Narrative & Genre
Downton Abbey is a Period Drama set in the 1910's, the first episode set specifically in 1912. The narrative of the show follows different types of people who live in the Grantham Estate, from the servants and staff up to the Lords and Ladies.
The story in the extract we watched followed the news of the Titanic sinking making it's way to Lord Grantham. This meant seeing the different class and status between various characters. In 1912, class was incredibly divided. This is very prominent in the way the characters act around each other. Characters of a higher class tend to look down on the lower classes, speaking in a more derogatory manor however, when speaking amongst the same class they speak in more polite, respectful manor. The accents and dialect of characters are also very distinct between classes, which makes it easy to tell the difference between characters straight away. The lower classes sound like they are less educated than the higher classes due to the words they use.
The narrative of the extract/scene we watched follows characters in order of their class. Introducing the poorer, worse off people first and as more are introduced, going up the ladder in terms of their class. Each character that is introduced is of a higher class each time until we eventually meet the lords and ladies of the manor. The news of the Titanic sinking travels through each of these characters, each of them reacting to the news before they hand it over to another character.
Mise en Scène
Despite the caption at the beginning saying '1912', there are many other details in the show that indicate it is set in that specific time period. Things such as costume and set design is an important part of creating the illusion all that is taking place in the show is during 1912.
The costumes of the characters are very specific to the time period it is set in. Although the clothes worn are very different to what people wear nowadays, it is still very obvious to the audience which characters fall into which class. The lower class workers wear much more basic, plainer clothes compared to the lords and ladies who wear very expensive looking, posh garments. There are also different classes of workers too, the servants who deliver the food and drinks to the lords and ladies wear black suits, much nicer clothing than the staff in the kitchen making the food who wear dull, scruffy looking rag-like clothes.
The set in the show is a large manor with many different rooms. The varied rooms look distinctly different. The kitchens and the bedrooms of the staff are very dull and grey, with very little detail on the walls or on furniture. As we follow staff into the main living areas and rooms of Downton Abbey, the surroundings of the characters change. The rooms where the higher classes stay are much more furnished with more extravagant items and they have much more detailed design in the architecture of the room. A lot of the furniture in the room is made from expensive materials such as leather, silk and even coloured gold in some cases.
Camera & Editing
The use of camera in the extract is another way class is represented. One of the opening shots is one long tracking shot follows different characters through the different rooms. Each time the camera switches between a characters, that next character is of a higher class. It changes character multiple times, throughout the tracking shot as a way of going up in the ranks of the abbey.
The shots and editing used are different between classes. The staff in the kitchen are the first to be shown and their scene is very fast and rapidly paced with fast camera movement and quick cuts. This represents the hectic environment of their work and possibly even their lifestyle. However, the camera and editing for Lord Grantham when he walks down the stairs towards the end of the extract (as he is the last character to be shown) is very slow and calm. There are only 2 shots used when he walks down the stairs, a close up of his feet and a wide shot of the entire staircase. There is only one cut between these for the entire scene. The camera movement is a very slow pan as he walks down the stairs which represents the calm in his life as all the hectic jobs are taken up by the staff.
Sound
The sound and music is also a huge indicator of class in Downton Abbey. The music used is classical and sets the scene of 1912.
The music is very subtle when we first meet the characters of the staff, and it is a slow start. Upon those characters entering the abbey the volume of the music increases and becomes a much bigger sound to show that the abbey is very extravagant and is quite a lot to take in. The music makes the building feel larger than life.
While following the workers in the tracking shot the music stays very fast paced and hectic to show the workers all at different jobs and switching jobs frequently. The music stays this way all the way through the extract until Lord Grantham enters. When he does, the music drastically slows down to a much more peaceful calming sound. Similarly to the camera movement, everything about this scene slows down representing a calming important presence in the scene.
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