Merlin Extract Group Essay

sounds:

Alot non-digetic music and sound effects are used to show the difference in class in the sequence. For example at the beginning of the sequence when Merlin is looking through the woman’s room, the music playing is eerie and sinister which connotes that as a lower class citizen, he shouldn’t be there, looking there. The unlocking of the door, and the resulting jolt Merlin does again suggests he shouldn’t have been there. Non digetic sounds are also used when the sequence moves to the town; the goats/sheep “bah”ing suggest the peasants are mainly farmers and need to work hard. This also adds verisimilitude to the scene.

Digetic sounds suggest the different in wealth and class as well, of course. The echoes of the woman’s footsteps on the floor as she walks to her room shows the wealth because firstly, the echoes would only come from a stone floor something the peasants wouldn’t have been able to afford. Secondly, the echoes themselves show the vastness of the castle. In contrast, the footsteps in the town make dull thuds, maybe squelches, showing that the ground the people are walking on is mainly mud and/or dirt showing they live in poor conditions.

Speech used by some the characters show their higher status over overs; the prince for example will say what he wants, what he thinks, showing he doesn’t need to worry about consequences. The shouting at of the end of the sequence again shows authority; the old man shouting at Merlin is shouting, telling that he shouldn’t have done what he did, showing that he is more important, this is confirmed when the Merlin answers quietly. However, when Merlin shout back which suggests that he feels he should be as important as the other man.

Camera

The sequence starts with a establishing panning shot of Merlin walking down the corridor which establishes him in a high class environment. Eye line shot is used from marlins point of view because he is the only one in the room however when the lady’s enters it switches to her level indicating she is of a higher level in society. The use of the point of view shot when the lady looks into the mirror intrigues the audience to her character and status compared to Merlin. A reaction shot from Merlin as to when the lady enters the room indicates to the audience that he is doing something that he shouldn’t be therefore the audience may believe him to have a lower social class. From the reaction shot we can tell that it’s the woman’s bedroom from the props and her questioning of his actions as to being in the room.  When the scene changes to the market, you can see that merlin fits right in with this class, the panning shot lets you see that he is on the same level as the stool runners. The camera is often positioned behind Merlin so it’s as if the prince is attacking the audience which shows his dominance in the scene. When Merlin and the prince are having the conversation in the market a response shot is used this helps the audience see both points of view. There are also alot over the shoulder of the prince shots which indicates to the audience that someone has always got the princes back whereas with Merlin he is left to fight his own battles indicating he is of less importance in society. A high angle shot is used when the prince falls down showing that he loses some of his power to merlin, this contradicts the rest of the camera angles which are used to show that the prince has the dominance of the power throughout the scene.

editing

There's a lot of intercutting throughout the whole sequence, especially in the fight scene between Merlin and the Prince - a lot of close up, slow motion shots of the weapon hitting the fruit give impact and show the strength of the Prince compared to Merlin. At the beginning of the sequence there is a pan shot of Merlin's perspective entering the  bedroom to show his curiosity of a place unknown to him, it is then a straight cut to the lady walking along so you know he's going to get caught by her - you can see by her clothing that she is of higher status. Also in this scene, when the lady is looking at herself in the mirror you see from her perspective, an old lady in the mirror - the facial expressions and movement have been swiftly edited as if it's her moving as the old woman. This gives the audience a use of dramatic irony because they know something that the other characters don't - this also intrigues the audience to the lady's character.

When the scene changed to the market, you can see that Merlin fits right in with this class, the panning shot lets you see that he is on the same level as the stool runners. A shallow depth of field is used with Merlin's confrontation to the Prince, so the audience will focus on Merlin's facial expressions and what he's saying. There is also an over shoulder- shot reverse shot between merlin and the Prince to show that the Prince always has someone watching his back and Merlin just has someone watching him. Half way through the fight scene it cuts to the old wizard in the tower looking down on his apprentice (like father to son) this also shows his significance and that he'll be of importance later on in the sequence.
In the final scene there is a two man shot of the old wizard and Merlin having an argument, the camera track shots whilst they walk in and discuss what just happened, the camera shot keeps on the old man's eye level to show that he's in power at this moment in time.

mise-en-scene

The Mise en scene throughout the sequence is mainly dark, gloomy and eerie reflecting the time era of the medieval period. The extract that represents the difference in class of society by using mise en scene consists a variety of different elements. The setting in the first scene shown in the sequence is of high class as the architecture is grand, consisting pain glass windows which indicates the idea that the house is of a high social status.  The colours of the clothing used throughout the scene helps give understanding of the characters class. The royal purple of the female characters dress represents a high social status whereas Merlin’s clothing consists of brown and green which connotes a poor, lower level of class. The dialect of the characters also plays a big role in the idea of class throughout the sequence as the female character and Arthur’s accents indicate that they are of a higher status. On the other hand Merlin’s dialect reflects a lower class of society.

During the fight scene the audience can notice that Arthur supplies them both with a metal, heavy weapon whereas later on in this particular scene Merlin uses less expensive objects such as the rope and stool dividing there social class. Also at which the skill that Arthur uses his weapon shows that he has a higher class. Arthur’s costume consists of metal plating and armour, and he also has guards at his side this immediately signals that he is of a higher status. The lighting aspects at the end of the fight scene show Merlin silhouetted so that he is hidden whereas Arthur has all lighting on him to represent a higher class and status. The older character shown in the tower is seen as more superior as he looks down onto the courtyard where the two men fight. The mise en scene in the tower is dark and mysterious which could reflect the idea of magic and that his class may be higher compared to Merlin as he has mastered the idea of magic.