2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening sequence we have chosen to represent the particular social group of teenagers due to the fact that our target audience is teenagers so can therefore the audience can relate to the characters and the scenarios they encounter. Additionally, our group includes three teenagers so we were able to give clear insights and fresh ideas of how we, as teenagers, behave. We decided to choose a white female as the 'innocent' character of Susan as white females are stereotypically vulnerable and then for the 'best friend' character of Emily we chose a white blonde female as it created the theme of friendship and the idea that close friends usually end up looking the same and acting similarly and for our 'evil' character we chose a tall white male. We chose a male as they are stereotypically seen as more strong and can cause more pain which is what the character of 'Frank' wants to do. We decided to choose characters in their adolescent years as our plot is that Susan is looking for a place to have a party and teenagers stereotypically enjoy partying and having fun with their friends. Also, the fact that Susan has visited this place with no one else and with no idea who the note is from suggests a 'dumb blonde' character and someone who just wants to enjoy herself and doesn't worry about the consequences. 

Susan


Emily

Frank


We have represented the idea of a 'blonde teenage girl' with the use of the mid shots as we are shown Emily on her phone texting which suggests she is popular and constantly on her phone. Even though  we are only revealed little information about Susan we see an extreme close up of her eye. This indicates that she plucks her eyebrows and wears mascara suggesting she cares alot about her appearance due to the fact that she had no intentions to meet or see anyone at the location. Furthermore, we are shown a close up of Susan receiving a text from Emily. When the phone lights up we see er phone wallpaper behind the text, the wallpaper is an image of a large group of boys and girls this indicates that Susan is popular and enjoys spending time wit bot er boy and girl mates. We have represented the male character as an 'isolated gothic teenage boy' as we are shown he is wearing a dark black clothing with his hood up to cover his face, suggesting he doesn't want anyone to know his 'true' identity. This also could imply he isn't confident with how he looks which in a way makes the audience sympathise towards him and perhaps relate to him. Moreover, this appeals to or target audience of teenagers very well due to the fact that most teenagers are concerned with the way they look and have a large number of insecurities. 

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

An opening sequence is shown at the beginning of a film and is used to grab the audiences attention and give hints and clues about what the rest of the film will entitle.There are a numerous amount of conventions of an opening sequence. It must, establish a mood or theme as it will help the audience understand what the film is going to be about, prompt the audience to ask questions in order to interest and fascinate them, have a soundtrack which is a non digetic piece of music used to create a mood and introduce the theme of the film, have an equilibrium which is the balance and the idea that everything is ok this is used to make the audience believe everything is fine but then something happens to shock them, have production and distribution logos in order to show who has produced the film and to avoid copyright, have titles as they are used to show who contributed, performed in and produced the film, give the audience clues in order for them to question and use an establishing shot so the audience can interpret the characters surroundings. An example of when an equilibrium is used is in the opening sequence of Harry Potter. Harry is portrayed as an 'ordinary' boy living a 'normal' life but then receives an invitation to go to Hogwarts and his life is no longer 'in balance' causing a disequilibrium. An example where an opening sequence results in the audience asking questions is in Woman in black. It show three young girls playing with their dolls and then suddenly getting up and jumping out the window. This immediately makes the audience ask why? An example where an opening sequence has used effective titles is in Bridget Jones Diary. Due to the fact that the titles are in a handwriting font which reinforces the idea of a diary. In our opening sequence, we have used a creepy soundtrack which creates an uncomfortable atmosphere which is what we were aiming for. Additionally, we prompt the audience to ask questions due to the fact that we show quick close ups and mid shots of the character of Susan lying on the floor which makes the audience question is she dead? who has done this to her? where is she? 

Our chosen genre for our opening sequence is horror. Conventions of a horror include editing, characters, Mise-en-scene, plot/themes, sound and cinematography. Horrors usually use slow paced-editing to create a more creepy and uncomfortable atmosphere. Sterotypically  horrors have an evil character and an innocent character. The 'evil' character usually has a reason for hurting people that can be tracked down to even their childhood and the innocent character usually has characteristics and a personality which makes the audience feel sorry for them or relate to them. 
 
A horror is usually set in an abandoned setting and usually at night to create a more creepy atmosphere. Additionally, an abandoned setting suggests that no one lives there which could make the audience question why? Murder or revenge is usually a main plot in a horror and there is usually a story behind the killer and why hes actually doing it. In addition, knives and guns are used a lot as weapons to create the idea of violence and blood is regularly used to show that someone has been badly hurt. 



Creepy soundtracks are usually used in a horror to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Normally, extreme close ups and close ups are used in horrors to hide other information from the audience in order to add tension and to create an atmosphere. 

In Se7en a numerous amount of close ups are used showing a book and sharp objects, these create an idea of the characters personality but hides visual information of them. 

In woman in black a large, dark abandoned house is the main setting and immediately creates an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience. Furthermore, the house looks as if no one has visited it for a long time which could suggest something bad happened there.

 In our opening sequence we have used slow paced editing to show the character of Susan going to the abandoned house to create a tense atmosphere and then additionally we have used slow paced editing to show close the cellar showing the surroundings which include nails, the stairs and spider webs. Also, we have used the conventions of characters as we have used 'Frank' as the evil character with an upsetting past and 'Susan' as innocent character who gets hurt. We have also used a creepy soundtrack in order to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. 

On the other hand, horrors usually use close ups and extreme close ups whereas we have chose to use a variety of shots including long shots and mid shots to show both a character and their surroundings. For example, the high angled long shot where Susan is lying on the floor and Frank's silhouette is leaning over her. In addition, we have developed the typical equilibrium convention in an opening sequence and used flashbacks so therefore focused on the idea of changing between equilibrium and disequilibrium. We have chosen to develop this convention as the change and contrast between 'balance' and 'unbalance' creates tension for the audience. 

Opening Sequence Draft