Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Hotel Babylon Clip Analysis


The uniform of the police officers show authority and that they are high up in society and the hierarchy, this also indicates to the viewer that something important is happening as the police are there. The non-diegetic sound starts from the beginning with a fast; up beat tempo that helps add to the scene of the feeling of something serious is happening. The over the shoulder shot makes the viewer fee part of the scene/conversation, which helps entice the audience and encourage them to keep watching them.

People who work in the lobby are all dressed smartly and their surroundings are also nice, modern and clean which consists of high key lighting; this highlights that certain ethnical groups get treated better than others. Even though there is a Afro Caribbean man working in the lobby he is still not miss treated or has a worse of job, this signifies that perhaps it is not to do with the race of an individual, however it is to do with the ethnicity and whether they are an immigrant or not. The non-diegetic sound carries on playing in the background, adding to the tempo of the scene. When the man in the black jacket starts to speak the up-tempo music stops and eerie sound appears indicating that what the man is saying is an important part of understanding the clip. The use of eye continuity shot, which is a cut from the woman to what the woman is looking at, indicates why the woman’s face is shocked from her point of view.

Whilst the man is running too see the woman to tell her immigration is there, he runs past two people speaking a different language who are dressed in old clothes that look a little like prisoners clothes; this shows that the ethnicity groups are lower down in the hierarchy as they don’t wear as classy clothes as other workers. It also indicated that their job is not as important as those who are from the UK. The lighting is also low-key which has connotations of the mood changing and something bad is going to happen. Also this is where the immigrants tend to work, bellow the ground floor, this again shows that where they work is more dull and cold looking than where the others work. The non-diegetic sound starts again which is up-tempo, this symbolized that the workers caring for the immigrants have some sort of mission to accomplish. This makes the audience feel sympathetic as the immigrants and workers are going to be put under a lot of stress and pressure; it also keeps the audience encaged on the clip and interested. The straight cuts also highlight the worry and panic on the staffs face, as they are under pressure to make sure they don’t get caught buy immigration.

The scene in the kitchen has a lot of people in front of the camera whilst it is showing the woman shouting and running across the kitchen. The kitchen is a very loud and stressful atmosphere, this connotates the characters feelings and emotions. There is a lot of diegetic sound in this scene, with people screaming and shouting; the woman shouts in other language which symbolizes that thee are a lot of people working at the hotel who are from other parts of the world. This implies to the audience that the workers don’t understand English very well, and can add to the viewer feeling sympathetic towards them.

The room is really small and cramped which again indicates that the immigrant workers del locked up; the room relates to their life in the meaning that they are being hidden away all the time from society. It is also very low-key lighting to represent the mood of the workers which is tense and worried, again the fact that they are locked up in this small room signifies that they are treated unfairly and like prisoners in society. The non-diegetic sound of the buzzing noise mixed with the diegetic sound of workers panicking adds to the tension in the atmosphere, this encourages the viewer to not want them to get caught and be supporting the immigrants; this is unusual as immigrants are portrayed as un wanted people in society. The high angel shot on the woman fainting again reminds the viewer that others look down upon the immigrants in society. The CU shots of the workers also highlights their emotions and emphasises that they are worried; the straight cuts helps the scene catch every or most of the workers expressions, this portrays to the viewer that they are under stress. The illustration of the workers being stressed shows the power the non-immigrants have over the immigrant workers.

When the lift opens and the cleaner sees the immigration officers it zooms in on the cleaners face to show the shock and horror in his expression. When he gets caught it makes the viewer sympathies for him as he is going to get taken away. The low angle shot of the cleaner getting taken away signifies that the three men taking him away has power and authority over the immigrants.

The scene when they are in the locker rooms again highlights the miss treatment that different ethnicity groups receive, as the room is very dirty and old. It is also has low-key lighting which indicates how dull the room is; this room is also the only room that belongs only to the workers and it isn’t nice at all. The non-diegetic sound is very slow tempo, which is depressive and sad; this symbolizes the mood of the characters. It also shows that even though none of the workers in the room got caught, they are still sad that their fellow friend has been caught, this signals that they are all close with each other and care for each other; like families. The ECU shot of the woman locking the lockers signifies to the viewer that the workers feel locked up. It goes back to the point that they feel imprisoned; this makes the audience feel emotional and sad for the immigrant workers. The straight cuts are very slow which fits in with the mood of the scene as very sad, it also allows the workers faces to be in the picture so we can see their emotions.

Finally, in the last scene the canteen looks very old and dull which highlights that they don’t get the same treatment as perhaps the other staff in suits would get. The tracking of the different ethnicity groups in the canteen shows that each group sticks together and they are like family. The straight cuts to both of the people praying emphasises the emotion on their faces and how they are missing their friend who has been taken away that day. This makes the audience feel sorry for them, as they have lost someone who is portrayed to the viewer as someone who was close to them.

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