Humans

This Channel 4 TV series Humans shows a lot of different representations of age. In this 3 minute clip taken from this show the audience can see the stereotype of elderly people which is presented from the character William Hurt. The audience can see that elderly people are stereotyped as being cranky and grumpy, this could be due to being fragile and having a lack of strength. This is shown when other characters arrive at his door offering a modern synth, his vulnerable state is proven by Hunt not being able to persuade the authorities to leave his property.

A camera shot that is used in this clip is an over the shoulder shot. This shot has been used when William Hurt is attending to his 'Synths' needs by wiping away the blood running down his nose, by doing this Hurt is showing an act of kindness towards his robot which suggests to the audience that despite this characters stereotype he is actually quite nice and soft to people who he respects. This is used normally to show the formal acts of people having a polite conversation that may contain change of tone to show the characters emotion e.g. a raised voice may represent anger. By doing this it helps the audience to understand what is happening and follow the storyline better, it also shows more interaction between the two characters and show one another responding back to the others comments. When using this shot for this scene it shows the rarity of this characters actions which the audience assumes his act of kindness doesn't occur often. Another camera shot that is used in this clip is an establishing shot. This is used after the authorities have knocked on Hurts' door and he leaves to go and hide his 'Synth', the shot shows the setting of the scene which in this case is this particular characters house. This shot has been used to help the viewers understand where the scene has changed to and why it's changed this then makes them again understand and follow the storyline more. By showing the establishing shot the audience can assume things about this character. For example, when seeing the amount of greenery in his front garden it represents a lack of encouragement towards gardening or showing his feelings of how people perceive him showing he doesn't care what other people think.

Different editing techniques have been used throughout this clip. The first technique shown is a shot reverse shot. This has been used when the authorities knock on the door and William Hurt answers, the camera then continues to face each character when they start speaking to each other. It is also used later on in the scene when both characters are sitting down in Hurts living room discussing the subject of having a new 'Synth'. When using this technique it shows the audience these characters are having a conversation or are talking to each other, also by using this the viewer can also see the characters expression and interpret them anyway they want to meaning different people will interpret different things. The pace of the clips effects the audiences views of the show so by having a shot reverse shot it speeds up the clips making the viewer enjoy more and makes sure they don't get bored or misunderstand anything. Another editing technique that is used is cuts. This is used throughout this clip to maintain the continuity and the flow of the scene. By using this it makes sure that everything happening in the scene is occurring at a regular pace that agrees with the audience's personal enjoyment and experience. Due to there being no action in this scene viewers can easily become disinterested so by using cuts they are able to speed up the scene but also makes sure it has been understood by the audience.

A sound technique that has been used in this clip is diegetic sound. This has been used through the dialogue between the two characters that speak throughout this scene, whenever one of the characters moves their mouth their words are heard by the viewers instantly. By using this type of sound it makes the audience follow with what the speakers are saying and can interpret their words any way they want. When not having diegetic sound it makes it hard for the viewers to understand what the characters are trying to say, this also would make the show a lot more unrealistic and drastic. For a TV programme to be popular it has to have a hint of realism in order for the audience to follow the storyline and bear to continue watching the show. Another sound type that is used is non-diegetic sound, this is sounds that do not have a source on screen. This has been used when there is music in the background at the start of the clip. By having this the audience can assume different things about the particular character. For example, in this clip classical music is played when the viewers are presented with William Hurt in his house representing his age. Classical music is stereotypically associated with elderly people like rap music is stereotypically associated with teenagers. This then fits in with his sarcastic behaviour when dealing with the people at his door showing the stereotype of older people being angry or grumpy.

The lighting used in this clip constantly changes to show different things. A darker lighting is used when the two characters are talking in the living room, this is because it shows the transition from outside to inside. This has been shown when a lighter lighting is used when William Hurt opens the door. However a darker light is also used in the living room to show that what the characters are talking about is considered bad to the main character the audience sees e.g. William Hurt. As these two people are talking about replacing his old 'Synth' with a new one it dampens his mood due to needing his current 'Synth' to show memories of his late wife due to having memory loss. The lighting represents his mood. The props that have been used and placed in William Hurt's living room have an antique look to them showing the age of the character. All the props show a time of life for this character such as photos, certificates of his achievements or old books, this shows his lifetime through his objects.