The first example of class and status representation is when Merlin is walking through the castle into the office. There is mysterious music giving the impression that he is not supposed to be there. You can hear his footsteps on stone floors, which is not something you hear in poorer places. As Merlin explores the office, the music increases in tension each time he picks up an item. You can also hear him put these objects down as there is complete silence in the castle, which contrasts to the outside. The woman’s footsteps are heard quite loudly as she walks to the office, which means she might be wearing high heels. These wouldn't be owned by poorer people and so give the impression that she is high class and rich. The music gets faster and louder as she approaches the door and then reaches a point and stops, showing that she is intimidating and important. She talks down to Merlin and questions him, and he replies with a stutter, showing that he knows he's not supposed to be there and her authority over him.
When Merlin steps outside and starts to walk through the market you hear lots of animal noises and people talking which is not something you hear in a castle. This implies it is a poorer area. The prince arrives and starts talking to Merlin in a posh accent. He tells Merlin to address him properly after Merlin insults him. This goes against the stereotypes of high class, and it implies that they know each other well and have had problems before. The prince has a more authorative dialogue and tells Merlin what to do, showing his class. Sound effects are used during their fight to emphasise Merlin's magic and to also create humour when the prince falls or trips. The music stops when Merlin spots the old man, this shows Merlin’s respect towards him as a parental type figure. The old man's accent is not very posh, but he is still authority over Merlin. This may be because of his age or because of his parental figure.
The castle that we see merlin in at the beginning automatically shows a rich and high status environment what with the stain glass windows and the stone walls. When Merlin enters the office he is surrounded with expensive things showing that someone of a high class lives/works in there. Merlin is wearing ripped, old clothing and looks scruffy and this helps to show that he does not belong in the castle. The lighting in the castle is very dark making the scene more dramatic. The dim lighting also gives off a more expensive atmosphere. When the lady enters the room she is wearing a purple dress which is seen as expensive clothing as something like this would not be owned by poorer people. She is also well presented and clean, adding to her status.
Once Merlin has left the castle it becomes lighter and has the feeling of a more normal atmosphere. His surroundings as he stands in the market show that he is now in a poorer part of the town compared with the castle showing the different classes and how differently they live. Merlin now looks more like he belongs there as everyone has the same type of clothing as him. This atmosphere and the people around helps to make the prince stand out when we first see him as he is wearing a suit of armour, looking well groomed and clean. You immediately can tell that he is of a higher status to Merlin. Once they begin to fight Merlin is given a weapon by Arthur showing again that Merlin is of a lower class and does not have a weapon of his own. The fact that Arthur has a weapon not only for himself but one he can spare for merlin shows again his status and money. Merlin, unlike Arthur does not know how to use his weapon showing that he has never had the privilege of learning such skills whereas Arthur has, again showing his class and status over Merlin. During the fight, when merlin uses his magic, the lighting is dark to really emphases the magic being used and the glowing of his eyes. Class and Status is shown again during the fight as anything Merlin uses to fight with are everyday things made out of wood or rope whereas Arthur is using metal weapons, again showing the difference between the two characters.
Towards the end of the fight we are introduced to another character who we can immediately tell has a parental influence over Merlin. This character has grey hair and glasses giving the stereotypical wise look and when we first see him he is reading a book. Once the fight is over we then see Merlin and this other character back at what we assume must be Merlin’s home. Their house is not full of rich things, unlike the castle, showing they are in a lower class. The old man is also wearing old clothes but he has more colours and patterns to show he is slightly more important than Merlin, this also adds to his parental role.
Editing is used to show class and status in the extract. When Merlin is in the office, the music is slow paced and the shots are quite fast. However whent the woman arrives, the shots are longer and the music is faster and more tense, showing she is in control. When the woman enters the office at the start of the extract, sound effects are used to show her intimidation and importance. There is a tense sound effect when she looks in the mirror, revealing her alter-ego. This is also accompanied by very short shots, which switch quickly, showing that she wants to hide it.
When he steps outside and meets the prince, shot reverse shots sare used in their conversation. Match on action is also used when he throws him the weapon and throughout the duration of the fight. For example, match on action is used to show the prince smashing things with his weapon, showing that he is dangerous and has power.
An exaggerated sound effect of a rope twanging is used when the prince trips over the rope and this creates a comical effect to the fight seen. Parallel editing is used to show the old man in his castle looking down upon the fight. This implies that the old man is of higher class as he is inside the high up castle, and merlin is down on the street. When the old man comes down to see, you see the shot reverse shot and reaction shots of Merlin noticing the old man, showing his respect and importance. Merlin gets distracted and gets hit by the prince in synchronization with the music with sound effects to show the prince hitting him. This shows that the prince is in control of the fight and of Merlin, which is appropriate to his status.
Immediately the camera shot is an establishing shot showing the high class building. When Merlin enters the room the camera pans around as a eye line shot of the room slowly showing all the details and items in the room from Merlin's point of view making it seem that he isn't meant to be in there because it belongs to someone higher up than him. There is then a close up on the item Merlin places on the desk which suggests a significant importance in the item. Carrying on every item that Merlin picks up there is a close up on the item which implies the authority and importance of the items and that he really shouldn't be picking them up and perhaps that they belong to someone of a higher class than himself. As soon as the women enters there is a close up on her facial expression to high light the anger on her facial expression moving onto a close up on Merlin's facial expression showing his worried expression. There is then a over the shoulder shot which highlights the women's authority over Merlin.
As soon as Merlin leaves and bumps into the prince figure there is a fast pace shot reverse shot which shows the contrast between the two characters. The shot reverse shot carry's on through the fighting but picks up pace to show the fast action occurring. There is then a tilt shot on the prince from Merlin's eye line view to emphasize authority and power the prince possess. The old man then looks out the window with a long shot which displays the viewing crowd’s reaction to the fighting taking place.
