting married. They reminisce on their memories together, and, when it is time for Allie to leave, Noah asks Allie to come back tomorrow for a surprise. The next day, Noah takes Allie out on the lake in a canoe to a setting amongst ducks and they begin to talk. Allie asks Noah why the ducks are there, but Noah says he doesn't know and that "they'll go back where they came from", perhaps suggesting that Allie is supposed to go back where she came from. Before the conversation can end, it starts to rain and Noah and Allie laugh and she screams as if she has been liberated. On the way back after reaching port, Allie gets upset and demands to know why Noah never wrote to her. Noah tells her he wrote to her every day for one year. He says to her "It wasn't over, It still isn't over." He pulls her face to his and starts to kiss her, and they make love. After two days of passion, Allie’s mother appears while Noah is out and says that Lon has followed her to Seabrook. Allie's mother takes Allie for a drive and explains how she too once had a summer romance, and that she still watches her ex-lover sometimes. They drive back to Noah's house, and he is sitting on the porch. She hands her daughter the bundle of 365 letters that Noah had written, saying that she hopes Allie makes the right choice. She drives away and Allie goes to sit on the porch with Noah. She explains how Lon is in town and how the past few days had been wonderful, but very irresponsible. Noah is furious, accusing her of only loving Lon for his money, and says that if she leaves, he will hate her forever. She storms toward her car, and Noah yells after her that she's bored with her life, and if she wasn't she wouldn't have come. He begs her to stay with him, saying that he knows they fight and is willing to work it out every day if that's what it takes. He tells her that if she really wants to be with Lon, then she should go, because he lost her once and could do it again. Confused, Allie drives off.
- Distraught, Allie stops her car, reads Noah's goodbye letter, and then drives to the hotel where Lon is staying. Lon says that he has three choices: Kill Noah, beat him, or leave Allie. He says that none of them let him keep her, and that he loves her. She says she loves him too, but that she feels like two different people when she's with Lon and when she's with Noah. She says she knows she should be with Lon, but she wants to be with Noah. Allie goes back to Noah and they "lived happily ever after".
- Switching back to the present, Allie realizes that she and Duke are the people in the book. She asks how long she has before she loses memory of everything again. They dance and then she relapses. She has to get a shot from the nurse as she believes that Noah is an intruder and Noah gets upset. When he goes to sleep, he looks at the books and we find out that Allie herself wrote the book and told him to "Read this to me, and I'll come back to you" every time. It is basically a notebook of their love story.
- The next morning the nurse finds Noah in a critical condition, and he is saved from his heart attack and finds Allie. She is able to remember Noah and asks him whether their love is strong enough to make miracles and take them away together. Noah says that their love can do whatever they want it to do, and in the morning, they are both found dead, sleeping peacefully while holding hands. The film closes with a flock of birds flying over a lake.
Overall findings from research into teen romance films
Stock Settings
· From research, we have analysed that most of the films are set in a high school due to the age group that appear in films of the specific genre and the situations they find themselves in. Examples of films set in high schools; mean girls, never been kissed, a Cinderella story etc.
· There is a contrast between urban and rural areas
§ Urban: often views of buildings, schools etc. which establish the characters location and also identifies regional identity
Examples of films set in urban areas; a Cinderella story, princess diaries, 10 things I hate about you etc.
§ Rural: usually used to establish an older relationship between the characters due to the very beautiful surroundings which create a sense of romance
Examples of films set in rural areas; Dear John, The Notebook
· Also, we have often found that the setting is introduced before the characters
Stock characters
· Main female character- “Queen B”; this character usually plays the most dominant role in the film. They are usually pretty, thin and blonde and normally fall in love or have a relationship with the handsome popular main male character
Examples; Savannah- Dear John, Regina George-Mean girls
· Main male character- They are usually handsome ,charming and the captain of some kind of school sports team
Examples; Aaron Samuels-Mean Girls, Chad Michael Murray- A Cinderella Story
· Outcast female- Normally starts off as fairly standard and unrecognized- they don’t seem to fit in with other students from the school. Despite this, throughout the film this character is built up to become more popular and attractive. The audience seems to build a connect to this character due to the changes that take place in order for her to fit in
Examples; Cady Heron- Mean girls, Princess Diaries –Mia, A Cinderella Story- Sam
· Different cliques- There are always different groups of teenagers shown
Examples; Mean girls, A Cinderella Story, Step up, 10 things I hate about you etc.
Themes
· The death of a family member is often dealt with in teen romance films, this is used in order to relate to the main characters life and story
Examples; Raise your voice, The Last song, A Cinderella story
· Heartbreak- Often the romance in the film has its ups and downs, and the audience are able to see the effects of the arguments and separations which helps them connect to the characters
Examples; Dear John, The Notebook, Never been kissed etc.
· Trying to find identity- most of the teens shown in films aren’t quite sure who they are and often fight to change into a person that they are not
Examples; Mean Girls, Princess Diaries, Never been kissed etc.
· Romance
Examples; Dear John, The Notebook
· Relationship issues with peers- often due to the opposite sex or the individual changing in order to please people whilst ignoring their friends
Examples; Mean girls, John Tucker must die, A Cinderella Story etc.
· Illness/ death within the relationship
Examples; A walk to remember, My Sisters Keeper etc.
Narrative
The Narratives in the films we have studied are not necessarily exactly the same however they often vaguely follow this sequence;
§ ‘A Girl meets Boy’ Situation
§ Either a secret is being kept or an event takes place which causes an argument/ fall out/ separation
§ Audience view their separation and unhappiness without each other, also their attempts to get over one another which often fail
§ The Boy and Girl Get back together
Iconography
· Most of the films are set in America ,therefore the teen characters are shown driving around in cars
· Often scenes of house parties- due to the teenagers being able to drink alcohol
o The house party scenes also demonstrate the use of drugs, sex, and alcohol
Overall findings from the openings of teen romance films
We have analysed how the openings manage to;
The openings usually manage to create an enigma by only showing vague shots of setting and characters. The audience are only able to therefore create an ambigious picture of what is going to happen in the film and the type of characters that are going to be involved in the film. Examples; Step up, A Cinderella Story, Princess Diaries
- A common feature of introducing the key characters is using a voiceover which is effective as the audience are able to recognize who is going to be playing the most important role in the film. Also, using the voiceover, the audience are able to get an insight to the characters lifestyle which also helps to set up the film without confusion. A number of films use this at the opening such as; A Cinderella Story, 10 Things i hate about you etc.
-Characters are also introduced in their home setting (bedroom etc.) ,this is effective as it makes the audience almost think that they know the character due to being introduced to personal factors in their life. An example of this is at the start of The Princess Diaries
The voiceover at the start of the film helps to introduce the key themes. For example, at the start of A Cinderella story, the voiceover of the female main character explains the death of her father which introduces the theme of dealing with the death of a family member
-Due to the genre being teen romance, most of the films are introduced with teenage characters appearing in the frame. For example, in the opening of 10 things i hate about you, a neighbourhood is introduced filled with young people on their way to school which represents the characters that are going to appear in the film. This therefore shows the teen genre of the film.
-Most of the films introduce, through the use of a voiceover, the idea of teen girls living in this fairytale land- for example A Cinderella Story. This helps to introduce the romantic aspect of the genre as all the girls appear to long for a prince to sweep them off their feet, and seem to deal with problems with the opposite sex in everyday life
The film openings we have analysed have all introduced the titles at the beginning. Most of the titles have appeared on the screen whilst the characters and settings are being introduced which is effective as it makes viewing the titles less boring for the audience.
Audience Research
In order to gain a detailed insight as to the expectations of our audience from the teen romance genre, we created a questionnaire which enabled us to investigate the generic codes and conventions that we needed to aspire to. We handed out 20 questionnaires to 20 different people -we used a large sample so that the results were valid and a representation of expectations from the teen romance genre.
This is a copy of the questionnaire we handed out;
___________________________________________________
How old are you?
10 – 15__ 15 – 20__ 20 – 25__
Are you male or female?
Male __
Female __
How do you prefer to view a film?
TV/DVD __
Cinema __
On your computer __
How often do you view films?
Once a day __
A few times a week __
Once a week __
Every few weeks __
Hardly __
Circle which one out of the following teen romance films do you prefer the most?
Mean Girls
500 Days of Summer
A Cinderella Story
Dear John
The Notebook
Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Other ________________________________________________________
What is the normal setting you would expect there to be in teen romance film? (Circle the specific film)
High School
Beaches and Outdoor Areas
Workplace
Parties
Other ________________________________________________
What certificate do you prefer the film to have?
12 __
15 __
Do you prefer the main character to be the…
Popular girl who falls for the geeky boy __
Geeky girl who gets with the popular boy __
How would you prefer themes to be displayed in a teen romance?
Love throughout __
Rollercoaster of themes e.g. heartbreak __
Would you prefer the film to consist of stereotypical characters?
Yes __
No __
Do you like the opening of the film to?
Reveal the main characters __
Show the setting with no characters __
Do you like the main character to do a voice over on the opening?
Yes __
No __
Do you prefer the opening to be all real life or with cartoon aspects?
Real life __
Cartoon __
Do you prefer the film to start in the past or the present?
Past __
Present __
Do you prefer the titles to be at the beginning or end of the opening?
Beginning __
End __
In the opening sequence, do you like to be shown a lot of information about the film?
Yes __
No __
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Findings from the Questionnaire
Question 1 –How old Are you?
10-15: 5 out of 20 people who filled out the questionnaire were fitted into the age group between 10 to 15.
15-20: 14 out of 20 people who filled out the questionnaire were fitted into the age group between 15 to 20
20-25: 1 out of 20 people who filled out the questionnaire were fitted into the age group between 20-25
Question 2- Are you male or female?
· 4 out of 20 people who filled out our questionnaire were male
· 16 out of 20 people who filled out our questionnaire were female
Question 3- How do you prefer to view a film?
TV/DVD: 8 out of 20 people who filled out our questionnaire preferred to view a film on the TV/ a DVD player.
Cinema: 10 out of 20 people who filled out our questionnaire preferred to view a film at the cinema
On your computer: 2 out of 20 people who filled out our questionnaire preferred to view a film on their computer
Question 4- How often do you view films
Once a day: None of the people answering our questionnaire viewed a film every day
A few times a week: 4 out of 20 people answering our questionnaire viewed a few films every week
Once a week: 11 out of 20 people answering our questionnaire viewed a film once a week
Every few weeks: 2 out of 20 people answering our questionnaire watched a film every few weeks
Hardly :3 out of 20 people answering our questionnaire hardly watch films
Question 5- Circle which out of the following teen romance films you prefer the most?
Mean Girls- 3 out of 20 people preferred Mean Girls out of the list
500 days of Summer-3 out of 20 people preferred 500 days of Summer out of the list
A Cinderella Story-3 out of 20 people preferred A Cinderella Story out of the list
Dear John -5 out of 20 people preferred Dear John out of the list
The notebook-4 out of 20 people preferred The Notebook out of the list
Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging- 1 out of 20 people preferred Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging out of the list
Other- none because they don’t like romance
Question 6- What is the normal setting you would expect there to be in teen romance films?
High School- 11 out of 20 people expect to see a high school setting in teen romance films
Beaches and Outdoor Areas-3 out of 20 people expect to see a beaches/outdoor area setting in teen romance films
Workplace- 1 out of 20 people expect to see a workplace setting in teen romance films
Parties- 5 out of 20 people expect to see a party setting in teen romance films
Other- none
Question 7- What certificate do you prefer the film to have?
12- 7 out of 20 prefer for the film to have a 12 certificate
15-13 out of 20 prefer for the film to have a 15 certificate
Question 8-Do you prefer the main character to be the…
Popular girl who falls for the geeky boy- 10 out of 20 people prefer the main character to be the popular girl
Geeky girl who gets with the popular boy- 10 out of 20 people prefer the main character to be the geeky girl.
Question 9- How would you prefer themes to be displayed in a teen romance?
Love throughout- 6 out of 20 people prefer the theme of love to be displayed throughout the film
Rollercoaster of themes e.g. heartbreak- 14 out of 20 people prefer a rollercoaster of themes to be displayed throughout the film
Question 10- Would you prefer the film to consist of stereotypical characters?
Yes- 9 out of 20 people would prefer the film to consist of stereotypical characters
No- 11 out of 20 people would prefer the film to not consist of stereotypical
Characters
Question 11- Do you like the opening of the film to...
Reveal the main characters- 13 out of 20 prefer the film to reveal the main characters
Show the setting with no characters- 7 out of 20 prefer the film to show the setting with no characters
Question 12- Do you prefer the opening to be real life or with cartoon aspects?
Real life- 18 out of 20 prefer the opening to be real life
Cartoon- 2 out of 20 prefer the opening to be cartoon
Question 13- Do you prefer the film to start in the past or present?
Past- 13 out of 20 people prefer the film to start in the past
Present- 7 out of 20 people prefer the film to start in the present
Question 14- Do you prefer the titles to be at the beginning or end of the opening?
Beginning- 9 out of 20 people prefer the titles to be at the beginning of the opening
End- 11 out of 20 people prefer the titles to be at the end of the opening
Question 15- In the opening sequence ,do you like to be shown a lot of information about the film?
Yes- 11 out of 20 people like to be shown a lot of information about the film in the opening sequence
No- 9 out of 20 people like to be shown minimal information about the film in the opening sequence
Presentation of Summary of findings
Research into institutions
We have chosen to co-produce the film- Touchstone Pictures and Summit Entertainment are our chosen producers because from our research we have evaluated that Touchstone has produced a variety of teen romance films in the past such as The Last song ,A Lot Like Love etc., as well as Summit Entertainment who have also successfully co-produced films from this specific genre. This makes them suitable to produce our film due to their experience with teen romance films. Also, Touchstone and Summit Entertainment’s successful co-production of Step Up 3D inclines our group to use these companies for the film.
We have chosen Summit Entertainment as our distribution company because it has distributed many successful films such as Step Up, The Twilight Saga, Letters to Juliet, Sex drive etc. All these films relate to the teen romance genre, which fits in with our film genre and increases the likelihood of our film being successful due to Summit Entertainment’s experience with the genre. This specific company is also part of a vertically integrated organisation as it both distributes and produces films. This is significant as it means that the profit from our film will be split between two companies, also due to there only being two companies, it means that both distribution and production can be done within one company which altogether benefits the process. Summit Entertainment is an independent company, this is important as it means that they specialise in one specific area which makes the distribution process more accurate and successful.
