Evaluation Question 1

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

Conventions of a Title Sequence:

Titles:

Wouldn't be a title sequence without them. 

Order of Titles:

Our film follows the conventional order of titles.

We start with ident of Production and Distribution companies. We also repeat the name of these companies in the moving sequence.

Next we show the names of the actors who play the most important characters to our film. In this case it appears next to the character himself.

Next we have the title of the film title!

This is followed by further actors and other members of production crew e.g. Costumes, Music Supervisor, Editors, Director of Photography.

Finally we have the Director of the film which is the last title of the sequence.

Font

The font we used, called 'Corona' on Final Cut was chosen as we felt it replicated the urban look that we wanted to create from the opening as it looks almost like graffiti.

An example of how the font changes the mood of the opening can be seen in teen film Juno where the bright font creates a playful nature.

Forms and Conventions of Teen Film Openings:

There are certain forms and conventions that are common to many film openings. The opening I have produced uses and develops these conventions as a measure to inform the audience of what kind of film is to be expected from the opening. It introduces characters, sets up the location and establishes the genre as well as possible narratives.

Travelling and Arriving

Two methods of travelling seen in The Breakfast Club - by car or by walking - exploring different aspects of character. 

Eg. 'Criminal' character walks by himself suggesting his parents don't care for him.

Our main character uses public transport (train) to reach his destination in the opening of our film. This explores a situation similar to the 'criminal' character in The Breakfast Club.

Establishing Locations

This screenshot from the opening of Attack Block is an example of how the setting is set up in terms of geographical location.

The location of our opening is portrayed by an establishing shot of an estate in London. This tells the audience the film is located in an inner urban city setting.

Introducing Characters

Here we see our main character meeting two of his friends who, although we dont hear them speak, will have a strong influence on events that unfold.

Establishing Genre and Themes

It is also common for the themes and genres to be explored in the opening of a teen film. This in turn hints at possible narratives of the opening. For example, this scene from our opening suggests a romance between the two characters.