3.7 Analysis of Opening Sequence

Deconstruction of the shot Sequence
Shot Types and Framing
There were are a variety of shots that are used within my groups sequence. These include a variety of close ups used to capture the main character emotions and feelings, long shots to illustrate the fact that the main character is being watched and a number of over the shoulder shots to put the audience into the main characters shoes, and show what they are looking at. However there are far more shots used throughout the sequence.
Examples used within the sequence of shot types are:
Close up: Used after James runs out of school and stops in front of a wall, in which at this point the camera circles him and shows a variety of emotions illustrating how he is feeling and also illustrating that something has happened.
Long Shot: Used during the shot where it shows that the main character is being followed by a survelance camera, showing that James is being watched.
Over the shoulder: Used when James is in class, and the teacher is shouting at him, this shows the fact that James is distracted and not focus for a certain reason.
Zoom: This is also used when James is in class, which is also an example of a wide shot, where he is sitting down in the classroom and all other class mates are in the shot, however the camera zooms in on James.
Tracking: Used in two different shots, first one in which James is walking out of school, and the camera follows him past a big window until he gets downstairs and then pans down to follow him and the other when he is running down a street.
Mise en Scene
This was very limited in the sequence as the concept was very modern and was originally set in a school which made the surroundings suitable since the main character was in school, something else that was important and in every scene was the school bad James was carrying, which made the fact that he was in school and a student more believable within the moral of the story, other small things like the display boards of school work, computers was all already set out due to the fact that the majority of filming was set in a real school. However one shot which was not filmed in school and was filmed on a residential street 5 minutes away from the school needed very little mise en scene with the exception of the school bag used in all other shots.
Also the costume used in the sequence was very urban and layed back in order to make James surroundings more realistic, throughout the sequence, James wore Jeans and a hooded jumper.
Lighting
The lighting used throughout the entire sequence was natural lighting, however the continuity scene we used a dark room and shined large white light on the two characters within the scene. We did this to create tension, with the dark shadows created.
Sound
Throughout the enitire sequence background music was played, the music helps realte the audience to the urban setting portrayed throughout the sequence, which means no dialogue was used until the final scene in which it shows James in a police interview room being questioned.
Editing
With the editing aspect of things, some quich transitions were made between shots and slowing the pace of activites that happened during filming in particular the running scene. One special effect was use, called the ghost effect in the classroom scene where James was sitting down, in which any movement made by the actors in the scene were slightly blurred and left a visable trace. Some fade transitions were also used.

Studio and Marketing
Due to the fact that this is a class project and used for coursework, there was no budget for this, nor were any hollywood or established actors used, with the exception of Alex Matten who is a professional actor and has appeared in a variety of adverts and dramas. However when it comes to distributing the film, it is more likley that the film would be played in an independent cinema, in comparison to a multiplex cinema as no hollywood or big companies were involed in the production or distribution of this sequence.

Audience
The target audience that my fims is aimed at is young, from the ages of 16 - 21, who are possibly working class themselves or come from a working class family, who are possible able to relate to James and the possible situation he is in whether it may be first hand,, or jsut knowing someone similar. When considering the gender of the audience, i dont feel it is particularly important however only that the like criminal, dramas, however feel like girls may be more intersted due to the drama aspect and may not be action filled enough for boys.
Three ways in which my sequence addresses my audience is the fact that
1. James, the main character is from a working class family.
2. James is young.
3. Lives in an urban area.
I feel that these three things address my target audience becuase i feel they should be able to relate to all three.