TV Drama Assesment results

My marks:
Analysis=8
Examples=7
Terminology=3
Total=18

Mr Shaikh's marks:
Analysis=8
Examples=7
Terminolgy=4
Total=19


Notes for improvement:
-Better made notes
-Refer to media teminology
-Be specific in examples
-More analysis

TV Crime Drama factfile

There are two kinds of crime dramas: one off and long running.
One off dramas tend to focus on crimes that create anxiety
Long running dramas have a variety of sub plots which create different problems within the program
Each drama has its own unique representational aspects

The crime dramas have five key binaries which appear in each episode. These consist of:
1) Crime/police
2) Criminals
3) Lawyers vs courts
4) Social workers vs police
5) Victims vs police


Examples of crime dramas are:


Life on Mars - "The programme tells the story of DCI Sam Tyler who, after being hit by a car in 2006, finds himself in the year 1973. There, he works for Manchester and Salford Police as a DI under DCI Gene Hunt. Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding the differences between his modern approach to policing and the more traditional methods of his colleagues. Mixing the genres of science fiction and police procedural, the series centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he is insane, in a coma, or if he really has travelled back in time."


CSI: Miami - "The series is an American crime drama television series that follows the investigations of a team of forensic scientists as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths and other crimes."


The Bill - "The Bill is unusual among police shows for taking a serial format and not focusing on any particular area of police work. The show covers the work and lives of patrol and response officers on one relief in the uniform division, and the work of the CID. In its current serial format, some stories are resolved in an episode or two, whereas others can stretch over months."

*All quotes found on wikipedia.org*

Discuss the ways in which the extract of Hollyoaks creates representations of gender and lifestyle.

The opening shot of this scene is a wide, establishing shot of a living room in a house. The room seems quite plain and dull without much in it which suggests a working class family or 'stereotypical' british lifestyle. In the center of the scene is a female character who is percieved to be Irish because of her dancing. The music complies to this as is it tradition Irish music.

There is then a cut to three characters on a sofa talking about the dancer. They are wearing black clothing and the male charcter is holding an urn which suggests that a funeral has taken place. The male character is sitting between the two female characters to create a contrast. The two women seem quite happy and are sitting in a 'femenine' way with their legs crossed whereas the male character is sitting with his legs apart looking upset and drinking a beer which also creates a stereotype for men. They also seem to be friends or family of the dancer by the way they are talking about her. The lighting is kept to natural with the only source of light seeming to come from the onewindow in the room which also shows a small house that would belong to a working class family.

After this, the music goes out of key and stops, showing that something dramatic has happened. Close-ups of the character's appalled expressions are then shown to create enigma as the audience don't know why they are so shocked. When we see that 'Chris' is wearing women's clothes, the audience can see another stereotype withing the family; that they don't want to be different. They are so shocked about what Chris is wearing because they obviously arn't used to it and they want him to be 'normal'. Contrast is used again for this by Chris wearing white whilst everyone else is wearing black: this makes him stand out more as being 'different' and also creates a stereotypical 'gay' character; attention seeking and 'camp'. The way he stands also adds to this as he has his hip popped to one side and he is standing like a stereotypical female. The woman that faints in the background and the woman that runs away shows a dramatic contrast between Chris and the rest of the character's lifestyles. Chris is obviously more used to the dramatic and obvious lifestyle that is normally connected to places like London where people stereotypically don't care what people think and stereotypical Ireland where everone knows everyone else and the lifesyle seems to be much quieter and discreet.

After this, another stereotype is created: Mercedes is shown in a bar wearing lots of make-up and looking like almost the opposite of the characters we have just seen. She is perceved to be a 'slag' and seems to be a million miles away from the characters in Ireland. She seems to be what people would believe to be a female character as she seems to be a lot like the dancer in Ireland; attention seeking and needy. She is having flashbacks of a relationship with the character in Ireland and, although they are shown to be completely opposite in both gender and lifestyle, they are still connected.

This scene shows a lot of contrast between gender and lifestyle and also uses many steretypes to create recognisable characters and storylines. However, all the different representations are needed to create a healthy balance and an interesting episode.

Analysis of Camerawork, Editing and Sound/Music in Charmed.

Camerawork and editing are used a lot in this scene of charmed. The scene starts with a tilt upwards to show a house and then dissolves into a master shot of three people in a wide shot. During this, a guitar-like music is playing and a sparkling noise is made from an instrument such as a keyboard to associate the audience with the idea of magic. This is then followed by dialogue and a sequence of cuts between characters. These cuts are all medium close-ups and all involve eye line matches. Halfway through this sequence, some music is played on a piano to show the almost upset emotions of the characters that their story is ending. After this sequence, the camera cuts back to the master shot and then cuts back to a medium close-up of Phoebe looking at the book. This then cuts in to a close-up and during this the music continues to play. The camera then pans to a dissolve whilst Phoebe is talking as a monologue through a voice over. After the dissolve, the camera goes to a wide shot and then tracks forwards to a two shot. Throughout these scenes, the same music is still playing. The camera then dissolves to a two-shot of Phoebe and Coop and then pans to follow them. The camera then cuts between a two-shot of Phoebe and Coop and a mid-shot of the children. After this, the camera dissolves to a medium close-up of Phoebe which then pans across and tilts up to see a poster. During this, the voice over changes to Paige's voice and a dissolve shows a medium close-up of her whilst the camera pans. It then dissolves again to show a mid shot of Henry and the camera tracks backwards to follow his movement. This is followed by an eye line match cut to show a mid -shot of Paige and the children. The camera then cuts back again to Henry and a slight pan is used to follow him hugging his children. A cut is used again after this to a close-up to show Paige's happiness. On the word 'whitelighter', there is a fast-paced cut to show a mid shot of a demon shooting an arrow. The camera then quickly pans to follow the arrow and the cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot to show it blowing up the demon. The camera then changes angle during the blast and shows a two-shot of Paige and a woman. A dissolve is then used again while Piper begins to speak to show a medium close up of her. The camera then uses a pan similarly to the other two characters and dissolves again to a mid shot of Piper and Leo with their children. The camera has slight movement throughout this scene and the camera then moves to show a two shot of Piper and Leo. The scene then dissolves again to show a series of cuts between close-ups of two of Piper's grown up children and then a close-up of a pot which is then followed by a two-shot. A dissolve then follows to show a panned mid-shot of Piper in the kitchen. A dissolve is used again after this to show a mid-shot of Leo which also pans to follow him. Next, a cut is used to show a wide-shot of children from over Leo's shoulder and the camera then cuts again to show a mid-shot of Leo. A medium close-up of a boy is the used and the camera cuts between this shot and a mid-shot of some books to show the boy moving one of the books. An over-the shoulder long shot is used after this to show Leo once again. After this, a dissolve is used and the voice of Piper changes to shound older and more frail. This then changes the dialogue to a mode of address towards the other character. A two-shot is then shown with a slight pan and track at the same time. After this, the camera follows the older Piper to show a mid-shot wth Leo in the background but in shallow focus. Piper moving infront of the camera then shows a mid-shot of the young girl which then uses an eyeline match to show a two-shot of Piper and Leo. The mid-shot of the girl is then cut back to and a cut follows again to show Piper and Leo walking up the stairs. To follow this, a sequence of dissolves between pans of pictures on the wall and Piper and Leo walking up the stairs are shown. After this sequence a dissolve is used again to show a mid-shot of the door. A cut then shows the young girl again and the camera cuts between the door and the young girl to show her closing the door with a wave of her hand. To complete this scene, a match on action cuts to the outside of the door and uses a crane to track backwards and brings the scene to a finish.
To conclude, this scene is very complex and uses a lot of camera shots and editing techniques as well as a lot of voice over dialogue. Using these techniques may be very simple but they have made the scene very interesting and enjoyable to watch.

How Are Sound & Music Techniques Used In The 'Hollyoaks' Clip.

The scene starts off with ambient diegetic sounds of Max's heavy breathing and leaves rustling as he walks across the ground. You can also hear birds in the background to show that they are in the woods. The music then changes to non-diegetic sound which is synchronous to the plot of the scene as Max has just seen Tom's coat in the water. Dialogue is then used for Max calling to Tom. This dialogue continues through the scene and it is mostly of Max calling Tom's name. The pace then changes when Max begins to yell louder and the music goes to a mini-climax using trumpets to heighten the atmosphere. Max groans as he jumps into the water to show his determination, the sound is also amplified to be more influential. Once Max is in the water, the sound changes and you hear things from the perspective of Max. The sound levels change, non diegetic sound is used and you can't hear the ambient sounds any more, you can just hear the sound of the water which makes the audience feel like they are in the water with Max. When Max comes up from underneath the water, the pace becomes quicker. The volume increases when Max finds Tom's empty jacket to show that Max is panicking and the music also reaches its climax. When Max goes back underneath the water we can hear his muffled yelling to show that he still hasn't found Tom. After this, mixed diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used to create the atmosphere of the forest but also to keep up the pace. The music then stops for the amplified dialogue so that the audience can hear clearly what is being said. Tom banging on the window is also amplified and you can hear muffled shouting to show that he is trapped. The music stays silent for a while after this to build tension and the little sounds are amplified such as the dialogue and the splashing of water as Max begins to drown. The splashing is then decreased in volume for dialogue but is re-amplified once the dialogue is finished. Tom's yelling in the car is then amplified majorly to show his anger and sadness about Max in the water. 'Funeral' type music is played after this with organs to change the atmosphere and to begin to upset the audience or to make them think that there is no hope for Max. The non-diegetic sound is then amplified and sound mixing is used so that all the audience can hear is the organ music and they can't hear the dialogue. This increases tension and ends the clip with an upsetting sequence.

Explain how camerawork and editing are used in the excerpt of Shameless.

This scene used many different camera shots. The first of these is a wide, tracking shot of Frank. It is a point of view shot from the view of the character in the car as you can see the windscreen of the car as it follows Frank. This shows the audience that someone important is in the car and that they are going to be involved in something important in the scene. Next, a centrally frames long shot is used to show Frank staggering along the road. This also shows the background of the scene and the car coming towards Frank. After this, an extreme close up of Frank is used to show the look of fear and confusion on his face. This is followed by a close up of Lip to show his anger and a worms eye view is used for the superiority of Lip and to show Franks point of view as he is on the floor. A close up of Frank is then followed with a close up of Lip's fist just after to show the action in the scene and to give the audience the scene from Frank's point of view. A cutaway shot is used next of Karen in her room to pull away from the action and to show a different perspective of the action. This shot is used with a handheld camera to show that she's feeling unstable. A fisheye lens is also used for this sequence to show her distress and anger. This shot is then followed by two shots of Lip with Steve and Frank with Fiona. These shots are used with a handheld camera to follow on the action and to show the distress of the characters and the scene. A static camera is used next while panning Karen to slow down the action and to show that the peak of the scene is over. This is followed by an extreme closeup of Frank on the sofa to show the bleeding nose that Lip gave him. A pull out is followed to show a two shot of Frank and Sheila. An eyeline match follows this to show Karen in the back of the room. This shows that Karen is feeling like an outcast because of how far away she is from the other characters. Throughout this part of the scene, a wide shot of the living room is used as the master shot to show all four characters. Finally, a low angle over the shoulder shot shows Karen leaving the room and the camera moves back to the two shot of Frank and Sheila.

Editing is also very important to this scene. Cuts are always used throughout the scene with one exception. The cuts are used to keep up with the strong pace of the scene and to follow the action. The one exception to the cuts is a white fade which is used for Sheila when she opens the door. This is used to change the pace of the scene and also to link the cutaway to the rest of the sequence. During the fight between Frank and Lip, the 180 degree rule is used. Match on action is also used to keep up the pace of the scene and a cutaway is used to show the house so that the action is continued. Match on action is also used when the car is following Frank to continue the pace and action. Shot reverse shot is used when Frank is walking to show a different perspective of him and also to show the setting to the viewer. Finally, in the end of the sequence, a deep focus is used for the conversation between Frank, Sheila and Karen to show Karen alone in the background but she is also framed so that she can be seen in the back of the room.

To conclude, this scene is very action packed and full of camera shots and editing. In this essay I have explained the use of camera techniques and edits and the effects that they have on the scene and the characters.

How is camerawork used in this excerpt of ‘Shameless’?

Two shots and deep focus shots are used first of all to show the main character in the foreground but also two other characters having a private conversation in the background. A medium-close up is then used to show a conversation. A high angle-shot shows isolation of a character which is then followed by a jump into a medium close up to show the anger of the character.
A tracking shot and a long shot are used for significance and to show the setting for the audience. The camera is hand-held to make the scene seem more realistic and to connect the viewers to the characters.
The camera is static with a character running towards the camera to show urgency and speed. The camera then moves with the character with tracking and establishing shots which then tilt down to show what the character is holding. A pan is then used to follow the character and follows the car. A low level shot is used to imply a threat. This technique is commonly used in horror films to show danger. This shot also shows the perspective of the people in the car.
A jumping and unsteady shot is used next to follow the petrol and to show the character’s state of mind and his instability.
An over the shoulder shot is used to show the importance of the character in the foreground and fast cutting is then used to show a sense of danger. Two shots and medium close ups are used regularly after this but they always return to the master shot to show where people are and what they’re doing.
A close up is then used of the lighter to show the importance and the danger. This is followed by and extreme close up using a central frame which continues to show the danger and it also shows the peak of tension. A close up is used again but this time of the cigarette to show the importance and that it will have something to do with the narrative. A pan shot then follows where the character is looking and finally a series of medium close ups are used to show the emotions of the characters.
Throughout this scene, most of the shots are medium close ups or two shots and the camera is mostly hand held. This is typical of Shameless and also many other TV Dramas.