Merlin

The editing of the start of the scene is mainly focused on the pace of the shots.  When Merlin is entering the room and in the room the shot pace is very fast and jumpy, this creates the feeling that he’s not meant to be in the room.  That reflects his status showing how he’s of a lower class and is forbidden in the castle.  In contrast to this, the woman walking in the hallway gets quite a calm and slow paced shot, which demonstrates a higher authority over Merlin.

Another example would be when in the middle of the fight there is a cut of to the man in the tower looking down at the fight.  The way he’s looking down at it and his calm yet annoyed reaction could resemble the fact that he is going to have some authority in the narrative.

There is very obvious editing technique near the end of the fight when there is an extreme close-up of the eye and it shows how it changes colour.  This ties in with Alfred Hitchcock’s theory of the bomb theory, where the audience become aware of the situation but the characters are oblivious.  This is a very good technique as it intrigues the audience and gets them to try and interact with the audience. 

After the fight, when Merlin turns around to face the crowd watching, there is a shot reverse shot edit to the man from the tower in the crowd then back to Merlin again.  You can instantly notice the change in Merlin’s facial expression when he notices the man.  This shows  that he sees him as a parental figure and is disappointed that he witnessed the fight between him and the prince as his facial expression drops in disappointment.

The use of camera angles in the extract from Merlin shows the importance of certain items and people in the clip. An example of this will be at the start after the establishing shot of the inside of the castle, the main character picks up certain items such as a book. The camera then does a close up of the book suggesting it is important for the narrative of the extract. The use of a close up is also used when the lady enters the room and surprises Merlin, and his reaction is shown through a close up of his face. A further close up is used to show Merlin's use of magic during the fight scene. There is an extreme close up of Merlin's eye changing clolour which shows the audience Merlin is using magic, however, the rest of the characters do not know about his use of magic. This gives the audience the feeling that they have superior knowledge to the characters in the clip as they are oblivious to fact that Merlin is doing this. The camera movement in the clip gives the audience emphasizes the suspense and action of the fight scene. There is the use of a shaky camera during the fight scene which gives the viewer the impression that they are actually there and involved in the action.

The Mise en scene throughout the sequence is mainly dark, gloomy and eerie reflecting the time era of the medieval period. The extract that represents the difference in class of society by using mise en scene consists a variety of different elements. The setting in the first scene shown in the sequence is of high class as the architecture is grand, consisting pain glass windows which indicates the idea that the house is of a high social status.  The colours of the clothing used throughout the scene helps give understanding of the characters class. The royal purple of the female characters dress represents a high social status whereas Merlin’s clothing consists of brown and green which connotes a poor, lower level of class. The dialect of the characters also plays a big role in the idea of class throughout the sequence as the female character and Arthur’s accents indicate that they are of a higher status. On the other hand Merlin’s dialect reflects a lower class of society.

During the fight scene the audience can notice that Arthur supplies them both with a metal, heavy weapon whereas later on in this particular scene Merlin uses less expensive objects such as the rope and stool dividing there social class. Also at which the skill that Arthur uses his weapon shows that he has a higher class. Arthur’s costume consists of metal plating and armour, and he also has guards at his side this immediately signals that he is of a higher status. The lighting aspects at the end of the fight scene show Merlin silhouetted so that he is hidden whereas Arthur has all lighting on him to represent a higher class and status. The older character shown in the tower is seen as more superior as he looks down onto the courtyard where the two men fight. The mise en scene in the tower is dark and mysterious which could reflect the idea of magic and that his class may be higher compared to Merlin as he has mastered the idea of magic.

The scene opens with eerie music consisted of deep hollow noises. The music is atmospheric and establishes the suspicious tone of the scene. You can still hear above the music the clutter and falling of objects as merlin looks around the room, representing his nervousness and anxiety. He knows he shouldn’t really be there. You then hear footsteps build in pace over the music and as the footsteps quicken all sounds; the music, the noises, the footsteps all come to a halt as the woman enters the room. The end of the noise shows us how important the woman is. She seems to be of a high class and high authority. She seems confident as she confronts merlin as she asks him what he is doing there, again backing up how merlin is where he shouldn’t be. However when the woman looks in the mirror and sees her aged self staring back at her a disturbing noise cuts through the silence and shows how the high classed woman is quite shocked and uncomforted by her distorted reflection. As merlin leaves the castle and enters the village outdoors, we hear commotion, animals, people, which gives over a feeling of normality. The common noises contrast from the eerie music before, which shows how merlin is a lot more comfortable being back to normality.  

                When merlin is confronted and begins to fight with the lord, fast paced music enters the scene which gives the audience a feeling of excitement and anticipation. The action based music is fast paced and energetic but as merlin falls and shows off his lack of skill with his weapon and balance the music become jumpy, skippy and comical, representing his clumsiness and vulnerability due to his lack of fighting skill. When merlin uses magic and begins the gain the upper hand in the fight the music lifts, telling the audience that merlin is going to win. The whole time objects falling and weapons can be heard adding to the action and commotion which adds to the excitement. When merlin is distracted by his teacher he is hit three or four times and the end of the music is in time and shares the beat with the final blows. The synchronised sounds emphasise the end of the fight. The end of the music is the end of the fight. The music heard after the fight is calm and slow, like the calm after the storm; the music greatly contrasts with the upbeat music heard during the fighting. There is a slightly high pitch to the music which gives the audience a sense of suspicion, especially when the lord feels there is something strange about merlin.

There is also foleys used in the clip of Merlin. An example of this would be when Merlin is walking through the town and his footsteps had been done through the use of foley. Foleys usually go unnoticed as they are intended to blend in with the rest of the scene. There was also the use of a sting at the end of the fight sequence between Arthur and Merlin. The sting was used just at the end when Arthur did three strikes on Merlin and the music uses three sharp sounds to emphasize the strikes. This has a dramatic yet almost comical effect on the audience as through the use of this sound, they know that the fight scene is over.

BEGINNING ((merlin enters room)

-sound-merlin isnt supposed to be in the room-mysterious

miseenscene- props mirrow/flower/beads shows its a females room

editing- fast shows tension and suspense

camera angle: pans around the room, suggesting he is looking to see if anyone is there

(woman finds merlin)

sound - choir like, Dialougue 'what are you doing here' shows status again. footsteps (foley) to emphasize.

miseenscene clothing-purple suggests royalty and is well looked after

editing length of shot is long compared to merlins. women has more time on screen.

camera angle - zooms in on her, suggests she is high up (status)

(walks outside)

sound sheep (foley) crowd are quiet when blonde guy get insulted. cheeky

miseenscene

editing

camera angle high angle as walk down from castle. eyelevel as he walks to town, he belongs here.