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
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Analysing Websites
·
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.
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
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
Todorov Theory of Equilibrium
Tvzetan Todorov - suggested that narrative follows the following pattern: equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium.
In simple terms this means that any narrative simply starts in balance: So all things are in order, something comes along and disrupts this, finally at the end of the story things are restored into balance and things are in someways better than before.
A example of this will be, A cop is happy at home with his son(equilibrium), the son is kidnapped, the cop must go on a mission to save him(disequilbrium) ,helped by thegirl he loves who helps him, once he has rescued his son and the bad guys are behind bars, the character lives happily ever after with this new love.(new equilibrium)
In simple terms this means that any narrative simply starts in balance: So all things are in order, something comes along and disrupts this, finally at the end of the story things are restored into balance and things are in someways better than before.
A example of this will be, A cop is happy at home with his son(equilibrium), the son is kidnapped, the cop must go on a mission to save him(disequilbrium) ,helped by thegirl he loves who helps him, once he has rescued his son and the bad guys are behind bars, the character lives happily ever after with this new love.(new equilibrium)
Levi-Strauss Binary Oppositions
Claude Levi-Strauss
Levi-Strauss reflected that the constant creation of conflict/opposition propels and enriches narrative.
Opposition can be visual (light/darkness, movement/stillness) or conceptual (love/hate, control/panic) this is known as Binary Oppositions.
Examples of this in The Bill are Adults vs Kids, Police vs Criminals, Law vs Rebelion,
Mother vs Police
Here is the first part of the last episode of The Bill that I we studied in class. Look at it and consider how it uses the conventions of the genre, representation and supports binary oppositions.
The Bill is also an example of a family TV Crime Drama so consider the way it targets its audience.
Here is a bit of information on The Bill
It is a police procedural drama. It looks at the work of a fictious police force. It shares some elements of a soap structure.
It is one of the longest running TV Crime Dramas
It ran from 1984 - 2010
Each episode focuses in on one shift of police officers.
The title refers to the "Old Bill"
It is realistic in its style. It was often criticised for its violence potentially because of its realism.
Key Terms
To get your Media Language marks you will need to use key terms. Try using some of these...
Mise-en-scene: Everything in the shot (has meaning). Lighting, Props, Colours, Characters
Iconography: The physical props that represent the genre ie Police Car, Handcuffs
Signifier: The physical item that represents something ie Traffic Lights
Signified: The associated meaning ie Red = Stop
Intertextuality: One media text making reference to another.
Postmodern: A complex text. It is a mixture of genres etc
Parody: A text that sends up a media text ie Scary Movie
Pastiche: A text that sends up a media text whilst keeping the original conventions of its genre.
Conventions: The elements that make up a genre.
Mise-en-scene: Everything in the shot (has meaning). Lighting, Props, Colours, Characters
Iconography: The physical props that represent the genre ie Police Car, Handcuffs
Signifier: The physical item that represents something ie Traffic Lights
Signified: The associated meaning ie Red = Stop
Intertextuality: One media text making reference to another.
Postmodern: A complex text. It is a mixture of genres etc
Parody: A text that sends up a media text ie Scary Movie
Pastiche: A text that sends up a media text whilst keeping the original conventions of its genre.
Conventions: The elements that make up a genre.
Enigma Codes
Enigma codes are a set of questions that are raised at the start of a film/Tv show to capture an audience. The answers to these questions will be featured throughout the narrative. That way the audience needs to keep watching to fufil their curiosity.
For example
eg. a body is discovered at the beginning of a tv detective drama. The killer's identity is an enigma. We watch to find out who the killer is.
For example
eg. a body is discovered at the beginning of a tv detective drama. The killer's identity is an enigma. We watch to find out who the killer is.
Media Theory
The next few posts will look at various media theory. You should revise these as you may be able to use these within your exam response.
Valdimir Propp
He outlined that all the characters within most narratives could be resolved into 8 broad character types
The villain — struggles against the hero.
The dispatcher —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess
It would help you to consider how these charcters fit into the various TV Crime Dramas that we have looked at, It may also help you when you are designing your own TV Crime Drama. Which ones have you used?
Valdimir Propp
He outlined that all the characters within most narratives could be resolved into 8 broad character types
The villain — struggles against the hero.
The dispatcher —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess
It would help you to consider how these charcters fit into the various TV Crime Dramas that we have looked at, It may also help you when you are designing your own TV Crime Drama. Which ones have you used?
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Brief History of TV Crime Drama
You do not need to know the full history of TV Crime Drama but it is useful to look at a variety of texts and look at how the genre has developed.
Below is a time-line of key texts. If you are not aware of any of these look them up. It may be useful to watch a few clips on you-tube but obviously be careful at what you look at.
1950
Dixon of Dock Green (1955-UK)
1960
Z Cars (1962-UK)
Hawaii 50 (1968 - UK)
1970
Columbo (1971 - USA)
The Sweeny (1971 - UK) (Life on Mars is based on this)
Starsky and Hutch (1975 - USA)
1980
Hill Street Blues (1980 - USA)
The Bill (1984 - UK)
1990
Prime Suspect (1991 - UK)
Cracker
2000
Life On Mars
Wire In The Blood (2004 - UK)
The Sheild (2002 -USA)
2010+
Hawaii 5.0 (2011 - USA)
Dexter
Below is a time-line of key texts. If you are not aware of any of these look them up. It may be useful to watch a few clips on you-tube but obviously be careful at what you look at.
1950
Dixon of Dock Green (1955-UK)
1960
Z Cars (1962-UK)
Hawaii 50 (1968 - UK)
1970
Columbo (1971 - USA)
The Sweeny (1971 - UK) (Life on Mars is based on this)
Starsky and Hutch (1975 - USA)
1980
Hill Street Blues (1980 - USA)
The Bill (1984 - UK)
1990
Prime Suspect (1991 - UK)
Cracker
2000
Life On Mars
Wire In The Blood (2004 - UK)
The Sheild (2002 -USA)
2010+
Hawaii 5.0 (2011 - USA)
Dexter
Sherlock
Sherlock Holmes
Brilliant, aloof and almost entirely lacking in social graces.
Details
Sherlock is a unique young man with a mind like a 'racing engine'. Without problems to solve, that mind will tear itself to pieces and the more bizarre and baffling the problems the better. He has set himself up as the world's only consulting detective, whom the police grudgingly accept as their superior.
Sherlock is a BBC TV Crime Drama. This is one of the case studies we have been looking at. Attached is a link to their website for you to research more information. If you have not researched Sherlock try to watch an episode and make notes on his character traits and how the series uses the stereotypical conventions of the genre.
Sherlock
Sherlock Holmes
Brilliant, aloof and almost entirely lacking in social graces.
Details
Sherlock is a unique young man with a mind like a 'racing engine'. Without problems to solve, that mind will tear itself to pieces and the more bizarre and baffling the problems the better. He has set himself up as the world's only consulting detective, whom the police grudgingly accept as their superior.
Sherlock is a BBC TV Crime Drama. This is one of the case studies we have been looking at. Attached is a link to their website for you to research more information. If you have not researched Sherlock try to watch an episode and make notes on his character traits and how the series uses the stereotyoical conventions of the genre.
Sub- Genres
TV Crime Drama has its own sub-genres. There are many different ways of categorising these programmes below are some examples.
Individual Detective: eg Morse
Female Detective: Miss Marple
Paired Detective: Starsky and Hutch
Forensic: Silent Witness
Police Procedural: The Bill
American: CSI
Period: Life On Mars
Post-Modern: Dexter
Thursday 12 April 2012
What is a TV Crime Drama?
So what is a TV Crime Drama?
It's a type of TV programme. TV programmes are a type of media text. Different types of texts are called genres. You should think of a genre as a recipe, with a list of ingredients. These are the conventions of the genre. All of those elements which make you recognise a crime drama are called conventions.
So in simple terms, a TV Crime Drama is a fictitious TV programme that is about the solving of a crime.
As with any genre there is a number of conventions that feature in these programmes, some of these include, Police Tape, Detectives, Blue Lights, The colour blue, Police Stations, Victims, Police Uniform etc etc
There are many different TV Crime Dramas and many sub-genres below is a link to a blog that outlines some new ones....
http://www.crimetimepreview.com/2011/10/new-tv-crime-dramas-2012.html
Media Language: forms and conventions
There are a number of defining conventions of television crime drama:
Narrative: a useful place to start is by exploring types of narratives which are typical of crime dramas. Compare the structure of those organised around single episodes with clear resolutions at the end with series which have multi-episodes.
Explore plot lines and how the crime is solved and the criminals revealed.
Narratives are often organised around binary opposites, for example the conflict between the forces of law and order and criminal activity.
Character types: identify the central characters who populate the genre. Some dramas are based around a single central character, or a pair of detectives working together. In others we might have teams of crime fighting units.
What other characters would we expect to see and what is their narrative function? How important are the criminals themselves?
Settings: locations can be part of a drama's appeal. They frequently determine the nature of the criminal activity and affect the tone, mood and pace of the programme. Compare idyllic village settings with urban landscapes. Explore the fast streets of New York, the academic spires of Oxford and the poverty which is to be found in some British/American cities.
Style: Mise-en-scene, a French term meaning 'placing on stage'. What we see on the screen in terms of the way characters are dressed, their body language, their positioning, the setting, props and other objects, are all generic clues by which we can recognise a crime genre on screen. In this sense style is about the look, sound,
mood and feel of a programme.
The following all impact on style:
• camera work and editing
• music
• lighting and colour
• dialogue
Narrative: a useful place to start is by exploring types of narratives which are typical of crime dramas. Compare the structure of those organised around single episodes with clear resolutions at the end with series which have multi-episodes.
Explore plot lines and how the crime is solved and the criminals revealed.
Narratives are often organised around binary opposites, for example the conflict between the forces of law and order and criminal activity.
Character types: identify the central characters who populate the genre. Some dramas are based around a single central character, or a pair of detectives working together. In others we might have teams of crime fighting units.
What other characters would we expect to see and what is their narrative function? How important are the criminals themselves?
Settings: locations can be part of a drama's appeal. They frequently determine the nature of the criminal activity and affect the tone, mood and pace of the programme. Compare idyllic village settings with urban landscapes. Explore the fast streets of New York, the academic spires of Oxford and the poverty which is to be found in some British/American cities.
Style: Mise-en-scene, a French term meaning 'placing on stage'. What we see on the screen in terms of the way characters are dressed, their body language, their positioning, the setting, props and other objects, are all generic clues by which we can recognise a crime genre on screen. In this sense style is about the look, sound,
mood and feel of a programme.
The following all impact on style:
• camera work and editing
• music
• lighting and colour
• dialogue
Welcome
Hello,
This blog is set up as a revision guide for your Unit 1 Media exam. The topic this year is TV Crime Drama so try to get watching as many of them as possible as well as revising the theory as this will really help you.
Good Luck
Miss Nichols
This blog is set up as a revision guide for your Unit 1 Media exam. The topic this year is TV Crime Drama so try to get watching as many of them as possible as well as revising the theory as this will really help you.
Good Luck
Miss Nichols
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