Easy A Analysis (Holiday Work) Task 15 & 20

Title Sequence:

•          At the beginning of the title sequence we see farms, roads, public places and a high school which sets the scene of a small town. It then cuts into the high school court yard with the bells ringing and the students coming out of class. The credits of the main cast are placed on the floors of the courtyard as well as the walls of the school when the school is within the camera frame. Throughout the title sequence we hear the voice over from Olive, the main character telling us the story-line as if she is recalling the events which lead up. The last credit appearing is the main character and the director and producer are credited first which is unusual because in large budget teen films like mean girls and 10 things I hate about you usually credit the main character first and the director and producers last.

Title sequence order:

• ·         Screen Gems Sony production company
• ·         Olive bridge Entertainment Production
• ·         Director and producer (Will Gluck)
• ·         Movie title
• ·         Main cast
• ·         Main character credited last along with the character appearance

Story-line:

• After a lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter”, which she is currently studying in school until she decides to use this lie to advance her social and financial standing.

Stereotypes:

• ·         Olive Penderghast – becomes the ‘slut’ of the high school. All the students think she is sleeping around with all the boys around high school thus gaining her a bad reputation for herself. The girls think this is disgusting and horrible while all the boys want to sleep with her so they can be known as one of the boys who slept with her.
• ·         Brandon – At the beginning of the movie we see Brandon get send to the principal’s office with a bloody nose hinting to the audience he has just been in a fight and portrayed as the ‘tough guy’. We find out throughout the movie his is in fact gay because he is getting bullied at school for being gay when he asks Olive to pretend to have sex with him.
• ·         Woodchuck Todd – he character is seen as a good guy. The one who isn’t quick to judge and is the one who is supportive, loving, caring of his friends and peers. He is friends with everyone and also known by everyone but doesn’t get involved with any of the drama and gossips that goes on.
• ·         Christians – the religious group who are very judge mental of everyone who isn’t a Christian or do not have any beliefs. They express their Christian characters by sitting in a circle singing god songs and praying for Olive as is going against what they believe in.

Target Audience:

• ·         The film is rated PG-13 in America and 12A in the UK. The target audience for this film is directed towards teenagers. The story and setting of a high school life relates to those near or the same age than the characters in real life. The concept of losing your virginity in the film would be a target for more mature audiences ranging from 18 to the mid-twenties as they like a reminder of how high school was like.

Camera:

• At the beginning of the title sequence we see a lot of close up shots and mid shots. The mid shots were used to show the location the movie is set in for example the streets and school and the close up shots were used to show the little things like the oranges within the farm.
• As the camera approaches the school and credits start to appear, the shot is continuous. this means it Is one complete shot with no cuts. the camera starts off from a high angle shot from the ground then changes tilts back up to eye level and then pans to the left to show the school then tilts down again when the main character is seen being knocked over.

Sound:

• Throughout the title sequence we hear the voice over from the main character talking about what is happening and gives hints foreshadowing some parts of the film. other than that, the sounds is mostly diegetic which means the sound on the set and for example in this set we hear the school bells ringing and people talking in the background.

Mise En Scene:

• Although the exact location is not specified during the title sequence we cant tell from the shots of the empty streets, small neighborhood and the farms that this is a small remote town.
• The clothes and body language the main character gives off are casual which means she is trying to fit in as a normal girl but her body language when her books are knocked over shows us that she is quite shy and doesnt say anything.