Analysis of Gender in 'Skins'

This clip of Skins represents Gender very well through the use of editing.

The clip begins with a shot of a character, presumably male by the denotation of trainers and a skateboard which would be stereotypically related to be male. The clip initially begins as a black screen with the sound playing from what is happening, which creates a sense of suspense for the audience as it makes them eager to know what's happening. The fast paced shot of the character on the skateboard is a close-up of the feet from the side, to also create more suspense towards seeing the face of the character, and then a motivated cut takes it to a low angle which tilts upwards to focus on the skateboarder once again, which connotes the character is in a powerful position, which could represent the person to be a brave, reckless and daring character. These personality traits are usually related to be male ones from a stereotypical point of view, which is a way in which gender is represented in this clip. When the skateboarder comes to a stop we can see some minor special effects used, at the back end of the skateboard there are slight sparks coming out to represent the speed and which he was going at, this could have also been used to increase verisimilitude of the skateboarding. The close-ups of this male character skateboarding of his feet also connotes that he is very good at it, and is showing off when doing it, this show-off characteristic can also be related towards a 'typical' male character.

The next part of the clip focuses on the skater, going down the rest of the road using very fast paced editing which seems as if it based on continuity editing, therefore trying to keep the fluidity of the shots going. We can tell this as it changes from different angles of the skater, from behind to suddenly in front of him till he collides with a policeman's bike and then round to the back once again. This fast paced editing is usually used for fast paced scenes, to keep the action going.

The next scene of the clip is when the skateboarder and his two friends are sitting at the table having a conversation. During this scene the 180 Degree rule is followed and at all times the camera shots are filmed from one side of the 180 Degree line. As the conversation ends when the car crashes, the 180 degree rule is then broken and the camera goes behind the characters to show their point of view of the focus point which is the car and the driver of it. This shot is a Reaction shot as it faces the car which is the bit which is emphasised in the shot. As this part of the scene continues and the middle-aged man is talking to the elderly woman, the 180 degree rule is formed again to bring some orientation to the scene after the car crash.

To conclude, this clip has a clear representation of the male gender throughout with editing. Different types of editing are used to do this, for example the special effects and the matched cuts throughout the clip. The long take at the beginning of the clip created a strong sense of suspense to be followed by the fast paced editing throughout the middle of the clip and then again the long takes near the end lead to a sense of speed during the male characters part of the clips, representing them to be fast paced.