Status and role through camera shots and sound.

This TV Drama is a crime drama. I know this because it is set in a prison from the start and it has a lot of different characters that fit into this genre.

First of all in this clip, where the officer is walking through the corridors of the prison, there is a tracking shot of him walking through with non-diegetic music constantly under the scene. This represents him as quite respected and very authoritive within his role within the prison. Also during this clip a lot of ambient sounds of keys, shoes banging on the floor, and doors banging and squeaking. These sounds are all associated with a prison; therefore these ambient sounds are used to represent the prison and the high authority man. Overall through various ways this man is represented as a much respected man with a high rank of authority.

Another clip shows a woman- Jane Tennison, in a mid-shot smoking a cigarette, and talking to a group of men that are her superiors. This represents her character as a very powerful and strong willed woman as in this clip she is getting interrogated and undermined by these superior men, but the fact that she’s smoking gives a clue that she could have some insecurities because she is relies on her cigarette. The fact that she is a high up officer and is a woman in charge goes against the conventional ways within this genre of TV Drama because there isn’t usually a woman in charge its usually a man. The dialogue that she speaks is very well spoken and posh, this represents her as being quite upper class and a very respectable lady.

Another character in this clip was a housewife. First of all she is shown through a mid-shot, on the phone trying to locate her daughter. Her body language represents her as insecure as she is hunched over, hugging herself while she is on the phone. She speaks very well spoken, so this represents her as being upper class and posh. When she puts down the phone there is another ambient sound of the phone being put down and diled again, this represents the woman worried as she is trying everyone to find her daughter. We move to a close-up of her face when she puts the phone down, this shows her face as very worried and scared, this represents her as insecure and lost in her mind. This woman only addresses herself as “Christine’s mum” which again, represents her as being insecure as she doesn’t use her own name but the name “Christine’s mum”. Overall, this lady is represented as quite a weak woman with insecurities, this is shown through the way she speaks on the phone showing her sacredness through her voice and her body language when she’s on the phone.

We then go to a medium close-up of what we assume is Christine’s mum’s husband, with her in the background blurred out while she is on the phone and him in the foreground looking quite suspicious and guilty. Straight away the camera manipulates the audience to think he’s guilty and done something wrong. This is very conventional of this type of drama, as usually when a child goes missing the woman’s partner usually has something to do with it or always gets the blame. This represents him as quite a mysterious man and that he’s up to no good. Then we are taken to a mid-shot of him and his wife over the shoulder of a police officer, who is questioning them about their daughter. He is sat looking quite calm and answering all the questions whereas his wife is sat looking scared and worried. This represents him as quite calm and undermining of his wife, as he doesn’t look very worried so he could be hiding something and he silences his wife. Overall, this man is seen as a strong willed man with more status then his wife in this situation.

Finally, we are taken to another mid-shot, but of a gang of youths sat under a bridge. They are all in hoodies and sat smoking and drinking, this is conventional for the stereotype of these type of people.