Title Sequence Treatmeant

The film starts with a black screen which fades into a wide shot of a family house. The audience can hear the climax of an argument and, whilst focusing on the house, a teenage boy storms out, looking very unhappy and distressed. The camera follows his journey down the street and into the park using wide shots and close ups. Liam walks through the park and over to a bench where he lights up a cigarette, he looks very upset and angry. This is quickly cut to a wide shot of Liam walking up towards a block of flats- his mates house hoping to get a place to stay but nobody is in. Fast cuts and close-ups are used here to make the audience start sympathise with him.

Liam is now at another part of this journey, now looking shabbier and more depressed. A wide shot shows Liam walking in a different location, the camera pans with him as he walks through the streets. Again the shot is cut sharply to a wide shot of Liam on a park bench, he begins to roll a spliff. Close-ups of him rolling shows his desperation for his smoke. Liam looks over to a bin, a close up shows him thinking as he walks over in bid to find something to eat.

Liam is now waiting for a bus, a wide shot shows him waiting. He gets off and is now at the final part of his journey. He is still walking the streets like we first saw him but this time looking unhealthy, unclean and sleep deprived. We see him walk equipped with his sleeping bag through a busy London road. He walks over to a corner, his spot, where he sleeps, and the place he now calls home.

In the opening sequence we see a boy who was once living a life of luxury with his family in a terrible state on the streets. The contrast in his behaviour, appearance, and emotions is great. As an audience we are left wanting to know what has happened and eager for the film to begin.

Pitch

Tiverton Studios presents a teenage drama about the struggle of living on the streets. We plan to create a gritty British drama focusing on key teenage issues, which teenagers can relate too, in order to achieve the desired feelings targeted towards the 14-26 age group.

It follows the life of Liam, a young male aged seventeen who seemed to have his life already worked out, and on the right path. Unfortunately, everything comes tumbling down and Liam is left alone with nothing.

As the story unfolds, we see Liam battle through everyday life on the streets. The struggle for money, food, water and a warm place to stay pushes Liam down a rocky road of drugs, crime, and unhappiness.

Sam Leach is attached to play Liam. He has an energy and vulnerability that is essential for the lead.

Will Liam's unstable and damaging life continue on the streets or will his life of luxury he was previously living come and rescue him?

Research

In order to produce a successful product, research is vital. I wanted my opening to be the beginning of a teenage drama film so I looked at other similar openings to films such as;

The opening six minutes to the film "Kidulthood" is packed with many different themes. Although the film is very strongly sterotyped and stylised it gives a good example of what life for a teenager in a stereotypically "rough" area would be like. There are clear divisions between groups and in the opening, the older group headed by "Sam" appear very aggressive and abusive using street slang which the younger generation understand suggesting this film is aimed at teenagers. The other group with the main character "Trife" is less powerful and younger.

In the shots where the audience see conflict between these two groups there are lots of jump cuts to different shots that are usually very crammed full of the older boys. This shows that the younger group are not as powerful as the others and that they are in a helpless situation.

There are also strong scenes of violence between two female groups. These shots show the victim of the bullying from a higher angle to show her helplessness and that her bullies are in a superior position. The girl is a middle class schoolgirl being bullied by working class pupils. This contravenes the ruling class ideology as the working class are represented as having the power.

Some of the shots are handheld and jolty, to give the impression that it is from the characters' perspective.

Music used in the film falls in to the genre of hip-hop/grime, attracting the target audience of urbanites who experience similar situation as the characters.The music used is produced by urban artists such as 'Dizzee Rascal', 'Lethal Bizzle' and 'Shystie'. The music at the beginning is very mysterious which creates suspense as if something is going to happen.

The clothes worn by the actors is street wear commonly worn by the average teenager living in London. Teenagers can identify with the clothing and understand the ideology underpinning the text. Examples of clothing include; Hoodies, caps, trainers and jewellery. The majority of the actors are wearing school uniform. By doing this it makes the clip more realistic and believable.