Blackpool Opening Sequence

What techniques does the opening sequence use to appeal to a weekday mainstream audience?

The following opening sequence about the program “Blackpool” uses many techniques in order to appeal to a weekday mainstream audience.  One of the techniques the director has used is to make the setting on the place appeal to audiences. As everyone knows that Blackpool isn’t one of the best places to be, the directors portray Blackpool as being a glamorous city and a place that everyone has to be. Another technique which is used is through the characters itself; a stereotypical family of four are shown as being a happy family who are rich. Many of the mainstream audiences can relate to the family conception of the program as many viewers would have families. Another technique is used by through the use of music in the opening sequence. The music used is very upbeat and fast which can connote excitement. The music that is used is a famous song sung by Elvis Presley, as this program is a weekday program, many of the viewers at home could relate to this as they maybe fond of the singer. The famous song “viva las Vegas” is used to make the program to appeal to mainstream audiences.

How does the extract follow the codes & conventions of an opening sequence?

The extract follows many codes and conventions of an opening sequence, by doing this it appeals to many audiences. This extract follows codes and conventions by the use of the name of the institution. At the start, BBC is shown just before the title and many audiences can identify the institution, this is put there to shows audience who are the makers and producers of the program. A theme song is used which follows codes and conventions of an opening sequence. The theme song entertains audiences are sucks in them in order to watch the program as the theme song is very catchy and sung by a famous singer called Elvis Presley which many audiences can relate to as they would have listened to his music. A short introduction for all characters is used so that the audiences are familiar with the actors/actresses. With this short introduction many of the audience may recognise actors from previous programs or films. The setting of the program being Blackpool is also portrayed as being as a glamorous place which may intrigue audiences to go visit the famous city. The title of the program comes up on the screen in bright colours so that the audiences can see this and appeals to them which encourage audiences to watch this program.

What does this text tell us about the media institutions involved?

This text tells us some information about the institutions involved. Audiences living in the U.K would be able to tell anyone that Blackpool is not the best place to be as it is very dangerous. However, the BBC portrays Blackpool as being a positive place. They use the city of Las Vegas as an example and change Blackpool into a glamorous place to be. As this program is shown on during the week-day it shows the BBC is trying to appeal to a variety of audiences. Mainly for people who are at home this could be housewives, unemployed people and possibly pensioners.