Hotel Babylon Analysis

Hotel Babylon – Ethnicity

In this extract, a soundtrack is used throughout to build the pace and tension. There is a contrast within the soundtrack, the pace is more frantic when on the people rushing to hide whereas it slows down and is more calm when the camera is on the police; this shows that they are in control and have the upper hand. Rule of thirds is also used at the beginning to show which officer is in more power.  A handheld camera is used at some points to build on the pace, it makes us as an audience feel uneasy and on edge and somewhat apart of the frantic rush.

To add to the tension, parallel editing is used to fasten the pace of the scene; it creates tension and makes the audience empathise the panic. By using parallel editing, it makes the transitions a lot smoother and makes the scenes a lot more realistic in the sense of the panic and pace. To add to the panic, ambient sound is used, the shouting of workmen and women and the heavy breathing of those in the room; this gives us a sense of how they are feeling; panicked and worried for their safety.

Mise-en-scene is used to give a complete contrast on how the different ethnicities are treated; the front desk is spacious, light and clean whereas the office in which the foreign women works in is cramped, dark and looks like where they store boxes. This shows who is more superior within the work place and conveys the idea that because the woman at the front desk is not foreign, she is treated a lot nicer. The use of colour is also used; the immigrants are wearing reds and dirty white uniforms whereas the non-immigrants are wearing pure whites or suits; therefore they are conveyed as more pure and powerful and that they belong there more than the others.

Overall, colour and setting is used to show how a different ethnicity affects others in a workplace. The sound used plays an important role as well as it shows the audience how in control and superior the policemen are in comparison to the panicked immigrants.