Representation Of Class and Status - Downton Abbey Clip

Throughout this 5 minute clip, the producers of this text have used many techniques to represent the class and status of the characters involved. In this essay i will be analysing the specific ways in which they have done this, referring to camera work, mise-en-scene and Editing as well as sound.

The first time that we see an indication of a character's class and status is in the very first clip, where we see a boy cycling down a path towards a large house. Firstly, we notice that the attire that he is wearing would be general stereotypical of somebody of the working class. He is wearing a peaked woollen cap with a large tatty satchel around his body. Not only this, but we also see that his chosen method of transport is a bike. This indicates to us that maybe he cannot afford a car or likewise anything more upmarket. In this initial first shot, a pan is used to follow the boy as he rides along the path. In my opinion, this brings emphasis to the large house that he is cycling towards, as well as juxtaposing his presence against it, as in the viewer's mind we would make the assumption that he doesn't work here due to the aforementioned points. Accompanying this, we hear a very minor yet soft piece of non-diegetic background music. This gives us the impression that the character is feeling melancholy, making us sympathise with his hardships of being a working-class citizen.

Following this shot, we see the boy shot from a high-angle. This is when he is seen out of the window from one of the residents of the house. The use of this high-angle gives us the impression that he is being looked down upon, making he seem insignificant and powerless in contrast to the girl in the house. Not only this but the fact that she has just woken up (assumably) whereas the boy is already up and at work shows us that she is of a higher class than him. Also we can see that she is in one of the highest rooms of the house, implying that in terms of status she is also higher than what the boy is.

The next time we see the boy, he appears at what appears to be a more run-down area of the large house (possibly somewhere around the back.) Immediately he is addressed by one of the butlers saying 'You're late!' in an angry tone. The way he talks down to him in this manner combined with the way that the boy holds his head down low after he is spoken to, and the way he produces a very hesitant response implies to us that the butler is of a much higher status than the boy, although even he isn't of the highest class due to his occupation.

The next clip where we can see an obvious indication of class and status begins at 0:30. The first thing we see is a shot of some bells being rang accompanied by synchronous diegetic sound of ringing. After this, we hear a change of background (non-diegetic) music increase massively in tempo. This gives creates an impression of chaos in the scene, in contrast to the previous scene (the girl in her bedroom) which is much has a much more slow tempo and element of elegance within it. Next, the editing in this scene is very fast-paced, and there are many quick cuts between shots in relation to other parts of the clip that contain the more upper class characters. Showing us that the lives of the working or middle class can often be much more hectic than that of the upper class. 

Within this scene, although all of the characters are in the scene are of a similar class, we can see a very clear divide in status between them. Firstly, we can see that the butler that we later to find out to be the main butler of the Lord of the house is sitting at the head of the table, and all of the other maids are sitting around him. Typically, this would carry the implication that he has the most importance among them. Also we can see a divide in the status of the characters in this scene by the clothes that they are wearing. Firstly, the maid who comes into the room asking 'if that water's ready' appears to be the most roughly dressed. The woman that she speaks to is presented slightly better dressed (not wearing a dirty apron) and the woman that she talks to (closer to the head of the table) is dressed even more smartly (not wearing a hairnet) - suggesting that she may have more contact with the main Lord or Lady of the house. Also,  the way in which the ladies speak to each other tells us a lot about their status within the team of servants. First, when the woman comes in and speaks to another of the maids sitting down, she addresses her as 'Lady', in return she is addressed with the title of 'Mrs' - which would be seen to hold less authority or credibility. Next, the way that the woman in green is spoken to by the lady in black suggests that she is of a much higher status within the team of servants. When she asks for 'a hand' taking the drinks up, she lifts her nose slightly and replies very impolitely 'i've got the other two to carry'. This blunt and rude tone suggests that she looks down upon her slightly.

In the latter stages of the sequence, we see a huge contrast in the way that the characters are presented, as we are introduced to what appear to be the owners of the house - the main Lord and Lady. We first see the Lord in the scene where he is walking down the stairs. In this scene, we get a huge amount of indication of his social class. Firstly, we hear an introduction of background music. The music that is played is very slow and graceful, adding to the elegance of the Lord as he walks. Furthermore, a steady cam style shot is used to follow the Lord as he walks down the stairs. This gives us the feeling as a viewer that we are directly following him, making us once again feel that he is of a very high importance and authority. To further reinforce this the Lord is always in the centre of the shot and in the second shot of him, a low-angle shot is used, making us feel although we are looking up at him, intensifying his dominance and authority once more.
Also, the mise-en-scene in this clip tells us much about the class of the Lord. Immediately we can see that he is placed in extremely luxurious surroundings. We see many things in his household that we would associate with the upper class or the very wealthy. For example, the huge paintings on the wall in golden frames, the pillars in the lobby, the red carpets, intricate wood carvings, marble ornaments and the abundance of the colour gold. Also, the Lord has a small dog walking beside him. In my opinion, this acts as a symbol of possession to him and its apparent obedience (walking beside him) once again emphasises the class of the Lord. The way in which the Lord is dressed can also tell us much about his class. He is the only character in the whole clip wearing a bow tie for example. Bow ties are normally associated with the upper class or as an accessory to be worn on very formal or special occasions. The fact that he is wearing one on what appears to be a a normal day implies to us that he is very sophisticated.

Representation of Age: Waterloo Road Clip Analysis

How is Age Represented in this Clip?

In the following answer, I am going to be analysing how the producer of this text (Waterloo Road TV programme extract) has deliberately represented the characters' age in the scene to create an effect of the viewer.

The first that thing that i noticed is the way sound is used throughout the sequence. At the very beginning of the clip, we hear a dialogue between two adolescent characters (assumably friends). Immediately we can hear uses of colloquialisms, sociolect and informal register in the way that they are speaking, for example 'chill out man'. This tells us that the boys appear to be typical teenagers, that speak how they would stereotypically be thought to. After this, the boys appear to be hesitant when they are making excuses to the teacher. For example "well, i was err.. sick, sir." This connotes to us that the boys have been in trouble which they are trying to avoid, going along with the typical received idea that teenagers are always naughty or mischievous. However, the use of words such as "sir" and "miss" show us that they know they are below the teacher in terms of authority, and this acts as a sign of respect - possibly opposing the assumption made earlier that they are 'naughty teenagers'. In contrast, the students later on in the scene tend to speak with much less respect when they are talking to each other (some of the time) - for example there are many interruptions and shouting when they are talking about the girl's parents splitting up. Also, the teachers appear to speak much more forcefully and formally than the students, and sometimes almost in a belittling sarcastic tone, some example are "what do i owe this pleasure?", "give it!" and "dear oh dear". Generally, the older the character in the scene, the more authority they appear to possess over the students. The older teacher even appears to be speaking down to the younger (female) teacher also.
 After the dialogue, we notice that as the students are walking around the school, there is lots of loud background noise (diegetic sound). This helps to set the scene of the school environment as well as connoting that teenagers/school children are generally very loud. Accompanying this, we hear an upbeat electronic-style soundtrack being played. Later on, there is a rap-style piece played when the teacher dresses up 'young'. These types of music is the type that we would associate with a younger audience - helping put the viewer into the characters' shoes.

Next, the miss-en-scene tells us a lot about the representation of age in the clip. Firstly, the entire scene is set in a school building with high-key lighting used throughout. This immediately, gives us an idea of the age groups that are likely to be present in the scene. We can also tell by looking at the general appearance of the students' and their costumes that they are teenagers. Their scruffy school uniforms with loose ties, unbuttoned and untucked t-shirts, help them conform to the general stereotype that all teenagers don't care about their appearance and that they don't have an interest in dressing smart. In contrast, the majority of the teachers tend to be dressed smartly (with the exception of one). One of the teachers has obviously tried hard to look young and has dressed like a youth, wearing baggy jeans, a t-shirt and chain. I would say that this teacher is representative of the type of adult that is trying to be seen as young and modern because they feel deprived of childhood or because the opinions of youth are important to them. Next, near the start of the scene one of the boys retrieves a broken video camera from his pocket. Firstly, the fact that the video camera is broken connotes to us that the teenager has probably broke it; conforming with the stereotype that young people are often violent and destructive. Secondly, the fact that he gets it from his pocket gives us the idea that it is stolen. This also conforms to the stereotype that young people (males in particular) have generally poor morals and are anti-social.

The use of camera work can also tell us about the representation of age in the scene. Near the start, a close up shot is used to show the reaction of one of the students. This is when the teacher instructs him to hand the camera over. This shot is followed by close ups of the camera being handed over and the broken camera itself. The use of these shots emphasise the emotion that the character is feeling, and shows us that he is either regretful or annoyed with himself. This connotes to us that teenagers often make rash decisions that they can regret soon after, whilst still that they are destructive. Next, at appox. 1:05, a pan is used. This is when there is a student stood outside the site managers office. The use of the pan emphasises this, so we focus exactly on the location of the student, and implies to us that the student has misbehaved (hence being outside a senior staff member's office), this once again follows on from the stereotype that all teenagers misbehave. Another example of where an effective camera movement is used is when the teacher is first shown wearing the 'youthful clothes'. The camera slowly tilts up as it would do traditionally to show an attractive female character. This is ironic and gives the viewer a sense of shock but also humour. This exaggerates that the man wearing the clothes is old, as you don't expect him to be as the camera is tilting.

Sound Analysis

Dialogue - speech patterns/dialect/volume/pitch can represent age/gender/class/sexuality etc.
Background Music - sets the mood/tone of the scene. Can give us an idea of era/regional identity/

Diegetic sound - What the actors can hear.
Non-Diegetic sound - Sound been added in during the edit. (actors cannot hear)

Synchronous sound - The sound source is on screen.
Asynchronous sound - The sound source is not shown on the screen.
Ambient sound - background noise.
Sound Effects : Foley sound - everyday sound (door squeaks etc.)

Analysis of Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene - Everything thats in the shot

Setting - gives us information about genre, time scale, regional information (rural/urban etc), class of the characters (rich/poor).

Props (properties) - Gives us a clue about something/what is going to happen. Also helps you read into the characters' background (wealth, interest, occupation etc) /context. 

Lighting - High key lighting = very soft/shadowless. Often used with light skinned people, light skinned clothing - Unthreatening/soft/romantic.

                - Low Key lighting = much darker. More aggressive/masculine/dingy. Make us feel   unsettled.
Costume - Can reveal era/time period/occupation/class(wealth)/sexuality

Analysis of Camera Work

Shot types

Establishing shot - Establishes where and sometimes when the text is set. Often the first shot that is                                           seen.

Helicopter shot - Arial shot taken from above in a helicopter. High production value (budget).

Master Shot - Establishes the limit of where the action is going to take place. Can also show relationships between characters.

Long Shot - Showing a person from head to toe. Can give us an idea of appearance, body language and the character's relation with the location.

Medium Shot - View of a person from the waist up. Often used when there are more than one person in the shot - shows the relationship between them.

Close Up - Shot of the face. Can show emotion or reaction.

Extreme Close Up - Focusses on an action (the character doing something - usually important) brings the audiences attention to what the producer wants us to see.

Camera Movement

Pan - Shows everything (often location/people) and avoids having to zoom out so far that everything becomes small.

Tilt - Horizontal pan. Usually used to scan the body of a usually attractive female - supports the tradition that media is created by men for men (male gaze).

Dolly - Placing the camera on a track so the camera can smoothly move horizontally. Helps us make the connection with something outside of the original shot.

Steady Cam - The camera is moving and tracking with something (the viewers eyes). It is balanced and takes out camera shakes and movements.

Camera Angles

High Angle - Looks down on something. Gives the impression of vulnerability, weakness and insignificance.

Low Angle - Looks up on something. Gives the impression of power and strength. Good for point of view shots so you can shoot small objects on their level.

Cantered angle - Camera isn't straight it is on a diagonal.