Original Cast

James Wilson- Lead Singer (Danny)

As we cast Chloe first we had to be extra fussy when casting the lead male as Chloe is 5 ft 11 and we wanted to make sure that the boys playing the two male roles were taller than her. We thought that James would be a good choice to play the role of the lead male because he has a lot of experience performing, so we know that he won’t be nervous in front of the camera. He has a background in performing arts and musical theatre and has recently been accepted to Guildford School of Acting, after previously studying at Sylvia Young’s, NYMT, West End Stage School and at National Youth theatre. Also, after watching him in shows we were reassured that he is very good! He is also good friends with Chloe, the girlfriend, which we thought was good because it would make them feel more comfortable during filming as they already know eachother and have worked together on previous projects before.

Chloe Rickenbach- the Girfriend

We chose Chloe to be the girlfriend in the video because she looks a lot older than us (despite the fact that she is my younger cousin) and we think that it would be better to have someone who looks older as the storyline has a more adult theme. She also has a lot of experience with musical theatre, having being performing since she was eight. Since then she has performed in several shows both singing and acting at various different venues. At the moment she is a member of  BOSSY- the Brentwood Operatic society (although ironically they don’t sing opera!) and has also just received an A in her AS drama.

Billy Watkinson- The New Boyfriend

Yet again for the role of the ‘new’ boyfriend, we had to be fussy due to Chloe’s height. In the end we thought Billy would be a good choice as he looks older than he is (15) and he is 6ft 1, a little taller than Chloe. He is currently studying GCSE drama at school, therefore meaning he has some acting experience.

Our Second Shooting Experience

After learning from the mistakes we made on our first shoot we completed our second shoot on Sunday. This time we encountered many more different problems. Our main concern was finding a time which both of the actors could do, which under the time restraints turned out to be impossible due to their other commitments. This meant that we needed to re-film the whole video.

Fortunately the two actors that we found to replace Chloe and James were free all day on Sunday, so we could avoid having the time restraints that we had last time, this gave us a lot more freedom filming as we didn’t feel the need to rush anything.

To ensure that we didn’t have the same technical problems as we did on our last shoot we ensured that both cameras were fully charged and on the right setting. We also used two tripods instead of one so that we could film from more than one angle at once and also steady a lot of the shots.

During the actual filming we were quite lucky, especially with the scene with the policewoman. Originally the plan was to go into the Community Support Police station in Hornchurch and ask if it is possible for someone to come out and help us, however on the day, (probably due to the protests in London) there was no one at the centre and it was shut. Instead we decided to go in to Sainsburies and ask if the security guard could come out and do it shortly. We thought we were out of luck here as well as the guard was not by the door as he usually is, however we eventually found him down one of the aisles. After asking he said that he would be happy to do it but we had to check with his manager beforehand to make sure that it was okay. Fortunately the manager said it was fine so we filmed using the security guard. Just as we had finished filming we the security guard we saw a community support officer walking around the corner so we then went and asked her, luckily for us she agreed to take part on the condition that we didn’t film the number on her epaulettes. This limited the types of shots that we could film for this scene, however we did still manage to film from two or three different angles.

Also we were lucky to have some ‘extras’ in it. When walking back from the police station we saw a couple sitting on a bench and we thought that it would be a good shot if the singer could walk past them on the way to ‘the corner’ and hold his sign up to ask them if they ‘see this girl can you tell her where I am.’ After asking them they said that they would also be happy to be in it so we filmed it as an extra scene to put in.

Other than the original difficulties the filming all ran smoothly and we are quite happy with the footage shot as unlike our previous shoot, we have a lot more of it! We were also fortunate that the weather held out and it wasn’t wet or cold and also that it wasn’t sunny as it would have made it harder to film with the glare.

Kidulthood

Age Rating: 15 Released: 2008

• Lottery Funded film
• Compounding of ‘kid’ and ‘adulthood.’
• Set in a school
• A lot of slang/swearing.
• Teachers have no authority and are scared of the pupils.
• Rap music- depressive lyrics.
• Council estates.
• Immature ‘I’ll lose it if i’m lucky’ (referring to her unborn baby).
• Prostitution/
• Overreaction to everything
• The youths feel the need to fight thier way to the top.
• No self respect.
• Haven’t had a good upbringing- e.g. Jay says ‘I jacked it off my mum’ (referring to weed).
• Shoplifting.
• Social class divide between Jay and the woman in the shop.
• Knife crime.
• Abusive relationships.
• No morals e.g. ‘never hit a girl.’ Sam pins his girlfriend up against a wall.
• The adults are a bad influence, e.g. Trevors uncle gets him to deal drugs and guns and also makes him cut a ‘C’ into a mans face.
• Gun crime.
• Sound:Silence at some parts with Trevor, like he is trying to block everything out.
• Flashbacks of Trevor cutting the man show that he is draumatized after having done it.
• Jolty camera movements makes everything seem larger and daunting.
• Trevor: story of redemption
• Alyssa: she splits off from her friend, showing that she is making better choices for her and the baby.

What are the similarities and differences between the representations of youth on TV?

Comparisons

Contrasts

Maturity- learning a moral lesson. Presented as Naïve, e.g. Bex on Waterloo Road, Whitney on Eastenders. They work together and look after each other. Friendship groups are more like families. Purposely rebelling- very egocentric. Attention seeking Every problem is exaggerated and included. Focus on Anti-social behaviour. All live up to the stereotype- chav/naïve/easily influence. Themes/topics/issues tend to be similar. E.g. drinking/drugs/relationships. Extreme storylines, e.g. 90210- teacher rapes a student. Revolved around school. Problems at parties. Music- modern, high tempo reflects the youth culture, often less mainstream bands. Editing: quick cuts, parallel editing e.g. Skins advert creates a frenetic atmosphere. Themes of Alienation- ‘Misfits,’ ‘the Inbetweeners.’ Costume- loose, messy, school uniforms, youth clothing, often ‘high fashion.’ They all show the Pluralist model. No respect for authority. Use of exaggeration/hyperbole.

American TV seems to have a more positive representation of youths in school. America- escapism. Britain- Realism. USA vs Britain- different stereotypes of different youth groups, e.g. Cheerleaders/Jocks vs Chavs and boarding school types. USA more glamorous, more escapist because of the lack of realism. Institution: E4 more swearing, more controversial. Written to understand youth/written to condemn youth. Audience: Waterloo Road- more family orientated, not past watershed. Skins: 10pm E4 targeted at an older teen audience 16-20 year olds. Adult writers tend to give a less accurate representation of youth culture. Skins- actors have input in the writing process.

When looking at the similarities and differences between the representations of youth, it soon becomes evident that there are more similarities than differences, suggesting that youths are represented in a similar way across the platform. In many television programmes, youths are represented as rebellious and purposely looking for trouble. This is often seen in programmes such as ‘Skins’ where even on the adverts the cast are seen to be needlessly destroying a pub. The fast paced cuts and parallel editing reveal the characters smashing furniture and using the fire extinguisher to spray the pub.

As a setting, schools and colleges seem to be used to show and emphasize youth’s lack of discipline and also to exaggerate the level of trouble that they get in to. This can also be seen on ‘Skins’ when Cook tries to break every college rule on his first day, this included smoking, drinking and taking drugs on the college premises. However I think the setting of school varies, especially between programmes set in America and England. In American made programmes such as ‘Glee’ a lot of emphasis is placed on getting good grades and getting to college, showing a more positive and idyllic representation, also the school itself appears to be a lot cleaner and more welcoming and engaging for students, offering everyone an outlet, e.g. Cheerleading and football.

 

Representation Of Youth In 90210

• Appearance is everything.
• Judged by how you look.
• Very superficial
• A lot of arguments but they still have each others back.
• They try to resolve trouble by getting revenge.
• Very bitchy
• Storylines: Adoption/rape/divorce/relationships/teenage pregnancy/drug addiction/post natal depression.
• More escapist than realistic.
• Superficial/materialistic
• All have issues.
• All are nice people.
• A lot of selfishness.

Representation Of Youth In Glee

• Stereotypical cliques
• People in the Glee club are considered as ‘freaks.’
• They often get ‘slushed.’
• Teachers manipulate students, e.g. Mr Schuester manipulates people to join the glee club.
• Alienation.
• Classic bullying- Picking on Kirk because he’s gay.
• Some teachers are also bullies e.g. Sue Silvester.
• Their speech depends on who they are talking to.
• All wear their own individual clothes.
• Wearing typical clique costumes- jackets/cheerleading outfits.
• Blackmail
• Bullying
• Teenage pregnancy
• Religion
• Crime- Puck goes to Juvy.
• Divorce
• Marriage
• A lot of interaction through music.
• Disability
• Rehearsals
• Grades
• Homosexuality
• Uplifting music
• Fairytale like- escapism
• Largely friendly and happy dialogue/interaction.

Positive

• All stick together
• Raise money for charity
• Doing things for others.
• Never give up.
• They care about their grades.

Negative

• Bullying
• Crime.

Representation Of Youth Culture On Hollyoaks

How do they talk to each other?

• Family show- no swearing
• Depends on situation.
• Some girls are very stuck up and talk down to each other.
• The men tend to speak to each other more maturely.

What do they wear?

• Most characters are quite young
• Adults trying to be teenagers.
• Girls trying to be glamorous.
• Boys wear the latest trends.
• Props accentuate youth culture- game boys/footballs.
• Adults dress sophisticatedly.

Positive

• All look after each other.
• They go to college/university.
• Youths look after adults.

Negatives

• Youth culture often has something to do with the cause of the upset.
• Look for trouble
• Problems with drugs/teenage pregnancy.
• Shown as naïve, used by the adults.

 

Representation Of Youth In Skins

Misfits

Five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and ‘lumbered’ with special powers.

• They are not conventional superheroes.
• Follows the story of teenagers who have committed crimes.
• It allows us to relate to the characters. The guardian stated that it shows us ‘real people.’
• Kelly: Chav, jewelry, make up, hair slicked back, assaulted someone, slang, common accent, swears a lot, bad attitude, aggressive.
• Simon: Sinister persona, outcast, not interested in socializing, intense stare, mysterious, geeky look, attempted arson, intelligent, shy personality.
• Nathan: the joker of the group, he winds the others up, outspoken, mysterious, abandoned, kicked out of his home; he develops through the series and begins to fit in more.
• Curtis: ex-runner, caught with cocaine, publicly shamed, can turn back time, unable to undo one death, uses his powers to benefit people.
• Alisha: drink driving, party girl, if someone touches her she goes into a sexual frenzy.
• They talk in quite an informal way.
• At first they do not appreciate each other.
• They all have to wear orange uniforms, signifies that they are all part of one team.
• Storylines: getting powers, probation officer goes crazy with power so they kill him, his fiancée takes over and they then kill her by accident.
• Story of redemption.

 

How is Youth Culture Represented In The Media?

• Binge drinkers
• Teenage pregnancy
• Vilified- teenage mums/single mums.
• Not respect for the community/older people
• A danger to people
• Hoodies- creating a sinister shadowy figure- Anonymity
• Violent- knife crime
• Gangs
• Lazy student bums
• Anti-Social Behavior- ASBO
• Different cliques- geeks, indie, scene kids, EMO, goth, chav, druggies.

In the USA…

• Jocks
• Cheerleaders
• Geeks
• Gleeks
• Mathlete- neologism/blending
• 16 and pregnant- show on MTV

Institutions with a teen audience

• MTV
• Viva
• E4/C4/T4
• BBC3

Timelines

• 50’s- Elvis Presley and James Dean (iconic teenager)- rebel without a cause.
• 60’s- first boy band/mods/rockers
• 80’s- punk movement/sex pistols/Michael Jackson
• 90’s- Brit Pop- Blur, Oasis, Madonna, Take That.
• 00’s- hoodies, Busted, Blue, McFly.
• 10’s- Gleeks, Justin Bieber.

 

Teenage texts

• Skins (E4)
• Mean girls
• The Inbetweeners
• Misfits
• Little Britain- Vicky Pollard
• She’s all that
• Clueless
• John Tucker must die
• Kidulthood
• Step Up
• Honey
• American Pie
• Parent Trap (Old school American film, teenagers behaving generally well, just slightly mischievous.
• Hollyoaks
• Reality television- Worlds Strictest Parents/Sun Sex and Suspicious Parents.