Speak - high school drama research

The title credits appear in the following order; 

show time independent films 

it introduces the main character : Kristen Stewart 

the title appears in bold letter; "SPEAK"

It then introduces more of the cast in the following order; 

Michael Angarano 

Robert John Burke 

Hallee Hirsh 

Eric lively 

Leslie Lyles 

Elizabeth Perkins 

Allison Siko 

D.B. Sweeney 

and Steven Zahn

The title sequence is a moving image because the film is still playing in the background as the credits are still being shown.

SPEAK is produced by Fred Berner, Matthew Myers, Annie Young Frisbie, Jessica Sharzer and is an American independent drama

The title sequence in a way introduces a storyline. At the beginning, the girl draws stitches on her mouth maybe to represent how she feels and it represents the title of the film SPEAK.
The way the plot of the film was developed was discrete because it wasn't in chronological order. 

The main characters are; 

• Kristen Stewart as Melinda Sordino 
• Michael Angarano as David Petrakis 
• Robert John Burke as Mr. Neck 
• Hallee Hirsh as Rachel Bruin 
• Eric Lively as Andy Evans 
• Elizabeth Perkins as Joyce Sordino 
• D. B. Sweeney as Jack Sordino 
• Steve Zahn as Mr. Freeman 
• Allison Siko as Heather Billings

The only social group introduced in beginning is age.It is stereotyped because the young girl has a very feminine bedroom with pink walls, flower patterns and has cosmetics in her drawers. The mother though, is dressed very well with her hair straightened, a pearl necklace and a suit. This shows a big distinction in age.
Further into the film we see the distinction in gender too. The boys were more overly sexualised, and the females were more subjective to the boys.



The teens never got along with Mr.Neck. There was always repercussions if the students ever challenged him. 



But, the art teacher was very close and empathetic to Melinda. This was because his attitude towards students were more youthful and careless.




In the film, there is alot of pull-focus and close up shots. 


This is a two person shot .


These shots are done so we could have full focus on each characters emotions and expressions to current situations.



The main type of editing techniques used is cutaways and jump cuts. These are used to drop hints and helps us understand the plot line.


Kristen Stewart gets the more screen time because she is the main character, who is narrating her story.

The film had very little sound to it. It was mostly diegetic sounds, like speaking or background sounds like walking. 



The film was in natural lighting, to give it more of a realistic effect. The film also was quite dull, in the main characters house and in the classrooms, which did reflect the mood of the main character.

The main locations in the film is her bedroom, her art classroom and her history classroom. All of which she has different emotions for. Her history classroom she hated has she was forced to be more outspoken, her bedroom is where is laid down and gave her reminders of her abuse, and the art classroom is her favourite, where she could relax and take her mind off things.

I like this film because it shows the growth of a young female on the brink of depression. This is a good example of a teenage film because it shows a realistic view of teenage life and how badly bullying and abuse could impact someones life.