Question 2 from my G321 Media Evaluation

1. Question 2
HOW DOES YOUR TITLE AND OPENING SEQUENCE
REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

2. In my title and opening sequence I have represented the following social groups;
 Teenagers, both male and female
To create this social group in my opening sequence, I had to use actors that looked
the age of a teenager, and had the stereotypical features of a teen. First being
costume, I created a plan of what my actors and actress would wear in the opening
sequence. This would be so that they fit in with the other teenagers, and so that if
a person who knew nothing about the film viewed it, they would infer that they
are teens. The clothes that I picked out relate to their age group, as they wear the
casual jeans, branded jumpers and shirts, and also branded shoes like Converse.
In my opening sequence, I applied a night filter to the video so that it would come
across as being filmed at night time. Which made the alteration of light levels
difficult? However, I wanted there to be a difference in screen-view from the actors
(teenagers), compared to the antagonist. This being said, when the antagonist was
looking at the teenagers, I made the screen have more noise (fuzziness). This
would allow the viewer to determine who was currently being shown by the video,
as it represents the antagonist’s point of view.

3. I wanted the teenagers to be represented with the use of appropriate props in my
opening sequence. This being said, I supplied one of my actors with a new
smartphone, as this is the most modern view of the teenage stereotype (to have
phones, and constantly be on technology). Nowadays, teenagers don’t or wouldn’t
leave the house without their phone with them. I made the character want to heavily
rely on the device, even though it had no signal.
The use of language was hard to accomplish, it is usually shown that teenagers will be
loud and annoying, using swear words all the time and not being kind. However, I felt
as if I should challenge this stereotype, and try to portray the teenage social group
without the expletives. I allowed myself to challenge the stereotype, and made sure
that there were no expletives in the script.

4. The angles that I have used when filming are basic, and they show all of the actors
when needed. There are no shots with angles that prioritise any of the actors when
they’re together, as they are equally important. However, when it comes to the first
death scene, the antagonist is looking down upon his victim, as his victim is totally
unable to prevent his death – he is powerless, hence the shot that looks down on
him.

5. The body language that my actors show is usual for that age group, slouched and
propped. This makes them look slightly lazy when stood around. However, when it
comes to the chases and running scenes, they are and look a lot more agile, which
pushes away the idea that they are lazy teenagers, although, it could be seen as if
they are only running because their lives are in danger. In one of the scenes, I wanted
to show that the friends were close, and so I made one of the characters kneel down
to Jakey when he was hurt, which shows friendship and compassion.
Throughout the opening sequence, I haven’t focused on my actors giving eye contact
to any other. The only scene that it may be visible is the over-the-shoulder shot which
shows Mia looking at Aiden, as they are in direct conversation. This may show that
my actors aren’t old enough or mature enough to hold eye contact with another. This
lack of confidence was meant to be induced by the fear they are experiencing in the
forest.