Representation of Regional Identity

Representation of Regional Identity

In the opening of this clip there is a short music intro, this music is very up-beat and also something we would associate with the countryside, this represents regional identity because we would might hear this music and link it to somewhere in the country like a small village. After the short introduction we see a very small darkly painted room and within the room there are two men working on a sink and Doc Martin standing in the background, we can see from this long shot of them in the room that Doc is wearing a suit and he is dressed more formally than the other men in the room who appear to be wearing overalls. The lighting in this room is very low-key which suggests that the place is not very modern and this links back to the music suggesting that the regional identity is somewhere in the countryside. From this long shot we can see that Doc has very rigid, up-tight body language, this suggests that he puts himself higher than others whereas the men working on the sink appear to be more relaxed suggesting that they are more laidback. Docs stance could also suggest that he is from a better background and has been taught to sit up and stand up straight whereas the other men have not been taught the worry about their posture, this would show regional identity because they are from a slightly more relaxed community where it is not essential for you to sit up or stand up straight whereas Doc may be from a more strict community. The editing in the beginning of this scene is very slow, there low angled long shot which is held for quite a long time, this shows the plumbers working on the sink with the Doc standing towards the background, this may have been used to show how the plumbers were very relaxed and also that the Doc has more power due to the shot looking up at him.  In this scene we also hear their accents, Doc is very well spoken, he speaks very formally and annunciates his words very well, his accents also suggests that he is from a very formal background such as a city whereas the other men have traditionally countryside accents. This represents regional identity because we will assume that from their accents they are from a very rural area. Next in this scene the sink bursts, this is diegetic sound because we can see the water coming from the sink and also hear the noise of it bursting. This represents regional identity because the sink may be old and also not very modernised, which would explain why there was no stopcock and it burst and you would associate things that are not modernised with being somewhere rural with very few people. The editing in this scene also speeds up as the sink bursts, this may be due to the fact that the Doc is now becoming rather flustered.

A dog then enters the room and starts barking, the only person who seems concerned with the fact that a shaggy looking dog has entered the room is Doc, everyone else does not react. This suggests that this is not an unusual thing for them however the Doc finds this unusual as he is not from the area and it is not very common for a dog to enter a room without its owner in a more urban setting. Once the dog has entered the room the Doc begins getting very frantic and flustered due to the burst pipe and dog entering the room without an owner. As the dog is barking, there is a close-up, low-angled shot of the dog looking up towards Doc. Similar music as in the intro then begins playing and the screen fades to black then fades back out to show the Doc walking up a street holding the doc on a make-shift lead. Within this tracking shot of the Doc we can see hills in the background and old style houses. The streets in this shot are also very narrow, this represents regional identity because we associate hills, narrow streets and old houses with a countryside location and the asynchronous sound of the seagulls suggests it is near the coast. Doc also walks past a small shop with fishing nets outside , this suggests it is near the coast in a small seaside town. The music which is playing whilst the Doc is walking is very up-beat and matched the pace at which he is walking. In this scene the lighting is very high-key, this represents regional identity because the lighting suggests that the area is sunny and we could associate this with a seaside town. As doc walks through the town the editing is very fast, this matches how he is busy because the use of very short clips of him walking very fast seem to flow very well. This represents regional identity because he seems to be very distinctive and walking very quick paced whereas everything else in the village appears to be very slow in comparison. This shows how the Doc is an outcast and not used to the relaxed lifestyle of a small, seaside village.

Doc Martin enters a building and we hear the sound of a hoover, there is then a close-up of the hoover, which tilts up to the police officer. Regional identity is represented by this because the police officer has nothing better to do than hoover the station because there is so little crime. Dialogue is used when the police officer says “Doc Martin, it’s nice to meet you finally”, from this we can assume that Doc is not from the area which would explain why he is better spoken than other people in the village and why he is also more formally dressed. We can also assume from this that the community is very close-knit as everyone knows everyone and people also know when someone new moves into the area. The Doc begins to shout at the police officer which also suggests that the police is not very strict within this community and normally people would not talk to the police in such a manor. As he leaves the police station there is a medium close-up shop of the police officer who does not seem to react to how the Doc had just spoken to him, this is used as a comparison because he seems to be very calm whereas the doc is very frustrated and aggressive.

The Doc leaves the police station and again walks through the village, he is stopped by a woman and a dolly shot is used whilst they are talking to follow the direction in which the doc is facing. This woman is slightly better spoken than others in the village and she also has a very subtle accent, this might suggest that like Doc she has not lived in this community her entire life. This woman asks Doc Martin to repeat her prescription, this also represents a small, close-knit community because it is not very common for someone to stop their local doctor in the street and ask them to repeat their prescription.  Doc does this, which could suggest that he is beginning to relax and adapt to the close community lifestyle.  In the background of this shot we can see the hills, which again represents regional identity because we associate hills to countryside. A two-shot is used to show the relationship between the Doc and the woman, they are stood very closely and their eye lines match up which could tell us that they are confortable around each other and this again shows the close-knit community.

The Doc then continues walking and as he walks past a slightly larger building he stops and looks inside, from this we can see that this building is a school as there is a women sat around a table teaching some children. A series of close-ups are used to show the Doc and the young women looking at each other, these shots are all very short which makes this moment very intense. This represents regional identity because you can walk down a road and see directly into a school, this suggests that the community are very trusting as this is not common in cities for example. This also represents regional identity because it is also unusual for the teacher in a class to be sat around the table with the children and for the class to also be so small.

Doc Martin then walks slightly further down to street to speak to another women, this women appears to be taking crates of vegetables off of the back of a pick-up truck, the represents regional identity because we can assume these vegetables are locally sourced as she is taking them out of the back of a small truck instead of a supermarket lorry. The women then asks Doc to carry the crate for her and this represents regional identity because it shows the close community as she can openly ask him for help and finally they walk into a very small village shop and this represents regional identity because it is a small, most likely family owned business rather than a chain supermarket.

Representation of - Checklist

Editing

Transitions – cuts, dissolve, fade, wipe, cross-cutting, flashback, match on action

Editing, continuing and montage – continuing or montage

Mise-en-scéne

Setting

Décor

Lighting

Body Language/movement

Props

Costume/make-up

Sound

Diegetic sound

Non-diegetic sound

Synchronous

Asynchronous

Music

Camera Work

Shot types – establishing shot, master shot, close-up, medium shot, aerial shot, extreme close-up, two shot, point-of-view shot, over the shoulder shot, overhead shot, reaction shot.

Camera angles – high angled, low angled, canted angle

Camera movement – pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, stedicam, zoom

Hand held

Reverse zoom

Composition – Framing, rule of field, deep/shallow focus, focus pulls

Representation of Disability

Representation of Disability

The opening of this clip shows a women standing beside a man, the woman is speaking about someone called ‘Billy’. The clip then switches to a very dark, low-lighted scene of an unusual looking boy walking through a dark area that looks like a forest. He is being tracked walking through this forest at night; this suggests that something is wrong because he then begins to dust himself off. The sound being played in this scene is also very mysterious and suggests that something is out of the ordinary.

Next there is a clip of typical police dogs pulling at their leads though a forest, the fact that they are pulling suggests that they have either found something or maybe looking for something, maybe ‘Billy’.  The music throughout this is very eerie and mysterious which suggests wrong doing. We then see a few police officers that are looking very closely at the ground.

We then see Billy, again the use of the tracking shot lets us see that he is moving, the shot of Billy also allows the audience to see that Billy appears very naïve and also quite innocent and oblivious to the fact there are police officers following him. There is then a close-up shot of Billy’s face, from this we can see that he has a small cut on his cheek which also links to the previous idea of wrong doing. Within this shot, disability is being represented because Billy seems to be easily frightened and also maybe very vulnerable.

Billy then turns and runs and as he does so we hear a voice in the distance shout ‘oi’, this suggests that Billy is in trouble. There is then a shot showing the police officers running after Billy and shouting for him to stop. One of the officers catches up to Billy and tackles him to the ground. This would represent disability because Billy began running long before the Police officer did yet he caught up with him and also manages to push him to the ground.

A low-level shot is then used to show the police officer and Billy on the ground, they seem to be having a struggle, this allows the audience to see that Billy is overpowered by the police officer. Disability is represented here because Billy is weaker and also it appears that Billy needs to be taken control of. Once Billy has calmed down and another police officer has caught up to them Billy is pulled up and he says ‘I have done nothing wrong’, from this we can hear in his voice that he has a disability as he struggles to pronounce words. Disability is represented here because he is pitiful and being overpowered. The use of a low level shot for this clip also shows disability.

We then see a pan of a group of people, we assume neighbours gathered outside a house which we can also assume is Billy’s due to the police officer guarding the door, this represents disability because he is a ‘threat’ to the community and this is why there is a police officer standing outside his house.

We then enter the house and there is an older man talking to another man, he says ‘I shall have to have someone with me when I talk to him, its just routine’ The reason someone would have to be present would be if the person was a child or is they have a disability so disability is also represented here. Detective Frost also asks the man, whom we assume is Billy’s father if Billy would be considered mentally abnormal. Frost is correct and Billy’s father then explains that Billy is handicapped. Frost then mentions that he will have to have ‘have someone with me in case I break the rules’, this represents disability because he is saying that when around people with a disability he must be extra-careful.

Billy’s mother then enters the shot, she is carrying a bowl of water and asks the inspector if she can ‘clean him up’ before they speak to him because ‘he will feel better’. This represents disability because she wants to clean him before they speak to him and this has connotations of being treated like a baby.

Frost then enters a room and within the room there is a police officer and Billy, the police officer appears to be guarding Billy. Billy’s father then kneels down beside Billy and this is shown using a high angled shot, this further reinforces the idea of disability being represented as child like. The way the father also speaks to Billy when saying ‘no one said you have son’ also represents disability because he is speaking to Billy like a child. The father introduces ‘Mr Frost’ and again uses a very soft tone, similar to the tone you would use when talking to a child.

Frost sits down and again the use of a high-angled shots shows vulnerability. We then see a close up of Billy’s facial expression; he looks very confused and also a little worried.  His facial expression may also suggest that he was suspicious, maybe of those with authority. The fact that within this shot his head is tilted to the side adds to the idea that those with a disability are easily confused. We then see a high angled shot from Billy’s point of view, this combined with him saying ‘I was frightened’ could reinforce the representation that frost would be in control and more powerful.  

There is a long conversation between Billy and Frost and throughout the conversation Frost is speaking in a very calm tone and he is also using very simplistic words and phrases. During this conversation Billy is not speaking very often however when he does he is very defensive and this would suggests that he is feeling threatened or maybe even guilty.

When Frost asks Billy if he say Tricia this evening the shot of Billy is slightly different to the ones of when they were having a conversation, in this shot it is more zoomed out and we can see his father sitting behind him and when Billy is asked a question, the father also nods in response to the question, this would show disability because the father feels the need to answer the question as well, maybe implying that Billy may either lie or not be able to answer the question himself. Billy also says he saw Tricia earlier that day in a ‘playground’, within this clip, Billy saying he saw her in the playground represents disability because again it is very childlike and a playground is also somewhere innocent that he could go.

When Billy says what sort of time of the day he last saw Tricia his dad speaks over the top of Billy’s head to answer the question more precisely, again the father feels that he needs to answer the questions for his son which would suggests that he is innocent and vulnerable. Frost then asks if Billy saw Tricia again after tea, Billy replies to this by looking down slightly and shaking his head in response, this makes Billy look very innocent and also may make him look slightly confused.

When Frost is speaking about Tricia, Billy appears to be looking down, this may show that he is either feeling guilty or maybe a little worried. When Frost asks Billy is he can help them to find Tricia, Billy shakes his head again, this is a very child-like action and this represents disability because we associate disability with being quite immature and child-like.

Frost uses a very patient tone when talking to Billy and this combined with Billy being very abrupt when correcting his father shows that Billy may be feeling a little threatened and maybe scared.  Billy appears to become very agitated and defensive when Frost says that someone saw Billy speaking to Tricia in the woods, he may be feeling this way because he is guilty and doesn’t want to admit to seeing her. This would represent disability because Billy is feeling under threat so he is beginning to lie and he is also lying because he doesn’t want to get in trouble so this also links to him being very immature.

Representation of class and status

The opening scene of this clip shows a close up of a bicycle wheel riding along a gravelled path. The shot then zooms out and we begin to see that the ground of the place the boy is riding through is very nice and the grass is all well cut. We can see that the bike is reasonably old fashion so we know the era in which this clip is set. The shot continues to zoom out and follow the boy on the bike and we begin to see a large stately home, this tells us that the people who live in the house would be very well off and upper class. The music playing is very calm and relaxing however it is quite old style music which also shows the time period. The shot then switches to a medium shot of a young women, the women is sitting on a bed wearing very elegant long white robes, this would suggest that this women is also upper class and lives in the large house we saw in the previous shot. In the shot there is also a candle next to the bed, this would suggest that this was set in an early time period and the fact the candle stick is gold will show that the owner is well off and owns nice things. Whilst the women is sitting on the bed we can hear foley sounds of the bicycle riding on the gravel and we can also hear the crackling of a fire. The women stands up and walks towards a window and as she does so we see the reflection of the fire in a rather elegant mirror. She looks out of the window and down at the young boy riding the bike, the use of this camera angle may be to enforce that she is upper class, he is lower class and maybe that she has a better status than the boy. We then see a Medium long shot of the women at the window, the curtains arevery long and look to be very expensive, emphasising that they live in a nice house. The women leans across the bed and presses something. We then switch to a shot of some bells and one begins to ring. We then have a medium shot of a man wearing rather poor clothes however still attempting to look smart. We then have a long shot of a table of people, they all appear to be wearing servant type outfits and we assume that they are servants. There is a man sitting at the head of the table wearing slightly smarted clothing. A slightly hubby ginger women then enters wearing a typical servants uniform. We then see a slightly better dressed women who says ‘I’ve got her ladyships to carry’, from this we can assume that she is working class however she is of a higher status than some of the other servants. The man from the head of the table then asks another man to answer the door so this tells us that he is a higher status than the other servants as he is asking them to do things. We then come out of the building to see a young boy holding a paper and we assume this is the paper boy, he is therefore working class however we know he has a lower status than the servants who are also working class because of the way in which the servant speaks to him and says ‘you’re late’. The servant who collected the papers is then ironing the paper and the head servant enters and tells him which ones to iron. In this scene we also notice that the head servant has a very formal accent whereas some of the other servant sounds more informal and common, this also shows that although they are all servants, the head servant has a higher status than the others. We then see a shot of all the servant rushing around in the kitchen, some are carrying trays and plates. The head servant then enters and is addressed by the servant who was previously ironing the newspapers. There is lots of foley sound in this scene to show that the kitchen is busy and the servants are all very busy and rushing about. We then see the ginger women again and she is preparing food, we learn that she has some importance and maybe a higher status than the others because she tells ‘William’ to take the dish. The bit then does as he was asked so he has a lower status. We then switch to a very different scene showing a man dressed very smartly, walking down the stairs in a very relaxed manor. We see that there is a very grand painting on the wall and this suggests that the family that own the house have a very rich background and upper class. The music playing whilst the lord is walking down the stairs is very serene and calm and this suggests that the man has some importance and is therefore higher class. There is also a very well groomed Labrador following him, this implies that he has authority and even the dog will follow him. We then switch to a longshot of a hall, we see the man walking down the grand staircase and we also see these very large golden archways, this suggests that the house is very grand and the gold colouring suggests that the people have lots of money. This entire scene is very slow and relaxed. The man then enters a room and initially we see the head servant and a large bunch of flowers. As he walks into the room we see silver dishes on the side and learn that they are high class. The way the head servant addresses the lord we learn that the lord is of a higher class and that the lord also has a higher status. We hear the mans accent and it is very formal and grand, from this we know that he is very important and a higher status. The lord pulls out a chair and sits at the head of the table, he also puts his napkin over his lap and this suggests that he is upper class and wants to keep clean and well presented. Behind the head of the table there is another very large painting. Two young women then enter, they are wearing smart, well presented clothes and their hair is well groomed, this tells us that they are also upper class however they address their father and we learn that he has a higher status than the women. The girls accents are also very posh and this backs up our point that they are upper class. Another young women enters the room and presents the lord with a telegram. The fact that she gives is to her father shows us that he is the person with the highest status in the house. As he reads the telegram, the two young women who are now sitting at the table beside him, look towards the lord for answers, this is because he has the highest status. The lord then leaves the room and walks to a door, he knocks and asks for permission to enter however he enters before he is given an answer. His wife is sitting in a very grand four poster bed, wearing very expensive looking clothes. Her bed linen also looks a very good quality. We then have a medium shot showing the lord standing in his wives bedroom and is this shot we can see the view from her windows, she has a very spectacular view and this links to her being upper class and also having a rather high status. Her bedroom also has very gold tones linking to her importance and status. The wife also has a very strong British accent suggesting that she is upper class and has a high status.

In conclusion we learn that the owners of this very grand house are a lord and ladyship, they have servants, suggesting they are very well off. The servants are all working class people although some have a higher status than others, for example there is a head servant and also a servant who serves the ladyship which suggests she has a higher status and finally there are the daughters of the lord who are upper class and have a higher status than the servant however their mother and father also have a higher status over them.