Scene Analysis of an Episode from the "Look Around You" Series

For my scene analysis, I have selected an episode of the British “Look Around You” series. The “Look Around You” series is a satire of 1980’s educational programming, as hinted at in the intro, which features a countdown clock and the words, “Television for schools and colleges,” and “Look Around You follows shortly.”

The episode on iron begins with the countdown clock, as described above, over which is played a short acoustic guitar intro. Immediately following, there is a close shot of hands typing on an eighties model keyboard. The music is synth and upbeat. There is a quick cut and slow zoom onto the screen associated with the keyboard below. On the screen, there is a command to “PRINT” the words “LOOK AROUND YOU.” There is another quick cut to the keyboard where the hand presses enter. There is a synth sound effect and a quick cut back to the computer screen where “LOOK AROUND YOU” is displayed ad infinitum. At this point, the series logo appears overlaying the shot of the screen. The “O” in the word “you” is a shot of planet earth from space. The synth music concludes on a high pitched, upbeat note. The focus on technology for the intro is a throwback to 1980’s educational programming. There is an added layer of humor from how outdated the computer being used is. The ability to print the series’ name on the screen is presented as something noteworthy and technological, highlighted by the synth warp sound effect when the user presses “enter” on the keyboard.

The episode on iron begins similarly as the other episodes in the series, with a still shot and a voiceover that instructs the viewer to “look around you.” For this episode, the first shot is a low-angle shot of the canopy of a tree. As the action begins to unfold, the voiceover says a couple more times, “look around you.” The music is synth, but this time low-key and calming. This dissolves into a medium shot of a uniformed schoolboy jogging out of the woods. He is followed by two more boys and an overweight boy. When the overweight boy appears, there is a quick dissolve and transition to a close shot. There is another dissolve and return to medium shot as the last three jogging schoolboys make it clear of the forest undergrowth. There is another dissolve and cut to a schoolyard where the head of the pack is reaching the finish line. The boy in last place is now clutching his side, still behind the overweight boy. The boy in last place leaves off jogging to walk. There is still another dissolve to a long shot so that it is clear this boy is in last place and losing ground. At this point the voiceover asks, “Have you worked out what we’re looking for.” There is a cut to a man dressed in a track suit, a probable schoolmaster, attended by a well-dressed young man with a clipboard, a probable prefect. The schoolmaster can be seen yelling and craning his neck as though he is addressing the back of the line. There is another cut to our schoolboy in last place, this time a close shot, as he staggers to lean on a wall. The voiceover chimes in, “Correct. The answer is: iron.” As the voiceover says this, the boy’s face strains in pain, and he pulls his lips back, revealing a set of braces. The shot freezes and the word, “IRON,” appears on the screen beneath the boy’s mouth.

The shots are clearly devised to sharpen the derision of the boy in last place. Keeping him in the same frame as the substantially overweight boy, even as he is being beaten by this larger boy, is probably meant to highlight how abysmally the boy in last is doing. While the transitions are generally dissolves, when the shot switches to the schoolmaster, there is a quick, abrupt cut, in order to highlight the stress the boy in last is in. All the while this action is taking place, there is no sound save for the voiceover and music. This may be in order to focus the viewer’s attention on his or her sense of sight, keeping in line with the series name.