Opening Analysis: ‘Kidulthood’

Opening Analysis: ‘Kidulthood’

The scene begins with a close-up, slow motion shot of someone playing with a football. This immediately introduces the thought of a young male playing a game of football at a either school, or in the park, with his friends. It then speeds up and a long shot with deep focus is used to capture the facial expressions of a female teenager wearing school uniform. Due to the jump between shot we can tell that there must be a connection between these two characters. There is also non-diegetic music playing over the top which acts as a bridge for the different cuts in the scene. The camera then, whilst still in the same shot, jumps between different groups of people, which could be seen as introducing the stereotypical friendship groups at school. The non-diegetic music then begins to build tension by increasing in volume. There is then a close up of someone sorting out what appears to be an item of technology. We think that this must be something bad because of the music and creates an enigma code for the audience to see what is going to happen. Also, there is a medium shot of a girl on the phone (typical teenager) and we can see her confused facial expressions. Her costume of hoop earrings, messy hair and customised uniform creates the feeling that she may be a rebel in her environment. It then cuts to a shot of a group of boys talking about the parties that they are going to. This could be relatable for a teenage (target) audience. It then cuts back to the familiar shot of a football and then back to the person playing with an item of technology. They persist in using a close up shot so that the audience doesn’t fully understand what it is. We then discover through a close up shot of a drill spinning that he is in a DT lab. The character looks mischievous and is concentrating hard through a close up shot of his facial expressions using deep focus. It then cuts back to the girls talking to each other about kissing. They aren’t using proper English which suggests they come from a rundown area, or unstable background. They then start talking about a boy across the playground, and a shot from the girl’s perspective is put on him so the audience can see what they are talking about. The effect of using a shot from their perspective makes the audience seem like they are part of the action. They continue talking and the shot cuts to a shaky camera shot panning the playground (show setting) before finding its subject. The shots continue cutting between different friendship groups until we see a group of boys approach the two girls inviting them to their party. This may be relatable for a teenage audience.