Welcome back! I realized that I needed to be more analytical in my blog posts. So today I will be going into more depth on what the characteristics of a Coming-Of-Age film.
In a coming of age film, themes like youth and growing up are at the heart, which also places a lot of emphasis on the main character story. In these films a single lead character is shown as they "grow up," or enter a new phase of their lives. Usually young a main character is dealing with their first serious crisis, experience, or realization. The genre frequently revolves around significant turning points or life events that occur to characters as they mature. Here are some film openings that caught my eye.
The film opening of "Clueless" introduces the audience to the main character and her lifestyle. Fast-paced cuts are used in the beginning of the opening to highlight the film's high school vibe. The cuts provide some back story behind the main character and what her life is all about. There is upbeat music playing in the background, but then the volume becomes low and then a voice over of the main character begins. The film creates a tone of desire and humor with bright images, an energetic soundtrack, and the voice over. The main characters playful chat with her best friend, foreshadows the lightheartedness and detailed talks of teenage relationships to come. The scene also subtly brings attention to the main characters lack of self-awareness, setting the base for her future growth as a character. Overall, it does a good job of setting the tone, characters, and themes of the movie.
13 Going on 30
In the “13 Going on 30” film opening the characters were established immediately. As soon as the opening begun the girl who seems to be the main character is illustrated as weird kid by showing that her school picture didn’t turn out good unlike the popular girl who’s picture turned out perfect. You are able to see the relationship between the two characters just by the way they interact. The use of the over the shoulder shot between the main character and the “popular” girl with all of her friends behind her shows the power the “popular” girl holds over the main character.
I like how in the opening of “Clueless” the music faded into a voiceover but still was playing slightly in the background. I think it would be cool to incorporate something similar into my opening but getting permission to use copyrighted music might be hard, and I don't think any not copyrighted music would fit the vibe me and my partner are going for in our film opening.
In the opening of “13 Going on 30,” I love how the use of different shots show the relationship between 2 different characters, and I think I will definitely be using this technique in my film opening.
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-coming-of-age-movie-definition/#:~:text=A%20coming%20of%20age%20movie%20is%20centered%20around%20the%20themes,next%20stage%20of%20their%20life.
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