How Age is represented - BBC Bugs Girl Power Part One

Bugs Girl Power
How Age is Represented?

In this clip of BBC's "Bugs Girl Power", age is represented through Sound, Editing, Mise-en-Scene and Camera Shots/Angles. The clip begins with a group of men and women walking along discussing about the investigation of the brake in. The man at the front talking seems pompous and condescending as he is playing a role of authority. His use of posh language, speech and clothing demonstrate his figure of superiority as opposed to the other characters. Immediately, the audience is aware that this man is in charge and perhaps determines who will have the power throughout the whole clip. The woman is investigating into why the young girl has broken into the building, the room that they are in has blue and green walls, which has connotations of space and science, contributing to the atmosphere of technology. This particularly emphasises the girl's youth but however reinforces her intelligence as she has created a scientific tool herself. When talking to the investigator, the young girl has an attitude which implies she is a moody teenager, representing her age, also she is described as "a mixed up kid" which suggests she has had a rough life without parents as the audience discovers she lives in a home. The young girl has her hair tied up with is often regarded as a very young girl's appearance.

Throughout the clip, there are high angles which look down at the young girl, displaying the older man has authority. Due to her age, the camera shots suggest she does not possess any sense of power. When the investigating woman sits down with the girl, the use of camera angles has made her appear higher up than the youth. When the adults are looking at the girl, they are outside the room, looking through the window which is a point of view shot, the audience can objectively view how the characters are feeling. The audience can also see that the camera is not in the room with the young girl, suggesting it is dangerous as she is looked upon as a "criminal". 

Additionally, when walking in the corridoor, the audience can hear footsteps which is diegetic sound which conveys a sense of realism, and authority. When looking in the window at the girl, the sound seems dark and spooky to convey a sense of sympathy towards her. This music contradicts the negative image of the adults, forcing the audience to feel pathos towards the young girl as it would seem she is alone. The non-diegetic sound reinforces this element. The adults involved in the clip, use an elaborate code of language, which conveys superiority and authority. 


Throughout this clip, there are shot reverse shots during the conversation between the adults and the child. This conveys a sense of realism as it appears like the people are actually speaking.

Camera, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-Scene

Effects of Camera Movement/Angles


Montage: This is where there are many different aspects on the screen, for example, images and text - Hollyoaks! Different images are assembled to build up an impression. This is often used in title sequences.
 

Representation of Terrorism and Ethnicity in Spooks

Representation of Terrorism and Ethnicity

What view of Terrorism is conveyed to audiences? 
The view of terrorism that is presented to the audience is that typically, people of different nationalities and ethnicities are involved. A key scene in this drama is where Ahmed holds Fiona and Danny hostage and phones Fiona’s husband, Adam, forcing him to decide which hostage will be murdered. Danny provokes Ahmed into killing him (scenes 31 and 32). Additionally, terrorism is used to shock the audience and display how hostile it really is. For instance, Ahmed questions Fiona about who to approach and traumatise, either her husband or her child. The use of a child makes the audience feel empathy and view Ahmed in a very negative light.

Ahmed is represented in a negative way, Fiona and Danny positively. How are those binary opposites conveyed to audiences?These opposing characters are conveyed through different lights due to how they behave. Before Danny is shot, he talks to Ahmed, displaying his morals and goodwill which consequently makes Ahmed not shoot Fiona. Ahmed's acts of violence demonstrate his aggressive behaviour, proving him to be a negative character.

What role do mise en scène, camerawork, sound and editing play in underlining those representations? 
Sound is used throughout this episode of Spooks to represent different ethnicities and to reinforce the key theme of terrorism. Before the shooting, there is dark, sinister music which has foreign connotations. This type of music is often used when Ahmed and Khatera are filmed. Additionally, this type of daunting non-diegetic sound is used to build tension when both Danny and Fiona are held hostage, not knowing how long they are going to live for.


There are various camera shots to depict how different characters are represented through different lights and ethnicities. For instance, there are high-angles ehen filming Ahmed who is dictating the kidnapping, displaying he is in authority, declaring power.


Editing also plays a major role in the representation. When Ahmed shoots Danny, the screen fades to black, connoting negativity and danger. Often, the editors have used a split screen to gain both characters' perspectives on a situation, which emphasises the different races. 


Mise-en-scene demonstrates the different ethnicities explored during this episode. For example, Ahmed often speaks in a foreign language, displaying subtitles for the audience. It appears to make the English characters uncertain as they are not aware of what is being said. The English characters are dressed in traditional clothing, for example, Fiona's husband works in an office in London, therefore he is dressed in a suit, demonstrating he is typically British. 

What techniques are used to involve audiences emotionally? How does that position audiences?
Ahmed mentions Fiona's child to emotionally involve the audience, to make them feel empathy as they could put themselves in her position, as the demographic audience is typically adults, who are likely to be parents. This leaves the audience wanting to know more, therefore they continue watching.

What do you understand by Arab, Islamic, Muslim, Middle-Eastern?  
These are different ethnic groups, who have various views, tradtions and religions.

What do you know about Al Qaeda?   
Al- Qaeda is a radical Islamist group, who carry out various operations such as bombings to prove their point. 

Representation of Age - "White Girl"

Representation of Age
White Girl


In this clip of "White Girl", the representation of age focusses mainly on a young girl, through the use of sound, editing, camera shots and mis-en-scene.


The program starts with an establishing shot, introducing the setting and the young girl. The sun is shining, which emphasises her care-free outlook on life and innocence throughout the show. She is riding her bike towards the camera which the audience can associate as a childhood activity, this therefore reinforces her youth. As the clip continues, the camera becomes shaky, presenting the movement of her bike, this emphasises the young girl's actions. Additionally, the audience can see extreme close ups as the camera focusses  on various parts of the bike whilst she is riding, for example, the tassels which represent childhood and also, her trainers which has connotations of youth. There are also many close-up shots of the young girl, to display her emotions, suggesting she is fragile and is not strong enough to cope on her own. Later on, the girl looks up at her mother when she arrives at the flat, this presents her youth as she is obeying her mother, denoting that she has the power. When at the flat, the camera generally looks in at the events occurring, the audience are aware of this due to the visible window frame, this could suggest that it could be too dangerous in the flat, resulting in the audience sympathising with the family, hoping they can escape.


This clip also uses mis-en-scène to represent age. The use of props portrays this element, for example, the young boy in the clip is carrying an xbox which establishes his youth, suggesting his innocence. The clip appears to focus on a young girl who seems around 13 years old, at the start, she is riding a bike, which conveys an element of youth and playfulness, particularly as a man says to her, she is "too big for it". This emphasises she is too old for the bike with tassels on, and she perhaps knows this, however implying that she is trying to cling onto her childhood innocence. Additionally, this girly bike could display the family's lack of wealth as they may not be able to afford a new bike for her. The young girl's clothing also portrays an element of childhood, she is wearing trainers which depicts her innocence and carless attitude towards fashion. When the young girl arrives at the flat, her mother throws a pillow/duvet out of the window, and the audience can see lots of feathers land around where the young child is standing. The white colour and purity of the feathers conveying innocence and youth of the girl is juxtaposed against the dirty, dingy flat. Throughout the clip, the child is referred to as "good girl", denoting her innocence and inferiority to adults, which represents her young age. Towards the end of the clip, the audience can see the young girl hugging the the pet dog, which could be resembling a teddy bear, often connoted with youthfulness and innocnece. Also, this could make the audience feel sympathy towards the child as she may not have anybody else to hug and rely on. The girl leave her bike behind when they leave the flat, which could be symbolising her growing up into her teen years, consequently leaving her childhood behind. When the van drives away, the young girl looks out of the back window into the past, conversely, her mother is looking into the front window, smiling, displaying her forgetting her past and looking into the future.


Editing also plays a role in representing age throughout this "White Girl" clip. At the beginning, the sun is shining on the young girl riding her bike, which displays her innocnet, care-free attitude. However, soon after, the audience is shocked to discover she is dealing drugs, which contradicts her innocence. There are some jump cuts when handing over the drugs, and the music also continues throughout this scene, emphasising that the girl thinks this is the normal way to behave and there is nothing wrong with it. There is a lot of quick cuts when the girl is on her bike, displaying her trainers and showing the speed of the bike, portraying her youth.


Finally, the sound used when the young girl is riding her bike is a happy, cheerful piece of music, depicting her youth and innocence. This music is used throughout the clip, constantly reminding the audience of the representation of age.

Representation of Age

After gender and ethnicity, age is the most obvious category under which we file people, and there are a whole range of instant judgements which go along with that categorisation. Age is the easiest way to categorise someone as "other" than yourself —everyone you meet will be, to some extent, older or younger, a different age than you. And with difference comes... a tendency to stereotype.

Age	Stereotypical Characteristics
Young	Immature, stupid, greedy, lazy, selfish, unfit, obese, violent, callous, gullible, unreliable, careless, self-entitled, never going to achieve anything
Old	Grumpy, out-dated, slow, weak, whining, unable to use technology, unhealthy, miserly, hard-of-hearing, ugly, never go anywhere

Age is explored through many different ways, such as Sound, Editing, Mis-en-Scene and Camera Shots/Angles. 


Age Seven:

• Restricted Language
• Childish/Immature behaviour
• Early years of Primary School
• Toys and Books
• Lack of Power
• Innocence
• Some "geeky" children subvert the stereotypical portrayal of a child
• Seen with a teddy/blanket to depict infancy
• Troublesome child could be depicted by hitting a dolly, conveying violence

Age Sixteen:

• Editing - Quick cuts to portray lots of energy 
• Fashionable Clothing
• Stroppy
• Lazy
• Rebellious
• Colloquial language - slang
• Lots of Make-up, suggests teenagers concerned in appearance
• Stressed - due to exams
• Independant, however, there is a power struggle with parents, as they're not an adult yet
• Often associated with Smoking/Drinking
• Not a lot of money due to being a student or only a part-time job
• Causing trouble
• Sound - Mainstream Music

Age Thirty-Five:

• Mature
• Dressed in smart clothing
• Focussed on Family/Career
• Money - been working in a professional career for a while
• Disposable income - some TV Dramas relate to the 18-35 year old age group as they are in this category
• Can relate to people and identify with characters and their problems
• Escapism - relating to viewers

Age Sixty-Five:

• Smart
• Elaborate language - no slang - use old phrases and sayings
• Not really very old - others perceive them as being old
• Retired - Hobbies, such as golf
• Elderly people - dependant upon others, and not capable by themselves - ill/frail/boring/doddery
• Retired - look after grandchildren in spare time which keeps them young
• Wise/Intelligent - lots of advice through personal experiences
• Props - Walking Stick/Tweed Clothing/Perm (Haircut)
• Editing - Slow cuts - resembling their body language/movements

*Stereotypes can be subverted.

Representation of Gender

How is Gender represented in Waterloo Road?

The overall issues of gender representation in this clip from Waterloo Road are exploring that boys are more well-behaved and more mature than girls in a classroom. This is portrayed through many techniques such as, Camera Shots and Angles, Sound, Editing and Mis-en-scène.


Throughout the clip, there are various aspects which imply to the audience that both genders are looked upon differently. For example, the clip begins displaying the boys class in a home economics lesson which is not a traditional subject for boys, this presents an element of irony. The mis-en-scène displays the female teacher wearing a pink flowery apron, depicting her superiority and authority as she is allowed to wear her own apron, this demonstrates her power. On the other hand, the boys in the class are seen to be wearing plain, black aprons which presents them as generic and their lack of power. The dull colour also signifies masculinity. The girl's class are in a Citizenship lesson, which would seemingly appear less vocational as oppose to Home Economics. Both teachers are women, displaying that females are more intelligent as they can do stereotypical subjects and more academic subjects too. However, a male plays the senior role of Deputy Head demonstrating that he has power. for instance, he has the authority as he tells a boy off and is dressed in a smart suit, conveying an element of superiority. The audience can hear the Home Ec. teacher tell the boys that "all the ingredients measured out, so there should be no problems". This implies to the viewer that boys are not capable of performing a simple task, reinforcing their lack of power. Additionally, the girls are sitting civilised in rows in the classroom, showing the audience their maturity and motivation to learn. In contrast, the boys are messing around, throwing food which shows their lack of motivation and co-operation. The women teachers are disagreeing with the scheme of genders being segregated for learning which emphasises sex differences.


The editing also contributes to the representation of gender in this clip. There are lots of cuts throughout, allowing the audience to see shots from various different angles. Also, there are reverse shots displaying conversations occurring, the viewers can witness shots from character's points of view and understand the situation. They can therefore sympathise with certain characters, as there is a point of view shot looking at the deputy head from the Home Economics teacher's eyes. He is informing her that a new student causes trouble and it would seem that he does not care about the consequences as it is not his problem. Ultimately, the audience can feel pathos towards this female teacher. The editor has inputted a graphic match when filming the girl's classroom, the audience can depict the calm and peaceful learning atmosphere, proving it is a motivational environment to be situated in.


The clip starts with non-diegetic, loud, frantic music when the boys are displayed. This evidently shows their aggressive attitudes and reluctancy to work. The music quietens down when the teacher moves outside of the classroom, this has two main purposes. Firstly, for the audience to hear the conversation and be engaged, also to show that the noise is contained in the room, due to the bad behaviour of the boys. Ambient sound, for example, talking, is used to make the boys scene seem more aggressive and riotous, which contributes to making the males seem worse than they are in reality. Conversely, there is no music in the girls classroom, displaying a calm atmosphere, and proving how the females are well-behaved, which could be bias. In each classroom, the females receive positive language which provokes them to be encouraged and motivated. On the other hand, the boys receive negative language, such as moaning, proving to discourage them in the classroom, which is a highly likely cause of their disruptive behaviour.


Finally, the camera shots used represent the genders in opposing ways. There are low angle shots, looking down on boys, emphasising their lack of power and authority. In addition, the camera is outside the classroom, and does not film inside as the audience can clearly see the blinds blocking part of the view. This could suggest that it is too dangerous to enter the classroom, reinforcing their aggressive behaviour. The target audience of Waterloo Road is educated women, therefore they can empathise with the girls as they play the role of the outsider, viewing that the girls are more sensible, consequently agreeing with the gender segregation scheme. In contrast, the camera is panning the girls' classroom conveying the calm, gentle atmosphere, proving the females want to learn.

Key Vocabulary for TV Drama

Key Vocabulary for TV Drama

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

• Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.

• Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.

•  Movement: Pan – Where the camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.

Track - a shot whjere the camera follows a subject/object. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along the side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.Crane – A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward.Steadicam - A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.Tilt - where a camera scans a set or setting vertically (otherwise similar to a pan).Zoom – Using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer to (zoom in) or further away from (zoom out) a subject/object when in fact the camera may not move (so, strictly not camera movement). Can be used for dramatic effect.

dolly, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

• Diegetic - included in the clip. Non-diegetic sound - Added in the clip in the editing process.

Score - The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.

synchronous/asynchronous sound - Sound which is indigenous to the action but not precisely synchronized with the action. ; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

• Lighting; colour design.

Areas of representation

• Gender

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Sexuality

• Class and status

• Physical ability/disability

• Regional identity