Humans: Representation of Age

Humans: Representation of Age

Humans is sci-fi drama series shown on Channel 4. It's about a parallel universe, in which technology is taking over people's lives. In the world they live in, there seems to be a massive craze about one particular technology device - Synths. These are life-sized robots, designed to look exactly like real humans and complete everyday tasks we don't have the time or effort to do ourselves. The show presents a numerous amount of representations of age; for example, the Synths. Nearly all of the Synths look young, fit and healthy. This might be so that people in the parallel universe are more likely to buy them as they, stereotypically, are more capable of doing a job to a good standard, as oppose to what you'd expect from a more elderly looking Synth. In the 3 minute clip we were shown, it's clear to the audience that there is a stereotype of elderly people which is presented from the character, George. Elderly people are presented  as being grumpy, miserable, fragile and vulnerable. An example of where this stereotype is used is when a lady comes to his door and offers George a new, modern synth for free. However, he is stubborn and refuses to take it. 

In the extract we were shown, there was a couple of different editing techniques used. The main technique used is continuity editing which helped give a smooth and realistic feel to the clip. This makes the clip more relatable t the audience and makes them feel as though they are there. Another editing technique that was used was shot-reverse-shot. This is where the camera cuts between two characters, a lot of the time in conversation. A place it was used in this clip was when the medical lady came to the door and was asking George if she could come inside; the camera cuts between the two characters having a conversation on either side of George's half-open door. The use of this technique can help the audience understand how the characters are feeling and helps them to see how they are reacting physically to the dialogue. This allows the audience to relate more to the characters and feel like they are part of the conversation. Shot-reverse-shot is also used to make the audience feel more tense and on-edge in scenes where characters are being more emotional or something dramatic is happening. A variety of cuts are used throughout the clip but they are also used to enable them to set the pace for the clip, which in this case, is quite slow and smooth to fit with the mise-en-scene of the rest of the scene.

In this extract, several camera shots are used to help give the effect of us as the audience feeling like we are actually there. One of these camera shots is an establishing shot. Establishing shots help the viewers assume things about the characters so an establishing shot of inside Georges house helps us to guess his age and type of lifestyle because its full of old and interesting things. This is used after the medical lady has knocked on George's door and tries to quickly hide his Synth, the shot shows the setting of the scene to help the audience understand where and why the characters are and helps them to follow the storyline. An over-the-shoulder shot is another shot used in the clip. This was used to show the elderly character, George, cleaning up the blood running down his Synths nose. This goes against the elderly stereotype as they are thought to be grumpy people who aren't very caring. however, George shows a lot of love and affection towards his Synth, Odi. This helps the audience understand that George is kind to people he respects which means he obviously respects Oti. We later go on to find out that this is because its almost as if George's late wife lives on through him. This shot also helps the audience see how each character is responding to the conversation topic and how it affects them.

Diegetic sound is a sound technique used throughout the whole clip. One way this has been used is through dialogue. Whilst the two characters are talking throughout this scene, we are able to hear all of the dialogue in the whole scene, this helps the audience follow the conversation and to understand the storyline. Non-diegetic sounds were also used in this clip, these are sounds that you cannot actually see on screen, for example, music. That was the way it has been used in this clip. Music is in the background at the start of the clip so helps set the scene - its a classical, older sounding song to contribute to the narration of Georges being older and living in an old house. 

The props have been dotted around in an organised clutter to make George's home give the feel of it being lived-in and old. The living room has an antique look about it to help indicate George's age, with lots of decorative pieces and knickknacks laying around to show he's had a long, interesting life. The lighting used in this clip constantly changes to show different things. Inside George's house, a darker, warmer lighting is used, this helps add to the old-fashioned mise-en-scene and also shows the contrast the outside world and inside George's home. The darker light is also used to show that the subjects the characters are talking about aren't happy and should concern the audience as we are on the main characters side. So, when George answers the door and opens it and lets the outdoors light in a lighter lighting is used. The lighting is used to represent the main character's (George's) mood.