(A2) Representation of social class and age - About a girl (sarah)

 http://moodle.centralsussex.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=42640

MES, Camera, Sound, Editing

Scene locations:

• Canal
• Outside of a pub
• In a field at the beginning
• Cafe
• Football pitch
• Perfume shop
• Outside a house
• Car park
• On a bus

Titling sequence:
The font chosen for the title is an old style texting font. As the film was made 12 years ago, this was the only type of phone available so this may not indicate social class as much as it does age however if the film had been made more recently it would be the type of font you would find on a cheap mobile phone, this gives an indication of the kind of working class she is before the film has even begun. The way each letter changes is supposed to represent non-predicative text which you would find especially with this type of phone. This titling also relates to young people (especially teenagers) because they are the majority that have mobile phones. The non-diegetic sound of beeping as each letter is presented on the screen also reinforces the idea of texting. The white title fades to black which conveys the narrative of the film, the way her feelings of happiness fade.

Opening shot: Introduction of the character

The low key lighting featured here shows the girl as a shadow. This could represent that she is considered unseen, not important and could feel insignificant and not in 'the limelight'. The diegetic sound of her singing pop music (Britney spears) and dancing by herself in a large jacket represents lower class in the way that if compared a girl ballet dancing to opera would seem much higher class. This shot is set in an extreme long shot to show how isolated she is which could be seen metaphorically that she is also feels isolated in her life, which is conveyed more as the film progresses. Looking at the background, the clouds are moving considerably quickly, this could represent how fast her life is moving in contrast to the still foreground which could represent that this fast pace life is leaving her behind.

Canal shot: Main shot

This is the main shot of the film captured by an old, industrial looking canal. These shots are represented as the present day, the other scenes are more flashback/memory type of shots. The background here is constantly changing again like the clouds in the first shot to represent her life and also how she is jumping from place to place not having the feeling of a secure home.

Her diegetic dialogue is spoken with a Mancunian accent. This coincides with the industrial setting as Manchester has a strong industrial past. Her limited vocabulary contains a lot of swearing and slang such as 'mam' 'ciggies' 'like'. This gives the impression of a under class stereotype as rough and less well educated. She begins speaking here but a sound bridge runs throughout the film, this is to explain her memories and makes each shot relate to the next.She also uses phrases such as 'do I look like a fucking bank' and 'knock off largers' which suggests lack of money and she believes the high life is having Bacardi breezers and is unaware of what champagne even is. This indicates under class and she doesn't know what people of a higher class to her drink or do.

She is shot here in hoop earrings, scraped back hair, puffy jacket and tracksuit trousers. This are cheap, less fashionable clothing choices which represent her ability to afford other clothes. The setting location of a run down looking canal with a graffiti covered industrial background and litter also represents the wealth and care of where she lives. Pathetic fallacy is used to represent the mood of her life and how like the dull grey sky, she feels upset and alone.

A hand held camera is used here to represent her rough, jumpy lifestyle and give the effect nothing in her life runs smooth. Towards the end of the film, there is a birds eye view shot with her composed to the bottom left of the frame before she throws the plastic bag in the water. This shows how isolated and alone she is in this situation and before us as the audience realise what is in the bag in the following shots, this birds eye view is an indicator of her feelings and the atmosphere of what is about to happen.

The slow decline in saturation represents the mood and tone of the film where the situation becomes progressively worse right up to the darkest moment where she throws the newborn baby in the river. The use of jump cuts in this scene is to again represent her jumpy lifestyle. 


Flashbacks/memories:
Pub

This pan out to an ELS represents isolation and shows visually how alone she is.With this ELS we as the audience can see her full costume which conveys lower class and cheap clothing. The saturation is dulled to again use as a form of pathetic fallacy. The diegetic sound of men shouting in the pub makes her appear vulnerable, which is reinforced as she begins to quietly sing lyrics that convey her feelings such as "I've had enough".

Café
This medium two shot is to represent the relationship between the girl and her father. The way her father reacts to the girls dialect shows lack of respect and adds to the suggestion these characters are lower class combined with the fact her parents are divorced as it is a stereotype lower class families are not close or together.The saturation is higher here which could represent her feelings of hope that she could live with her dad, then completely drops in the next shot of her by the canal to show her feelings of disappointment.

On the bus

The use of the setting of a bus at night conveys the girls must use public transport as their parents cannot afford to drive them places. This places the audience to believe they could be vulnerable and in danger alone at night. The hand held camera represents their youth and how none of this is serious. The diegetic sound of the girls all singing at once in high pitched voices represents youth and the girls age.

Canal end shot
The lighting here in this ELS which divides the screen could suggest everything the other side of the river (representing the world) is a positive place but where she comes from (her side of the canal) is difficult and a bad place which is shown through a duller saturation and darker lighting. We also hear the diegetic sound of her slowly humming the song she has been singing throughout the film which continues the feeling of sadness and loneliness.

Age
The plot content gives us the most indication of her age and makes us have a negative opinion of her as 13 years old is very young to have a baby. It also plays on the under class stereotype that girls who have children young are more likely to be poorer. However we are positioned as the audience to think a certain way about the character from the beginning feeling pity for her whereas when we are shown she has thrown her dead baby into a river, it creates shock and confusion due to restricted narration.

(A2) Representation of gender and age in 'Never Forget' (sarah)

http://moodle.centralsussex.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=42651

Director: Jayaraman
Year: 2013

camera, mes, sound, editing

Opening
Never Forget opens with an ECU slow pan down of a hand unzipping a hire suit. From this we can assume the character is male however it is un-clarified for restricted narration. The body language of the way the hand is carefully unzipping connotes older age as it suggests care and being gentle. Along with the diegetic sound of the zip, there is a diegetic piano sound which gives the suggestion that this character is older and more sophisticated. There is a slight sepia tone in this shot which also gives the effect of an older generation.


We are then taken into a straight cut of a woman in an ECU with a pan up from the legs. Showing thin legs with tights on is a representation of femininity. The use of the pan up leaves the end of the shot showing the back of the woman's head , this combined with the use of low key lighting creates suspense and suspicion as it does not give away her identity however we get a 'bad vibe' about her. Her costume of a classy coat gives the impression she is in her late 20's.

These two close ups use parallel editing to compare age and gender. The low key lighting in the close up of the woman in the car represents the night so she is seen as more of a young party girl. Fixing her hair and makeup is obviously very feminine, whereas the content in the shot of the man is of him fixing up his suit and trying to look presentable which is more masculine, this costume also represents his age as he has older looking hands so they close up makes this the main feature in the shot. The high key lighting used her may represent his character as he is seen as very innocent and has done nothing wrong whereas the low key lighting in the car represents how dark the woman is and how she has cheated. The diegetic sound in the CU of the man uses old fashioned piano music which is related to the elder generation, whereas the diegetic hussle of the street and dog barks show she is much younger and living life in the city.




There is then use of another two parallel medium shots. The man is positioned on a balcony over looking the city to represent how much more wealthy and classy he is, also metaphorically it could represent that he is higher than her on a moral level as he's been faithful to her. There is a faint diegetic sound of the piano sound track in the background combined with the diegetic faint sound of the city which she hears too. This links the characters and shows a connection. We see the mans face for the first time and judging by his grey hair the audience can assume he is much older than her. He is also looking down which gives an indication of his disappointed feelings towards her. The ELS-MS shot of the woman walking towards the camera uses a diegetic sound of high heeled footsteps, this is a stereotype of femininity and also shows her youth as an older woman may not be wearing shoes so high.



The heavy beat of the diegetic music over this ECU of shot glasses represents a night club and youth. The low key lighting with a single light above the shots is to highlight their important and draws the attention to them and conveys to the audience where the character is and also that alcohol was involved.



The music soundtrack continues to convey the characters are in the same setting. The jump cut of the woman and unknown man dancing could represent the amount of time she spent with him. There is a slight blue filter to represent club lights and night life, also indicates the woman's youth. Blue also has connotations of loyalty and trust so it plays against that by using it as a contrast.

This LS of the husband standing by the bar uses a focus pull to use dramatic irony as the unrestricted narration shows the audience know more than the wife does. The music continues with a non-diegetic sound bridge of phone call to convey what's happening in the frame is a memory.His dropped facial expression puts the audience in a position of pity and sadness for the character. The way he is positioned in the frame to the right at the end of the bar makes him look slightly out of place which could indicate he's maybe too old to be there.

This ECU of the man on the phone shows in detail the features of his face and the wrinkles connote old age. The audience can also see the character has watery eyes which positions them to feel pity for him again especially as he is male as there is a stereotype men are less likely to cry as often as women. Shallow depth of field is used to highlight the details even more. There is a blue back light which again represents connotations of loyalty which are used to frame the character as the protagonist.

 

The diegetic sound effect of the beep of the phone call ending here gives us an indication of what is about to happen. However there is then a complete silence here before the diegetic thud of the man hitting the ground builds up suspense and makes the audience jump when they hear the loud scream of the woman. The darkness that covers the screen briefly shown in this screenshot represents the body falling. The parallel cutting ends here as both characters finally end up in the same setting.