Dominant Reading

Here is the dominant reading for component 1. This work is done together by my group. 

Dominant reading ʚɞ ⁺˖ ⸝⸝

	List	Our intended  Dominant Reading	How we will achieve this with technical elements
Individuals	Cassie  Mom Kidnapper	Cassie: A rebellious child who doesn’t listen to her mother’s advice to not attend a party. She rushes to the party. Mom: A worried, angry and strict mother. Kidnappers: an unknown baddie	Cassie:  Mise-en-scene: Short outfits, make up done, styled hair Sound: Talks angrily, party music, “argh” at her mom Camera: Close up to the child fighting her mom’s grip. Edit: Jump cut to show she's in a hurry. Mom:  Mise-en-scene: modest outfit, glasses, black clothes (boring), hair tied up, “text me when you get home” Sound: Raising her voice, formal language Camera: Close up to the child fighting her daughter’s grip. Edit: cut Kidnapper: Mise-en-scene: Dark alley Sound: No talking, voice is hidden. Camera: shows only half of the kidnapper’s body. Sound: No dialogue to maintain anonymity.   Edit: cut
Social group	Teenagers	Teenager: They are shown in the party scene where they are all having fun, talking freely with each other	Teenagers: Mise-en-scene: party outfits (e.g short skirt, tank/crop tops, etc), smiling and enjoying themselves, teenagers room Sound: joyful laughters, melodic party music, spotify playlist Camera: medium shot of people interacting with each other, close up of a hand applying makeup.  Edit: cut
Places	House Parking lot/car	House: Shows the teenagers room being all gloomy and dark which conforms to what a typical teenage room would look like Parking lot / car: shows an isolated, dark area which is out in public.	House:  Mise-en-scene: Teenagers room, laptop, make up bag, basic and neutral, dark as its night time  Sound: Music playing from laptop, teenagers playlists Camera: Pan and close up to teenager’s belongings (wall with polaroids) Edit: cut  Parking lot/car: Mise-en-scene: Dark and isolated, Teenagers own car,  Sound: Diegetic sound of traffic, car opening it up,  Camera: Establishing shot, shows Cassie has arrived at the party Edit: cut
Events	Party Kidnapping and drugging argument	Party: Teenagers gathering at a party to have some fun! Kidnapping and Drugging: The party’s dark turn, and nobody even notices	Party:  Mise-en-scene: Short outfits, colourful led lights, drinking cups, alcohol Sound: Party music playing, pouring of drinks, chit-chat Camera: Medium shot of people interacting with each other, close up shot of alcohol,  Edit: cut  Kidnapping and Drugging:  Mise-en-scene: Adding powder to the drink, unknown man dragging the girl out of the car Sound: Dragging sound of the feet on the cement, party music distracts people from the drugging,  Camera: Close up to adding the “powder” then cuts to people being none the wiser, close up shot of Cassie “fainting”, dutch angle Edit: Fade out when Cassie faints
Overall Message	Our film represents teen rebellion and real-world danger. The teenager represents freedom and recklessness when she wants to have fun and doesn’t think about the risks. Her mother represents authority and care when she tries to stop her. Their fight shows a common struggle between teenagers and parents, where the teen feels restricted, and the parent feels unheard. The party represents excitement but also hidden danger. The kidnapping scene shifts the story from rebellion to thriller, showing how risky situations can quickly turn bad. The moment when the mother calls, but the teen can’t answer, highlights her loss of control and the mother’s fear coming true. Overall, our film shows how teenagers sometimes ignore warnings, thinking nothing bad will happen, but actually danger can be closer than they expect. It also represents how parents try to protect their kids, but they can’t always save them from the consequences of their choices.

How are these similar or different from your Statement of Intent?

Similar: We stuck to the idea in our statement of intent, where the main idea is more or less the same; a girl gets kidnapped. The mise-en-scene we planned to apply to our characters were also similar, specifically the mother and the teenager’s outfits and props. Overall, not many changes were made and we kept a lot of our original plan in our final film opening.

Different: We didn’t stick to our idea on using social media and trends that we thought would be relatable and appealing to a teenage audience. However, we may add some subtle shots alluding to it (such as the phone recording from instagram of the dancing) as social media is undoubtedly a big part of teenager’s lives, and we want to accurately represent them in our movie opening. Instead of a text from the mother, we used a phone call instead.

Personal Reflection:

Writing this blog helped me understand how media influences the way audiences interpret messages. In my project, I applied dominant reading by carefully choosing the technical elements to create a specific representation and appeal to my target audience. It was useful to keep track of how we want our audience to perceive our representations so we could carefully think before introducing any new technical elements into it that might contradict our meaning. Overall, it was useful and fun to figure out what technical elements would fit.