Film 4

Film 4

Editing in skins

Parallel editing is used to show that the boy and girl are related and have a strong relationship. We can see through the parallel editing that they lead very different teenage lives, showing binary opposite characters. She is coming home; rebelling against house rules and he has been in his own bed. This conforms to Levi Strauss' idea that all narratives have opposites. The two narrative threads come together as she reaches the window and the cut aways show that she relies on him to cover up for her.

The pace of editing is quite fast as action editing and short takes are used to show the fast pace of the protagonists life, this conforms to stereotypes as teenagers are normally quite busy if they have schoolwork or a job meaning that they usually have no time for themselves. A shot reverse shot is used to show the conversation between the teenager and the father these shots show the reactions of the father over the teenage boys loud music, this shot is also used between the young girl and the protagonist with them both attempting to sneak the young girl in after a night out without her father knowing.
The short action shots are used to show that the characters are in a rush to get the girl inside to avoid being caught by their father.
The scene is shot in real time which shows his routine and the amount of time it takes each morning, the action editing along with the short takes is used to create a montage when the protagonist is working out, also compressed time is used in the montage because we do not see the whole of the protagonists workout. this conforms to the stereotype of a teenager because it shows that he is image conscious like most teenagers.

sound example paragraph-skins

The dialogue between the father and the son shows a reversal in audience expectations. We see the father shouting and swearing at the teenager, which is normally something we would expect to hear from the teenager. The father's aggressive reaction to the diegetic rock music plays to the stereotype that teenagers play loud music and are inconsiderate to older people. His reaction also plays to the stereotype that teenagers frustrate their parents.

Another sound used in the scene is diegetic sound, this is used for the different alarms that the protagonist has which shows that his life has a routine ,that he sticks to because the protagonist does different things for each alarm this challenges stereotypes as most teenagers are not very organised and don't really have a routine that they stick to everyday for example the first alarm that goes off is used to show when the teenager is supposed to wake up. then the next alarm is to show that it is the same time when the naked women across the road gets changed and so he has an alarm to remind him of that so that he can go and watch.

Another diegetic sound used is the church bell at the very beginning which could represent the age of the town as being older people and so having teenagers in the town could become disrupted because of the age group that lives there the loud music that the teenage boy proves this the music disrupts the household.

Cameran angles in Skins

The idea that teenagers are curious about sex is reinforced through the over the shoulder shot used when he is looking at the older woman getting dressed through the window over the road. The shot is hand held so that the audience can have the same experience as the teenage main character. The following close up shot shows a lack of expression suggesting that this is routine and he has become disaffected by the image. This conforms to the stereotype that teenagers' lives are surrounded by sex and it plays a big part of their life.

The high and low angle shots used between the brother and sister suggest that they have a good relationship as the teenage boy is willing to cover for his young sister who has been out partying all night. The high angle shot suggests that the young girl is in a vulnerable situation and need her brothers help. The low angle shot suggests that the teenage boy has control over the situation as he is choosing to cover for his younger sister. These shots conform stereotypes  as all youth sticks together.   

Mise En Scene Example for skins

The mise en scene of the protagonists bedroom challenges and conforms to stereotypical views about youth culture. The establishing shot suggests that the series targets a teenage audience and it will follow the life and experiences of a teenager. The duvet cover shown is of a double bed with a naked man and woman, suggesting that this age group is sexually charged. The protagonist is positioned in the middle of the two bodies suggesting that he is sexually inexperienced. It could also be suggesting that he is alone and confused about his sexuality, which conforms to teenage stereotypes.In this shot natural lighting is used to give a sense of realism so the teenage audience identifies with the life of the protagonist.


This is followed by shots of the room which show how clean and tidy the protaganists bedroom is, which challenges the stereotype of a teenager because usually they have untidy bedrooms. the protaganists bedroom is very organised and everything he owns has a certian spot in his bedroom. However his sister contrasts him as she is conforming to stereotypes as the glimse of her room that the audience get shows that she is a very intidy person which is a binory opposite to the protaganist.