In order to follow conventions of a children's TV drama, i have used stereotypical and recognizable characters so that my target audience find the show easier to watch and understand. This is demonstrated through the use of mise-en-scene on the characters, for example the sporty boy's personality is represented through his sporty clothes and basketball to show that that is what he enjoys and therefore portraying him as sporty. This is done in other childrens programmes such as Ned's Declassified, Seth Powers always wears sporty clothes and is always holding a basketball as he was portrayed as the 'jock' of the school.
The other stereotypical character I used within my opening are a bully, a popular girl and a geek, which are characters that could be found at most schools, this therefore means that the characters are easier for the audience to relate to and aspire to. Aside from costume, props are also important within demonstrating stereotypes because they reinforce the type of character. For example, giving the geek a whiteboard pen and science textbook reflects her as an intelligent being which ultimately help the audience signify her character as a geek. The setting is also important in maintaining usual conventions and creating verisimilitude because this is a place that the majority of the audience will be most familiar with; using the school setting leads the audience to believe that the characters are a similar age to them which suggests that may think the characters are their friends or they may aspire to be more like them. This follows conventions as most children's TV programme's are often set within a school setting such as Saved By The Bell, Neds Declassified and Zoey 101.
I tried to follow as many conventions as possible in the making of my products in order to make my product fit into the correct genre, however i felt it was appropriate to break conventions in some places, for example in my audiovisual product, i used a theme tune without lyrics as i thought an upbeat tune alone would suit my product and connote happiness and fun. I chose not to have lyrics because i felt it would not appeal to my particular target audience. I also broke conventions within my DVD cover as i did not give it a central focus, the reason for this being that i wanted to fit individual pictures of each character in rather than a main image as this would reinforce their different personalities and would differ from the magazine cover, therefore my DVD cover was similar to the iCarly DVD cover i previously analysed, as pictured to the right. I also developed conventions in my audiovisual media with the use of mise-en-scene by having each character perform an action, for example Molly was solving an equation on a whiteboard whilst holding a textbook. I feel this created more of a direct relationship between the audience and each character as the audience would get to know each character better, making them feel more involved. Another way i developed conventions of my product was using non-uniform. Though common in American children's TV shows, it is rare to see British shows where the students are not wearing uniform. I thought non-uniform would create a sense of individuality in each character as well as showing their stereotypes and personalities clearly.
With regards to camerawork, i found in my analysis of other audio visual products that it was conventional to have a mid-shot of each character as well as minimal camera movement throughout the opening. As well as this there are a variety of other shots such as wide-shots and establishing shots of the setting. I tried to apply this knowledge to my own product as i felt this would suit my opening most, making it the product i want it to be. Below are some examples of how i followed conventions using a variety of shots within my filming.
Establishing Shot
Mid-Shot
Wide-Shot
In my analysis, i found that a range of editing techniques were used within children's openings, some more challenging than others (for example, Sabrina the Teenage Witch with the sky as the background). I found that it was conventional to use simple techniques such as fading in, cuts and wipes, fast-paced editing and fading to a black or white screen at the end. I found that a range of different editing techniques made the video more fun and interactive for my target audience, it also helps to split up different sections of the video to introduce each character separately. Below are some examples of some of the effects i used within my audio-visual media:
Text Wiping across page with glitter effect
Still shot/flash
Swipe
At the end of my opening, instead of fading to a black or white background i decided to use a tilt-shot which established the setting, and the name of the show appeared across the screen as i thought this would interest my audience more and the sky would be a more uplifting and lighthearted ending.
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I tried to follow as many conventions as possible in the making of my products in order to make my product fit into the correct genre, however i felt it was appropriate to break conventions in some places, for example in my audiovisual product, i used a theme tune without lyrics as i thought an upbeat tune alone would suit my product and connote happiness and fun. I chose not to have lyrics because i felt it would not appeal to my particular target audience. I also broke conventions within my DVD cover as i did not give it a central focus, the reason for this being that i wanted to fit individual pictures of each character in rather than a main image as this would reinforce their different personalities and would differ from the magazine cover, therefore my DVD cover was similar to the iCarly DVD cover i previously analysed, as pictured to the right. I also developed conventions in my audiovisual media with the use of mise-en-scene by having each character perform an action, for example Molly was solving an equation on a whiteboard whilst holding a textbook. I feel this created more of a direct relationship between the audience and each character as the audience would get to know each character better, making them feel more involved. Another way i developed conventions of my product was using non-uniform. Though common in American children's TV shows, it is rare to see British shows where the students are not wearing uniform. I thought non-uniform would create a sense of individuality in each character as well as showing their stereotypes and personalities clearly.
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