We start with the first day of term at Roundview College. Best friends Freddie, JJ, and Cook are en-route to college. They meet Effy in a series of events and Cook is as intrigued and excited. However, both Freddie and JJ are equally smitten. Identical twin sisters Katy and Emily prepare for their first day with Katie walking all over her sister Emily. Once at college, Effy and Katie clock one another immediately, whilst Effy’s best mate Pandora tells Effy she wants to lose her virginity. At college, Cook tries to charm the girl sitting next to him but instead winds her up. Naomi is not impressed and grasses Cook up. Effy issues smitten Freddie, JJ and Cook with a challenge to be completed by the end of the day. The winner will get to ‘know her’ better. Cook completes the list by being outragously rebellious and therefore wins the challenge - his reward, a trip to the empty nurses room with Effy...
Characterisation
This week we have learnt about characterisation in TV drama. This episode is particularly filled with characterisation as it is the first of the series and this series is introducing a whole set of new characters to the public. To show what I have learnt in this section, I will explain in detail how this episode of Skins introduced the character 'Cook' to the Skins audience. This is called characterisation.
Cook's first Scene:
COSTUME
• He wears a trendy red jumper and beige trousers, fairly plain and neutral so he can fit into almost any social surrounding.
• Red is a fairly bright colour to make a bit of a statement and red can often spell danger.
• His sleeves are pulled up showing he means business.
• He does not care too much about his appearance but more about the image he portrays – how he wears his clothes, how he sits etc.
IMAGE
• Position – he sits with his legs far apart and one hand on knee. The open body language suggests he is easy going and confident in himself and your line of vision is directed towards his chest and manhood.
• He holds a cigarette limply in his fingers giving him a cool ‘bad boy’ image and the beer on the table shows he is a typical lad who likes his booze, to boost his masculinity.
ACTIONS
First line out of shot "Fredster!", we hear his tone of voice as deep and masculine and it is bellowed out hooligan-like showing a lack of thought/tact - we know he is an extravert.
His dialogue is abrupt as he latches onto things people says or just simply says things how they are. He can often be crude and would easily offend people. He uses youthful slang and is a local lad because of his thick Bristol accent. We know he is quite rebellious by the amount of times he swears - "this stuff is f***in rubbish by the way!"
He dictates/dominates the other two boys with his actions and has some kind of influence on them (possibly a bad one here insisting Freddy has a beer). He also makes the most of every action, exagerating situations to gain the attention, such as slamming down the beer, or puffing out his smoke, showing he gets a 'kick' out if it, and life itself.
His hand on JJ's knee suggests he is totally comfortable with his sexuality and is a physical person.
When JJ is ranting we cut to Cook at MCU over Freddy's shoulder and Cook laughs before we cut to Freddy who laughs too. This is a motivated cut, which is used alot in scenes with Cook. Cook has provoked this reaction from Freddt and makes the audience laugh too even though the comedy is not directly from him, but from JJ. Alot of ours and the other characters reactions are provoked by Cook's facial expressions.
He is a smooth talker and has the 'gift of the gab', as he can get himself out of any situation and gets away with a lot, such as demanding more beers from the waitress. Calling her "darling" suggests he is a player with the ladies but is also rude and ignorant byt the way he points and gesticulates with his cigarette. As well as this he is oozing with confidence and cockeyness.
His masculine repulsive acts such as feeling his groin and chest and burping loudly provoke reactions from everyone around him, including a stranger who labels him a "pig."
He is a typical lad and spills his beer down his shirt before wiping it with his arm, showing he is carefree and does what he wants openly without caring what people think.
"This days get potential - its pregnant" shows Cook is an optimist and opputunist looking to make the most out of the day. It is HIS day and he is only looking to have a good time. He takes whatever comes his way and enjoys life - acting on instinct. He is VERY impulsive. "Its pregnant" gives us an insight into his unique wittiness, youthful way of thinking and often vulgar or straight-minded sense of humour.
He shows a lack of emotional/sensible side showing his immaturity when a car crashes near them - he is in hysterics at this moment. His laugh is distinctive and is the sort that makes us laugh, giving him more comedic value and likeable qualities.
Cook's Later Scenes:
Here, Cook is positioned in the middle of the boys and a step in front. This shows he controls the situation and is dominating the corridor space. He is the leader, the frontrunner of the show and sets the pace of the series. The camera backtracks as the gang walk towards it, and Cook has the power here over the audience too. He means business. He is important. The audience know what a big role he will play in the show.
This is Cook's reaction to women and we see a flaw. He falls easily at the feet of good-looking women showing his shallow side and large sex drive. He looks gormless and lost and we know his only mission is to get with these women. The camera stops still here to reflect how Cook has stopped dead in his tracks, giving it a dreamy feel.
Here, Cook is being filmed by JJ to impress Effy. The shot is amateur and handheld to show Cook's righteous and out of control side. The camera is always on the move, as is Cook. Being from the cameras point of view also shows how the focus of the show is on Cook - he is an attention seeker and wants to be noticed.
The music in this scene has an unsteady drum beat, and builds up to something lively. It is a punky, righteous anthem and is shouty and in your face - perfect for Cook. It is fun and has some sense of rhythm despite its improvisation and spontaneous bursts, and this reflects Cook's personality perfectly as well as setting the scene for this anti-school rule video shot.
Here, none of the title of the porn mag is blocked and we see it how it is in its explicit form. This gives the audience a warning of what is to come from Cook, and also shows how straight he is with people. With Cook you get what you see - and he is full on, the "real deal".
Cook constantly plays up to the camera showing how much of a show-off he is not only to Effy but to the audience. He holds the alcohol up to the camera and says "cheers" showing how he makes an extreme, rebellious situation seem light-hearted and normal. He is composed/relaxed yet we expect the extreme from him from now on after he sets this benchmark.
All of Cook's sequences are edited in a similar way. Every bit of action seems to cut back to Cook for a reaction shot, even when he is not speaking. His reactions are both suggestive and provokative showing the important part he plays in the flow of the narrative. This is seen in a scene with Naomi, where there is not much dialogue but only short bursts of speech. The action is strung together by the gestures and faces both characters pull - mostly from Cook's reactions. The reactions are often MCU but even at LS it is highly noticeable what Cook's reaction is as he dominates the screen with his posture and gesticulating actions.
Overall, Cook is a love-hate figure. You either love him for his sense of humour and rebellious outlook on life, or you hate him for his cockeyness, crude remarks and idiotic outbursts. He has a sex appeal with female audiences and a "lad" appeal with male audiences, but could put off women with his repulsiveness and men with his "in your face" swagger and style.
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