Hotel Babylon clip analysis

Hotel Babylon clip analysis

In the clip ‘Hotel Babylon’, I will be analysing the use of camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene to portray the representation of ethnicity. There is a clear binary opposition between class and race.

At the start of the clip we see a mid shot of a hotel worker dressed in a smart suit and two policemen. The hotel worker asks the officers if everything is ‘alright’ and they reply saying ‘its okay we’re not coming in, we’re just here to stop anyone getting out’, this highlight to the audience that they are of a higher class as they have more power. This is why the director then uses a close up of the worker just agreeing to the police officers, he doesn’t even question them, he just lets them do their job. Throughout this shot, the director uses non-diegetic sound which creates tension as it is a fast paced, this may suggest to the audience that something is going to happen.

In the next scene we can see there is a clear focused zoom, this highlights to the audience on who we are focusing on. This zoom may also indicate to the audience that they should focus on her throughout the clip as she might not be as caring as she is portrayed to be. As the three officers walk through the door a long shot is used following a track, this camera movement, tracking highlights that they must be important, also they are positioned in an important way as behind John Boyack are two other officers standing on either side. This illustrates to the audience that John Boyack has more power, he is highlighted as the leader and the other two officers are waiting to be told what to do. John Boyack is wearing a t-shirt with a suit jacket, whereas the other two officers behind him are in a shirt, tie and suit jacket. This questions the audience whether who has more power, although it may also suggest that John is more on the evil side and not following the rules which highlights the fact he isn’t wearing a tie. The lighting in the lobby is quite bright with many colours in the background; also you can see that the mise-en-scene in this scene is at a high class with many furniture that looks to be expensive such as the chandelier behind the immigration officers, the sofa Ben is sitting on and the different types of lighting in the background.  Every character that we have seen in this scene portray a high class, this is due to everyone being dressed in a formal way; everyone in a suit. Continuity editing is typical in TV Dramas; this is created by the use of shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule. There is a shot reverse shot of John and the receptionist which indicates to the audience that something significant is going to happen.

           

In the next scene, the receptionist sends Ben down to warn Jackie that the immigration officers had arrived. Here we can see that the non-diegetic sound has become faster, this creates tension so that the audience can identify that something is coming to happen. Diegetic sound is used when Jackie warns the immigrants, she talks to them in their language which highlights that she cares about them and wants to keep them safe. She is represented as a leader with high authority. Again the non-diegetic sound changes to a fast pace which adds more tension. A long shot is then used when the immigrants are running to hide in the closet, but in this long shot you can see the barriers of a cage, this highlights that they are trapped and can’t escape, they are being represented as animals. Jackie then counts to see if all the immigrants are in the storage room and straight cuts are used to highlight all the immigrants’ worried faces, this makes the audience have sympathy towards them.

           

Moving onto the next scene, we can see that Ibrahim is in his own little world listening to music with headphone in, this illustrates to the audience that knows nothing about the immigration officers that are in the elevator. Mise-en-scene illustrates the ethnicity in this scene as he is in a red uniform which looks like something someone in prison would wear. Also the wall paper and hoover are red which connotates danger. The director has put Ibrahim in a deep focus with the background out of focus which highlights that he is completely oblivious to what is going to happen. A low angle shot is used when the woman in the storage room collapses on the floor due to being diabetic; the use of this low angle shot makes the audience have sympathy towards her. The director uses a zoom when the officers take Ibrahim away, this creates more tension to the scene as he is trying to get away from the officers but does not succeed. The non-diegetic sound continues at a fast pace and we are taken back to the scene in the storage room where we can see that Jackie is in a bright red shirt which illustrates to the audience that she is brave and caring and is willing to help. Again a low angle shot is used, this highlights that the immigrants have no respect and are treated differently due to being from a different race. This again highlights the uniform that they are in, as I mentioned before Jackie is in a red shirt which represents her high class whereas the workers they are in a bland coloured uniform which represents them in being slaves.

As the officers take Ibrahim the non-diegetic sound changes to a quieter depressing sound, this makes the audience have sympathy towards Ibrahim as his life is now over. As Jackie and John talk the rule of thirds is broken as the camera then goes over the axis.

After Ibrahim was taken away, in the locker room we can see the opening and closing of the locker, this emphasises the immigrants being locked up. Inside the locker we can see some images, these images may illustrate Ibrahim’s past. Straight after this scene there is a pan from right to left highlighting the different races in the canteen. This highlights the separation of all the different races. The non-diegetic sound continues to be quite depressing. Also the diegetic sound used to highlight the different races in the canteen, also illustrates to the audience that there’s more than one race.

Overall, I believe that camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene are all equally important to highlight the representational issue of race and class in the clip. Throughout the clip you can see the binary opposition of class and race as it is clear of who is more on the high end and who is not, in this case the immigration where the ones who had more of a lower class.