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1. This is the initial shot we have of Martha Jones coming face to face with the
Master upon her entrance. The use of a low angle shot in the extract
immediately highlights this established power struggle between both characters.
Martha is emphasised as a character of vulnerability and weakness compared to
the Master’s assertive authority and dominance. This is simply shown through
the way the Master is towering above Martha indicating who has the upper hand
in the situation and reflects the female character being belittled and
overshadowed. In relation to the overall representation of gender, the fact that a
low angle shot is being used to portray Martha’s lower status is effective at
showing how us as the audience are being made to sympathise with her
character and view the antagonist in a negative, intimidating light. This initial
scene is a representative of Martha’s submissiveness to the master reflecting the
traditional value of women in society and how they should obey men and be,
essentially, ‘seen and not heard’, shown also through the lack of dialogue. The
shot clearly displays a sexualised woman next to the master dressed in red, a
colour that connotes beauty. This provokes a misogynist perception of the
master as the woman on his left is being utilised only for her appearance, almost
as an accessory for the Master. Even though she stands above Martha,
displaying the level of power she has, she is stripped of her identity and is still
being objectified, showing that the male character is the most dominant
character because of his gender.

2. As the Master continues to talk down to Martha about his
plans and utters the words ‘thousands of ships are said to
burn across the universe’, a close up, high angle shot of
Martha is used to highlight her fearful emotion and creates
a sense of terror as the scene builds to a climax. The fact
that she is looking up at the master in dismay reflects a lack
of control over the situation and plays on her vulnerable
position. It represents her as not being able to deal with the
emotions, reflecting women as emotionally weaker as
opposed to intellectual. This contradicts the use of
ambiguous vocabulary use by the master to belittle Martha
at this point, symbolising men as more intelligent. In
retrospect, Martha’s quite neutral facial expression
foreshadows this sense of fear will not last and that there
will eventually be a shift in power.

3. The use of a focus pull is used when the master is
looking at the countdown clock. It then re-focuses
on the Master. This indicated the power he has
over time as it descends. This is representative of
the male characters adamant superiority. The way
the master hovers over this abstract concept of
time reflects the complete control he has over
everything in this scene. The regained focus
indicated that the Master is the most important
feature and essentially nothing overrides his
control.

4.  The use of a flashback in terms of editing is
effective in his scene at establishing the point
in which Martha regains her power in this
situation. The colour degrading signifies this
flashback enhances the idea of moving back
in time. This shows Martha gaining her
confidence and opposes her vulnerable
pesona we see beforehand. However, during
the flashback she is preaching about the
doctor, which insinuates that the male
character is still underlying the most
dominant person and is idolised by Martha.
This flashback gives Martha more time to be
heard and shows her becoming equally as
powerful, if not more, than the Master.

5.  The use of eye line match allows us as the
audience to constantly know what the master is
looking at. This is effective at portraying the
master as the most significant character as it
signifies that, essentially, whoever or whatever
he is focusing on should be the focus of our
attention also. The fact that we see the master
looking at the fearful servants indicates his lack
of empathy and, again, reflects his character as
cold, deceitful and having power over others
emotions.

6.  This establishing shot reveals the space and
distance between the characters as Martha is
kneeling before the Master displaying inferiority
and vulnerability of her character. However it
makes it clear to the audience that the Master is
gradually coming down to Martha’s level which
could foreshadow his defeat and the power shift
that is about to occur. In this shot, the other
characters are seen to be extremely distant from
the action and this lack of focus on them
represents their lack of significance.

7. Martha, enters in the background accompanied by two guards which is an immediate sign to the fact that
the male has some kind of power over the woman and conforms to a stereotype of the role in society. This
sets the tone for the rest of the extract and gives the audience a clear sense of the hierarchy of the
characters. The shallow focus blurs out the two guards indicating that even they are not as significant of
characters as Martha in this scene, they are always over-shadowing her symbolising the female character’s
lack of freedom and escape portraying her as this typical ’damsel in distress’

8. A high angle shot is used when we get a first glimpse of the doctor in alien form. This suggests that because he is
not in man form, he is perceived as vulnerable and having no control in this situation. His strength and
stereotypical conventions of a protagonist is revealed when the doctor is brought back to his normal form of a
man which indicated that his masculinity allows him to become empowering and heroic. As an alien, the doctor is
trapped in a cage indicating vulnerability and the audience are made to sympathise with him. However when
everyone helps to free the doctor, a low angle shot is used as he breaks free to emphasise his power being
restored. This however, still shows how men hold the most powerful status in a scene whether that is a
protagonist or antagonist.

9. This long shot captures the climax and action of the extract as we witness the Mater’s defeat as the doctor is
freed. This shot is effective at indicating that the action and intensity of the scene lies between both male
characters signifying their importance and how the battle is only made to be dealt with between them. The
lack of significance of women in this extract is represented through the woman on the left standing in a
seductive red dress. Her lack of involvement in the action and being portrayed as a trophy figure used for her
appearance indicates how the action isn’t for women to be involved in and she stands back portraying
vulnerability in this dangerous situation.