Evaluation 1 - How does our opening compare to actual film openings

'The title font and style of the film' - Our titles are quite stereotypical for the Teen Angst genre. We have used a Serif font, in bright colours. This shows that the film is aiming to be quite fun/light hearted as the Serif font is a little bit swirly and has an edge to it, in comparison to Sans Serif fonts. The bright colours also connote that the film is meant to be fun. Our titles are quite similar to Juno as that film also has cartoony, Serif style fonts.

 The style of our film is also very stereotypical from every teen angst film I have watched from my research. Opposites, like every other teen angst film I have watched, has quite a generic style. For example, there is no aesthetic style that they follow, such as low key lighting for a dark setting or anything like that. Instead, they all have a high key, generic style. High key lighting connotes that the film will be quite light hearted and fun.

'Setting/Location' - We used the setting of our film in a school. This is very stereotypical to see in the Teen Angst genre and was in almost every film we watched for research. I think that a school environment works very well in this genre because our target audience is teenagers, around 13-18. Having a teen angst film set in a school means that our target audience can relate back to it and they may enjoy it more.

'Costume and props' - We decided to wear casual clothing as this is typical to see in a school environment. Every Teen Angst film that I watched for research, such as Easy A or Superbad, that were set in schools, had characters wearing casual clothing. Quite a few props were used but the main one was the football. Football or just sports in general are quite common to see being played by the male main characters of Teen Angst films, it is usually the popular ones as they are seen to be athletic and that is what we decided to implement into our film opening.

'Camerawork and editing' - Throughout our film, many different camera shots and uses of editing have been used. For camerawork, a wide range of angles and shots have been used to add variety. Long and extreme long shots were used to show the setting, and mid shots and close ups were used to show facial expressions, which involves our characters more with our audience as they can empathize or sympathize with our characters. These have been used in all Teen Angst films by which I have watched for research.

A variety of different editing techniques have also been used. The screenshot above shows a crossfade, which shows a passing of time and also includes an ellipsis. Throughout all of the scenes of the characters walking, match on action used. Freeze frames of the introduction of characters was included with their 'nicknames' beside them to quickly show the audience what type of person they are. Other editing techniques such as shot reverse shot and other transitions were used. Many of these editing techniques are used in other Teen Angst films however the freeze frames with the introduction of characters was not. We decided to use this to make our film different and stand out to the rest.

'Story and how the opening sets it up' -  The bag suggests that the film will be set in a school, and the football indicates that Aiden is quite an athletic character, and based on my film research, this type of character is always the popular one. The football also indicates that there may be a scene to do with the football, or it may have some significance and this is shown in the very first seconds. The opening shows a boy and a girl quite different to each other, and this is expressed in the voiceovers done by both of these characters. One thing that Aiden stated in his voiceover was the he needed a girlfriend. Throughout the opening, there are subtle hints that these two characters will somehow get to know each other and this is done through things like 'awkward staring'. Right at the end of the opening, Kate is hit by a football and this implies that this will be their first confrontation.

'Genre and how the opening sets it up' - Right at the start when Aiden opens up the boot, his clothing, bag, and football are seen within the first few seconds. This gives the audience a very early indication that this film comes under the Teen Angst genre. His clothing is casual which is very stereotypical for teenagers to wear and the bag implies that the film will be set in a school. A school setting is very common for Teen Angst films, as found in my research. The voiceovers of both characters express the highs and lows of teenage life, further showing that it is a Teen Angst film. Many other films under this genre also highlight these 'high and lows' of teenage life.

'How characters are introduced' - In opposites, we decided to use quite a unique way of introducing the characters. As other Teen Angst films, they are bought into the shot. What is different about our is that we used a freeze frame and then have their name show up in bright letters. Along with this, we also used a nickname, in this screenshot it is 'The Wing Man'. This helps create an understanding of the characters as early as possible whilst still making it bright, fun and appealing to the eye.

'Special effects'- We used a few special effects such as changing the number plates into a name, and the titles appearing.  These are slightly different to other Teen Angst films because the titles normally just 'appear', rather than having some sort of effect or animation on bringing them in, which is what we have done. E.g. when the car drives away and the letters appear one by one. We decided not to use any more special effects as we felt like they were not needed and may be unnecessary if we implemented them.