This film opening introduces the character Maddie, who is homeless. She is shown sleeping on a park bench wearing tatty clothes. Through close ups and shots of her facial expressions looking sad and lonely, the audience learns that she has no friends, family or home. Maddie is later shown begging on the street, the only possession being the spare change given to her. Another character, Billy, is introduced through his hooded silhouette, foreshadowing his dark influence. The washed out color and sad music cues are used to portray Maddie's drained life on the streets.

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

2. This is the first shot of Maddie aka Georgiana/George in our film opening. It introduces her
sleeping on a park bench. She is wearing a tatty grey hoodie and tracksuit
bottoms, showing her lack of money and care for herself, which juxtaposes the social
perceptions of teenagers and their vanity.
The park
bench shows
her
homelessness,
which is the
running theme
of the film.
Originally I
filmed it in the
day, then
added an effect
on iMovie
which made it
look like it was
dark because I
wanted to
show the place
that she sleeps
at night, and it
also shows her
isolation from
her family and
friends.
I also chose her to be sleeping on a park bench because of society’s
stereotypical perception, and in Hollywood films, of homeless
‘hobos’ are drunks who sleep on park benches.

3. This shot is a close up of our actor Maddie’s face. I think this shot is effective because
the framing around her face shows her isolation and loneliness, and her emotions
displayed on her face. I did Maddie’s makeup before filming, making her very pale
and using makeup to put dark shadows under her eyes. This was to make her look ill
and uncared for.
I like the fact
that Maddie
is outside
Waitrose
because it is
a busy
shop, and all
the people
coming out
contrast to
our character
George
because she
cannot afford
to go
shopping.
In all the shots, including this one, leading up to the
dialogue with Billy, she is the subject of the shot, and
the only person filling the frame. This suggests that
she has no friends or family, or anywhere else to go.

4. Me and Charlotte chose the name ‘Dead End’ because it represents our character’s
life, and that she has no where to go. It is also a name for an alley, which is where she
spends her time. Also it connotes that her journey of life cannot lead anywhere, and this
is it for her. It is also an urban theme, which connects with our genre of social
realism, and the setting for the film opening.
We have chosen a plain dark background because we wanted our opening to be dark and
mysterious, and it also stands out in the sequence of shots, catching the audience’s
attention.
The font is a
standard
lettering, and is
also similar to
the font used
on street name
signs, which
relates to the
fact that Dead
End refers to an
alley with no
where to go.

5. This is a medium shot, showing Maddie begging for money on the streets, and someone
giving her their spare change. Her condition and her actions contrast with the clothes
shop behind her, because it shows the juxtaposition between the different classes living
side by side, some of them can afford to spend money on new clothes, and others can’t.
I perform a small cameo role in this shot. I used the tripod to capture the recording,
and I walked by and gave money to Maddie. I liked doing this cameo role as I felt like
other directors such as John Malkovich and Quentin Tarentino, who both have
starred as cameo roles in films that have produced and directed.

6. This is the first time Billy is introduced, it is just his silhouette, his dark figure
contrasting with the bright street behind him, this foreshadows his dark nature, and
the possibility of his dark influence on George’s life. He also has his hood up, which is a
stereotypical gang reference, and that gangs hide their faces under hoods so no one
can see them. This links him to a criminal background.
The setting
behind Billy is
the high
street, where
the montage
of clips before
this one, took
place, linking
the setting
and him.

7. I think this shot portrays Billy’s character well because he looks very suspicious, with his
hood up, and he is also looking Maddie up and down, like he is sizing her up. Maddie is
looking away, trying to ignore him, hoping he will go away.
They are
sitting on the
dirty
floor, which
shows they
have no where
better to go-
represents her
homelessness.
They are both wearing hoods, but Billy’s is up, and hers is
down. This represents Maddie’s vulnerability compared to the
other character, and how he is hidden away, and she is in the
open. Also suggests that at this moment in the film, she has
nothing to hide, but he does.

8. This is a close up of Maddie’s face. To do this shot, I had Maddie hold the camera
directly in front of her face whilst walking around so that her face was centre shot and
that her surroundings were moving around her. This created a slightly dizzy effect,
which is what I wanted.

9. In this shot Maddie is sitting on a park bench, a similar one to the one she woke up on.
This represents the amount of time she spends by herself in the park. Her posture and
body are very tight and closed, this could show how she is very cold, or the fact that she
is upset, and is holding herself.
Whilst editing, I lowered the exposure, so that the shot was drained of colour, but not
black and white. This was to show Maddie’s loneliness and represents what her life is like-
drained of anything interesting. Her facial expression is very sad, which represents the
loneliness being homeless brings.

10. This medium shot shows the emotions of Maddie’s face and shows her reaction to
Billy talking. Her body language is very withdrawn, and it is obvious she feels
uncomfortable being in Billy’s presence. This is heightened because Billy is shown to
be very close to Maddie, despite them not knowing each other, and he has his hood
up, which could be seen as suspicious.
I haven’t used any special effects in this shot because I wanted it to seem realistic, and
like the audience are sitting next to Billy, so that they feel involved in the scene.

11. For the montage of shots at the beginning, before the dialogue, I tried to create a washed
out, dark effect by adjusting with the contrast and brightness in the shots, so that Maddie
looks pale, and her environment is unappealing. But I didn’t edit the dialogue with Billy
because I wanted it to be naturalistic, and so the audience know that the conversation is
happening in the present, and they feel like they are watching the conversation in the alley
with the characters.
I used a lack of props for a reason. The only props that Maddie handles is the handful of
change I throw to her. I did this to show her lack of possessions, and that she only has what
she has on her back. This also makes the money more meaningful and more valuable, because
it is so little to me, but a big deal to her and its all she has, because she has nothing and is living
on the streets.
In all the shots in the film, Maddie is wearing the same clothes, which shows that despite
montage of shots throughout different days in her life, she only has a few possessions, and
the fact that she cant afford to buy more clothes, like everybody else can.
In my film opening, I wanted to show how Maddie was unfortunate being homeless, and I
wanted the audience to feel sorry for her with the use of her body language and characteristic
facial expressions, the drained colours I added to the footage in editing and the contrast to
the other people around her.
Additional notes on my film opening