This document provides an analysis of the opening scenes and title sequence of the media product "Steeze", an urban skate culture and crime drama film aimed at teenagers and young adults. Several conventions of real media products are explored, including portrayals of independent teenage protagonists, focus on appearance and self-image, depictions of living conditions and role models, use of music and abstract effects, gritty urban settings, depictions of skating skills and tricks, and placement of title credits. The analysis also notes ways the media product challenges conventions through some unconventional shots, effects, and music choices.

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

2. • My media product Steeze is an Urban skate
culture and crime drama aimed towards teens
and upwards to mid 20’s.
• I have taken inspiration from a popular film
Street Dreams with a similar genre of
skateboard culture however with very little
crime featured.

3. The first scene with a teenage boy within his home entering the fridge
for food shows independence as no mother figure is there to prepare
food for him. He is forced to look after himself as he lives within a
single parent household with no siblings. This is a common stereotype
amongst black children's lifestyles. The production company logo
HOLD FAST FILMS is in an above banner with an aspect of transparency
to ensure the viewers attention is not too diverted from the displayed
scene.

4. This scene displays the teenager in the bathroom looking in the mirror. He is fashion
conscious like many other teenagers and is self conscious about appearance. He is
unhappy with how he looks due to modern media portraying “perfect” people and feels
he is not up to their standards. This rear angle was chosen to obscure his face as he is
self conscious, a popular issue amongst teenagers.

5. This shot was taken from the corner of the room to show the viewer his living conditions. It is a
fairly large bedroom with studying facilities. This shows he is educated and study orientated.
The laundry on his bed shows his independence also and personal hygiene is evident. This is
unconventional as many teenagers are portrayed as lazy and untidy. This is not the case with
my main character. The posters on the wall are all based on skateboarding and showcase his
idols. These teenage role models are obviously a big part of his life.

6. This shot was taken from the characters POV. It shows him walking and is done to show his first
steps to success. This is unconventional and not often seen within films. This has challenged
conventions by creating an abstract effect. Also the soundtrack is an upbeat song which
features lyrics. A very unconventional feature as many film openings only use songs
containing melodies.

7. This shot features a panorama view of the location which is a popular urban skatepark in
London. Black and white was used to show the grittiness of London. The bare trees gives the
viewer a sense of the season which is spring.

8. The shot of a character mid air is a showcase of the skaters talent. The graffiti featured within the
skatepark is a common feature amongst urban based films such as Kidulthood. It represnts
the rebellion of youth who have appeared to “deface” the skatepark although amongst the
teenagers it is shown as an art from in its own right.

9. This shot shows the main character skating himself. He is a confident rider shown by the tricks he
does. It was filmed with a Vortex fisheye lens which gives a slight angle distortion. This is to
represent this is how he portrays the world as no other characters scenes are filmed like this.
The sticker upon his board displaying #halfpipelondon is the name of his sponsors company.
It is a form of product placement deliberately done which is common within many feature
films.

10. The title of the film itself is shown last. It is a simple white text placed behind a black background.
The word “steeze” itself means style within skateboarding. This was chosen as style is a huge
aspect of skateboarding which my target audience (which many of skateboard themselves)
will recognise this and find it relateable.

11. The titles used are placed in bold white text in capitals. This is a
popular convention within films such as the skateboard feature
film Street Dreams. They are placed in various places around
the screen to avoid conflict with the scene itself. It features all
the characters names and the director, music and editor. Like
conventional films it doesn’t list every aspect of production in
the opening as they are normally shown within the credits.