Media Revision Quiz: Part 1

Age Representation: BBC Bugs- Girl Power

This extract has been constructed to represent age in different ways. At first, the younger girl is stereotypically represented as being immature however as the extract continues, the camera, mise-en-scene, editing and sound all have an effect on representing age in a different way.

For example, the camera shows the young girl speaking to the older woman, with the girl sitting on the floor, lower than the adult. However the camera films the scene at a slight angle, looking up towards the adult as apposed to looking down on the young girl.

The use of mise-en-scene in this extract contributes a lot to the representation of age. For example, the girl is wearing a hooded jumper with her hair tied back out of her face in comparison with the older woman who is wearing a suit and a lot of make up. This use of mise-en-scene has the effect of showing the difference in age between the two characters. The older woman is represented as being professional and sophisticated and the teenager is represented as scruffy.
  
In the extract there are no sound effects used but the speech represents age in a specific way. For example, the teenagers speaks in a more informal way saying things such as, 'Gimme that back', 'Come on' and 'Wouldn't you like to know.' The teenager also says, 'Don't tell me you didn't try this sort of stuff when you were young'. Which represents age in a way as if younger people have a tendency to act reckless. The older woman also implies that teenagers aren't as intelligent as adults when she says. 'How did a teenager get in through the security systems' implying that the teenager would not be able to break into a sophisticated system. After she has spoken with the young girl she then states, 'She's a genius!' this speech turns the stereotype of the teenager around and portrays the younger person as intelligent.

Camera Movements: Worksheet

• many different functions; direct viewers attention, reveal off screen space, provide narrative information, or create expressive effects.
• camera most frequently moves when an object moves within the frame, initiating reframing, or following a shot.
• Reframing; (keep the action in the frame)  slight pans or tilts designed to maintain the balance of a composition during a figure movement. A camera operator will reframe when a sitting person stands up, so as to keep the person in the frame and allow for appropriate headroom. Reframing helps fix the viewer's eye on the most important figures within the frame and is so common it is often unnoticed. 
• Camera accompanies the movement of an object during a following shots. A track, crane or hand held shot can lead a moving figure into space, pursue a figure from behind, or float above, below or alongside. Intricate following shots may be motivated by the movements of more than one figure.