My written response
Is this a successful title sequence?
This
supernatural/ fantasy British television series is based on certain teenagers’
struggles of living their double lives as wolfbloods and keeping their secret
concealed from the outside world, including their closest friends. It was first
premiered on its original channel, CBBC, on the 10th September 2012
and is currently still running due to its success. Since the 1st
October 2013 Wolfblood has been premiered in America on the famous Disney
Channel. It was created and written by Debbie Moon and was further developed by
Foz Allan. The opening theme tune was composed by Andy Price and was named “A
Promise That I Keep” although this is not stated in the title sequence, it
symbolises the secrecy throughout the series.
In
my opinion this opening title sequence is successful for many reasons.
To
begin with non-diegetic music is played from the beginning of the sequence to
the end. This soundtrack is very mystical but also can be conveyed as being horror
due to the continuous saying of “rescue me”. There is also a major emphasis on
this saying therefore the audiences may begin to ask questions on what the
teenagers want to be rescued from. Furthermore this is also an example of an
enigma code as the teenagers in the series may want to be rescued from their
secret life and may crave to live a normal teenage life. Along with the upbeat
music the use of quick cuts also creates a sense of urgency and danger to the
series. This sense of danger and fast paced lives is also seen by the black
images of wolves appearing constantly as the audience will know that wolves are
known for their nomadic lives and strong impression.
From
my own research I have found that a typical convention of many fictional texts
uses their title sequence to give the audiences details about the names of
actors/ actresses, the writer(s) and the director. This information can be
provided in many different ways, for example in this case having the text
appear in the bottom half of the image. On some occasions information on the
cast and crew can also be provided. When watching this title sequence I
expected it to state that they are partially produced by the CBBC as I believe
this would be their unique selling point due to the success of the BBC who is
the parent company of the CBBC and Cbeebies, after the CBBC split into the
Cbeebies channel, for the younger children, and the CBBC channel. The BBC is the oldest national broadcasting
organisation and has media platforms such as TV, radio and online services. The
success of the BBC is massive, for example the BBC Worldwide made a grand
profit of £188 million (converting to a 16.2% profit rate) in 2009/2010.
The
use of establishing shots allows the audiences to gain an understanding of the
narrative and the characters personality/ characteristics. Firstly, the main
setting of the title sequence is in a very dark rural area which suggests to
the audience that there is something very mystical going on around the town. However,
the sequence does give detail about the narrative by showing images of wolves and
teenagers in the woods but does not suggest these teenagers actually live
another life as these superior beasts. In reference to the characters each of
them holds a different personality. For example one of the female characters
are holding a camera to her eye which conveys her as being artistic and
creative however as you can only see part of her face it also conveys her as
living a secretive life altogether. Another example is that of a male character
seen looking over his shoulder; this represents him as being anxious about a
certain situation.
A
convention of a teen drama is they are usually set in a school or at the
characters houses. In the case of Wolfblood the main setting is the woods but
some scenes are shot in the characters houses and this is where the audiences
gain knowledge on the home lives of the characters, for example Rhydian has
been raised unhappily in orphanages and foster homes. This helps the audience
to distinguish the difference within characters. Another setting is the local
school in Stoneybridge where Rhydian and Maddy first meet and learn about each
other’s secrets.
Examples
of some more conventions within Wolfblood
- Costume – each character tends to wear normal, everyday clothes
- Music – gets the feelings of the characters across à generally upbeat when the characters are in their wolf form to show their hectic and fast lives but also slow when secrets are being questioned
- Superior teen – alpha male of the wolf pack ‘Alric’
As digital channels increase and competition for viewers become more
intense, some modern UK programmes have decided to use some conventions from US
television and are producing more sophisticated title sequences that are
graphically interesting and engaging and in this is definitely the case in
Wolfblood. The images look very sketchy and partially animated. This creation
will gain audience’s attention as it is something unusual and not common within
teenage dramas as they tend to be more realistic looking, for example Waterloo
Road’s opening title sequence features real humans that feature within the
drama
Although
this series is very successful I unfortunately do not think I would watch the
programme. This is because I believe the series is predominately aimed at male
teenagers mainly because of the colour palette. Throughout the sequence there
are only 3 colours used, these being blue, black and yellow. Stereotypically
blue and darker colours tend to be seen as more masculine colours, especially
blue which in this case the predominant colour is blue. Following on from this
after carrying out some extra research on the narrative and the series as a
whole I have come to the conclusion that it is very similar to the film
Twilight (2008) as they also have a narrative that contains certain teenagers
transforming into wolves. However, after watching both Twilight and Wolfblood
it is clear that Twilight looks much more realistic than the TV series,
Wolfblood. Finally, I unfortunately would not take this title sequence into
account for my A2 Media Studies coursework as it is too complex for the
equipment available. However I do like the use of a still camera as I believe
this will go well with my opening sequence as it seems to be much easier to
watch and follow.
Jacob’s wolf: Twilight
Rhydian’s wolf: Wolfblood
