Analysis of Opening Sequence to Kidulthood.

Title: Kidulthood
Director: Menhaj Huda


How the characters are represented and established

Straightaway as the opening sequence starts we are already introduced to some of the main characters. The names of the characters are not mentioned straight away but we can see from what they look like the sort of groups they are. The girls are wearing gold hoop hearings which automatically makes the audience think they are 'chavs'. The way they talk is very common and we can see that they come from the city. The way in which they are wearing their uniform also tells us that they go against rules and do not like school. The two girls that seem to be represented as the two main girl characters seem confident and like they are the popular ones at school. We can already see that most of the characters are working class.
We are then introduced to the group of boys who do not attend the school. We can see from what they are wearing that they are the toughest group and everybody are quite weary of them and the dialogue helps the audience see this. One group of girls says that they are going to beat another girl up, this portrays them as horrible people which gives the audience a clue to what the characters are going to be like and that violence is going to be involved in this film. From the opening sequence the characters are also represented as bullies. We seem the victim at the start and then when she is getting beaten up by one of the girls. This shows the audience that no one will stand up to them and shows just how much of a reputation they have. They way in which we are introduced to the characters is really effective because the audience have already made character profiles about each one of them without being told anything about them.

Enigma codes
Some of the enigma codes raised;
-what is the boy making with the machines?
-what is going on with the boy and the girl that keep making eye contact?
-why did she beat the girl up?
-why does no one help the girl that is getting beaten up?
-why are the boys in uniform scared of the other boys?

Editing techniques and their effects and camera techniques
As the opening sequence starts when we first meet the different characters there are times when it is in slow motion and then times when it does it faster and also goes in and out of focus. It speeds up and shows a long shot every time it moves on to a different set of characters and then slows down when it is on them. This allows the audience time to see the different characters without getting to bored of looking at them and shows the importance of them. There are lots of sharp basic cuts to give a jumpy effect. There is a shot/reverse shot when we meet the two girls and then the boy on his games console to show that something is going on between him and them.

There are lots of close-ups. For example, when we first see the boy on the machine there is a close-up of it. This only lets the audience see the machine and nothing else so then enigma codes are raised to what he is doing. Every time the camera moves on to a different group it pans. It gives the effect of a CCTV watching them, this then creates a tense atmosphere. When we meet the boy that has been working on the machines, there is a long shot of him. This allows that audience to see that whatever he is making he is doing it in secret. It them slowly zooms in, this makes the audience try really hard to work out what he is making. When the boy and the girl keep having eye contact there is an extreme close-up of the girls eyes, this allows the audience to see the emotion in her eyes. We can also see that something is going on between them and it is effecting her more then it his him, this shot shows this perfectly well.

When the girl is getting beaten up it keeps cutting to her point of view so we can see the bullies faces. This gives a good effect of what is being done to her and the fear she feels and allows you to feel her situation that she is in. You can see when it's on the victims point of view how unsteady and weak she is. There is a sneaky cut which is extremely hard to see when the bully punches the girl in the face. This makes the punch seem and sound very painful. There is also a high angle shot, this is really effective as it shows how much power the bully has over her and makes the victim look very weak and defenseless. 

Sound
There is non-diegetic music playing in the background when the opening sequence starts which makes the mood quite tense which could foreshadows future events, this is carried on throughout the dialogue as well, which slowly fades out when we have met all the characters. The type of music played makes the characters seem very tough and have a high reputation and shows the importance of them.  Whilst this is going on there is diegetic sounds of people in the play ground and of the machine. This shows the audience that the character is actually making something and makes them wonder what it is.

Mise-en-scene

The location is set in a run down school in a run down area which seems to be working class (typical convention of a social realism). This is shown by the costumes they wear. Their school uniform is scruffy, the girls wear gold hoop hearings, have their hair scraped back and the boys wear tracksuits. All the lighting seems to be natural which is also a typical convention of social realists. Props are seen as quite important in the opening sequence. The boy is holding a games console and when he gets it taken off him by bullies shows what the inner city schools are like. It also helps the audience know what sort of things are going to be involved later on in the film. The use of the phone also shows how bad the bullying is. When he videos the boy hugging the other one.

Titles
Again, like Bullet Boy, the titles are white font on a black background, with the main title 'Kidulthood' appearing quite quickly. The actual font itself seems aggressive and intimidating like the film itself. It fades into the opening sequence sharply which makes the audience know the seriousness of the film already. The music that is played whilst the titles are on is intimidating making them aware of what is going to come.

Target Audience

I think the target audience for this film is 15-20. I think this age group because a lot of people can relate to the situations in the film, for example, the bullying. Both genders but mostly males as there is a lot of violence and bad language which females don't really like. I think it is aimed at all ethnicities and mostly working/middle class people. 

Here is the opening sequence.