Hollyoaks - Case Study 5.1

Season 18 – Episode 43:

Setting: a character is in hospital, and is frequently switching between the reality of recovering in the hospital, and the fiction of a romance with the nurse caring him.

Camera: in the fictional moment the character is never seen, and the shot is always in a fixed position looking up towards the nurse. However, in the following reality moments there are shots of both the patient and the nurse, all in a fixed position. The angles are also pivotal here as they show the patient in a low angle, making him look vulnerable, especially compared to the nurse in a high angle view.

Editing: the shots between camera shots are easily visible between the two moments, with there being no changes of shot in the first, fictional moment, but by there being lots of different shots in the reality moment. This helps convey the sense of the characters fractured life in reality, while what they want is a steady life, shown in the reality moment. Another important aspect that has been shown with editing is in the fictional shot where the picture appears in a rose tinted image, associated with lust and happiness as well as romance, whereas the reality shot is dull and bland, associated with boredom and sadness.

Sound: in the fictional scene, there is only non-digetic sound, which helps enforce the fake moment, but also creates a sense of romance, ensuring the light hearted sense of the moment. Whereas when the scene switches to reality there is only digetic sound, which with the effects of hospital equipment, helps ensure the realism of being in a hospital, and hence a thought-provoking state is induced.  

Mise en scene: in the fictional moment, the body language of the characters are of a positive sense, unlike the reality shots were the body language is downcast. The clothing worn in the fictional scene are that of a provocative nature, and hence convey the light hearted sense of the scene, however the clothes in the reality scene are more serious with there being patient gowns and nurses uniforms. In the first moments of the scene, there is also no hospital equipment, unlike the reality scene, this also conveys the two extremities of the script.