George Lawrence Media Studies AS

TV Drama Notes
Four forces of Media Production
Technological Economic Cultural Regulatory

Representation is a cultural force as it relates to tastes, identity and interests that are shaped by the environment and culture that we inhabit. OFCOM Regulatory body overseeing Or Representation related to Regulation broadcasting and has the power to intervene when programme makers represent issues in a controversial or inaccurate way.

Fragmented audience When audiences are able to view a series in a staggered fashion whether it be all at once or with a range of interactive features. Basic Media Literacy Allows a person to understand a narrative of a television drama and to make a critical response in relation to the programmes and to the ideas, themes and people represented. Textual Analysis (Advanced Media Literacy) Enables us to deconstruct a television drama to understand how it has been put together. Textual Analysis requires both micro and macro analysis in order to give a thorough deconstruction and understanding of the TV Drama. Micro Level involves pulling apart the detailed aspects of the texts frame by frame construction (very thorough) such as: camera angles and movement, shot composition, use of point of view, specific edits and transitions, cutaways and visual effects, pieces of dialogue, music and sound effects, lighting choices, props and costumes This type of analysis is done by playing, pausing and rewinding a number of times in order to pick up all of the different aspects and methods employed by the clip.

Macro Level This is about drawing conclusions from the micro work about how the sequence overall represents people, events, places, themes and how it portrays a sense of reality or being dramatized. In order to produce a piece that is accepted and well interpreted by a majority of viewers there is a three stage process: 1. Analyse the micro elements of the text 2. Conclude from the micro elements a range of macro representations 3. Consider how different people might respond differently to these representations.

George Lawrence Media Studies AS

Representation
The media do not offer us a transparent window on the world but a mediated version of the world. They dont just present reality, they re-present it. A tie is used in order to represent formality, however is just a piece of material hung around a persons neck. In itself it makes no difference but it carries cultural meaning otherwise known as connotations. A name is a symbol (reputation of you) when people who know you read or hear your name, they think of you and the clothes you wear dont just keep you warm and dry, they present an image of you as you like to be seen by others similarly the way your bedroom is decorated. Metaphor Gauntlett (2007) Research method using Lego. He asked people to make a metaphorical model with Lego to represent their identity. He found that when people were asked to reflect on the model that they had created, he could gain a better understanding of how they see themselves than if he asked them to just use language. This experiment showed that a lot of the time we are looking at things that represent us or something without actually resembling it, like the tie. Metaphor is actually something we use all of the time without realising it. Verisimilitude - The appearance of being real or truthful In media For example, in order for a character to be believable, they must wear clothes that you would expect a person like them to wear. When we usually look at how media text represents the world, we are concerned with the representation of: Gender Age Ethnicity Social groups Places Time periods Themes

Together all add up to the Verisimilitude the construction, in a text, of a plausible, believable world. Such a world may have its own logic and therefore may be very unlike our own like Doctor Who, or may try to recreate our own world sharing our logic like Coronation Street which relies on realism.

In order to explore the representation in TV/radio drama, you need to be asking: What kind of realism is being attempted by the programme? Who is being represented in the drama (who is present), and how? Who is not being represented in the drama (who is absent), and why? Can we identify any characters that are stereotypical representations? Is there a dominant view of the world represented in the drama, or are there several different views to choose from? What different responses might audience members make to these representations?

Representational codes These are textual codes which represent reality. Those which are perceived as 'realistic' (especially in film and television) are routinely experienced as if they were recordings or direct reproductions of reality rather than as representations in the form of codes.

George Lawrence Media Studies AS Representation in crisis As it becomes cheaper, easier and quicker for people to make videos and upload them to the internet for an imagined audience, then it is quickly becoming the case that the representation of people by the media is being replaced by people representing themselves. Research in Barcelona by Gonzalez, Martinez and Fernandez (2007) found that in secondary schools in the city, students were engaged in the production and uploading of video to YouTube, and that they had developed a range of ways to think and communicate to comment on each others work. From this analysis, three groups had emerged: 1A group that had only uploaded videos for each other to see 2A playful group who uploaded videos for a potential audience, however, with no concerns about their impact 3And a group of v-loggers who were actively pursuing a critical audience online looking for a broader community of viewers. Success is measured in playback or views of each video and had the potential to catapult the v-logger into a minor celebrity following. This final way of using the media is very different to the idea of the usual stereotypical teenager portrayed in shows such as Hollyoaks or Skins.

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Television Drama
Since the imports of American TV Dramas it has been said that British Dramas have seen a decline in success Downton Abbey a British Drama that has received awards worldwide and huge viewer rating proves that British Dramas are still being produced strong. Media teacher, Steve Connolly concluded that although British dramas may not have the same budgets as American ones, it is still in a fairly healthy state so reports of its demise are exaggerated at this stage. When analysing a Television Drama, these are the elements you need to study: Camera shots Camera angles Camera movement Camera composition Editing Sound Mise-en-Scene

VERY IMPORTANT

Background to TV Drama
Although its not necessary to know the background, history, breadth or funding of a Television Drama series it can be helpful to be aware, in order to provide a quick response to a short sequence.

George Lawrence Media Studies AS You are expected to have an understanding of how serious fictional television engages its viewers by representing real world events, themes, people and places through a series of technical and symbolic devices. However, there are a set of sub-genres or dramatic types that have different conventions: Teen Dramas: which depend entirely on the target audience empathising with a range of authentic characters and age-specific situations and anxieties Soap Operas: which never end, convey a sense of real time and depend entirely on us accepting them as socially realist Costume Dramas: which are often intertextually linked to classic novels or plays and offer a set of pleasures that are very different to dramas set in our own world contexts and times Medical/hospital Dramas: which interplay our vicarious pleasure at witnessing trauma and suffering on the part of patients and relatives with a set of staff narratives that deploy soap opera conventions Police/crime Dramas: which work in the same way as medical/hospital dramas but we can substitute the health context for representation of criminals and victims Docu-dramas: which are set apart from the others by their attempts to dramatise significant real events which usually have either human interest, celebrity focus or political significance

Teen dramas This sub-genre is fairly broad and encompasses Grange Hill, Hollyoaks and Skins. Strike an entertaining balance between social Social issues include: pregnancy, date issues and creating an attractive, rape, alcohol and drug abuse, sexuality, representational range of recognisable character youth crime and relationships. types Real life sensitive storylines / Controversial Often employs full time researcher and acts as mediator between script writers and the audience to avoid bad representation Diverse situations Social documents representing social changes and the balance of change and tradition in a programme Stereotypes Domestic issues Do not try to appeal to such a broad audience

Soap Operas Soap Operas have a wide range of conventions that make it distinct from other forms of television drama, these conventions add up to an overall representation of domestic real life that tries to be both recognisable to the public as everyday and at the same time melodramatic and exciting. Here are some of the conventions of a typical Soap Opera: Constant illusion of real time Precise continuity Tease devices and cliff hangers Combinations of action (information for the viewer) and enigma (questions raised for the viewer) Dominance of two-shot and over-the-shoulder shot conversations (90%) Establishing shots of locations or groups of people

George Lawrence Media Studies AS Coverage of current social issues Meeting places that allow for the circulation of gossip (pub, caf) Narrative flow and a nostalgic and perhaps outdated depiction of community Interweaving storylines Partial closure of storylines Music used as motif (for example Eastenders drums as the end of an episode) Dominance of diegetic sound Symbolic costumes and set designs

Some key questions to ask of soap opera extracts: How is representation of particular groups of people within the broader focus on ordinary communities and families mediated through the specific televisual language of this kind of text in comparison to other forms of television drama? How does the verisimilitude achieved by the illusion of ongoing real time establish a greater sense of realism than other texts? In what ways are soap operas topical and sometimes controversial in their treatments of current affairs/social issues? Related to this, what is the responsibility of a soap opera producer? Is it to reflect society as it is or as it should be? What is the balance of realism and drama in particular soaps? (titles)

Recently Soap operas are employing more sophisticated and cinematic trailers in order to promote current storylines. Period dramas Authenticity of Mise en scene Must have a contemporary impact Famously expensive to produce Filmic in quality Easy to follow due to the audiences acceptance of how the times were different. Literary adaptations

Period Dramas

Classic fiction When analysing you have to deconstruct not only the representations on screen but also go further and see how the representations might be of interest to viewers from a contemporary point of view

More and more, period dramas set out to appeal to an international market as it is reported to cost 1.2 million an hour to produce. Programmes such as Downton Abbey have done such a thing with it being easier for a British period drama to appeal worldwide as our heritage is of great interest to many. Carters summation of the agenda for producers of TV Period Dramas, success depends on how well producers: Balance the need for dramatic licence against historical accuracy Assemble a production team, sympathetic to the producers and writers vision Identifying an appropriate subject to dramatise and then settling on the right approach

George Lawrence Media Studies AS Hospital dramas Balance two different narrative themes o Public health and the treatment of illness o Workplace interactions and relationships Shares many conventions of a soap opera Contains many stereotypes Many occupational roles o Medical managers o Surgeons o Consultants and doctors o Nurses o Porters and cleaners o Paramedics and ambulance crews o The police o Social workers o Parents o Children o The elderly o Religious groups Sub-sub-genre of hospital drama parodies such as Green Wing

Crime Dramas Two types of TV Crime Drama One-off crime drama focusing on crimes that create the most anxiety among the viewing public such as murder and serial killing. These types are distinguished by the law enforcements they focus on: police inspector, team of detectives, psychologist or a lawyer. Long-running TV Crime Dramas have a variety of subplots over time that help build up more sustained audience interest in the relationships between characters.

Each crime drama will have its own unique representational aspects that are not directly linked to the crime being investigated

Prime suspect, Lewis, A touch of Frost and Cracker are all attempts by ITV to rebrand previously successful crime shows rather than invest in new drama productions. As the BBC do not generate revenue through advertising they are known to sell many products relating to the shows they show such as DVDs, board games and interactive websites and have also been criticised for the large amount of product placement in their shows as well as the high costs for distribution of their shows abroad.

Dunne (2006) suggests that media representations of crime normally set up five key binaries:

George Lawrence Media Studies AS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Crime/the police Criminals/the criminal justice system Lawyers versus courts Social workers versus the police Victims versus the public.

Each programme can be analysed using this system of oppositions and we can therefore get a sense of how each programme represents crime and law and order differently. The representation of crime is never neutral

In the Bill it is rare for there to be a shot without a police protagonist which gives the viewer the sense of following these crimes from a police perspective making them appear the good people. However, more recently the media explore oppositions to the polices point of view and show that the police can and sometimes do, make mistakes (they can be flawed)

Shared Conventions
Characters who offer shorthand representations of real types of people (or stereotypes). Narrative which is visually presented and demands high levels of active audience understanding (of what is assumed to happen in between edits the difference between plot and story). Mise en scene (costume, props, lighting, locations, elements of performance these things add up to an instantly recognisable atmosphere which is authentic for the events, themes and people that are being represented in the drama). Camerawork that ensures continuity and creates drama through visual conventions. Dialogue, sound and music which create a balance between verisimilitude (the believable logic of the texts world which appears real) and drama (dialogue which might be less polished in the real world, music which tells the audience that we should feel scared, happy, tense, romantic, sad or amused). When watching and analysing TV Drama, ask these questions: Which sub-genre does it represent? How is its narrative structure typical of this sub-genre? How does the mise en scene create verisimilitude? What visual codes are used as representational devices? How do sound, dialogue and music balance realism with drama? Does the programme/series employ intermedial references? Overall, who and what are represented and how? What range of audience responses are possible?