Hotel Babylon Essay

In the series Hotel Babylon on BBC1, immigrants are used for labour and I will be discussing how they are represented through the camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

                The camera is used in a variety of shots to add tension and anticipation into the scene. The crone shots make you feel as if you were a fly on the wall, or a CCTV camera, like you were spying on them, which could also represent how the police and immigration found them by spying on them. Other midshots and close ups in front of the characters speaking make you feel as if you were here talking to them, or as if you were the person they were talking to, although, they seem to be slightly taller, therefore the camera is tilted so it feels as if you are looking to up them. The lighting varies from scene to scene but is usually normal or quite dim, for example, when they first enter the cupboard and in the kitchen. As well as it being bright on the floor Ibrahim gets captured – which contrasts with the ones who don’t get captured in a darker environment.

                They use fast pace cuts to link the scene and the different camera angle types. The pace adds to the tension and excitement of the clip. It speeds up as the officers start to look and search the hotel, displaying to the audience bad things are about to happen and when the hotel workers are panicking to clear everyone away, the paces increases even more. This contrasts with the immigration service as they only run when they capture Ibrahim and walk the rest of the time, whereas the immigrants are always running. In addition, the editing is in time with the pulse of the music. When the tempo of the music increases, the speed of the editing also increases. Together they build up tension, leading up to a massive drop in bad news.

                This bad news comes through the knocking on the storage cupboard door where the immigrants are hiding. Followed with a sincere, emotionless ton, “they’ve got someone”. The music building up to the event starts of eerie and quiet with a few high-pitched chimes, which cuts into a fast-tempo, upbeat drum pattern complimented with some low bass subtly in the background. There are also synthesisers used to create a basic melody acting a bit like a pulse and adding to the piece to help lead it up to the climax. There is also a noise rise when it shows the surprised zoom in of Jackie in the cupboard. This is a quick way of creating tension in a short amount of space as the sudden rise in pitch and volume dominates the listener’s ears. During the end of the clip when they are emptying out his locker, some sad, emotional music starts, which continues into the next scene of all the workers eating. It is over powered by the noisy workers, where the conversation changes as the camera pans from table to table, and as waiters walk past the language changes, representing the variety of different cultures all over the world. On the last table they are praying quietly so you can hear the music again. In all clips and scenes there are diegetic sounds.