Existing Product Research (Charmed)

Charmed:

In the opening sequence of an episode of this show there is a wide range of film languages incorporated such as Mise en scene, Cinematography, Editing, and Sound.

The actors in the opening scene are introduced in interesting colours. The man at the front is wearing a red robe which connotes blood, and the man following him is wearing black which has a connotation of death and evil. You can also see other characters behind these two protagonists which seem to be wearing an armoured costume, this shows that they may be the bodyguards of the setting. Further in the scene another man is introduced hiding in a whole who seems to be the antagonist; he has a slouched back which shows his vulnerability and a staff which seems to produce magic. The makeup is effective in the clip as they show what the characters may be. The man wearing red has white makeup on his face which allows his skin to have a pale complexion as if he were dead; his face also looks very thin, which also gives the character the image of somebody who is not alive. The producers have used the lighting differently as they have only used the lighting from within the scene from the fire. By doing this they have created an eerie demonic feel of the setting which reflects to the audience as the darkness allows us to notify that they are the villains and are causing the disequilibrium. The props used in the opening scene are the book and the staff. The book is on a table at which the characters have to step up to in order to get to the book; this shows its significance and importance as the book is high up. The staff is almost the same height as the character carrying it which shows that it is very important to him, it also has a round head which signifies that it is not a weapon and is not used to harm anyone. The setting is an underground cave with candles, fire surrounding the room, and spikes, there is also markings on the floor which all lead to the book; this eerie dark setting looks evil and mystical.

There is a wide range of cinematography used in the scene. The clip opens with a high angle shot of the characters entering the dungeon, this is to show the audience the characters order of importance and who the leader is. There are then close ups of both the protagonists faces to show what they look like and their facial expressions. A point of view shot of the character in blacks view book is also shown, this allows the audience to see what he is there for; there is also another point of view shot of the man hidden in the little cave of the guards walking past, this allows the audience to be able to notify that he is hiding from these people therefore he is the antagonist. A tracking shot was also used to show the antagonist being launched against the table. A crane shot is used at the beginning of the clip to show the characters while they enter the dungeon.

A wide range of editing is used in the clip to create tension and to portray the characters. Straight cuts are used throughout the scene to show each scene in chronological order which is called continuity editing. Also, when the fighting scene starts the straight cuts are fast, which shows that the tension is building up and that there is more action. At the beginning of the clip the editing used is a fade in from a black screen. This helps create a dark evil atmosphere which the audience can then see that they are the villains.

In the opening scene sound has been used effectively to create a spooky feeling in the audience. Parallel sound is used in the clip as the scene is set in a dungeon therefore the producers have included spooky eerie music. When the book is opened a ghostly music is played to show that the book is evil. There is a diegetic sound of the man holding the staff tapping it on the floor; this allows the audience to notify that by tapping his staff on the floor it creates magic. Also, the non-diegetic sound of the music when there is action and fighting in the scene is more fast and upbeat compared to the slow creepy sound which was previously played; this is also a parallel sound as it is the sound the audience expects to hear when there is action and the scene builds up more.

Audience

Charmed is an American TV series which was run for 8 seasons long from 1998 to 2006. The supernatural US drama has a large target audience ranging from ages 16 to 35 as it is shown on E4 which has the target audience of people aged between 16 to 34.

Charmed would appeal to the audience of 16 to 35 year olds as it is a supernatural drama about three sisters who live an ordinary life with a twist, which being that they are the most powerful good witches. The show has aspects of violence, magic, action, fantasy, demons, and many supernatural events, all in the midst of a modern San Francisco. The show also allows its audience to gain a personal relationship with the characters as it is a big franchise. People within their target audience are appealed by this TV series as they enjoy the supernatural fantasy of the characters with the pretence of an ordinary life however they are discretely saving the world from evil; this allows the audience to escape reality.