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.