casualty - hospital drama

how characters are represented through mis en scene, camera angles, sound and lighting

In the film the sounds are all very dramatic, for example the opening sequence, has the a link with the ambulance sirens, which sets up the scene, giving the audience an immediate idea that it's going to be fast flowing, and dramatic. It also uses slow songs when representating a certain character, this is to show that they are tired, and in a sense, 'not all there'.

The mis en scene of this programme is the whole hospital scene, they have doctors, nurses, surgeons, victims, porters, receptionists and even included on going relationships and even affairs within the hospitals between staff.

The Lighting used in the actual hospital is very bright and there's only ever dark places when things aren't wanted to be shown. For example, when people are rushing around the hospital trying to find people urgently etc the lights are all on, and are very bright as if to make it seem that everyone is awake, alert and everything's very dramatic. However, when the focus character is feeling extremely drowsy and then passes out and the doctor doesn't want any of the other staff to know what's happening, the lights are all very dark.

The camera angles are also used wisely, for example when looking at receptionists the camera angle is looking down at them, as if to show that they don't have a lot of power, however when they call in the surgeons, the camera angle is at eye line, showing they have more power than the other people. It also uses a lot of close up shots of the character this episode seems to be focuses on, and also some extreme close ups, and a lot of mid shots. These are all used to really try and show the emotions of this particular character, especially as in this scene she is feeling very drowsy.

I watched the following episode of Casualty on iPlayer,

Casualty, Series 25: No Place Like Home