Kidulthood Opening

In class we watched the opening of Kidulthood and analysed it for its use of mise-en-scene in the opening 10 minutes.

Through the use of mise-en-scene us as the audience can tell that the opening scene is set in a school playground because of the characters wearing school uniform. Another way we can tell it is a school playground is because of people running in front of the camera, this is an effective use of mise-en-scene because it gives the audience the illusion that they are in the playground. One certain group in the playground are not wearing school uniform which separates them from the rest of the crowd and shows them as a higher power in the playground, this is also evident when one of the boys wearing a hoodie goes up to a girl and spits in her hair, him and his two mates surround her and look down on her showing them as the dominant figures and the girl as very weak and powerless.

In the few minutes of the opening the camera keeps switching to a shot of someone drilling something, this is a good use of mise-en-scene because it keeps the audience guessing what it is and makes them ask questions in their heads. When the person who was drilling emerges from the room he looks very cautious and hides what he had been drilling in a bin, this could foreshadow something that will happen later on in the movie and it shares secret information with the audience because only the person drilling and the audience know where it is.

The lighting is also used effectively in the opening scene, when all the students are in the playground it is very dim and dreary which shows the audience that it is the begging of a school day and early in the morning. When we are watching the classroom scene the lighting changes and it is very light inside and only the light is coming in one side of the room showing that it is a classroom with only windows on one side of the room. The bright light makes the audience feel more upbeat compared with the dim light outside despite the fact that a girl is getting beaten up inside the classroom.

Through mise-en-scene the audience can see that all of the school uniforms are untidy which shows that there is no power in the school forcing the students to look presentable which suggests that the students rule the school. This is evident in a shot later on in the opening when a teacher is telling students to get inside before the second bell and one of the students squares up to him and the teacher turns away because he is scared and feels oppressed by the students. Some of the  students are also wearing big hoop earrings and some have side ponytails which suggests to the audience that the school is in a built up area that is not very wealthy such as a borough in London.

Overall the opening to Kidulthood has been very well thought out in terms of mise-en-scene and it gives the audience a real sense of being in the playground and classroom scenes which can help to create emotional bonds with certain characters throughout the movie.