Task 5: Director case study

Greg Mottola Voki
Greg Mottola's three films, Paul, Superbad and Adventureland all contain similar elements. Firstly, he uses animation in all of the films but in slightly different ways. The title and typography elements in Superbad and Adventureland look animated and are cartoon like whereas the animation in Paul is of the alien which is made to look like it is in the shot with the rest of the characters. This animated element gives us the impression that the target audience is teenagers because this is associated with comedy films that stereo typically teenagers are engaged to.

The actors that Greg uses in his films are also well known. For example, Paul features Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Superbad stars Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill and Adventureland stars Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. All of these actors are extremely famous so therefore his films will be watched by a lot of people because of the names listed. Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen appear more than once in his films which shows that he wants his audience to be attracted by seeing these names on the credits.

In all the trailers of these films, editing techniques are frequently used. For example, wipes are used a lot along with a sound effect which helps the scene to flow and develop. Mottola also uses vibrant music in his films which allows his audience to recognize his films and potentially watch it because of who it is related to.

The narratives are completely different in his films but have the same goal. This is because of the theory that most films follow Todorovs theory. he uses males as the main character which could be because he is trying to attract a male audience so that they will watch his film with the aim of not only being entertained but to relate with the main protagonist.

Film Examples:
Superbad

Adventureland

Paul

What I have learnt:
After researching the work of Greg Mottola I have found out that if you frequently use some small elements you can build an audience and a franchise. I will try to use some of his editing techniques like a wipe from one shot another as I believe that this helps to construct a flow to the narrative. I also like the idea that he incorporated animation into his films so I will therefore try to include this in my sequence. I have also learnt a lot about the directing industry and that most directors have a style or way of doing things. They furthermore like working with the same actors as they clearly understand each other and know what the actor is capable of.

Checklist For My Opening Sequence:

• Don't reveal too much of the narrative.
• Use a catchy soundtrack to engage my audience.
• Correct institution information used.
• Make the main character the focus of the narrative.
• Film the video in landscape and not portrait as it will make it difficult to edit.
• Make the actors speak clearly and slowly to make it easy to edit and understandable.
• Stick to the 180 degree rule unless I am braking it to add effect and demonstrate confusion.
• Use close ups.
• Think about costume to represent a social group.
• Make a clear plan/storyboard.
• Make transitions seamless.
• Use Film 4 as my institution company as they are usually low budget films and bring up encouraging actors. 
• Try to include some animation in my sequence.