Skins Report

In the promo trailer, camera angles are used to create great effect in presenting the stereotypical youth culture. Close up shots are used when observing the emotions of the characters, they are especially used when one of the main characters just done or used something. For instance, when the characters in the trailer looked intoxicated in the shot the camera work is blurred and edited in a dull blurry colour. The effect is to show the audience that they are ‘High’ and ‘drunk’. The camera work proves their emotions and reactions, this being freedom sensation, naturally linked with the youth culture. This showing their sexual nature being the popular attractive guy; reinforcing the stereotypical nature of youth. At the beginning of the trailer especially when the characters come out as shadows of the black light the characters are seen from a low angle, making them appear in a superior ‘view’; on top of the world and freedom as most teenagers feel. However, towards the end when everything goes wrong the characters are viewed in shots from more of a higher angle making they appear vulnerable. There is also a point in the trailer where one of the characters is hidden underneath the table, with the camera looking down at a high angle; which empowered the audience to be aware of the character crouching down from the action in front as the audience can see a character that unconsciously falls to the ground. In addition if the shot was taken in a different angle, then they wouldn’t be able to see what is going on all around the scene. This signifies that young people are often viewed as being either extremely happy, having a goodtime or tremendously miserable. There is only a few shots of the main character together; through the camera these movements could symbolise that the audience is going to get very close to these characters lives through the series, about the characters themselves as the camera is so close up to their faces. This could signify their personalities. They might be quite bold; perhaps the camera placing means their terminologies are important as they have unsettled mood. Camera movement in the trailer is crucial. The camera travels in the scenes as the audience will expect to be moving, or if not the character were moving. The purpose of this is to create a sense that we are there at the pub, engaging the audience by helping them gain understanding. For example, when the girl is clearly seen to have taken drinks , the camera moves in gradually extremely close up shot, this emphasis how the girl must feel, portraying it to the audience making them feel slightly how she would feel. ‘Dizzy’ this supports the representation of young people, on how it is in a negative stereotypical ‘teenager’ Sound is used extremely well in the representation of young people, the track is called ‘Half way home’; is a stereotype of children being in a care home that act irresponsible and badly behaved. This connotes about the teenagers/characters lifestyle as they get out of control. This makes young people appear to not have self-control over themselves and their life. The beat in the song also drops and helps to emphasise that things are about to change, which does eventually, happen as the flare gets lighted up by one of the main characters seen as the ‘Juvenile delinquent/rebel’. The beat then picks up again at the crash of a sync with the smashing glasses on the floor in the shot which further symbolises that things are turning upside down. On the last shot the song continues in a fast pace, however instrumentally. There are also speed and cuts, this denote how fast youth seems to live their life. It also denotes; the fast paced that it’s a waste of time as it’s quite difficult to understand what is going on, between each cuts you cannot tell how long the teenagers stayed in the pub. So, these cuts could create a representation of young people in that they not recognise the importance of time which leads to declaration as they’re hardly responsible? Mise-en-scene is extremely important in this trailer representing young people as what we actually see in the shots show what young people actually do in their spare time or even times that they should be doing something more important. There is a lot of sexually attractive appearance, drugs, sex, drunkenness, violence (but apparently banter) The trailer represents youth in rebellion in the procedure of getting drunk, high , sex – and with these connotes of irresponsible, half way home, education dropouts, illegality, and vulnerability. This is the effect of stereotypes been seen, as the young people don’t do much else with their time apart from have fun, fun, fun. This is easily looked in a negative way by the outside audience which are different group age. At the beginning of the scene there is darkness in the background and a yellow glow light almost like a fairy tale. This provides its own representation of a teenage life in itself –there are many miserable time as a teenager but the thing you remember are the good times , which is represented as the pretty fairy light behind them. There are connotation of still been a child growing up. For example, the two boys as a sarcastic self-aware massing about symbolise childhood and immaturity where as symbols such as sophistication and smart dress. This demonstrate a young person who is trapped between childhood and adulthood, and the growth between maturity and immaturity