Film 4 Fact File

Film 4 Fact File

Editing example

Parallel editing is used to show that the boy and girl are related and have a strong relationship. We can see through the parallel editing that they lead very different teenage lives, showing binary opposite characters. She is coming home; rebelling against house rules and he has been in his own bed. This conforms to Levi Strauss' idea that all narratives have opposites. The two narrative threads come together as she reaches the window and the cut aways show that she relies on him to cover up for her.

Short takes are used in the scene to shows the protagonists morning routine, and throughout his workout. The compressed time used here allows us to see what we assume the protagonist does every morning. Many teenagers are self conscious and lead a hectic lifestyle, which is shown here during the montage. The workout shows he wants to keep fit and keep his image looking good, whilst the short takes show the speed of the workout which we can relate to the speed of a teenage life.

Sound example

The dialogue between the father and the son shows a reversal in audeince expectations. We see the father shouting and swearing at the teenager, which is normally something we would expect to hear from the teenager. The father's aggressive reaction to the diegetic rock music plays to the stereotype that teenagers play loud music and are inconsiderate to older people. His reaction also plays to the stereotype that teenagers frustrate their parents.

There are digetic sounds of two different alarms during this first scene, which both challenge the stereotypical view of teenagers. Firstly, the protagonists alarm goes off to wake him up, but we already see him in bed with his eyes wide open whilst his alarm goes off. Most people see teenagers as lazy, and the stereotypical view is that they sleep as much as they can. The second digetic alarm sound is one from the protagonists watch, which shows it's more personal to him and is a routine thing, as he opens his curtains to look at the naked woman across the road. This again challenges the stereotype of teenagers, as it shows the protagonists being organised and everything already planned out.

Camera examples

The idea that teenagers are curious about sex is reinforced through the over the sholder shot used when he is looking at the older woman getting dressed through the window over the road. The shot is hand held so that the audience can have the same experience as the teenage main character. The following close up shot shows a lack of expression suggesting that this is routine and he has become disaffected by the image. This conforms to the stereotype that teenagers' lives are surrounded by sex and it plays a big part of their life.

Another idea which is portrayed to us about the sterotypical view of teenagers staying out later drinking and partying is shown when we see the girl, who we assume is the protogonists sister, walking home looking scruffy in the morning. We see this when the track shot is used, coming out from behind the driveway. This shot shows how the girl is seen by others, and makes her look conscious that others are looking at her. This shot then turns into a long shot, so we can fully see the outfit she is wearing.

Mise En Scene example

The mise en scene of the protagonists bedroom challenges and conforms to stereotypical views about youth culture. The establishing shot suggests that the series targets a teenage audience and it will follow the life and experiences of a teenager. The duvet cover shown is of a double bed with a naked man and woman, suggesting that this age group is sexually charged. The protagonist is positioned in the middle of the two bodies suggesting that he is sexually inexperienced. It could also be suggesting that he is alone and confused about his sexuality, which conforms to teenage sterotypes.In this shot natural lighting is used to give a sense of realism so the teenage audience identifies with the life of the protagonist.

The mise en scene also challenges the view of a stereotypical teenager in this clip, as we see the protogonists bedroom very neat and tidy, and most people would think of a teenagers bedroom as a mess. We see this mainly when he opens his draw to get ready for the day ahead, all his t-shirts are very organised and neatly folded. This contrast his sister, another teenager, who we see not coming home until the morning, wearing scruffy clothes and having messed up hair.