BBC 3 has a series called Young Paramedics, which documents students in their first year at university and how they handle and cope with the real life element of being a paramedic. It is showing a positive representation of young people and the target audience is 16-25 year olds.
Technical Codes
During the introduction of the programme, before the 'title' page, all of the students who are participating in the course are introduced and there are different camera shots and mise-en-scenes for each individual. For example: Max is the first person to be introduced and there is a mid-close up shot of him doing his hair in the mirror and this is a stereotypical representation of a young male as everyone does their hair in the mornings. By using a close-mid shot it allows the audience to get a connection with the student by being close up but also allows the audience to get a feel for his life by showing parts of the environment he is in. Generally, an eye level camera angle is used which helps promote the positive representation because it shows respect to the students by not looking down at them (high vantage point). There is a scene where it shows Max doing a job and the mise-en-sene adds a sense of realism into the programme as it shows them out there working in different environments working with different ages and in this case it was with a baby. It also shows him talking to the baby which again is showing realism and how normal these young paramedics are.
Audio Codes
One student who is introduced second speaks very confidently and looks serious which gives the impression that she is very dedicated and determined to do her job well and not holding back. By adding diegetic sounds is again emphasises the realism in the programme and informs the audience about her opinion and what she has to do in her job however by coming from the actual person and not a voice over allows personal identity to be encountered as someone watching the programme may be going the the same situation and understand and relate to what she is saying. The sound of the ambulance also adds context and meaning to the programme by linking visual and audio codes together. By fading the ambulance sound in and out it creates the idea of it being sudden which happens in real life; accidents and illness happen suddenly. Also throughout the opening scenes, non-diegetc sounds have been used and this is done through music. the music used is fairly upbeat but seems serious in the fact it is fast but the connotations of being fast could be that they have to react quickly as peoples lives are in their hands.
Visual Codes
The mise-en-scene of the opening scenes vary as some show an insight into the students life which counteract their job. For example one girl is shown to be out drinking with her friends however with the career she is going into and scenes shown of her doing the job are very different however, the drinking scene confirms the stereotype of young people but this is still not showing a negative representation as it is normal for students to go out and drink.
13 minutes +
19 year old Lucy is introduced at around 13 minutes and the visual codes in the miss-en-scene create a sense of realism as she is wearing jeans, a top and body warmer which represent a typical uni student for her age. She is also carrying a wash bag which suggests she is going to the laundry room with her friend and in the next scene it shows the audience Lucy trying to get to terms with how to work a washing machine. Again for first year students this is something very new and many people watching may engage in personal identity with this as they can relate to the same situation and how she is feeling.
Non diegetic codes replayed in order to create a certain vibe and feeling towards the person and in this case the song lyrics to Lucy is 'work hard, play hard' which from the visual codes relates to her personality as she is seen out drinking with her friends (play hard) but she is about to take on a serious career (work hard). Evidently this music represents her but also many other uni students and again person identity might take place and students understand that the play hard you have to work hard. Relating to her social life she is filmed out ice-skating with her friends and this evidently gives the impression that she is very sociable and popular and also easy to get on with. The mixture of non diegetic music and dietetic speech enables the mood to be maintained by the upbeat music but also the speech allows us to find out more information about her. In addition to this, when Lucy is talking to the camera she often looks directly in to the lens and therefore makes a personal link with the audience as it looks as though she is talking to you. Visually, again, she is wearing a jumper and has her hair tied back with little or no make-up on which portrays a positive image of gender as she is not being sexualised or objectified in anyway.
After the introduction to Lucy about her views on her career and how serious and dedicated she is about becoming a paramedic, we are then shown her talking to her course leader. The music leading into the is scene changes very dramatically and therefore this gives an early indication that something fairly serious is about to be shown as ambulance sounds are played and the camera focus' on certain parts of the ambulance such as the flashing lights, which again suggests something serious is about to happen. Once we find out that there is a chance she won't be able to go out on placement and could be suspended for a year due to breaking her wrist the music has slowed down and is a much deeper tone.
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