The scene opens with a long shot of a room in a spaceship. The protagonist enters the frame and from her costume we can tell that her representation challenges stereotypical ideas of how women are to be represented. Martha’s costume is rather masculine and dark/dull coloured. This suggests that she is not a typical woman; therefore she is able to undertake hard tasks, portraying her strength and the fact that she looks powerful. The audience is then introduced to the antagonist. This is the main male character in the scene; he is represented as a powerful character. His costume is very man-like, a long black suit, which also makes him look smart and like he is in control. Nevertheless he is emphasised as a stereotypical male which integrates power. Furthermore we also notice the woman in red, who is positioned behind the master throughout the sequence; she’s wearing a bright red cocktail dress, has long flowing blonde hair and doesn’t really have a dialogue in the sequence. This suggests that she doesn’t have any power in the sequence and is there to serve the master. She’s a damsel in distress. Also the colour red emphasises passion, lust, and fire. In addition the sequence is followed up towards the maids who look scared, they were always presented in a two shot, and this concludes the natural stereotypical of the representation of women. The fact that they can’t do anything without each other, they always have to have someone by their side and this portrays their weakness and vulnerability. Moreover the security guard is presented as a powerful character who stands in front of the other characters also he is a male, this adds onto the part of him being big, bold and aggressive. His props of holding a gun makes him look threatening and in control of the situation.
The scene uses natural lighting collided with spot lights, to give the sequence a lot of light so that its clear and bright for the audience to watch. At the beginning of the sequence there is a high angle used. This angle is used so you are able to see Martha kneeling down to the master, this is used to make her look vulnerable and completely out of power. Furthermore a range of shot reverse shots were used when the master was talking, this was used to show the other characters facial expressions and engage the audience into the tension and drama of the scene. Moving on the audience should be able to understand that by the end of the scene there is a low angle looking at the master showing the power, however the shot then changes into a high angle shot of the master, this shows the idea that his power has been taken and he is now the weaker one.
The editing of the sequence gives us the full idea of what the characters are feeling and the position that they are in. Shot-reverse-shot has been used to show the rivalry between two characters, both the shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule makes the audience feel like they are there in the scene. Also you are able to realise the eye line match where the master looks down at Martha, this gives him the power of the situation and makes him feel confident. However this can be criticized because both Martha’s and the masters eyes are on the same level and they are both given the same amount of shot, this suggests that actually they both have equal power. Also the eye line match at the beginning of her point of view gives us the idea that she will be the main character in this scene.
The 180-degree rule is easy to spot where both Martha and the master are having a conversation, as they both always stay on the same side and does not change. This is importantly used so the audience do not get confused and because it fives off the sense of continuity and reality. Cross cutting techniques are also popular throughout the scene as its obvious that cuts get shorter, because it builds up the tension and matches to the music. Cutting point of view shots to the ticking timer during the conversation between Martha and the Master is there to remind us that they are running out of time, this builds suspense towards the viewers.
Flashbacks are used for Martha’s explanation of her mission to save the doctor. The flashbacks show us what she did and went through, so the audience are able to see clearly for themselves. Also slow motion techniques were used here to emphasise Martha’s struggle of going around feeling tired, cold and out of breathe. Moreover transition flashes of white indicate that the flashback is positive and gives off the feeling of hope and peace.
Ellipses in the dialogue tell us that she has been all over the world, it compresses the time and all comes together to show her power. Moreover with the action match, close up shot to the time in between the shots again have been used to build up the tension reminding us that they are running out of time. While also when the different races around the world was saying the word “doctor” made it sure that the audience knew this situation was affected by the whole world. Furthermore the visual special effects have been done by post production, which is after filming. The doctor does not look human; it indicates that he is god-like where it looks like a religious moment matching the music. The white light portrays purity and higher power.
The sound in this sequence was a usual change of tune to fit the editing, situation and cinematography of the scene. At the beginning of the scene there was a low paced, low tone music played to build up the tension, low choir suggested a funeral feeling. Where Martha was in control there was a drumbeat, which built up the pace of the scene to create the sense of excitement and emotion for the audience. Louder in sounds mix. A higher pitch was used instead of lower. And you are able to hear a steady drumbeat, which shows that Martha is in control of the situation. The major key was used to create a happy sound by the end of the scene, while a minor key was used at the beginning to show a sort of sadder sound. In addition religious music was played to suggest the growing hope and big event of the doctor being back. Moreover melody gained speed when the doctor came back to life, building up the tension a little. Trumpets were getting louder, indicating triumph and happiness by the end of the scene.
