Research - Juno

Another film i looked at for my research was "Juno", a film starring Ellen Page and Micheal Cera. This film itself was made by the production companies Fox Searchlight Pictures, Mandate Pictures and Mr. Mudd and directed by Jason Reitman. The film tells the tale of a teenage girl who falls pregnant with a boy at her schools baby. The story develops into her giving the baby up for adoption to a dysfunctional couple whilst she tackles teenage boy drama. The movie won a number of awards including a BAFTA for the best original screenplay and a MTV Award for best leading actress. The film is a comedy with hints of drama and romance, here is the opening to the film:



The film starts with a close-up of the main character Juno looking directly into the camera, she takes a drink of juice and then the shot cuts to a long shot of her walking down a street. As this happens a song can be heard in the background: 'All I Want Is You' by Barry Louis Polisar. This appeals to the target audience of teenagers/young adults as the song is an upbeat rhythm with an old-fashioned voice. The shot of Juno walking down a street does two things: 1) give the audience a good look at her to see that she is a normal teenager and 2) to show she is against the crowd (when the people run past on the opposite direction). Even in the first two minutes the general feel for the film is established.

Then to make the film stand out and to give the feel of the film the shot transitions into cartoon, giving the title credits as it does so. This gives an almost childlike feel to the film, suggesting the character herself isn't fully grown up. As the title of the film appears the character can be seen looking directly into the camera again. Here is the screen shot:

The sequence then continues to list the credits, giving name to the main actors as well as writers and producers. All the while the colours change giving a feel of confusion as to the purpose and feel of the film.Then as the clip draws to an end the directors name appears: 'Jason Reitman' and the clip once again transitions into colour. Giving us another view of the main character and the setting. Here is another screen shot:

From this film opening I learnt that the credits have to have a story in themselves, like how Juno's credits are based around her walking to the shop. So credits have to have a narrative story, something as simple as walking to the shops. As well i learnt that the more unique the credits the more they stand out and the more effective they are, just like how Juno's use the cartoon. All of these things will make for credits that stand out and also get the names of the people involved across in a more artistic and effective way.