Waterloo Road Clip- IR

This clip consists of the young girl Chlo giving birth in the school toilets. As this is quite dramatic clip, the pace of the cuts and camera movements are very quick and at times is hard to keep up with. Also, as the clip is very emotional, lots of close ups are used.

The initial establishing shot helps the audience to identity the setting as being the toilets, they then see the teacher talking to Chlo through the toilet door about giving up her baby; the door between them not only represents the divide but also their difference of opinion as the teacher is trying to tell her not to. The fact that Chlo is in an enclosed toilet cubicle suggests that she feels trapped herself because of the pressure she is under due to the expected baby.

The audience then sees a high angle, mid shot of Chlo sat on the toilet. This is the first time we see her in some sort of distress and pain which informs the audience that the baby is coming building the tension. As this point, a heavy drum beat music then kicks in which emphasises this tension and idea of distress. Multiple shots then cut in and out of close ups and mid shots to show her facial expressions so the audience are aware of the pain and discomfort she is in. These are followed by a low shot under the toilet cubicle of gushing of water- again, telling the audience that Chlo had gone into labour.

A lot of the clip is filmed free hand which allows the audience to feel like they are actually there which makes them feel more involved. Various different shots are used to portray the panic at the school. For example, wide angle shots that show many teachers and pupils rushing around with lots of background noise highlights the effect one thing has had on the whole school. Another shot of a pupil running all the way down the corridor emphasises this idea.