Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following Camera shots, angles, movement, and composition (doctor who video clip)

The Mise-en-scene is used effectively throughout the scene to show different representations inn the programme. Mise-en-scene is the combination of different costumes, lights, settings, camera angles, language and how characters are shown on camera to give us an opinion on them.

The scene starts with an establishing shot of New York Manhattan which is identified by key land such as the empire state building which is highly recognisable by us the audience, the type of music that is then played gives us the idea that this is set in the past in a time era such as the 1980’s which is further backed up by the tone that the first to characters we see speak in.  They are first introduced by a tracking shot which follows them as they talk about the whereabouts of Tallulah which gives us the audience the idea that this character has an important role to the story.

The two girls are both seen to be wearing a glimmering red outfit which straight away gives us the audience realise that these are show girls; this is further backed up when we put the setting into perspective as well; that being a backstage corridor we know this by the amount of busy girls rushing from place to place in such a small area with the same red glimmering outfits.

The girls here are then portrayed as gossipy and quite sexual; this is because they immediately assume that Tallulah is up to no good with the character Lazlo which even though we have not seen yet we immediately get the impression that he is a main character in this story. We then assume that these two characters are also not very intelligent or formal by the tone of voice they use and language they use, giving  us the audience the thought that they use and rely on their looks more then there intelligence. This is a typical stereotype that is given to showgirls and these types of characters and the programme has used this stereotype to its advantage

we then see the two characters knock on Tallulah door telling her to hurry up with Lazlo and to get to the show, the tracking shot is then stopped as the cameras main focus remains on the door as the two characters leave the shot, which lets us the audience know the next scene will take place in that room. We are then taken to the room by a camera cut and presented with two people kissing in a mid-shot which we then put two and two together by assuming it is Tallulah and Lazlo because of the conversation the two previous characters had. These characters then stop kissing as Tallulah needs to get ready for her show, her outfit is then show to us with a mid-shot centred just on her, we see a silver sparkling dress with angel wings attached which gives us the idea that she is the main show girl out of all the girls we have seen as it is a little more glamorous. Lazlo is then displayed to us as a charmer and a bit of a ladies man; we get this by the way he wants to continue kissing Tallulah even though he knows she needs to get to her show. We can also tell by the way he uses corny flattering lines by telling Tallulah that she looks like an angel relating to the outfit that she is wearing. His facial expression shown in close up shots gives us the impression that he is calm and used to this, almost as if he does not need to try. The type of outfit he wears also fits in with the time frame as we can see his outfit clearly in the lighting consisting of braces for his trousers and a smart shirt, which suits the kind of ladies charmer image that we get off of him.

Tallulah is then seen as happy and excited from a close up facial expression as Lazlo gives her the news that he wants her to come up with him to his parents’ house, the array of camera cuts here between close ups shows us how the character is feeling although they are not telling us as if it were a mid-shot it would not have the same effect. Tallulah then leaves the scene leaving Lazlo alone and by himself. The camera shots then appear as longshots showing Lazlo in the distance as something strange is running by, it then continuously switches to longshots down the corridor as we see Lazlo trying to figure out what it was or who is way, the dark lighting sets a scary scene in which we can expect something to pop out, the non-diegetic slow creepy music adds to the suspense as a camera shot cuts to Lazlo entering a dark room looking around for what it may be, the camera then zooms into Lazlo and goes into a tracking shot following his movement, he then bumps into a prop which scares Lazlo, the close-up shot then shows us that it is just a mere pirate prop.

Lazlo’s facial expression then goes back to normal which we see by a close-up showing us that he is not as brave and tough as he may seem, there is then a camera cut which shows us a strange pig headed monster rushing into the camera from a close-up which is then cut out as the title sequence is then displayed to stop the action.

Comparison for 2 female game characters

Laura croft is the character from the widely popular game franchise tomb raider which has sold 28million units worldwide to date and required more than $1 billion in retail sales. She is the main character in the game which you take control of and are able to perform many dangerous levels and missions in which all her skills come in to use, this can appeal to many female gamers as the main character is seen as a hero who does not need a male companion of any sort to help her get the job done so can be seen as a strong independent person which some girls can look up at.  However over the years there has been question to whether the character Lara croft provides girls with an inspirational role model or if she is nothing but a cyber bimbo as she has been shown to quite sexual that no real woman can hope to equal.

In comparison to another female character from the franchise mass effect in which you can pick from the start to be either a male or female character (depending on what you want to play as) she is seen to be quite different, The main character of this game is Shepard and you have complete control of her choices throughout the game, you can even decide how you want your character to look so you can even make it look like you so the experience can be as if you was in the game, The character is seen as a strong leader and is always seen in a squad which is different from Laura croft who  is seen on her own for most of the game, also different from Laura croft is your choice to be good or evil; annoyed by the annoying reporter who wants to interview you, it’s your choice on how to handle the situation, will you explain that you simply do not have the time or just hit the reporter to get the message across.

The ability for your choices to then be carried out to the 2^nd game also means that you cannot simply play the game without thinking as your actions will have consequences in the next game. Shepard is also not seen to be as sexual as Laura croft is as she is usually seen just to be wearing a suit of armour ready for combat whereas Laura croft can be seen to be wearing hot pants, although you can have different romance interest for Shepard which you can choice to pursue or simply ignore if you just wish to play the game for the main story.

So as you can see both characters can be very different from one another although they both seem to be strong minded females who can do whatever their male counterpart can and more, for female Shepard the story from the male Shepard can be completely different, or it can be different from another play through because you choice it to be.