The characters in our film opening sequence are all teenage girls. There are three girls who are the typical 'popular' girls, and two that are the 'geeks'. The fact that there are more popular girls than geeks gives the impression that the popular girls are powerful and in control, and that the geeks are outnumbered and 'loners'.
We used low angle shots when filming the popular girls to show they are superior to the geeks and to suggest they are at the top of the 'social chain' or hierarchy within their school. We also used high angle shots when filming the geeks, to sow they are inferior to the popular girls.
The first half of the opening sequence shows the popular girls getting ready for school. We used shots of them shaving their legs and doing their makeup to show that they take pride in their appearance, and how it is important that they look their best, as they are at the top of the school hierarchy, and so have to look like they are. We tried to make the popular girls seem stuck up, and like they only care about themselves. The geeks are only in the opening sequence for a short time at the end; this also shows the importance of the popular girls compared to the geeks, as their time on screen is unbalanced (the amount of screen time the geeks have is predominantly less than the amount the popular girls have).
I think the way we have represented the geeks and the popular girls is quite stereotypical, as they are the kind of characters that films normally use when portraying these roles. Using stereotypical characters means that the audience can quickly identify with characters and almost know what they are like without being told very much about them. The genre is chick-flick/teen movie, and so these stereotypical roles fit well within it. Other films of the same genre like 'Mean Girls' use similar typical representations of popular girls and geeks. The popular girls are always in charge of the geeks, and act like they run the school, and the geeks are the victims who let themselves get walked on.
Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?
The audience for the opening sequence would be teenage girls around the ages of 11 to 16. I think it should be certified as a 12a, as it is slightly too old/mature to be a PG, but not rude or adult enough to be classed as a 15. It should also be 12a because people younger than 12 can still watch it, as these younger pre-teens are likely to be interested in this type of film as well. 'Mean Girls', 'Wild Child', and 'St Trinians' are similar films which the audience might have watched already, and enjoyed, and so they would be interested in our film. They have the same theme of a school hierarchy where the popular people have power over the rest of the school. The specific target audience is girls from the age of 11 to 16, who are in school or college, as they may be able to relate to the characters, if they are similar themselves, or know people who are similar. The wider audience is girls younger than 11, as they may be curious about what secondary/high school is like, and it can give them an insight, even if it is not particularly correct. They are adolescent and start to be interested in things that teenagers are interested in, or what they think all the older girls are interested in. People who would be interested in our opening sequence might also use social networking sites like 'Facebook' and 'Twitter'. They may watch programs such as 'Hannah Montana', 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody', and other Disney channel shows. They may shop in places like 'Claire's Accessories', 'New Look', and 'Primark'. Knowing the other media they are likely to be intaking means that we could use this to decide on where and how to market and advertise our film.
Hannah :)
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