Downton Abbey; textual analysis

Downton Abbey; Textual Analysis:

Lighting: 

When the couple are sat eating at the table there is low-key lighting which creates a romantic atmosphere between the couple. This could also create a feeling of suspense because you don't know how the situation is going to turn out. Also near the end, I think that juxtaposition has been used because it is a very sad situation when she realises that it is too late to marry him mow and she wants to however the lighting is very high-key so this then the opposite as this type of lighting is normally associated with happiness and other good things.

Camera angles:

Mary Crowley when she is sat at her dressing table is prominent in the picture as the camera is behind her so this shows us as the audience that she has the power in the scene because the camera is behind her. this is tracking and gives her a sense of power. 

The camera angle when he is at the top of the stair case and the servant is at the bottom of the set of stators, he is higher than her and the camera is on the servants level looking up at him. This could show the different classes and hierarchy of the two people as one is a servant of the other, so she is not on the same hierarchy as him and looks up him as her boss. 

Sound:

In this episode there is Diegetic music, which means that there are noises in the actual setting e.g breathing, water and insects when they are outside in the garden having a tea party. However it also has Non diegetic sound as there is romantic but sympathetic music all the way through except the very end just before it finishes. the music is on throughout the piece but it gets a lot louder when there is no dialogue to create effect.

Enigma code:

Throughout the whole piece the question that we are all thinking is will they or won't they end up together. by watching this we see their good and bad times and all of the times that they have spent together. so throughout the whole piece you want to know if they will end up together or not.  Also because it just clips you as the audience also wonder why on some of the occasions they have fallen out and what they had to do to overcome it in the end. At the very end he walks away from her whilst she begins to cry so you wonder if this is the end for them.

Editing techniques:

Mary is on a horse at one point having a conversation with Matthew, this has been done deliberately to show that she is a higher social class than him, which is the barrier that is stopping them from being together as she is in a different social class and hierarchy to him so they are not allowed to be together. So as he is looking up talking to her, this is an interpretation that his social class is looking up to her social class, as hers is a lot higher than his due to her family.  

When Mary is sat on her bed upset and her sister is further behind her stood by the door, Mary's face is all blurred and her sisters figure is very focused. This could have been done to show that Mary is very confused at this point in the story as she doesn't know what decision to make or what decision will benefit her best so she is very confused. Whereas, her sisters figure is very focused within the camera shot so this could show that her sister is very focused and knows what she wants and needs to do in her life, which is a contrast to Mary as she is unsure and is not happy within the social class that she is in and does not like the life she has but there is nothing that she can do about it. Whereas, her sister is clearly happy with her life and likes the position that she is in, and also knows what is right and wrong to do in their social class as she is telling Mary not to marry Matthew because he is not the right class and knows that it is wrong to do in the hierarchy that they are. 

Colour connotations:

Also an editing technique that has been done purposely is the fact that pretty much all of the way through the piece she is wearing white and he is wearing black. This could have been done because it shows how different they are to one another, so this then interprets a barrier within their relationship as they cannot be together. they are opposite social classes to one another so they are not allowed to be together. So by putting them in opposite colours it interprets how different they live to one another as they are opposite social classes. 

However, at the end they are both inn the same colour. This may have been done because it shows that after everything that they have been through they are finally in the same position as one another. As all the way through  they have been contrasting colours and now finally at the end of the series they are the same. This could have been done because it shows that after everything that has happened and all of the problems that have occurred, they have finally got to the same point in their lives and realised that it would have made a lot of difference if she would have accepted his proposal, as now she realises that it is too late and she regreets the mistakes that she made. They are now in the same position as he is a lot different to what he was at the start of the series and it now seems that they are the same social class but it is now too late.

Mise-en-scene:

The decor fits the story perfectly because it all looks exactly like a house would in this time period. All of the costumes fit the social status very well as people of the social status in Downton Abbey would dress like these people have as these are the clothes that people wear when they are in a high social class, things like: long dresses, hats, and suits.