For this assignment I have been looking at Roswell High, which is an imported sci-fi teenage drama that is shown on Sky One. The show is on Sky One because it also shows mainly imported American shows aimed at the younger audiences.

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Media Assignment

For this assignment I have been looking at Roswell High, which is an imported sci-fi teenage drama that is shown on Sky One. The show is on Sky One because it also shows mainly imported American shows aimed at the younger audiences.

The opening sequence is fifty seconds long and can be split up into three sections. The theme tune that plays along with the opening is by Dido and is called ‘Here With me’. It is a slow song that is full of the feelings displayed in the opening sequence, I think this really sets the scene for the programme and grabs the viewer, drawing in maybe more of a female audience due to the high content of emotions but also appealing to the male audience with action.

In the first section an image is shown of a landscape that lasts two seconds. The ground is black and then there is a contrasting blurry band of orange, which fades out to a pure white sky. When swiftly viewed by the watcher the image gives the impression of another planet such as Mars. This quickly fades away whilst framed newspapers come into focus. The newspapers are in a room that would usually be associated with an American Sheriff.

The screen then quickly switches to another newspaper, which again lasts for four seconds before it is replaced.  The next shot is a young male walking towards the viewer with a blindingly bright light shining from behind him. The light distorts his image giving the impression of aliens as bright lights tend to be linked with alien life forms. Three silhouettes walking away from the screen then quickly replace the former image. The scenery is that which is first shown at the start of the opening sequence. It then flicks back through the three different newspapers. This time the viewer is given chance to read the headlines as the image is closer and more in focus. All the newspapers are firms based in Roswell and each newspaper is describing alien encounters in the area. The image of the distorted young man with the bright light shining from behind him returns to the screen. Giving the viewer the impression that the newspaper and the young man are connected. This will show the observer what the programme is about.

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When the vocals begin in the music the second section also begins showing the relationship between two characters. In the images shown there is always something separating the two, the most common of these things is glass. This to me indicates that the couple has something between them stopping them from being together.

The second and third section is separated by an image of a typical American highway.  As the image is shot from an angle it allows the viewer to see the surrounding countryside. As the sky darkens from pale grey to black the bright light ...

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