Last Tips

Hi,

Just wanted to wish you all luck and offer you some last minute tips.

You must have prepared the outline of your TV Crime Drama. Consider Title, Location, Characters and Synopsis of the first episode. Prepare some ideas for marketing it ie Homepage, TV Trailer etc. Practise writing a pitch, use the examples given to help you. Revise the media theory in your books and on here for question 1 and to use in your own work. Make sure you use pens, colours and pencils for question 4. MAKE IT NEAT!!!!! Watch a few TV Crime episodes...

Email me if you need any feedback.....

Good Luck

Miss Nichols

Analysing Websites

 You may have to create your own website. To prepare for this you need to look at existing TV Crime Drama websites. Use these questions to help you research..

·      What are the conventional (common) features of a TV show website?

·      What colours have they used and why?

·      What background image have they used and why?

·      What on the website makes the audience WANT to see the show?

·      Is there anything on the website which would help an audience member who has missed an episode and if so, what? Why is this useful?

·      Have they included a trailer and if so why is this important?  Looking at the main picture they have used of their character / s, how is the character represented? Look at their clothing, body language, facial expression, make up, etc..  How can you tell what type of person they are?

·      Is there a difference between the type of information at the top of screen and the information you have to scroll down to see?

·      Are there any interactive features that audiences can take part in? If so what are they and why are they good to include?

·      How do they engage the audience and make them want to watch the show? What makes it seem interesting or exciting?

·      Have the company included anything you can buy or download from the site to do with the show? What? Why is it important to have merchandise like this? 

·      Does the website have any links or images for any other shows? Which ones? Why do they have these? 

Character Design

Consider these things when designing your characters....

The lead characters (The Good Guys) are normally:

• Very clever, some think they are geniuses
• Able to pay attention to tiny details that are often overlooked by others (like Jonathan Creek)
• Normally male
• Normally a bit geeky or anti-social and find it hard to fit in to normal society. They often don't have many close friends.
• They often have a side-kick to help them, but aren't that close to them, often just being sarcastic towards them or being mean to them
• They often have a major weakness such as their inability to relate to people or make friends. They might be quite agressive and often lose their temper. They might even have a major weakness such as Sherlock Holmes who takes drugs, or Dexter, who murders people himself!

Notes

Do not forget that sample papers are on Moodle. Look at the answers in particular the response to question 2. Practise writing a pitch!!!

Representation

Representation

Crime dramas are often described as being like real life. Often crime dramas deal with themes or issues which are important to us or have had recent coverage in the media. Sometimes programme makers go to great lengths to create a sense of authenticity; police procedures have to be accurate and settings are carefully recreated to seem like the real thing.

Traditionally the police have been represented favourably in crime dramas. However, this has become more complex, as writers try to create more rounded and interesting characters. Crime drama has not been afraid to tackle stories dealing with police corruption or we meet a central character, brilliant at work, whose private life is a total shambles. The institution of the police has been accused of both racism and sexism and this is further issue to consider. Look at the representation of gender. How are women portrayed and what kinds of roles do they have? What are their relationships like with their male colleagues? The woman in the TV Crime Dramas are often second to their male colleagues. There are few female lead cops.  How are minority groups represented? Is crime drama guilty of making certain classes of our society responsible for crime? Is this re-enforcing stereotypes?

The theme under television crime drama is a belief system that crime is wrong and that the forces of law and order must be upheld. In this sense they keep the most common view in our society. 

Audience 2 - What do audiences get out of consuming TV?

We looked at the needs of the audience and why they might want to watch TV. Consider which ones apply to TV Crime Drama and which ones apply to your own. 

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Blumier and Katz suggested in the 1970s that the media audiences make active choices about what to consume in order to meet certain needs. Their Uses and Gratifications Theory tries to show the different reasons that audiences have for consuming certain media texts.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory
Media Consumers choose media texts that fulfill one or more of these needs:

· The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which they live

· The need to IDENTIFY personally with the characters and situations in order to learn more about themselves

· The need to be ENTERTAINED by a range and variety of well constructed texts

· The need to use the media as a talking point for SOCIAL INTERACTION
· The need to ESCAPE from their ‘daily grind’ into other worlds and situations

Audience Pleasures - Why Watch TV Crime Dramas?