Q2:How does your title and opening sequence represent particular social groups?

In my opening title sequence I have represented the following social groups;

Teenagers – ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’

Working single mothers

Family

The costume for the character Darla represents her age as she dresses like a normal teenager wearing the clothes the actor wears in real life. This is important as it creates a link between how teenagers are portrayed in my opening title sequence and in real life. The character Darla’s hair is bright blue, this shows the character is unique and has her own individual tastes as they are at the age where they are experimental at their age. Also, Darla wears glasses which gives her more of an educated look, therefore showing she cares about her education.

The costume for the character Halle shows she is a working mother as she is wearing the clothes you would expect a mother to wear to work. Halle wears a smart blouse, a pair of jeans with ankle boots and a blue long coat. This suggests she hasn’t been in the house long, suggesting she has just come from work. The character Halle has a wedding ring on her finger, this shows that although her husband is gone, she either still loves and misses him, or she suspiciously had something to do with it due to the way Halle says ‘it certainly is’.

The lighting in my opening and title sequence is bright and homely. This represents families as it is seen as being a warm and welcoming home, whereas if the house was dark it would look cold and mysterious. This creates a contrast as it makes the house seem welcoming and loving, although due to Halle’s actions it is the opposite.

The location of my opening and title sequence also creates a contrast, as although the house is in the open and there are other houses around, there is no hope for the character Peyton. This suggests that the house could be not as loving as it is, as other people may be scared to help if they know something about what is going on in the house.

The props used represent social groups as the character Darla, who is a sixth form student is shown wearing her ID badge. Along with the ID badge, she is carrying a bag with plenty of notepads, textbooks and resources in. This could suggest she finds her education extremely important and wants to be successful, labelling her as a ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’. Another important prop used is the phone. This is because teenagers are known for never being without theirs, which is why I empathised it.

The camera angles in my opening and title sequence show the mother Halle is in charge as the angles which are used are higher and look down on Darla. This shows Halle’s authority due to her being the mother and in charge.

The use of language in my opening and title sequence from the character Darla, is warm and gives a caring effect. This is due to her asking her mother Halle where her sister is. Her concern for where about she is and what she is doing. This suggests their past has effected Peyton more than Darla, as she is more concerned for her sister’s safety than her own.

On the other hand, the mother Halle shows how much she cares for Darla through her use of language as she agrees that Peyton is finally going to get better. However, we know this is not true due to what Halle does in the first few seconds of the opening and title sequence although it could create questions of whether Halle does fake her daughter’s death to help her.

The body language shown in my product represents social groups as the character Darla looks down whilst she is talking, which could be seen as a typical thing for a teenager to do. Whereas Halle makes eye contact with Darla whilst she is speaking to her as she is confident she is in charge of the situation.