The opening scene where Merlin goes into a rich, posh looking establishment, we already know lots of the time era and the way class is represented. As we can see from the mise en scene in the shot, as Merlin is wearing brown rags for clothes so is clearly at the bottom end of the spectrum. This contrasts against the building he is in, the decoration of the room is of a very high standard so we know that whoever this rooms belongs to is of a high class. We can tell the class is represented as being quite segregated in the time this program is set as there is a large, significant difference between the contrast of Merlin's clothes and the environment he is in. As you can see there is a fire in the background of the room, in some of the more close-up camera shots, the fire takes up a lot of the frame. This intense flame may be used to show that Merlin is in danger, or he should not be there, this is also supported by the mise en scene already mentioned. This represents class because he is clearly low class, so shouldn’t be around the higher class, richer people of that time; this shows that poorer people were perhaps treated as thieves or thought of as scum.
The fight scene brings in interesting parts of editing; we see many fast cuts being used when the pair begin to engage in the fight. These are used to connotate the clumsiness and poor ability that Merlin shows when he is fighting the royal man. As we see him tripping over or getting stuck in hay etc. This gives the audience the impression he is not a very experienced fighter and obviously hasn’t been trained. This represents class because he will not have these skills due to his lack of wealth and status. In contrast, when the man of royalty is fighting Merlin, slow motion is used to show the skill he possesses, and make that as dramatic as possible. This also represents gender as it shows that if you are born into royalty or wealth for example, you can easily acquire skills and equipment. The equipment of the royal men ties in with the representation of gender because it contrasts against the rags merlin is wearing, they have shiny metal armour and chainmail, and this is used to portray them as knights. And most commonly, only those who are born into a rich or royal family become knights.
The sound used in the clip from Merlin is important in its representation of class, especially in the fight scene. We can hear non-diegetic sound in the background of the fight scene. This is (contrupuncual?) sound as it goes against what is happening on the screen. As the music is quite jolly and would most likely traditionally be played at a high class or royal banquet. This music suits the time period that the TV series is set in and keeps in with the setting of the program. It will also remind the audience of the different classes because you cannot expect someone who is dressed in rags like Merlin to be listening to that kind of music, as he would not have the skill or the privilege to listen or play it. It shows that only the highest class can enjoy the finer things in life and the lower classes have to live with bare minimum.
Sound is also used when Merlin is in the room of the rich lady’s and he appears to not be allowed there, we can tell this from the comparisons of his rag clothes to the decorations that make the room he is in seem very high class and posh. We can also tell he isn’t supposed to be there through the close up of his face, showing how unnerved he is and scared of being caught out. So along with all this happening we hear some more non diegetic sounds that sound like stringed instruments that are slowly building up in volume and tempo, these are used to create intensity and keep the audience on edge and prepare them for the climax of the shot. But, in this case, these sounds that have built up appear to be a red herring as Merlin manages to get out of the building without any real problems.
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