Feedback from our presentation

The purpose of the presentation was to show our teachers and classmates the research and planning that we had conducted, that was going to go towards the construction of our opening sequence. This allowed us to get feedback and see what we needed to improve. It also enabled us to see people's reactions to our initial film idea, which was particularly useful as the majority of our class fits our target audience profile.

Our presenation featured details of our research on:

•  Genre conventions-  coming-of-age films usually feature young/ teenage protagonists who go on a metaphorical journey in order to change something about their lives.
• Opening sequences- coming-of-age film opening sequences usually started with silence, the first shot being long in duration as the music builds up. There are also several close-ups in which character is established.
• Distributors- Having narrowed it down to Focus Features, Revolver, Momentum, Fox Searchlight and Entertainment Film Distributors, we decided to go with Entertainment because they had previously released similar British successes such as St Trinian's 1 and 2 and therefore have expertise with the young market. 
• Character representation- Protagonists in coming-of-age films can be described as quirky, individual and thoughtful, whilst secondary characters, such as friends of the protagonist, are caring, understanding and practical thinkers.
• Audiences- we plan to target females between the ages of 16 and 24, who have an interest in the media and film industry and are therefore aware of independent films/cinemas. Our wider audiences are 16-24 year old males and also couples in the thirties.
• Film opening idea- Our opening sequence will show our protagonist, Lila, filming and vlogging about a sunrise, followed by an intimate moment in which her brother's bucket list is revealed, and ending with an exchange of dialogue between Lila and her two friends, Noah and Jess.
• Film production company- Fruit Bowl Films is a London-based film production company that specialises in the production of low-budget, British films.
• Proposed characters- Our protagonist, Lila, is quite a feisty, impulsive character who is determined to complete the bucket list her brother left behind. Noah, a friend of Lila's brothers, is quite individual and caring, which could possibly be a challenge to the stereotype of teenage boys. Jess is also a friend of Lila's who will accompany her on her journey, and is an intelligent, practical character.
• Proposed location- We plan to shoot on top of Primrose Hill at sunrise. 

All in all, we think our presentation on Turning Pages went really well, but there are a few aspects of our proposal that we had to either reconsider or that we had not paid much attention to.
Here are a few questions that we needed to think about:
1) What, other than the aspirational characters of Lila, Noah and Jess, appeals to the core target audience?
2) What are your proposed titles, including style, font and colouring?
3) What other technology do you intend to you use?
4) Specify the dialogue and script that you intend to use
5) How will you work around the timing of the sunrise at Primrose Hill?

We then had a meeting with Miss Blackborow and Chris to go through the specifics of the presentation. We received an 'excellent' for almost everything, and were therefore greenlit with a few queries:

• Are Atticus and Jess a couple? They enter together so it looks like that, unless he is gay or they meet her at the top of the hill
• Need to clarify indie style - watch other British independent films
• Do we start in the equilibrium stage of Todorov's narrative theory?
• We may have to change Atticus' name
• Research certification and decide between a 12A and a 15
• Be clearer on specific indie techniques and style
• Is there an appeal to young people with our unique selling point of life after cancer?