1- In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For this question I am going to select nine different screenshots from my final product and analyse them. I think my film opening could fit in with typical teenage aimed films, it displays anti-social behaviour which immediately attracts an audience, however it uses close up and not a lot of monologue which is not usually apparent in film openings of my chosen genre.

The title of the film/Title font and style:
The title of my film is very apparent and clear, it is the first thing the audience see's when watching the film opening (as seen in screenshot 1). I used the title 'Youth' as it is directly what the film is about, the youth of today. A topic that a lot of people show interest, or rather concern. I used this title because I thought it would allow an audience to find out what the film is based on straight away without even watching it.


I have introduced the title in a plain and basic white font on a black background, this gives a cold and hard effect which adds to the intensity of the mood I aimed to set with my film opening. I added a definition to the opening because that is basically what the film would be about, the definition of youth and how the youth is defined in today's modern society. I put the font plain because I think it is aesthetically pleasing and easy to read, also I have seen this kind of font in simular film/tv titles of my genre, here are some examples that I got my inspiration from;

Skins Opening Credits
Uploaded by girlwithglasses. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

That was the kind of style font I wanted to use for my credits and opening title. I think it ended up working quite well, as did the title name and meaning, I think I managed to make it all fit into the theme I aimed to acheive.

Setting/Location;

I was very picky when it came down to location, it caused problems and nearly had me and my actors arrested but I eventually found my perfect location. Back streets of Dartford and other suburban areas worked well for me, as I wanted to base my scenes in places that the youth are stereotypically put in to. That consists of places like back alleyways (see screenshot 4 & 6), roof tops, raves/parties (see screenshot 5) and high density/built up urban areas. 

These are my scenes and where i shot them;

This is the first scene after the opening title part, I got this footage from driving in the car being in traffic. I thought this could relate to my theme as it shows an example of somewhere urban.

I went to the top of a shopping center car park to get this footage, this caused some problems with security and they eventually kicked us off of the premises, but we got enough footage to use as credit scenes.

I got this footage inside a pub, I did that to display anti-social behavior (under-age drinking) to keep in with my youth theme. I also thought the pub scene worked well because the characters in the film are not legally allowed to be in there, displaying more rule breaking and anti-socialism.

I got this footage down a back alleyway in dartford, to keep to the urban theme. It also displays in the scene signs of under age sex which is anti-social behavior to keep in with my theme.

I got this footage in the media studio in our room, I used the lighting in there to create a strobe light effect which is used commonly at raves and parties. I also made sure the background was dark, using the dark sheet, because in most nightclubs and raves the decoration is usually dark to give effect. In this it shows not so much anti social behavior, but displays what the youth get up to in order to have a good time.

This is on a back road of Dartford, it sticks to the urban theme.

This is the same back road in Dartford, I speciffically chose this road because i knew it was on a hill and therefore I could end the scene the way I wanted. I used this because when the character turns the corner there is a lot of air space next to him to insert the title again. Again it sticks to the urban theme and actually at the end displays more anti-social behavior: violence.

This was shot in a school classroom, however I filled it with props and people to make it look like an after party scene where every body has passed out. This sticks to the anti-social theme because it displays partying and some under age drinking examples. 

So all in all I wanted to set my scenes in urban destinations and places where the youth are stereotypically placed. I think I acheived this quite well, however in a perfect world I would have set the rave scene in an actual rave and not in a media studio as I think that setting maybe lacked effect.


Costumes and props;
I had to use props when setting up my main scene, as shown in the video here:



The props used were empty alcohol bottles, rubbish, cd's, clothing, ciggarettes and packaging etc. Other scene's props included lighting (for strobe effect), alcohol, a baseball bat, cigarettes and a torch.


This is how I decided to dress my characters;



Camera work and editing;
In my camera work I used a lot of close up and out of focus shots to add effect, also to ease the credits in instead of having them bold on a bold background. I used a range of different shots and angles so that my opening scene would stay interesting. When editing i made sure that the scenes and cuts stayed in time with the music, as the music adds to the climax at the end. I did however slip up and make mistakes at the end of the opening sequence, as I failed to hold my shot steady when shooting a follow shot and holding a still shot at the end. When i edited, in order to make the flashbacks clear I put them in black and white to imitate a dream like state.


But over all a majority of my shots are close up or out of focus, this is to add to effect and fit in with my theme and mood. Also it sticks with the credit's font, plain and simple.




Story and how the opening sets it up;
The opening sequence introduces you to the main character by centering him in a majority of the scenes. It tells the story mainly through the flashbacks, as you see what he did in the night before he ended up in the passed out scene, consisting of him kissing a girl, beating up the second main character* and raving. *this links up to the end scene where the second main character comes and chaces the main character down the hill to get revenge.


Also the opening sequence sets the scene quite well by showing you what the main character does by showing him in the passed out scene; go to parties, drink, smoke, fight, have sex, etc. These are mostly illegal things and socially unacceptable activities which shows the anti-social theme i tried to produce with my opening sequence.


Genre and how the opening sequence suggests it;
I can't put my finger on an exact genre for my film opening so I looked around at the films/tv shows that inspired me to make mine the way it was and found out what their genres were, and it turns out my film could be classed as a drama or to be more specific a teen drama.


My opening sequence foreshadows the fact that there will be drama, from the off you see things that usually lead to problems; drinking, partying, fighting and sex. 9 times out of ten when anyone drinks alcohol a problem will occur wether it be an argument, violence or sex that would have never occured under a sober mind-frame. Partying usually leads to problems because someone at the party will usually have a disagreement, (me myself have never been to a party that has never came out with some problems which made me think of putting the party scene into my opening). Fighting is bad to begin with but will 9 times out of 10 have consequences, which from watching my film opening we do see when the main character beats the second main character up in the flashback, the second main character comes back to chase him in the final scene with weapons and friends. Sex under the state the character was in the night before (which you can tell from him being in a passed out scene acting confused as to where he is) can also lead to drama or regret which is why i put it in there. So all of these elements of my film suggest that there will be drama to come.


Also my film opening definitely suggests the genre teen, because all of the featured aspects of my film have qualities that teenagers like to see in there programming or film. For instance the way the characters are dressed is fashionable and similar to the way a lot of teenagers dress today, which would instantly make it appealing for a teenager. Also in my experience I think that everyone, not just teenagers, like to watch things happen that they themselves cannot actually do due to the realities they would face in real life. 


How characters are introduced;
My main character Jordan would be the main focus of the film, following him around on his daily life and showing the drama that can occur living a hectic life style. I introduce him almost instantly in the third shot by showing him asleep, you will notice in the film that he is laid down in the middle and everyone is spread around him, also he looks directly into the camera, these things emphasise and show the audience he is the main character from the off and this is the way he is introduced. His name or any other information is not displayed in my opening, to add some mystery into his character and make an audience want to watch on. 

My second main character Tommy, is not introduced in the same way, he is put in different scenes to show his face and familiarize him with the audience as he would also play a key part in the film.

Special effects;
I didn't have to use any special effects in my film as I did not feel it would have been nessecary as I wanted to stick to the plain and simple theme.