Coming-of-age Film Opening Interviews (Blog #13) RESEARCH

To conduct further research on the coming-of-age genre I wanted to not just research, analyze and deconstruct popular coming-of-age movies but to also get opinions on my specific idea, so I decided to interview some friends. Before filming the interviewers I really thought about what are some questions that fit under my current film opening idea. After a few brain storming sessions I finally decided on ten questions to ask my interviewees.

10 interview questions for film opening research:

1. Would you relate to a story about a student working hard to earn a scholarship? Why or why not?

2. Which student struggles do you think are most important to show in a coming-of-age story? 

3. Do you prefer fast-paced sequences or slower moments that focus on emotions?

4. How important is it to show the challenges and sacrifices a student makes to achieve success?

5. How engaging would it be if the story compares a high-achieving student’s life to a more balanced student’s life?

6. Does the idea of ending on a cliffhanger make you more interested in watching the full story?

7. How much do visual techniques help you connect with a character?

8. Do voiceovers, diegetic sounds, or moments of silence help you understand a character’s stress and emotions?

9. Would seeing a character struggle despite getting good grades make her more relatable or less appealing?

10. What part of the story or character would make you feel most invested in the film?

       The process:

Before going into the interviews I was a little nervous as I’ve unfortunately come to learn I’m not the best at interviewing people from past experiences. My curiosity was the only reason I was able to do this part of my research, I really wanted to know what people liked most for my story. I wanted to know if people had different opinions, visions, or ideas for my film opening. So I finally decided to send the text to my friends...

and thankfully my friends were willing to be interviewed.

Despite them being available, I was still really nervous about my questions, the answers. The whole process was terrifying to me simply because it was something different to what I’ve done before. In the past when I’ve interviewed people they’ve always been other adults and would be extremely helpful in the process but this was my first time interviewing people my age and I would be the one leading the interview. The thought of the interviewees being friends I’ve known since 7th grade was comforting and did help me calm down a little bit but I still had to figure out how my setup would be. After experimenting around with different sets, lights and mics I finally found my setup. I used my iPhone 12 Pro as my main camera on a tripod, RØDE Wireless GO microphones, and  a studio light.

Interviews 

The aftermath: 

After completing the interviews and analyzing the answers I received I was very surprised by some of the answers. 

Question one: Both of the girls find the story of a student working hard to earn a scholarship relatable since it is a very common goal for many students due to it being a huge help for one's future. 

Question 2: The interviewees believe it's important to show academic pressures, friendships and family finances because students could show a happy front to everyone around them but at the same time they could be struggling with their relationship with school and how it greatly affects them mentally. Friendships are important to be shown since the friends we make and decide to be around are a big part of how we are, how we act, how we think and even how we talk. Finance struggles can really determine how someone acts, thinks and goes on in their everyday life. 

Question 3: Both of the girls prefer slower moments that focus on emotions instead of fast-paced sequences. Both Maya and Olivia stated that they would prefer slower moments to showcase what the character is going through and to show real time processes such as the studying the character does in the film opening. To me this was one of the most surprising answers since for my original vision I had envisioned a few study montages  of the character suffocating herself in schoolwork, homework, projects, and studying. I think when I originally came up with the idea, the only two minute time limit made me feel like I had to include as many angles, shots, and frames as possible but now looking at it from a different perspective I think including more slower emotion filled moments would fit the plot better than a lot of montages. While I will still include montages I will prioritize showing those strong emotions the character is feeling. I will try my best to show how she tries to hide those emotions while in public but at home she will continue to work hard but her protective facial front goes down and through it, the audience can really see what she feels. Through lingering shots I think I will be able to best showcase the character’s facial expressions. 

A prime example of how I think to do this is the scene from Black Swan where the main character is in her dressing room covering up her tears of frustration and hard work with makeup to continue to perform, putting a positive and happy fake front for the audience. 

Question 4: Both people stated how important it is to show the challenges and sacrifices a student makes to achieve success. Maya and Olivia both gave similar answers when asked this question by saying that while a student may be getting good grades there are endless sacrifices a student has to make when wanting to high-achieving. By showcasing these challenges and sacrifices it will highlight just how much the character has to miss out on or has to overcome just to be successful. 

Question 5: Both girls stated it would be very engaging to show the comparison of a high-achieving student’s life to a more balanced student's life because it will showcase the difference between the students' standard and how differently they are willing to reach those standards they have set out for themselves as well as their goals. 

Question 6: Both people said the ending being a cliffhanger makes them more interested in watching the full story. Their response answers my question of whether to change the ending from being a cliffhanger or to leave it as one and leave the audience wondering what’s next for the character and if everything she went through and did for this specific moment, was it even worth it or if it was all for nothing. 

Question 7: Both girls  said visual techniques help them connect with a character. They both expressed how visual techniques really help them understand the character and know exactly what it is that they are feeling, going through and or thinking. For example using a close-up of the character's facial expressions when receiving her grades or if she feels upset by so said grades. Using a high angle of when the character is about to take a big test, she feels unsure of herself and small compared to the test. 

Question 8: Both people agreed that voiceovers, diegetic sounds and moments of silence help them understand a character’s stress and emotions better since you are able to further experience the world the character finds herself in and her own personal life through sounds such as diegetic sounds. Moments of silence gives the audience the realism of being there with the character on her stressful and overwhelming journey. 

Question 9: The two girls agreed that seeing a character struggle despite getting good grades make her more relatable to them as a viewer because it's the sad and unfortunate  reality to make students' current life. The girls expressed how despite getting good grades the character could still be struggling in other areas in her life like how many of us have experienced before. 

Question 10: Both answers were very different from each other for this question. Maya stated the part of the film opening that would make her the most invested in the film is the part where the character finally receives what they’ve been working for throughout the entirety of the film. While Olivia expressed that the part of the opening that would make her the most invested in the opening is the plot and how the character will fit into that plot and overall story being told. 

After reviewing and reflecting on the process of the interview in general I’m thankful that I got the answer I was wondering about in regards to my original film opening idea and even got inspired by a few answers to go and maybe even change a few things within my story and characters. One element I would like to further explore now that I’ve gotten some feedback on my idea is looking at movies that explore a perfectionist protagonist such as Whiplash, I, Tonya, and Black Swan as I’ve seen all have elements in their main character that I think would the character I am trying to build and explore.