"Monarch of the Glen" Media Mock Question- Analyse the clip through the representation of Age

Mark: P (Pass)

General Comments:

• Answer the question
• Paragraphing needs to improve
• Transition sentences
• Need to have an argument
• No brackets
• No subheadings
• No jokes, etc., drawings, elipsis
• "A lot" not "Alot"
• Notes are handed in to the examiner
• Use the words of the micro-features
• Don't write "the camera", write "the director" or "the next shot"
• Look for binary opposite- us vs. them, age vs. youth- who's values are we rooting for
• MMM (Meaning Making Moments)- significant parts should be picked out instead of the whole thing
• Revised terminology was obvious

Re-write:

Notes:

• Shot of river and sunlight on it
• Men talking, trucks and putting tools in them, pan across to see all the details, oldest man in charge
• Shot of boy sweeping (Ewan), girl comes out and the camera moves round as she speaks- centre of shot
• Girls given keys to car- told man she passed first time
• Boy watches her go, worried, hear a crash, everyone runs out of shot
• Cut between shot of headmaster and man
• Cam moves up from Amy and pans across so they can talk
• OTSS from Amy's perspective, low angle, see how small she is
• Shot of rainbow
• Quick cuts to men working with tools and stuff
• Camera moves down to bed
• Shot of Amy in the mirror, cut to outside shot of women walking in
• Man complains about land
• Men talking
• Woman says Amy is gone
• Younger and older woman

In the "Monarch of the Glen" clip, we see characters of many ages who are split up into two world- the older generation and the younger generation.   The younger generation is mainly represented by Amy and the older generation by her head teacher, as well as older men in the community.   Paul, although fitting into the older generation, is still a part of the younger generation as he is middle aged, and through his actions acts as a bridge between the age divide.

We begin with a wide, establishing shot of a river- the scene is very picturesque.   The sun is shining on the river, and the shot is very bright.  Due to the use of nature, the scene seems idyllic and peaceful.   As this beautiful scene is the one we begin with, we can imagine that the characters will probably be very happy living in such a place, and that the scene will be a happy one.   We can also see age being represented in the scenery, as the connotation of rivers and trees is often related to the landscape being ancient, as it is not man-made.   There is also the idea of mainly older people living here, as youth is often associated with cities.

When we are first introduced to Amy she appears in a doorway.   The bight yellow of her top catches the eye, as does the fact that she is placed perfectly in the centre of the door.   Although she is in the background, she still seems to be the main focus.   She is also in jeans- this is not stereotypically feminine clothes, but this makes sense as she seems to be on some kind of farm.   She is also dressed differently to the others, further highlighting her age as these are typical "teenager clothes".   The cameraman pans the camera as she walks, making the shot an over the shoulder shot, so that Amy can be seen in front of the man she is speaking to.   The man (Ewan as we are later told) seems to also be quite young, however he still looks older than Amy.   Although he could be seen to be with the younger generation he is still older than her, which is later shown by his subtle protectiveness of her as he stands in front of her when the headteacher is shouting at her.   Through the use of the camera, they are at eye level with each other, which demonstrates that although he is older they are still on par with each other.   They seem to be friends, but she is not comfortable when she talks to him and explains that there is something she needs to tell him.   However, the audience is not able to find out what she is going to say to Ewan as someone speaks out of shot.   Both of their heads turn to face this man who is older than both of them, which demonstrates he is in charge.   He is older than the girl and the boy, which shows that age has precedence here.   

The man (who we later discover is called Paul) gives Amy the keys to his car.   We hear her say that she has passed first time as the keys are tossed to her.   However, when we cut to the image of her in the car, she has to remind herself where everything is.   She is once again noticeably nervous, which highlights her youth and perhaps the fact that she is lying about her age to the others.   The fact that she cannot drive the car perhaps demonstrates that she does not belong here, as Paul needed someone who could drive.

As she starts the car, we have a long, aerial shot of her driving off.   This cuts to a mid-shot of Ewan, so that we can see his face.   Once again, the fact that he is older than her is showing, as he seems worried about her driving the car.   He is protective of her because of his age, which highlights that she is the youngest person there and that youth means that older people must protect you.   When the crash occurs, we can see worry on all their faces which highlights this, and they all quickly run off shot.

We cut to a mid-aerial shot, as we can see a car smoking and the truck Amy was driving.   We quickly cut to an old man shouting at Amy.   He is dressed very neatly, and not at all like he is welcome in this environment- he also speaks with an extremely posh English accent, which further demonstrates that he is not from the area.   He is also a lot older than Amy, and his dominance is highlighted by the fact he is higher up than she is within the scene.   Ewan, Paul and an older woman run in to the shot to see if Amy is okay.   The older woman holds Amy in her arms, which highlights the stereotype of a motherly or grandmotherly relationship due to her age in relation to Amy.   It is then revealed that Amy is sixteen and still at school.   This shocks Ewan as he yells, repeating the age.   This has obviously come as a shock to him, which implies that he thought she was older and is why they were demonstrated to be on par with each other.   It also highlights that Ewan obviously thought Amy was older, and that something went on between the character's which would not have happened if he had known the truth.   We see a close-up reaction shot of Amy and the woman who is holding her.   The woman is not surprised which demonstrates that she already knew Amy's age, but is also worried for Amy, which further enforces the stereotype.   Amy looks distinctly worried and upset, which demonstrates her youth and is reminiscent of a child when they have been discovered doing something wrong.   This further shows her young age.

We cut to Paul and the head teacher in a very different setting than anything we've seen before.   It is panelled with dark wood and is obviously untouched by youth.   It is an adult's room and is extremely traditional.   The headteacher seems to fit in more here than in the countryside due to his costume, whereas Paul is the opposite.   This demonstrates that Paul is young at heart and is not serious like an adult supposedly should be.   Paul still comes across as higher up in the room, despite his age and the way the headteacher talks to him.   This demonstrates that age means nothing when you are in somebody else's house.   A brandy is given to the headteacher which is once again used to highlight age.   Brandy is first of all alcohol and is also typically an older man's drink.   It is also very traditional, as the headteacher is demonstrated to be.   Although Paul is demonstrated to be more important than the headteacher, the headteacher still talks down to Paul and tries to order him about.   This highlights that the headteacher still believes that his age and therefore seniority is still relevant here, and also that he is more sophisticated than Paul.

We cut to a shot of Paul walking out of the office.   The fact that we can only see his legs at the start demonstrates that Amy is important here, highlighting the idea that youth is what we are focusing on in this scene.   We pan as Paul and Amy move and cut to over the shoulder shots as the two speak.   Any shots from Amy's shoulder are high angle, showing that she is looking up at Paul.  This is in a literal sense as he is taller, but also a metaphorical sense as he is older and therefore someone that Amy has to respect and look up to.   He looks down on her in the same way, as she is younger and he is also disappointed since she lied to him.   We end this scene with Amy shouting "I hate you" and the camera follows her as she storms out.   This is very stereotypical of a teenager and highlights her youth and immaturity, but also how comfortable she is within the family as she has the nerve to answer back.

We later go onto a scene where we watch Amy putting down children's items onto a bed as well as cards.   This demonstrates that there were younger people who were also living there, and the idea that youth does not necessarily demonstrate anger and upset as is often portrayed.   This juxtaposes with the stereotypical outburst that we had seen before.   She also seems comfortable in this room, which demonstrates how young she truly is at heart as the room is still somewhat childish.   From what she is wearing, and the fact that she has a rucksack on her back, we can assume that she has plans to run away.   This brings the viewers ideas back to where Amy is a stereotypical teenager once again, as this is a typical reaction when things don't go the way teenager's want them to.   We end the scene on a close up shot of a photograph of her, Paul, Ewan and the younger woman who we can assume is Paul's wife.   This demonstrates the happy times that came before, and that at this time age was not relevant.

Through the use of mise-en-scène, camera, editing and sound we are presented with a clip that demonstrates both the stereotypes of age as well as things that are not commonly shown, such as the compassion of teenagers.   The audience is encouraged to see Amy through both the eyes of a parent but also the eyes of an equal through the use of direction as well as through technical aspects.