Final Project Week 4: Further Research

02/22/2024

    This week has been uneventful for our project since Hannah's work schedule changed because we had to move our film date from this week to next week. Our next film date is this Sunday and we will be filming the house scenes. However, as we wait for that day to come I asked Mr. Z what I should do while we wait and he said I should conduct some more research and analyze another film opening. Since we are looking to add a bit of comedy in our coming-of-age opening I decided to look at a more comedic film when compared to the last film I looked at (Lady Bird). So, I decided to look at one of my and my sister's favorite movies growing up, "Clueless." 

    "Clueless" follows the main character of a teenage girl named Cher as she navigates high school with her friends. Unlike many high school movies, the main character is not the underdog or "loser" of the school rather Cher is a popular "girly girl" with lots of friends. Cher's development is her realizing how easy it is to get lost in your own world and by the end of the film she focuses on helping others not for herself but to genuinely help others.

    The film's opening follows Cher getting ready for the day as a voiceover of her plays in the background. This helps the audience get to know the character as they see her day-to-day routine and it gives an overall idea of how the character lives her life. The voiceover also provides extra information on Cher, her life, family, and situation, and allows the audience to further learn about her and form an early opinion of the character. It also provides a bit of a comedic aspect to the film by having the character break the fourth wall and share her thoughts that show how she fits the title of "Clueless" but it also helps show how Cher is truly a sweet girl who has room to grow and this helps set up the plot. We want to mimic some aspects of this opening in ours specifically showing our main character getting ready and using a voiceover to reveal more information and for comedic effects to deliver punchlines; however, our opening will be less bright with a more somber mood to help reflect the mental state of our character.

    In the next half of the opening, the audience is introduced to Cher's best friend as they are on their way to high school. Their conversation and how they interact with their environment are very telling on both of their characters and their relationship with each other. Furthermore, this is also another way to introduce conflicts and plot points as Cher gives the audience input on her thoughts of her friend, her friend's boyfriend, and her thoughts on school in general. Again, this is another convention seen in coming-of-age films we want to mimic in our film opening. Meeting our main character's best friend helps show Harper's relationships and who she is as a person. The voiceover also allows in both situations for the characters' to show their true emotions no matter what they say to other characters.