MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS
The first shot within "The First Time It Hits" the first shot we see is of a skateboard, which instantly creates the impression that that character is a skater. The connotations of a skater are baggy clothing, chunky trainers, rebelious. They would listen to quite heavy music, which is presented with the soundtrack anyway. We are then introduced to a female character, we first of all see her eyes that are outlined in thick black liner. This shows her to be rebelious which fits in with what we imagined in the begining. We then see a close up of her red painted finger nails and a cigerette, held between two fingers. Again, this connotes that she is rebelious, and perhaps quite young. We then get to see the girl, who is sat in what looks to be an underground, that's walls have been graffitied on. She is sat leaning against the wall, emphasising her typical "teenage" attitude, and wearing black clothing. The next shot shows a close up of her blowing a bubble with her bubble gum and popping it, again this helps to show her rebelious image. The fact that she has a hand full of rings, a nose stood and is graffiting on the floor or wall in perminant marker also presents her as being defiant. He is presented as a typical "bad ass" because of what she wears and her behaviour.
The first shot of the male character immediatly makes him seem in control and powerful as a low angle shot has been used. He comes across intimidating because of the use of cinematography. He is wearing baggy clothing (as expected) with a big "skull and cross" on his shirt. This presents him as individualistic. He is also wearing a hat which contributes to his rebelious look. Because both characters are made to look like rebels, it makes the genre of the short film obvious; romantic/rock.
MEDIA LANGUAGE AND FORMS
The colours used within this short film are very dull until the characters fall in love. The male is then outlined in blue and female in pink. These are very typically used, which is effective as it shows a stereotypical "crush" between the characters.
The music used within the short film is upbeat, powerful and quite heavy. This connotes quite a hardcore image for the characters and it gives an insight on what kind of "short" it is.
The symbolism used in this short, is the use of the heart graphic. This is an obvious symbol of love. It is shown inside the character's eye to exaggerate him falling in love at first sight.
NARRATIVE
The narrative of the short film begins with a voyeuristic camera shot from a skateboard. It helps to show the mise-en-scene and gives an insight to wear the character lives. It takes us on a journey to wear the "skater" character hangs out, by the use of montage editing, we are shown the setting of the film, and we are able to see what kind of lifestyle they live. We are shown graffitied walls, drains, trolleys, burning cigerettes, badges with "porn star" and "pervert" written on them; this emphasises the character's attitude even more. The short film continues to introduce us to the two characters and then the story begins.
It starts with the male character roling in on a skate board to near wear the female character is sat, smoking. Acting clever, the "skater" flicks his skateboard up by stamping on one end and catching it, and we then get to know a little more about the character. The use of close ups reveal his dress sense and what he looks like. Adjusting his hat and looking smug, he stands (holding on to his skateboard) watching the female character as she doodles on the floor in permenant marker. He picks up his skateboard, tooks it under his arm, and wanders over to wear the girl is sat, still smoking. Tension is created as we see them staring at eachother in what is almost silence, just the sound of the female character chewing her gum, and the male character nervously swallowing. A close up on the male's eyes reveals a beating heart, creating the impression he has fallen in love. The atmosphere of the short film instantly changes.
The male character continues to show off; performing tricks and jumping over things on his skateboard. As she casually sits there, still smoking, the male character looks at the female as if to say "Watch this!" she watches, not so intrigued, and he takes a step back. He skates towards the female character, at a fast pace and as he attempts a trick he falls off the skateboard, sending the skateboard flying and hitting the girl in the head; knocking her unconscious. The male character runs to her rescue after getting himself off the floor and realises what he has done. He takes a quick look around, grabs his skateboard and makes a run for it. The camera focuses on the girl, and she pulls a cheeky smile at the audience.
GENRE
The genre of this short film is romance/comedy.
This genre is portrayed by showing the elements of love throughout. For example the animated heart in the middle, shows that the characters are falling in love; showing the romantic side to things. Also the fact that the male character goes out of his way to impress the girl shows that the film has an element of romance in it.
The comedy side comes in at the end, when the accident has happened and the girl looks into the camera and smiles. The audience would find this humorous because it is against what we would expect. It becomes obvious that she was playing him all along and was faking her unconsciousness.
MEDIA INSTITUTIONS
The purpose of the institution was to sell the short film and make money for it, a commercial purpose. ASK!!!
MEDIA VALUES AND IDEOLOGY
The male character is trying to impress the female. Female seems to be in control; revealed at the end when male runs away and she winks into camera. ASK!!!!
MEDIA AUDIENCES
Audience: people like the characters themselves; into rock music, into skateboarding. Age group: Teens to young adults; 14-24. Wouldn't normally be shown on the tele, audience would have to search for it on the internet. Can be purchased on DVD for the audience to buy.
Demographics: It is aimed at group E, as the main target audience would be students.
Psychographics: The label given to the type of people who the short film is aimed at is a mix between 'Aspirers' and 'Explorers'; giving a mixture of people who are materialistic, younger people, orientated to appearance and image, individualistic, values adventure, and students.
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