Quiz

"Bugs" Girl Power - Representation of Age

In episode "Girl Power" of the 90s TV Show "Bugs" we are shown a young orphaned girl who hacked into a computer mainframe of a very secretive company. In the scene, over the shoulder shots, looking up to the older man, emphasise that he has higher footing during the conversation, he is superior to the others involved in the conversation. Later on, a POV shot from the woman looks into the room, seeing her reflection and the girl on the floor. This gives a dramatic contrast between the girl in the cell and the older woman looking over her as a spectator. A close up of the girl panning over to the woman as a mid shot is presented as the woman enters the room, showing the difference in age and characteristics. These characteristics are shown through two close ups of both the woman (smiling) and the teenager (showing no emotion), a strong contrast between the different ages. We are then shown a close up of the electronic contraption invented by the girl, this emphasises her childish behaviour; creating and experimenting with different objects to make the contraption. We also see a low Angle, looking up to the woman and teenager, the woman is higher up, showing that the woman is superior in the conversation. Throughout the scene, Reverse Shots are used in conversation to help the viewer feel more part of the scene, it helps to display the different relationships between the ages.


Mise en scène is also used to help show the different ages of the characters. The older man wears posh clothing and speaks with a higher register, this shows that he is more experienced and more superior to the others in the scene. The younger women  wear more "fashionable" clothing for that era that is smart casual. They speak with a slightly less formal tone. The women meet the target audience, therefore they are designed to appeal more to the viewer in their characteristics. the teenager, is dressed casually and speaks with an informal tone, she is completely opposite to the older man, emphasising her as the criminal of the incident.


The sound in the scene creates a picture  of how the different ages are represented. Diegetic sound; for example footprints in the corridor, help to show the superiority of the older characters in the scene, through showing that they wear expensive clothing. The soundtrack is eery, dark and disturbing music as the woman enters the teenager's room emphasising the bad behaviour of the teenager.

TV Drama Key Vocab

Camera Angles & Editing

Spooks - Representations of terrorism and ethnicity

• Ahmed (The terrorist) is represented in a negative way through mostly mise en scène. He is always shown carrying a weapon or with sidekicks also carrying weapons creating a sense of "evil" to the character. He's character traits are also cruel, especially when murdering Danny and then turning Fiona to face his corpse. The soundtrack in his presence will also turn into a solem-foreign sounding music, along with his foreign accent. In the torture scene, handheld close-up shots create a quick-paced scene that shows the cruelty of Ahmed, and his merciless behaviour.
• Britain today has many arab, islamic, muslim and middle-eastern people living in the country. A british person is usually described as "White-British".
• Al Qaeda is a terrorist group that have extreme muslim views, with a purpose to destroy the economy of the western world. Terrorist acts have occurred around the world through Al Qaeda, including the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks.

In White Girl, camera angles help to convey different ages of the characters. Several shots help to emphasise the youth of the young girl on her bike; a fixed camera on the bike gives us a view of the girl's pink trainers, a sign off youth. We get many camera shots of her head and feet, giving the illusion of a small height to that of a child. The high angle of the feathers around her gives a childish, fairytale image, emphasising childhood. Later on in the Fish and Chip shop, a medium angle shows that the girl cannot see over the counter, once more adding emphasis onto the height of the girl.

The editing of the scene also creates an image of childhood. The editing of the bike scene is done as if the girl doesn't care about anything else in the world, this care free behaviour is also  emphasised with the jump cut outside the chip shop. 

The quiet calm soundtrack of the scene adds more to the "care-free" image. The ambience of the bike chain and brakes along with the speech "good girl" emphasise the girls youth .

Mise en scene creates the strongest imagery of the age of the characters in the scene. The properties of the scene, such as the xbox (carried by the boy)

Representation of Age

Age 7

• Playing with toys - teddy bear
• Tantrums
• Just starting school
• Books
• Innocence
• Lack of Power
• Smart little kid - geek
• Looking Down - low angle shots
• Mischievous - pen with a lid off, dolly with a head pulled off, toy gun?

Age 16

• Stressed out
• Finishing School
• Girls wear make up
• Independence
• Power Struggle with parents
• Smoking and Alcohol
• Parties
• Lazy
• No money

Waterloo Road - Representation of Gender

     In Episode 1, Series 6 of Waterloo Road, Gender is represented in many ways through camera, editing, sound and mise en scene. Firstly, camera angles; the hand-held camera in the classroom creates a hyperactive atmosphere of the boys' classroom, emphasising their misbehaviour.  Another shot in that scene shows the viewer as an outsider of the class, looking through the blinds of the classroom. This makes the user feel the same way as the boys; the boys are misbehaving behind their teacher's back and us as the viewer are watching the boys from a hidden position. However this mood changes when we enter the girls' classroom where a slow dolly movement creates a calm, focussed atmosphere with a high angle shot showing the orderly arrangement and behaviour of the other sex.

     The editing has a similar affect on emphasising the misbehaviour of the boys; jump cuts make the scene more chaotic and give it a fast-paced feel. Reverse shots in conversation show the boys misbehaving behind the teacher's back, giving an outsiders view into the situation. The lack of editing in the girls classroom emphasises the calm effect provided by the dolly movement.

     In the boys' classroom, their is a fast soundtrack that gives the scene a quick-paced feel. The ambience of the boys talking shows more misbehaviour and lack of concentration. Similar to editing; the lack of sound in the girls' classroom gives a more academic and focussed feel.

     The main aspect of mise en scene is that the boys are learning a more stereotypical feminine subject; home skills, whereas the girls are undertaking a debate, a role-reversal has occurred. In the girls' classroom they are all answering the questions correctly, and in the boys', they are all throwing the food pre-measured for them (which has been done because the teacher know that they need guidance). Outside of the boys' classroom, the female teacher rebels against the male teacher in charge, a role-reversal to what is happening in the classroom behind her.