G322 - T.V Drama Analysis

Mwe - 18/10/12

T.V Drama Analysis

 

This is the T.V drama that I chose to analyse, showing how age can be represented.

 

 



 

 



My Plan:



  

Camera	Mise en scene
Shaky camera movement at the beginning to show the tension and his anxiety. When the camera is on the older man, it is tilted up – higher status? On younger character, tilted down – Lower status? Close up of younger man when guy blew in his face – showing his twitch and the fact that he is intimidated.	When the younger character is being bullied – men in background with arms folded showing that he is surrounded. Medium shot of younger character leaning his elbow on the bed. Director made sure that this was in shot so that the audience can see that he is uncomfortable – constant moving of his arm and hand. Makes sure that old man is seen handling the coffee calmly and obviously in control.
Editing	Sound
Edited in the part of them hitting knuckles together. This shows that they are friends, but younger character is obviously cautious and unsure as he hardly moves his hand.  Lighting: Dim, gloomy lighting- depression, trapped?	Constant sound of prison doors closing and shouting officers. Cries of pain and shouting - someone being beaten. This is heard with a shot of younger character being unable to sleep – thinks it’s going to happen to him?

 

 My Analysis:

 

G223 – T.V Drama Analysis

This extract shows the main character, a young man, interacting with other inmates in a prison. There are two scenes; one set in the prison hall where inmates can converse, and the other set in the main characters room with his roommate. The camera movements at the beginning of the scene are shaky and uncontrolled. This connotes fear and anxiety as he is in a new place with threatening people. The camera constantly cutting to different angles helps to emphasise this as it is messy frantic. This fear is presented when there is a close up after another inmate blew in the character’s face. This close up showed the young one’s eye twitching, implying that he was intimidated by this action. It was important to have this close up in the scene because it showed that even the smallest of actions could get a reaction from this boy.  When you look at the Mise en scene , you see that while this interaction is happening, the director has made sure that a man folding his arms can be seen in the background. This presents the idea that the young character is feeling trapped, as he is surrounded by people who clearly do not like him. Another moment of mise en scene is in the character’s room. The director made sure to include the young man’s arm in the frame as he leans on the bed because his arm and hand is constantly fidgeting – showing his nervousness while talking to his roommate. Making sure that this small movement is in the frame helps to present this character as anxious, even if the audience is not concentrating on this body part. Even if the audience is watching the facial expressions and listening to the dialogue, a part of them still registers this tiny movement that may seem insignificant, but isn’t. You then see the old man making some coffee with a completely steady hand, implying that he is a lot more controlled. This represents age as being an important factor in this environment, as the older men are in control while the younger character is easily intimidated and terrified. There is an interesting moment in the middle of the clip when a shot of two characters hitting each other’s knuckles was edited in. This is a sign of friendship, but the main character seems unsure and cautious, as he hardly moves his hand to bump knuckles with the other character. This implies that although they are kind of friends, the younger character does not fully trust or respect the other one. This may be because of the age difference, and the fact that the boy is being bullied by the older characters may cloud his judgment on this one man. There are constant sounds of doors slamming shut and officers shouting throughout the clip, helping to remind the audience of where this is set, and creating an uncomfortable prison atmosphere. The dialogue throughout the clip is either older men giving the younger character advice, or the boy being bullied by other inmates. This represents age as being knowledgeable as the older characters are clearly used to this environment, but also intimidating and preferred as it is the younger characters that are beaten or taken advantage of.