Hotel Babylon Clip Analysis

When the police arrive, the camera does a Dolly zoom from 0:16-0:19, in which it zooms into the secretary. This is to draw attention to her as the Police are coming to talk to her. There then follows a series of over the shoulder shots, shot from opposite perspectives, which start at 0:24  and continue until
0:48.

At first, it is over the shoulder of the receptionist so that the main thing you can see are the police officers as they are the threat in the scene. It switches to over the shoulder of one of the police officers as the Secretary is asking them what they want. This is because she is important while she is talking as she is about to set the scene of what is going to happen because they will then answer her question and start to act out the main event of the scene. It switches back to facing him over her shoulder when he shows his Police badge, as that adds a sense of threat because it reminds the viewers that he has authority. Then, from 1:01-1:04, there is a rapid panning shot as one of the characters runs around a corner. This shot helps show his panicked mood, and builds tension as we know he is going to break the news that they have to hide because the immigration officers are coming. It is followed by a similar fast panning shot of another character running for the same reason. This adds to the tension as more than one person is in a panicked mood about this situation and they are both headed to tell somebody who is in charge. When they arrive at 1:10, it shows a medium close up of what looks like a manger then as the two run into the room, it pans very quickly and there is a two of both of them standing in the doorway as they tell the Boss about what is happening. The fact that they used a two shot creates a sense of panic as they are both trying to tell her at the same time and as fast as possible.

It is taken from a medium close shot perspective so that you can see their facial expressions in detail and also part of their bodies. It then cuts to the medium shot of the manager as she quickly gets up to address the problem.

 It pans to follow her as she runs out of the room. At 1:15, you see a long shot of the kitchens as she runs in and tells them they need to hide. 

 At 1:25, you can see a long shot taken through a metal grate, which shows all of the workers running away from the kitchens and towards a room. 

The fact it is taken through a heavy duty metal grate means it creates an atmosphere of fear. 

At 1:42, there is a medium close up of one of the workers. 

This is effective for capturing the mood of characters as it shows nothing but a close up of their facial expression. Then, from 1:46-1:48 there is a rapid zoom in to the manager's face as she states "where's Ibrahim?", which is one of their workers. This creates drama and is effective in making the audience panic, as it has made us question the safety of one of the characters.

At 2:09, a lady faints, and they use a high angle shot to present her as weak and vulnerable. 

At 2:50, there is a pull focus shot, that switches focus from Ibrahim to the Immagration officers as they come out the lift to get him. This is to present them as the threat in the scene.

Then, at 2:53, it zooms into a close up shot of Ibrahim's face, which helps us feel his fear as it is showing us a close up of his reaction.

Once they leave with Ibrahim, at 3:04, it pans down to the vacuum cleaner, which reminds us that he was doing a simple task and suddenly his life has been changed.

Back in the hiding room, at 3:22 it zooms in to the manager's face after a knock is heard on the door. This is to build tension as you can see she is worried about who it might be.

From 3:38 to 3:47  are a series of tracking shots that follow Ibrahim and the immagration officers as they walk through the lobby of the hotel.  These help keep the attention on the important part of the scene, which is Ibrahim being taken away.
Then, whilst the manager and the officer are talking, there are a series of mid shots of other people in the lobby, which occur from 3:54 to 3:59.  It shows their shocked and upset expression, adding to the atmosphere of the scene.
From 4:53, there is a panning shot that pans around the canteen where the workers are eating. It stops at 5:09 to show two of the workers, one of which saved the fainted lady's life, praying over their food before they eat.

This helps show that these characters have empathy for Ibrahim, as they realize it could have been them caught. This contrasts to the other workers in the canteen, who are talking very loudly, as if nothing has happened.