Downtown Abbey Textual Analysis

Downtown Abbey Class & Status

Camera Shot/Movements
First of all there is a is a tacking shot as this allows the audience to follow the character to the location where then character is heading. After this shot comes a long shot so it allows us to see where the scene is located and lets the audience familiarise themselves with the scenery. Then we see a mid shot of a character sat ion her room this is so we can see what sort of emotions she is showing and how she reacts to events. Next there is a high angle shot of the character on the bike and also the high angle shot is a point of view shot as well so we see it through the eyes of a character the high angle shot shows us that she has power over the character as she is looking down on them. Next we see a long shot of the female character and allows us to see her emotions in more detail as it allows us to see her body language too. Then there is another long shot in the servants quarter  and we start to see a different way of life to the others in the house there is and from the long shot we see that the table is very cramped and full with people. Then we see how their life is like as there are loads of quick mid shots to show the audience that there life is always at high tempo to satisfy the higher classes needs. Then we are introduced to the owner of the Abbey at a low angle shot to show us that he is very powerful and people below him show slight fear of him.

Sound
Throughout this episode there is two different sounds diegetic and non diegetic sounds. First there is diegetic sound such as dialogue and also all the added noises onto the scenes like the forks clashing together to show they are working hard and the sound of an iron etc. Also there is also non diegetic sound like the music at the start of the clip is quite upper class showing what sort of people live in the house.

Editing
Throughout this clip we see a lot of editing by cutting to different shots. There is a lot of cross cutting between the two pieces of action by what is happening in the upper class sections and the lower class sections and this allows us to establish how different the two lives of upper class and lower class live. Also there is a lot of quick cuts one after the other to show how fast paced a lower class life is and makes it seem that they are all running around and panicking. Also when the woman rings the bell there is a jump cut to the lower class and this shows us the different types of life they live. Also the same shot is a reaction shot too as the lower class react to what is happening with the upper class lives.

Mise En Scene
When the character is riding up to the Abbey he is minuscule compared to it and this shows that the job he is doing is very minimal and not key to their everyday life. Also the clothing he is wearing is very dull and looks unwashed for a while showing that he doesn't have the facilities to do everyday things in life. Next is a contrast in life as we see the upper class as the woman is still in bed as the lower class are up and doing their jobs for them. Also we see her looking down on the other character to show that she has authority over him and he is a weak character in the drama. Also the fact that she has a room to herself and it is includes a fire shows us that she is a powerful character. Next is the rooms colour she has a well decorated room with a lot of colour and the same for when the owner of the Abbey is walking down the stairs is still well decorated compared to the other quarters. He is wearing some elegant pieces of clothing which will Also the owner of the Abbey is very smartly dressed to show that he is in the upper class of the Abbey. Then there is the contrast to the lower class as they colour around the quarters is very dull and not very well decorated. Also the clothes they wear look dirty and rough as they have been worn too much. Also with the props with the characters we see that all of the lower class people are eating a very sloppy bit of porridge and compared to the upper class they have a banquet for their breakfast.