1. Sonia Ward – 12S6
Clip Analysis - Eastenders
The clip I am analysing focuses on the subject of bullying – and how the victim of the
bullying handles the continuous confrontations and how the director has represented these
through the macro features (mise-en-scene, camera, sound and editing).
The scene begins with repetitive long pans from a crane shot illustrating the
character Ben being chased by a gang of bullies – this is also an establishing shot as it
illustrates to the audience the type of setting the characters are in. The pans are very long
which can signify the length of time the character Ben has been bullied; as continuous
viewers of the show would know that the character being bullied was a common thing for
him. A lot of red has been used in the chase scene; the bullies are seen running past the pub
which has red walls and there are other various red objects around the setting e.g. flags and
posters – the colour red connotes danger as the character could potentially be injured. The
sound heard over the top of the scene is diegetic music that is coming from around the
square as a fair is currently going on; this is evident due to the various decorations around
the setting. The music is traditional English fair music – this could signify the normality of
the situation as no tense music is present; as a result reinforcing the idea that the actions of
the bully’s towards Ben are nothing new.
The clip then cuts to the character Ben knocking on the door of his friend’s house –
this is the first time the audience hear the character Ben – in the clip he is shouting for his
friend Abbie to open the door; as this is the first time the audience hear the character they
can evidently tell that the characters is scared due to the fast paced and loud volume of his
voice and therefore see the weakness in his character – as a result the audience feel
sympathetic towards the character. Throughout the scene, close-ups of the main bully are
used to illustrate his intimidating character – it also illustrates the amount of power he has
in the situation – occasionally the director has used point of view shots from the perspective
of the bully and Ben; this allows the audience to be put in both of the characters views and
witness the contrasting perspectives.
The clip then cuts to an elderly character asking them to leave Ben alone in which
the bully replies ‘Shut-up Grandma’ this could signify the stereotypical view that teenagers
do not have respect for the elderly; as a result, the director is highlighting some social
issues. During the confrontation, the character Ben is standing in front of a pink door – this
is ironic as the colour pink is seen as a very feminine colour – the character Ben is commonly
accused of being homosexual by the bullies due to him hanging around with girls –
therefore, by positioning the actor in front of pink door highlights these issues and reduces
some of his power in the situation due to the feminine colour. The bullies in the scene are
wearing dark coloured clothing, this reinforces the amount of power they have as the colour
black is quite a bold and powerful colour – it can also be linked to violence.
The character Ben runs inside and his friend Abbie emerges from the house – in this
section of the clip the audience see the female character Abbie defend her friend and says
that she has family that will deal with them if they don’t leave Ben alone. Similar to Ben the
character Abbie is standing in front of the pink door; however in this case, the idea of the
pink door reducing the power contradicts itself as it is evident in this section of the clip that
the character Abbie has more power over the bully’s, therefore, this is ironic as the
audience see the female character breaking the idea that females are weaker than males (as

2. this sometimes is the typical view). The director then cuts to an interview style shot in which
the bully can be seen in front of a pink house and then to a close up shot of which the
audience can view the bully in front of pale blue coloured house; the irony of the colour
pink is again evident as now the power has reversed – whereas before when the character
Ben is seen in front of the pink door, it represented the weakness of his character –
however, this idea was different for when the female character emerged as she was actually
more powerful – but in this case, in the bully’s situation, the pale colours represent how he
is losing the battle of capturing Ben therefore, the pale colours signify his continuous
reduction of power.
The clip cuts to the character Ben inside the house – the character is in front of the
small section of the door way (in addition at the beginning of the clip the confrontation with
the bully is also in a very small area) – this signifies, the characters growing feeling of
isolation as again the fact that bullies are chasing him isn’t something new for him –
therefore, the audience sympathises with the character as his growing frustration is evident
when the diegetic sound of the character shouting is evident and the bully from outside is
faintly heard saying “We’ll get you next time, when you’re not playing with the girls” – this
reinforcing that the character is being bullied because they believe him to be homosexual.
The entrance of the female character’s uncle confirms how the bullies have fully lost
their power as the male character enters with a very dominating tone – the camera has
been positioned in a way that illustrates all the bullies facing towards the male character,
this highlights his importance in the scene and the amount of power he has. The amount of
power he has is confirmed when the bullies decide to leave – in this section the main bully
speaks at a much lower volume again reinforcing his loss in power – however the bully still
says “We’ll get him another time” illustrating his stubborn attitude. The director then cuts
to the younger girl telling the bully “You’ll have to get past me first” – here an over the
shoulder shot has been used – on the other hand, this is very ironic as typically this would
signify how the bully has the most power over the younger girl but in this case the younger
girl has slightly more power than the bully. More irony is evident through the mise-en-scene
as the younger girl is seen wearing a white coat – the colour white connotes innocence;
however, here the audience sees a cheekier and less innocent side of young character.
Overall, the director has attempted to highlight the issues of bullying and how it is
becoming a growing concern in today’s society as the amount of bullying happening in the
UK is growing. As a result, this fits in with the typical conventions of a soap drama as they
regularly try to highlight current issues happening in society and the realism of these
situations so their audience can relate to characters.