For this task, each second year class was asked to provide a 'barebones' analysis of a key scene from the first episode of Humans. The scene was different for each class. Remember that detailed, accurate textual analysis, that convincingly probes the meaning of the media product you are studying accounts for roughly 60% of your grade. Also remember: there is no ''right' answer in media studies, only well argued ones. If you disagree with any of the suggested meanings below, feel free to posit your own analysis!
S block - Fred's capture - where Fred, a synth, attempts escape from an orange tree plantation where he is assigned to work
Codes/conventions
- Challenging/thought-provoking
- Stimulating text – mode of address
- Three sub-plots to consider and respond too
- ‘41’ tattoo on arm – reinforcing the fact he is a synth
- ‘Fred’ has been branded – separate from humans
- Allegory/metaphor
- Blending of the unfamiliar with the real
- Explores the idea that technology is becoming dominant (taking over society)
- Exploring fears
- (cows are branded) – synths are being treated like animals
- References to real-life historical issues – slavery and
Genre theory/ fluidity
- Blends and mixes genre (drama, thriller, mystery etc)
- Repetition and difference – clearly sci-fi but differences make it original and ‘new’
- Intertextual references to AI texts – ideas of sentience and the human condition
Camera Work
- Shots are quite tight and ‘up close and personal’
- Over the shoulder shots/close ups etc.
- Impact on audience – feel trapped like ‘Fred’
- Wide shot of artificial farm
- Then moves to tight framing
- Handheld camerawork with max/leo – connotes nervousness
- Contrasts detective character – camera is framed centrally and still
- Long corridor in hospital and the farm – establishes the setting (makes comparisons between hospital and the farm? )
- Close-ups intensifies emotions of characters – scene with Fred – identify when his emotion changes
- Pylon shots – sets the sci-fi tone – look robotic and contrast the rural setting the natural and the unnatural
Lighting/colour
- High-key lighting during the artificial farm scene – bright colours potentially contrast dark themes and subject matter
Editing
- Cuts from Anita, to pylon, to peter – alludes that the 3 are someway connected, that their paths will possible cross in the future (foreshadowing)
- Pace is at a high tempo – cuts from different scenes and sub-plots connoting intensity of the narrative
Narrative
- Symbolic code (that Anita and a pylon share the same characteristics)
- Action codes (Fred running – signifies danger, fear etc.)
- Hermeneutic Code (enigma) – questions or mystery around the narrative
- Engage the viewer – want to find out answers/questions
Sound
- Music picks up at certain points – gains in intensity at points of tension – matches the viewers emotional response
- Non-diegetic (glitchy, other-worldly) – anchors the viewer in a different reality
- Dialogue of synths – words are unnatural and forced – shows dominance of humans within the scene
Mise-en-scene
- Make-up is used to reinforce the characteristics
- Synths are ‘washed out’ – (the green eyes etc.)
- Long jacket/shirt – connotes authority
- Blocky iconography – in contrast to real world
- Bright colours in farm/plain washed out in the rest of the scene
Q block - Odi's malfunction - where Odi, a synth, has broken down in a supermarket, and George, his owner, attempts to repair him
Cinematography
-High angle mid shot of Odi's body among the smashed glass and jam connotes Odi's fragility and broken state
-Mirror shot of Anita gazing in to the mirror. Mid shot/ high angle is composed to de-emphasise Anita's face, symbolising a private moment. Provides audience with voyeuristic pleasure, and suggests that Anita is coming to terms with her own identity
- Shot/counter shot (AKA shot/reverse shot) of George and the detective's conversation. George is seen from a high angle, the detective a low angle, which connotes to the audience there is a discrepancy in power, emphasising a binary opposition
-Focal point shifts from Anita to Laura, positioning the audience with neither Anita or Laura
-Extreme close up of Odi's lips as George reboots him. A deliberately uncomfortable and challenging image. Odi functions as a son, a carer, a butler, but also potentially sexual.
Shot/reverse shot of george and Odi's conversation emphasises their difference
Lighting and colour
-Low key lighting in George's house functions as a referential code, suggesting George is a mad scientist fixing his creation. The mise-en-scene of the dental tool only serves to emphasise this
-Use of extreme, harsh, high key lighting emphasises the life and liveliness of the supermarket , which contrasts with George's vulnerability
Sound
-Non-diegetic soundtrack reaches a crescendo when Odi announces he is experiencing a 'fatal error'.
-Synth/ambient soundtrack emphasises the technological/robotic themes of the show. In fact all the music is digitally created
-Odi's tone of voice consistently changes, and becomes harsh and digital, suddenly stopping. A post production digital effect
-The investigator's vocal delivery swiftly changes from threatening to kind, emphasising his complex characters
-Digital recharge noise, somewhat like a phone dying or a defibrillator
MES
-Odi's appearance - smudge of blue blood coming from his noise, his face demonstrates fear at each error, and his collar is untucked and dishevelled. Preferred reading: Odi is helpless, compelling and likeable.
U block - The synth factory/opening credits/introducing the Hawkins - The very first two minutes of the series, where the key themes and characters are established
Cinematography
-Low angle of the moon shining through the ceiling of the synth factory demonstrating the importance of the moon to the codes and conventions of the episode. Functions simultaneously as a proairetic code and a hermeneutic code.
-Long shot of the Hawkins family living room, showing the various family members sprawled out on their phones. Stereotypes of children/teenagers. Also technology.
-High angled long shot of synths lined up in warehouse emphasises the loneliness of their existence
-O/S close up shots of nude male and female bodies, with the camera tracking slowing down on female bodies. Assumes a heterosexual male audience. However forces the audience in to a voyeuristic position, where the synths are cold, dead... creepy! Binary opposition between life and death, sex and death...
Colour and lighting
-Cold, blue colours, artificial LED lighting connoting unnaturalness and creating a creepy atmosphere, emphasised by the low key lighting.
-Binary opposition used in colour and lighting between he synth warehouse scene and the Hawkins life. This demonstrates the theme of conflict between the synths and the 'real' people
Sound
-Electronic 'techno music' plays as Anita is powered on. Non-diegetic sound emphasises Anita is not only the protagonist, but also unique. Leitmotif.
-Opening credits: all sounds made using digital, synthetic music, artificial, establishes key themes to the audience.
-Intertextual reference: opening theme tune sounds like electronic music produced by bands like Daft Punk, or especially Kraftwerk. Gives the show vital context, demonstrating the show takes place in a very different world to ours.
Mise-en-scene
-Assorted news footage and articles. Stock footage.
-Digital distortion overlaid over the stock footage of the opening credits, further confirming the key message of the show: what is real?
Genre
-Genre fluidity
-Referential codes relating to numerous sci-fi films, including 2001 (Kubrick, 1969) and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982), the extreme CU of the eye, demonstrating themes of emotion and humanity