Moving Image Media - Analysis of 2 Films

Kidulthood is the first film that we decided to analyse the contents of.We chose the scene that features Sam killing Trevor (Trife) after an altercation at Sam’s house, which saw Sam’s mother getting injured in the process. This leads to the party where Trife is killed. One shot in this scene that helps to convey the message is the high camera angle of Sam standing over Trife and this gives a sense of fear and being powerless and our film is relevant to this because the friend in our film is trying to get the main character help him with something dangerous which could have an affect on his future if he does get involved.

Slow motion is used at the point when Sam attacks Trife with the baseball bat. This adds more effect to the storyline because the audience already knows what is about to happen but they want to see if they can be proved wrong. This links in with our film because even though we are not feature specific violent scenes like this, we want to give our audience an insight of what they would expect from these particular characters. This entire scene is relevant to our film because our film does have some aspects of violence in the film and it indicates how violence is a factor that affects urban youth a lot these days and how Kidulthood and our film portrays this. This scene that we chose to analyse is set at someone’s house where a party is being held. This adds more effect to the scene because it makes people wonder what the immediate impact will be after this violent scene and who is going to survive after this.

During this scene, Sam is shown to be wearing a hooded top, jeans and trainers whilst armed with a baseball bat. He is showcasing the negative connotations of his character through his demeanour, attitude and style of clothing because people going to parties would not wear hooded clothing or be carrying a baseball bat. This is relevant to our film because the friend in our film is a very violent person and wants to involve the main character in his problems and he, too, is wearing similar clothing to Sam throughout the film. Looking beyond Sam's clothing the audience might be able to see a frightened individual who sees that the power of revenge is his only survival technique and this is what his clothing represents instead.

Save the Last Dance is the other film that we chose and the scene that we chose in the film is that of Derek and his friend Malakai discussing what they are going to be doing. Malakai, like the friend in our film, is someone who has got himself into things that he shouldn't have and now he has a hard task to face and needs Derek's help. Derek knows that if he goes on to help Malakai then he knows it can ruin his chances of going to medical school but then he is also conflicted about being disloyal to his best friend. All of this fits in with our film because of the idea that our main character wants to follow his dream but try and be loyal to his friend knowing the consequences of it if he does and even doesn't help his friend.

In our film, the main character does actually decide to do the right thing, even though we won't be showing this part, and so did Derek which shows them that they know that they need to follow their dreams and lead a positive and safe life. It also shows the dynamics between them and their friend and that the main characters are still willing to stick by their friends even though they know that their friends will lead them down a dark path.

Kidulthood Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUrxrTrinUI&feature=related
Save the Last Dance Link - Unavailable on Youtube

Film Inspirations

Kidulthood is a film about urban youth that was set in London. This film tries to give an interpretation of urban youth in London by showcasing popular subjects like drugs, violence, murder/suicide, other common crimes and even teen pregnancy. This is relevant to the film we created because we are also focusing on urban youth and the positives and negatives that have impacts on their everyday lives.

Shank is all about a boy called Junior who wants to avenge his brother's death so he recruits his gang and another gang to try and get the justice they feel they deserve. This film is relevant to our film because it gives an idea of how such a real-life situation is conflicting with a person's moral beliefs.

Bullet Boy is all about a young boy who has been released from prison and gives the audience an idea of the turbulent life he previously led and how it impacts on his friends and family. The film ends with his protagonist and his friend both being killed. This film is relevant to ours because the slogan of this film is "You only get one shot in life" and this suggests about how the main character in our film is better off following his dream than a life of crime with his best friend. Bullet Boy is also set in London and follows a similar concept of Kidulthood.

4,3,2,1 follows the paths of four young ladies and their involvement with missing diamonds. It also shows how violence is involved in this situation and how it affects the four girls and the other characters involved in the film. This film serves relevance to our film because it shows how violence is involved in their life and the impact it has on it. This film in set in a couple of different locations such as London and New York and it shows how the same or similar ideas can still affect people equally regardless of their location.

Save the Last Dance is all about a young girl who has given up on her ballet dream after her mom died. By moving to Chicago to live with her dad she is encouraged by friends and her new boyfriend to relive her dream and she does allowing her to be accepted to her dream school. This is relevant to our film because the protagonist in our film is trying to realise his dream but faces a few personal obstacles which makes him struggle to make up his mind. This film is set and based in Chicago. Numerous different settings such as: the nightclub (STEPPS), Sara's house, Derek and Chenille's house, the school, train, the ballet school, their high school and even a late night scene in some abandoned alley way. All of these different location portray the personalities of the characters whether it's in a positive or negative way.

The target audience for all five of these films have the same target audience which is teenagers. All of these films have young people in them and this helps them to shoe these audiences how they are trying to relate to stories that generally affect them by using people of a similar age group. They are trying to show their target audience about decisions that affect young people's lives and whether or not they are able to recover from them or have to suffer severe consequences for their actions.