A reverse storyboard of Doctor Who

How camera angles and editing represent gender:

Next, we are shown a still, low angle shot. This was potentially done to emulate Martha’s point of view; she looks up to the male villain- the could suggest that this is what women are expected to do in society. The lack of movement suggests that this point of view is unlikely to move/change. The characters’ heads, in a way, follow the golden ratio which leads us to look to each character consecutively.

This shot, framed using the rule of thirds, is a moving shot. Mounted on a dolly, the camera is then used to follow Martha’s movements. As it is tracking her from the front and moving backwards, the audience feels like she is being watched carefully (potentially by the audience themselves.) As the director has angled the camera slightly downwards, he implies that someone is looking down on her/sees her as inferior.

This low angle shot is used to show that the male character is in the position of power. As a result, it connotes that he is high in the power hierarchy and it implies that males are powerful in our society too. However, another woman is up there with him too but she is Caucasian as well- perhaps they are implying that women can be powerful too but not if they’re people of colour. The slightly canted angle could potentially be interpreted as Martha’s inner confusion.

A high angle shot has been used here to put the audience in the shoes of the villain. He is looking down on her so therefore the audience is too- this point-of-view camera angle helps to immerse the audience in the scene. The way it implies that the man is looking down on her suggests that she isn’t seen as an equal but rather as inferior. The rule of thirds comes into play here as she only fills up 2/3s of the shot perhaps showing she isn’t important enough to fill it up.

This wide shot has been used to show the full extent of the power he has over Martha. She is made to kneel at his feet alone. In a way, this shows what men may expect women to do in everyday life: submit to them so that they are under the males’ control. The rule of thirds is used to divide up the scene but the canted angle makes it less obvious. The canted angle can suggest Martha is confused which could lead us to infer that she doesn’t agree with her current position- this leads her to be represented as rebellious.

The lack of an angled shot suggests that the villain and Martha are on equal footing now. This presents her as being rebellious as she is fighting to be an equal. The close-up allows the audience to see his discomfort at the shift in power. As a result, we can infer that this particular male is only comfortable at the top of the power chain- he is presented as dominative with superiority issues. Also, one third of the screen is empty- this could suggest that more information is to be revealed.

The fact that the villain does not occupy the full length of the frame could suggest that he does not have as much power as he once did. This notion is supported by the space above his head which could be seen as connoting that he should be looking up to the (rising) Doctor and that he isn’t the superior character now. This presents his evil male character as inferior to his heroic counterparts and also suggests that if they are in a position of power, they will not be so for long.

The high angle shot is obviously used here to connote a PoV shot (from the Doctor’s position)- this not only immerses the audience in the scene, but it shows the shift in power. Before, this was used to show how Martha was inferior in comparison to the villain, but now it is used to show how he is the one at a disadvantage. He is framed in the middle of the shot to show how he is alone. This can be put in the context that the villains (regardless of gender) will find themselves alone in the end.