age stereotypes
beautiful/ alive
control/ authority
experienced/
traditional/ wise
impetuous/
reckless/ irresponsible/ spontaneous
rebellious
lonely
the clip is introduced with
the male workers going about their everyday jobs in the fields dressed in
jeans, jackets and caps which is a stereotypical dress of people working in the
countryside- the pholi sounds of the clutter of the equipment, footsteps, the
sheep and birds in the background and the hushed chatter give a realistic feel
to the scene; there is a man in the centre of the shot, he is dressed in the
same way as the workers but appears neater and is presented in a way that makes
the audience pay attention to what his character is doing. the lighting is
slightly dim, giving the realistic impression of the english countryside. his
character is portrayed to have the control on the farm and the authority over
everyone including family. the woman is introduced when she walks out of the
house, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with minimal makeup shows that she is not
a 'beautiful' stereotype but more of an average woman- her accent is from up
north and much different from the others on the farm which shows she does not
belong there and is most likely new to the job. when the man passes the keys to
the woman she looks almost shocked- when she is in the truck it is obvious she
has not done this before and therefore does not know what she is doing, the
sounds of the others working outside the truck makes the audience realise she
might get caught which gives an edge to the scene, she talks under her breath
wondering how to turn the engine on- when it eventually roars to life there is
a visible relaxation which we unconsciously follow as the young man approaches
the vehicle she is in suspiciously but then backs off when they hear the engine
start up. Her character is beautiful and must be irresponsible as she is hiding
behind a facade of someone she has obviously convinced them is much older and
much more experienced than she actually is. the shot flips back to the people
in the drive including the man that holds the authority and it is quiet other
than the clatter of their shovels etc but when there is a loud audible crash in
the distance it gives the obvious indication it is the woman that just left and
they all react immediately running towards the sound. the man that gets out of
the car the woman has crashed into is well dressed in a suit and has a beard
which is a traditional stereotype of a 'real' man- the way he stands and the
deep masculinity of his voice gives us the indication he has authority of his
own which the camera portrays by the equal level shot between the middle aged
man and the man on the farm. the medium shot shows that the young man and elder
woman are checking over the woman like she is a small child which emphasises
that she is vulnerable. the middle aged man introduces himself as the
headmaster of the woman and that she is in fact 16 which reinforces all the
indications of this earlier on. however the man from the farm looks outraged
and the man is framed considerably larger than the woman in the shot. the
office is first presented as a long shot revealing all the solid oak type
features which is usually associated with farmhouse type buildings in the
countryside but also that of a traditional man; the whiskey that the man pours
from the crystal decanter reinforces the old english presentation of the man.
the camera keeps them at the same level within the frame and eye level which
shows they have equal power within their own rights. when the man storms out of
the office a low angle shot is used on his to show that he has the power/
control within the scene, the camera pans with the man as he pulls the woman
along with him- the shot is framed so that it fits to his height but then shows
her as half his size presenting her vulnerability and irresponsible character.
the shot reverse shot used shows there are two viewpoints to the same story;
when it is showed from her perspective only the top of her head is framed
within the shot and mainly frames the man but when form his perspective the
shot frames her and only up to her shoulders- this presents how he is much
older than her and therefore more experienced and wise within the situation and
shows that she is reckless and spontaneous and therefore has made a stupid
example of herself. their voices are the only sound within this scene connoting
that this is an important discussion and is heated because of this. the man is
the first to walk away which provides us with the fact that he is in charge of
the conversation- when it ends -the close up on the woman throwing a strop and
shouting at his turned back "i hate you" are two identifiers that are
immediately associated with teenagers that are reckless and irresponsible - it
is a trait that all adults associate with every single teenager and as TV
dramas are made by adults this is bias representation but a representation all
the same. the sad soundtrack that begins when the shot reveals the woman's
bedroom gives the impression that she is about to do something that will upset
someone; the point of view shot used when the woman looks in the mirror is a
way of showing the audience her feelings- the shot zooms into the photographs
on the mirror which could present how her family is the most important thing to
her but as she turns her back on them it might show how she does not feel like
she belongs- it could be a metaphor of her family the closest thing to her
heart. when the elder woman enters the room, the medium/ long shot used shows
how she is alone- the woman has left- she looks almost helpless- vulnerable as
she does not know what to do- the damage is already done. when it goes back to
the man in the fields with the male workers the quiet of the background but the
clatter of their equipment and birds in the background give a realistic reflection
of normal life- there is always something happening that we do not know about-
when the elder woman runs/ staggers up to the man from behind she looks at a
loss and looks to him for guidance, reinforcing his authority. the man with the
authority on the farm has more prominence than the other characters but the
young woman who is 16 also has prominence within the clip which shows they are
the opposites within the episode- he is the authoritative traditional figure
where she is a spontaneous and reckless teenager.
