Research and Planning

Prison Break

At the beginning of this title sequence there is a close up of the protagonist with the title of the programme an telling us what season it is. In addition it also shows the facial expressional/emotions of the character. The use of the long shot is used for the audience to see the building which symbolises the ‘prison’ as it is in the title of the programme. This shows the audience where the setting is based in this programme which gives them a feel of what the genre will be judging on the setting. There are loads of other shots used to make the title sequence look engaging and interesting, which is also used to emphasise certain things such as the characters the location etc in this title sequence. Other shots that have been used in this is, match on action, fades, 180 degree rule etc.

In the opening sequence there are all men shown which foreshadows violence, death and anger this is also reflected through the name of the programme as it is about men breaking out of prison. The protagonist is dressed in a casual manner, then a few seconds later they show him again dressed in a vest which suggests he may of just commit a crime as he looks dressed in a abnormal way.

The sound in the opening sequence is digetic sound which is also parallel to the scene as it fits to what is happen throughout the opening sequence. The music is played at a fast pace which creates tensions within the audience as it makes them feel anxious and aware of what is happening in each section and noticing the characters. At the beginning of the scene the pace of the music start of a steady pace then it starts to get faster when it gets further into the sequence.

Prison Break is a TV crime drama which is aimed at a target audience of 18-35 year olds. This is due to it being shown after the watershed as it has strong language and violence in the programme. It is aimed at no specific gender both males and females within the age group. 

Charmed

In the opening scene of charmed there is one protagonist introduced along with a man who is wearing a red robe which connotes blood, death and evil. This could foreshadow violence later on in the scene as the setting around them is dark with fire which also connotes evil and death. There are also some extra characters walking behind them to have an intimidating effect on the audience to show the viewer the power and authority of the other two who are walking in front of them. You can also see other characters behind these two protagonists which seem to be wearing an armoured costume, this could suggest to the viewer they are the bodyguards.

There is a wide series of cinematography that has been used in this scene to create an intense effect on the audience. The scene starts off with a high angle shot of the characters entering the cave, this suggests to show the viewer the characters order of importance and who the leader is. There is then a close up shot of both the protagonists faces to show what they look like and their facial expressions. Furthermore after this shot has taken place there is then the 180 degree rule used to show the two characters conversation which shows us their body language and facial expressions. Also a point of view shot is used of the character in black where the book is shown which is a prop which could suggest where they get dark magic spells from as they are evil in this programme and that book is a book of spells. In addition there is another point of view shot on the man concealed in the cave.

The editing used in the opening scene of charmed is purposely used to create tension for the viewer as this programme is a thriller/supernatural sci-fi. There are straight cuts used throughout the first two minutes of this scene. In addition, during the fighting scene there are also many straight cuts that have been used to create a tense atmosphere.

The sound that has been used in the opening scene is parallel sound which is effectively used to make the viewer to get a feel of the atmosphere and feel engaged with the characters feelings and emotions. There is a supernatural spooky track played when the book is opened by the character which also suggests the book is evil. In addition, there is a diegetic sound when the characters hit the cane on the floor. 

The target audience for this programme is mainly women this is because charmed is all about witches and the supernatural world, and the primary demographic for the ghost hunting shows are women (60% of ghost hunters audiences are women aged (18-24) Therefore, I think charmed is aimed at women who are aged 18-24 based on the research I have done.