Skins Representation Task

Tony:

The character of Tony is about 16/17 years old and we see him right at the start of the shot and from this it is obvious to see that he is the main character of the show. We can tell a lot about Tony when we look at the mise en scene. For example when looking at the setting around him and we notice that his room is incredibly tidy which is unusual for a teenage boy and from this you can tell that maybe he isn't conventionally 'normal' and could possibly be quite OCD and particular. The posters in his room also tell us a lot about his character, such as 8 1/2 which is a Italian neo realist film from the 1960s and also Blow Up which is a British film from the 1960s also, meaning that Tony is possibly very abnormal in the sense that he is very cultured and peculiar in some cases. This representation of him, especially as regards to his age, tells us that he is wise before his time and has probably been influenced in many ways for him to be like he is now. He is not your stereotypical teenage character. Also in the first shot, the camera zooms out from Tony's face to reveal him lying in his bed sleeping underneath a duvet cover with a naked man and woman on it, which could indicate many opinions about him such as the idea that he may be bisexual as he is sleeping in between both the man and woman on his bed sheet and also that he is generally a very sexually minded person. This is also true when we see him looking out of his window at a woman across the street from him. We don't see him actually talk at this point and these subtle indications to his character tell us a lot. Also his costumes are quite plain and average and tell us that he doesn't really have a sense of fashion and he is almost playing it a bit safe and smart. His bedroom is a complete contrast to his sister, Effie's bedroom as her's is quite dark and gloomy and his is tidy and bright indicating that he might have a brighter personality than her. He also seems to have a cheeky attitude for instance when he is having a conflict with his Dad he doesn't really seem to care and just stares at him, and also the fact that this fight in the first place is because he is helping his Sister sneak into the house after she has been out the night before. Another example of his OCD-like behavior is the fact that he seems to have a set routine as everything he is doing seems to be like clock work which indicates that he is probably very high maintenance.

Effie:

• She seems quite rebellious and secretive, the fact that she as been out the night before and snuck in without her parents knowing, maybe this foreshadows future events where her seemingly constant partying will get her into trouble.
• Her look in the beginning of the clip is quite disheveled and messy meaning that her nature (possibly secret nature is quite messy) is very out there and 'party animal-esque'
•  She gets herself ready for school very quickly meaning that she has probably spent time before doing this so she is experienced.
• Her room is very messy and dark which also lets us see her inner nature, which is that she herself is dark and mysterious - we don't know much about her yet.
• The fact that she is possibly nearing her mid teens indicates that she is the typical form of a teenager as she seems to be partying constantly.

Camera work:

• The shots are quite abrupt and sharp which would probably gain interest from a teenage audience because it will keep them interested in the proceedings because the sharpness indicates they see the world in a similar sort of way.
• The opening shot where they use the camera and zoom out of Tony's face and have an aerial shot of him in his bed indicates the main premise for the show that it is related and to do with sex and partying - especially considering the fact that his bed sheets had two naked people on it.
• They focus the attention on Tony's point of view because this tells us that he is the main character in the show, the rest of the characters just support him.

Music & Mise en Scene:

• The mise en scene used in the clip was very clever, they made it look like you are looking from Tony's point of view and because he is the main character you should be thinking like him all the time - for instance when he is sorting through his drawer, and also when he is looking through the window at the woman. Also the costumes, props and settings help to achieve the actual mise en scene of the shots and that is what we see, and if it wasn't for these things then we wouldn't get a clear idea of what the programme or character's were trying to achieve.
• The music was very prominent in the scene and very loud signifying that this is a programme for teenagers because especially when Tony blasts the music through the stereo and it is pretty much noise you could say that's all adults really hear when they listen to that type of music. 

Mum & Dad:

• We don't really see or hear anything of Tony's mum in the opening few minutes, meaning that she is definitely a subordinate character and her lack of voice indicates that she doesn't really have an involvement or say in the way Tony rules his life.
• Whereas his Dad is very vocal in what he thinks and is probably considered a bit of a chump.