The code

We've been talking a lot about narrative formula in film studies lately, more specifically the Umberto Eco 'Bond' formula. I won't go into it too much, mostly because I've been living/breathing/eating/sleeping that formula for a long time now...

Anyway, one of my favourite teen movies of recent years, 'Easy A', came up with a code or a formula that should be followed when trying to make the ultimate teen movie (edit: I just googled teen movie formula and it's rubbish, don't do it). Here's a couple of good points I've picked out:

1. The main character has to be extremely dry and witty. They're an outsider in school, they don't conform to social norms, and they're thrust into the limelight somehow, or undergo a change in character (example: Mean Girls, Easy A, 10 Things I Hate About You)
2. The killer soundtrack. Music is everything in a teen movie. It needs to be a mix of current chart-toppers, classic rock tunes, and bands you've probably never heard of.
3. There needs to be a huge musical number for no real reason other than pure entertainment, classic examples include Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, Easy A and Mean Girls.
4. The script needs to be based on a classic piece of literature. This isn't the case with all teen movies, but in recent years it's definitely worked well. Good examples include Clueless, which is based on Jane Austen's 'Emma', 10 Things I Hate About You, which is based loosely on Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew' and Easy A, which is jokingly based on 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawke. The basis of an already existing story gives you a basic structure to work with and fill out with your own modern and contemporary ideas.
5. Aside from the light-hearted core of the film, there needs to be a serious tone when the character has an epiphany and loses sight of themselves. It shouldn't change the tone of the movie, as perfectly demonstrated in The Breakfast Club, Mean Girls and Easy A.

I do plan to follow this, and even though it's been done time and time again, it never stops being fresh and exciting. Exactly why I love this genre!

A list!

Rotten tomatoes is one of my favourite sites, I try not to focus too much on reviews but if I see something that's gotten good praise on their site, I'll more than likely check it out.

While browsing their main page, I noticed they had a list of the essential teen movies. Teen movies are what's really driving me creatively right now so I've listed the ones I haven't seen that interest me:

• Elephant: A Gus Van Sant arthouse movie about a columbine-inspired high school shooting (Not the most tasteful right now with the recent shooting in the news however...)
• Dazed and Confused: A cult classic that from what I've heard, carries the hallmarks of the perfect teen movie: a killer soundtrack, a strong ensemble cast, and a script that perfectly encapsulates school life.
• River's Edge: A movie about the discovery of a girl's corpse in a small american town. It's about teenagers, and it does sound interesting so I'll definitely give it a go.
• Christiane F.: A cult classic from Germany with child prostitution, drug addiction and David Bowie, who both appears in the film as himself, and composes the soundtrack. Brilliant!
• Say Anything: Another classic of the genre. Cameron Crowe is one of my favourite directors, I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched Almost Famous. Classic boy-meets-girl romeo-juliet-forbidden-love story.

I'll watch each of these and post my thoughts, I feel inspired just by reading about these movies.

El Diablo

I was asked to look into a few different scriptwriters who I admire. A few came to mind, but a woman who I have always admired in this field is Diablo Cody.

Diablo Cody is best known for penning the script for the teen dramedy 'Juno', which is one of my favourite films of all time. The script is full of razor-sharp wit, brilliant one-liners, ridiculous situations and odd-ball characters. Aside from the comedic aspects of the story, Diablo incorporates basic human drama that really grounds the story.

Another film that she penned was one of my favourite films of last year, 'Young Adult', where she reunites with Juno director Jason Reitman. Young Adult is is a pitch black comedy with the same dry humour that I loved about Juno. Like in Juno, Diablo cements the humourous story with some serious issues and human drama. She does this beautifully in the party scene, with a really hard-hitting revelation from Mavis the main character, but still keeps a darkly comedic edge towards the end.

Basically, I want to write like Diablo Cody. We share a similar sense of humour, but I want to be able to write about things that I know. I'm not the most knowledgeable on teen pregnancy or mid-life crisis', but I've got a cornucopia of weird experiences that I would love to put onto paper!

Park Chan-Wook's first english language feature? Hell yes!

One of my favourite directors, korean director Park Chan-Wook (famous for the likes of Oldboy, Thirst and I'm a Cyborg) is releasing his first ever english language film, and i can't be more excited. The poster and the overall look of the film looks deliciously gothic with immaculate framing, cinematography ranging from icy cold to warm and gold, and what looks to be an award-worthy performance from Aussie actress Mia Wasikowska.

The psychological drama aspect of this film is something that really inspires me, not only that but the technical mastery that Park Chan-Wook brings to all his films. I don't see this as a box-office smash, but more of a cult movie in the making. Chan-Wook isn't known for blockbusters, preferring to feature in his films medical vampires and mental patients who believe themselves to be cyborgs.

Check out the stunning trailer. March 2013 can't come soon enough! A shot I'm freaking out about is the shot of India's uncle slipping off her sneaker, and replacing it with a shiny stiletto, with the other sneaker still on her other foot, symbolising India's transition to womanhood, while also demonstrating Chan-Wook's unbelievable framing and camera work.

Pointless week? Quite possibly

We took a week out from  normal classes to take part in this employability week at the fancy new campus in North Belfast.

I was actually pretty excited for it, it'd be a chance to meet new people and get a chance to look around the new building I've heard so much about. I was hoping the whole week would be relevant to what I'm studying, but it turned out to be the opposite...

Instead of learning about things that would help us with our subjects and employability in our chosen fields, we basically did a lot of team-building with people from polar opposite courses to ours. Sure, meeting new people was all well and grand but the people I worked with in particular had little enthusiasm and I won't lie, I was finding it hard to dig deep for some enthusiasm too.

This might sound really silly, but a one-hour lunch-break seems pretty ridiculous when in my class I'm used to a good two hours plus to go for a dander around the town, or in my case, spend too much money on DVDs which in one way, it's healthy because it's a dose of inspiration, but on the other hand I'm spending too much money...

But now let's get back on topic. I'd been feeling ill most of the week, which was partly an excuse to take time off but at the same time I was feeling completely rubbish, so I wasn't completely up to taking part in team-building activities, e.g. building towers out of paper, or trying to create an advertisement scheme for a beauty parlour (what did this have to do with my course? I asked myself that question quite a lot over the course of the week)

I guess I enjoyed the last day I was in, because I got to take inspiration for advertising from a few films and celebrities that I like, namely the film 'Lolita' and Dita Von Teese. Overall, I didn't enjoy the experience. I would have so much rather have been in normal classes.

A little late to the party, but yes here is the first post on my blog.

I'm Aidan. I'm 19, and I'm a first year student currently taking a HND in Creative Media Production (Moving Image) at Belfast Metropolitan College. I've had a life-long interest in film but only over the past two years have I began to see it as a potential career. I clearly remember as a kid spending days upon days of watching certain films like Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Jumanji, Titanic, and many more. As a kid I loved the magical spectacle that these films had shown, but as I got older, I began to appreciate the darker edge they had hidden between the lines.

Basically, I would love to direct and write films. Here are a few people who are inspiring me on these two fronts:

• Sofia Coppola
• Diablo Cody
• Jason Reitman
• Zach Braff
• Tina Fey
• Will Gluck

I'll be going into a lot of different things that inspire me, from music to real-life people. But this is a start!