analasis of opening sequence of kidulthood

We watched the opening part of kidulthood to try and see how social realism films were done. The film opened with a sound bridge of modern urban music this introduces the films main themes the music continues throughout the start but fades when dialogue comes in. The dialogue consists of many swearwords without to try and emphasize the characters in the opening scene. The camera work was done in a handheld camera style to add to the realism; the playground scene, editing is not used to go from one piece of event to another. Instead the camera quickly pans giving a disorientated look to the scene, adding to the exciting element of the opening scene.

Naturalistic lighting was used to add further to sense of realism, when the villain ‘Sam’ appears on screen the lighting becomes darker, symbolic to the main characters threatened feelings of him. In the opening sequence a fight takes place in the first 5 minutes to demonstrate to the audience straight away the lifestyle of the characters and also to set the plot for the rest of the film the fight is extremely violent with the camera focusing on the victim from a high angle and on the bully from a low angle. The sound is amplified of the punches to make it more involving and shocking to the audience. Lots of close ups of the main characters are used to establish to the audience the main narratives that will take place concerning these people.

When the scene starts it opens In a school playground, the camera focuses on the school uniforms to show their alternative styles and their untidiness and lack of respect to their school. The girls wear jewelry and make up and the boys wear trainers and hoodies, showing the lack of authority the school holds over the rebellious kids.

Overall, the current, modern, r & b style music coincides with the edgy camera work and attention to protagonists of the film help demonstrate the films main themes and narratives making it clear to the audience this is a edgy, realism, urban film that would appeal to a young audience over the age of 15 because of its strong violent and sexual content and its use of swear words in its dialogue. The mise-en-scene in the film helps the audience to straight away understand the characters in the film and what they are like. The ethic variety in the film helps show how it’s modern and current.