Waterloo road, Representation of Age

Sound:


-In the first scene we can see a difference in dialogue between the different age groups. The students speak with slang words and distinctive accents. The teacher speaks in a low booming accent with a tone that suggests that he is being condescending. This shows how the teacher believes that he is in a higher position of authority than his students.The students accents change during the scene as they begin to speak in a more polite manor to the other teachers.
-When the teacher begins to speak to the students, his voice is raised and is very demanding. This shows that he is in a position of power i the scene and the students volume level lowers when replying back to them, this shows the students being submissive.

-When the teacher first steps into the scene, a sound effect is used that makes his steps sound a lot louder. This makes his presence more intimidating and this can show how the students view him.

-As the age gap decreases between characters, the dialogue changes and causes their accents to transition into a more formal tone. This shows that as they can begin to relate to other characters more they become more comfortable in their presence and become less threatened by them.

-As the scene reaches its climactic moment, we are given our first piece of background music. The music is suited to the situation as it is not too dramatic but it could also represent the age of the characters. The music is quite light in tone and matches the attitudes of the students and the scene; the scene is dramatic but as the conflict is between children, the tension is light hearted.

Mise-en-Scene:

-The scene begins with the background noise of school children talking and we are shown two teenagers wearing school uniform. This confirms that the scene is set in a school and gives you a hint into the characters positions within the school in the scene.

-The teacher is introduced to us wearing a tie, a suit, a waistcoat and a wedding ring. This gives us an idea of the age of this man while giving some small details about his character like him being married. The way he is dressed suggests that he thinks that he is above everyone else and has the highest authority in the room.

-High key lighting is used in order to add to the softer features of the students. This can help to convince the audience of the age group that the actors are portraying.

-As the age gap reduces, the clothes of the characters become more casual. This ranges from the oldest character wearing a suit, to the younger teachers wearing casual smart clothes, to the students wearing blazer with loose ties being worn. This shows the chain of authority and how it reduces as the age reduces. We can also see a pen on one of the teachers ear. This small detail can suggest to the audience that he is more relaxed and easy going than some of the other teachers.

-In another scene, we can see that one of the teachers is having trouble with their age and is attempting to dress younger in order to fit in with the younger crowd. This shows that the character wants to be young, revealing why he talks so casually to the students.

 Camera Angles:

-We are given a medium shot at the beginning of the scene to reveal two of the main characters. This shot shows us what they are wearing in order to give the viewer some context of who they are in the scene.

-We are then given a close up on one of the characters as they react to the presence of the teacher. The reaction of the student shows that their is an element of fear around them towards the older teacher as he is in a higher position of power than them.

-A panning medium shot is used in this scene in order to give us our first full body shot of the teacher. From this we can see his uniform and his body language, showing us that he is in a high position of power over the two students.

-A tilt shot is used to show the student handing something to the teacher. This shot shows that the students are obedient to what the teacher asks of them because he has authority over them.

-Another panning shot is used to show us where the scene is set. This gives us an idea of the relationship between the teacher and the student if he can just go to his office to talk to him.

Editing:

-We are given a few quick shots of the teachers feet approaching between shots of conversation. This helps to build up the character of the teacher before he is even shown in full within the shot, adding to the suspense of him actually arriving to the conversation.

-A trend that is noticeable within these scenes is that the reactions of characters are used to smoothly transition between shots. When a character is reacting, they hold the pose and use it to transition. This is why we are faced with a lot of reaction close-ups of the students or other characters reacting to someone in a higher position. The use if this method allows the audience to see the hierarchy amongst the characters in their different age groups.