Waterloo Road Age Textual Analysis

In the clip from Waterloo Road age is represented in contrasting ways to show a difference in power from each character of a different age. They are shown in contrasting ways by the way that the Director portrays them. The teachers are very patronising, uncool and are very unpopular by the teenagers. The teachers are there as an authority figure. The Director positions the audience to relate to their relevant age group, offering a variety of Narrative plots and characterisation.


In the opening scene, the first character that is introduced is made very clear to the audience through the pace of the footsteps and the close up shot of the feet between the chair legs. Shallow Focus was also used in this shot to portray the importance of these footsteps and warn the boys to be cautious of what is about to happen. The slow movement of the feet would tell the audience that this is a teacher approaching as the slow pace builds up tension which any pupil would feel as they hear these footsteps. It also helps the audience to understand that the boys have done something wrong. Cuts are also used to move forward and back from each shot of the feet and the boys and this would create more suspense.

Cuts were the first technique to be used and this was done between each shot. It was done mostly when the teacher has to rush out of the room to deal with the girl that is starting a fight with another school boy. Cuts were used by the Director to show how rapid events can start in schools and quickly they have to be dealt with to prevent them from happening again. An Ellipsis was used a lot when the girl was fighting the school boy. This was done by not including the scene when she pushes him into the room that she then goes into intimidate him in. As an audience, we would know that she has done this through the way that she pushes him out of the corridor. This was done to speed the action up and to create an ambiguous effect. Continuity Editing begins the scene as it is clear that there was a storyline behind the camera incident and why the teacher and pupil don't get on. This was done purely to carry on the storyline from the series and to enhance the relationships between characters. Shot-reverse-shot was also used a lot between characters as they were talking to different people. It was used the most In the first conversation with the teacher and pupils. It switches between the characters a lot which shows confusion as the pupils are acting as though they don't know what is going on. This fits the stereotype of teenagers hating school and being resilient to certain events. This was done to add a realistic approach to a pupils school life but to exaggerate how teachers and pupils can get on by showing 2 sides of the spectrum. Fast Paced Editing was used during the intimidation scene as all the shots were placed together very quickly to show how fast her anger was building up. The Director would have done it to add to the rush and intensity from both characters. As one character got angrier, one character got more nervous.
Non-Diegetic Sound was done through the music that was played in the background. This worked well with the intimidation scene as the music sounded like a heartbeat which could represent the school boy's heart beating faster and faster as his asthma attack begins to start. Diegetic Sound is also used when the dialogue starts, this relates onto Synchronous Sound as there were many sounds such as: constant chatter in the corridors of the school, slow foot pace from teachers and patronising tones from teachers. The main time in the clip that this happens would be with the distress in the young school boys voice as the girl begins shouting at him and intimidating him. The distress in his voice highlights exactly how scared he is and how uncomfortable he is around this girl. This would have been the directors intention as he wants the girl to look stronger and have power over him. 
All of these points were done by the Director, yet again to show realism, but also to add extra impact and drama to the scene. It was done to enhance the schools environment and show that, although this shot is based on one character, there are still people having their own conversations and school problems behind the scenes. Patronising voices were done by the middle aged teacher as he feels as though he has authority and is better than the children. He is portraying his dominance over them. He also does this by clicking at the boys to pass over the camera to him. This is a very important gesture to make to show authority and dominance. The language that the pupils use is also influenced by the people around them. The girl says "about my mum being a big hoe bag" This would be suggested that she has caught this on through her peers and this matches reality as teenagers are seen as being influenced greatly by their peers and following what they do. The language throughout this clip evidently shows this.
The younger teacher also seems very patronising and judgemental about the kids by the way that she speaks about them as she says "What do kids know about fashion." This also fits the stereotype.
An establishing shot was used when the pupils were walking down the corridor to establish the scene and to show that it was a school environment. It would have been done to set the scene and show how normal this school is and how standard its appliances and resources are. Medium Shots were also used quite a lot as people had conversations with each other. It was used mostly when the girls were talking in the corridor.
This would have been done to establish a character after the scene has been set. It could have been done in this instant, to introduce us, as an audience, to her uniform and could make us gain an opinion on her as a character by the way she holds herself and the way that she dresses. This also then relates onto the use of Canted Angles. This was used when the girl, as previously mentioned, drags the boy into the other room and begins intimidating him. It is used when she is towering over him to suggest that she has authority over him and he is weak and scared of her.Before the fights begins, a hand-held camera is used as the teacher rushes out of the classroom and eventually enters the room where the fight is taking place. This was done to show the rush that he was in and how urgently he was needed at the scene to help the boy. This was effective to helping the audience understand that school children place themselves on a ranked list and some teenagers are feared by others. This is the case in this situation and the Director would have done it to show that some teenagers are timid and some can be aggressive. A low angle is also used here to make her seem supremely powerful over him. An Insert Shot was used right at the beginning when the camera is slotted into the boys pocket to hide it from the teacher. This would have been done to show that they boys have done something bad and therefore need to cover up their mistake. Its a sneaky move via the boys so therefore required a discrete shot which would have been selectively chosen by the Director to portray this thought of the boys.
At then end of the clip, the teachers outfit is very uncool and he seems to be trying extra hard to gain popularity and attention from his pupils. This fits the stereotype of adults being unaware of popular culture. He is wearing his jeans really low which is where teenagers fell it is cool to wear them and he is wearing baggy clothes which is most associated with teenagers.  The teenagers also have their own sense of style as the girls have their shirts very low with their ties matching so that they are showing off their cleavage and one of the boys wears a scruffy jacket and comes across as a lazy character. He also has his tie really far down. This portrays the girls as wanting to flaunt themselves and caring for other peoples opinions a lot and the boys don't seem to care and just want to be themselves. The maintenance man also has a pen behind his ear and is wearing scruffy clothes which is typical of someone form this area of job. This was done so that he would stand out as the Maintenance man and wouldn't be mistaken as a teacher. Finally, there were a lot of educational posters placed around the school, not just in the classrooms, but in the corridors as well. This would be exactly like a school in real life as almost all schools are covered with educational posters and information around their schools. This would be done to yet again show realism and the scene becomes more believable when there are educational resources placed around the set.

Essay 3

What Impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area that you have studied?

The impact for both Star Wars the Force Awakens and Ex Machina varies a lot as Star Wars was owned by Disney, Badrobot and Lucasfilm and Ex Machina is owned by DNA Film and Film4. Disney is a conglomerate company so therefore, they are recognised by all different audiences due to how popular their films, and their company, is. This means that Disney is able to provide a big budget and add in a lot more special effects with the money that they have provided. Due to the big budget, the special effects will be extraordinary and will enhance the films technical difficulty. This would then make the film more enjoyable for viewers who have already seen previous films and even new audiences as the special effects would draw them in.  Locations are also a factor that can be varied due to the budget that is put in place. This is shown by Star Wars have a number of different filming locations, 8 to 9 in total, whereas Ex Machina had only one or 2. By having a bigger budget, it meant that the production companies are able to expand their locations to all over the world. This also varied the audience type as the film was not just filmed in one Countries studio or one particular location.

The Stars are also important to help the films popularity as if the stars aren’t recognised then people may not know whether to go and watch considering that they don’t know the actor’s capabilities. Star Wars has Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac and Domnhall Gleeson who are well known and recognised actors in film and are recognised for their outstanding achievements. Domnhall Gleeson also stars in Ex Machina so he would be a huge reason for an audience to watch the film as he is known for his exciting films and his brilliant capabilities.  As bigger companies can provide bigger budgets and bigger opportunities, the contrast for a small company would be real as they have less capabilities and resources are less accessible to them. It also differs as Disney kept all of the money from Star Wars as they are the owners of Lucasfilm so therefore any of the money made will stay within their company. This differs for Ex Machina as DNA Film and Film4 are independent companies so would therefore remain all of the profit within their companies. The institution plays the most important part within the film as they are the ones who decide what is in the film and what will be done with the film and who will be cast. Therefore, the impact that the production companies and distribution companies have on the film and the products that are made is significant and can also help with how populated the film is.

The audiences that would appeal to these films range significantly as their genres are completely different. Star Wars is a continuous film and is also an action film so would apply to all ages, whether they are older generations who have seen the films before or younger adults who have been brought up around Star Wars and have grown as fans. This would appeal to a general audience due to how well the film was marketed and publicised throughout the media. On the other hand, Ex Machina would appeal to individuals aged over 15, as the certificate for this film is 15, and any sci-fi fans. This is due to the technicality involved and the violence that can be shown at the end of the film. The film is very complicated and can be difficult to understand. Another way within which the film would appeal to audiences is due to the type of film that it is. Star Wars is a mainstream blockbuster and would apply to any audience as blockbusters can be the most recognised film. This film uses the 4 Quadrat technique as all audiences can be shown to enjoy such a film and can range its expertise to excite all ages. In contrast to that, Ex Machina is a niche film which is made through an independent company. This could have an extreme effect on what type of audience goes to see the film as it could be viewed as less exciting and could only appeal to sci-fi fans. The profit from both films has a huge range as Star Wars was viewed at the cinemas and purchased in lots of other ways after the cinema release date whereas Ex Machina was not available in many options after the cinema viewings. Due to the range of products that were released by the distribution companies on both sides, the profit varied a lot. Ex Machina took a lot less profit than Star Wars and this is due to the size of the Production Companies that worked with the film.

The amount of products that were also produced after the film was initially released varied a lot as well. Star Wars was released in cinemas in both 2D and 3D whereas Ex Machina was only show in 2D. This can have a huge impact on audiences as some audiences would want to see films in 3D to enhance their experience but this isn’t provided at all for Ex Machina. Star Wars then also came available on DVD and Blu-ray almost 6 months after it was released in cinemas and sold rapidly to the public. This was publicised almost as much as what the film was so that Disney could have as much success with the DVD as they could with the initial film that was released. The DVD for Ex Machina was not shown in the media much at all and the public had no way of being aware of the DVD being released. This would have meant that the profit for the DVD was also low as it would only be made visible when individuals entered a shop and saw it for sale. There is also a Blu-ray version of Ex machine but the prices for these DVD’s compared to Star Wars are so far away. The DVD retail price for Star Wars was £10 and the Blu-ray DVD was sold for £15 whereas the DVD for Ex Machina was sold for £5 and the Blu-ray was sold for £7.

Streaming and downloading was also made available for Star Wars as it is due to be released on Netflix and was also available on Putlocker. This was not the same for Ex Machina as no release date for any film websites such as Netflix has been made available. This would then make the film very inaccessible for people who may no longer have a DVD player and watch the films online. This is very popular in this generation so for the film to be published on these websites would be of a very big loss to the Production Companies. Piracy has also occurred a lot in this generation due to illegal film websites and this can have a very negative impact on the films as people are not paying to watch their films but would be one of the only ways that people can watch Ex Machina, so therefore technique would affect Ex Machina the most.

Other products such as comics, games, toys, apps and books have been made for Star Wars and were very popular. This wasn’t done for Ex Machina due to the budget not being able to stretch as far as this. They both had a brilliant soundtrack but only one was released on CD and this was for Star Wars. Star Wars also had a Snapchat filter, its own Lego and was used on Subway food cups and wrappings. This used the media to their advantage and portrayed their film to as many audiences as possible. This then had a positive effect on the film.

Overall, I feel that media ownership has a huge impact on the range of products that become available to an audience because they provide a budget that would then lead on to different ways of viewing a film and have access to it. They also have the expenses to go as far as they can with the film and portray it to different audience types. This then leads to either the film having a lot of extra products or a lot less.