Our opening revolves around only one character, our protagonist Joe. He is a 16 year old male which may attach certain traits for his character. For example some see teenage boys as troublesome or moody. Our narrative slightly challenges this convention as it focuses on the characters recover from a huge struggle, instead of highlighting the gender and age groups social difficulties. The Breakfast Club is an example of a film which follows the convention.

Many 'Coming of Age' films use a school setting to show represent the young characters and their traits, this is because the audience can easily identify the conventions of the age group through clothing and other props. Films like 22 Jump Street and Kick-ass do this by using stereotypical clothing to show popularity and status of characters. As we only have one character is the opening, much is unclear about his social standing and whether he fits into certain groups, whether it be a intelligent student or misbehaved student. Our setting, a wood, engages the audience to continue watching to discover what the character is actually like.

The protagonist is represented as unstable and mentally ill through several techniques. Firstly, we bought a NHS gown to add realism to the narrative as the audience will recognise the clothing and associate with a hospital or patient. To emphasise the characters illness, we used other items such as a bandage and tube to portray the same image to the audience. However, we needed to show the audience he was mentally ill ,not physically ill, so we used many quick shots to add tension and extreme close ups of confused facial expressions to suggest he is going to breakdown. To further add to this effect, we used a constant non-diogetic soundtrack to give a sense of discomfort. As a 'Coming of Age' film, the film needs to address issues for the target audience, 13-18 year olds, and from our research we found mental illness is a real problem and struggle for many. Therefore, our narrative is perfectly suited to the genre to help explain and encourage change like 'Perks of being a Wallflower' which also challenges mental illness and abuse.

Mid way through the opening a voiceover from the protagonists Mother is used. She is represented as a caring and worried figure, the many traits associated with her role. The voiceover helps develop the narrative as relationship is built between the protagonist and another character, helping immerse the audience. The voiceover of the police radio at the beginning works to similar effect. It shows authority and implies the character is in some sort of danger to himself or others. This also contributes to make the film realistic.