(TV Drama)

What’s the aim?FIRST HALF OF EXAM: To test your textual

analysis skills and your understanding of the concept of REPRESENTATION.Mrs Field

SECOND HALF OF EXAM: To assess your knowledge of media institutions, production and distribution, etc. Miss Brookes

What to expect from the examTwo hours, two questions, 100 marksSECTION A (TV Drama analysis) – 1hour

15min30 mins viewing timeFollowed by a compulsory question – 45mins50 marks

SECTION B (Institutions & Audiences) – 45minOne compulsory essay question on a

preprepared case study

AIM: By the end of the lesson, you will…

• Understand the requirements of your exam•Distinguish TV Drama from other genres•Be able to analyse representation in a range of media texts.

More about Section AYou will watch an ‘unseen’ TV extract from a TV drama During this time, you will be able to make notes, in

preparation for answering an essay question.The essay question will ask you to interpret the way

representations are created by analysing content and media language.

You could be asked about any of the following representations:ClassSexualityDisabilityRegional identityAgeEthnicityGender

More about Section AWhen analysing the representations, you

must explore HOW these representations are created. You MUST refer to the following:Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and

CompositionMise‐en‐ScèneEditingSound

So, skills you must develop are…analytical skills so that you can analyse any

TV dramaUnderstand the concept of representation

as a key element of a TV dramaShow how representations are constructedShow an awareness of the relationship

between form and contentUnderstand institutional and cultural

contexts but keep focus on the construction of representations, with examples.

What is TV Drama?YOUR TASK

1. Write a list of the TV Dramas that you know!2. Put them into groups and label them appropriately.3. How have you decided to group them? Why?

TV DRAMADramatic programming or television

drama is television programme content that is scripted and (normally) fictional along the lines of a traditional drama.

This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows.

Also, by convention, the term is not generally used for situation comedy or soap opera (though the exam may include soaps)

Did you know?Television drama is the most expensive form

of television, with a prime time American TV series such as House costing up to $12 million per hour – that’s about £6 million. The average cost for US drama is more like $2 – 5 million per hour. British drama such as Dr Who (60 mins) costs about a £1 million per hour.

In fact a US broadcast hour is only a maximum of 52 minutes of drama which is a 58 page script. Some US broadcasting networks only broadcast 44 minutes of actual drama in an hour that means 16 minutes of advertising.

TV Drama Sub-genres A ‘sub-genre’ is where genres are subdivided into even

more specific categories. What sub-genres can you think of?

Which TV dramas do you watch?Use www.tvguide.co.uk to help you think

EXTENSION: WHY do we watch TV Dramas?

Teen DramasThese depend entirely on the target

audience empathising with a range of authentic characters, age-specific

situations and anxieties.E.g. Skins.

Watch a clip from 4OD or on Youtube:Think about the target audience. Who are they? How do you know?

Period/Costume DramasThese are often linked to ‘classic’ novels or

plays and offer a set of pleasers that are very different to dramas set in our times.

E.g. Downton AbbeyAs you watch this clipthink about the target audience. Who are they? How do you know?

Medical/Hospital DramasWe witness trauma and suffering on the

part of patients and relatives with a set of staff narratives that deploy soap opera

conventions. E.g. Holby City, ER, Scrubs.

As you watch this clipthink about the target audience. Who are they? How do you know?

Police/Crime DramasThese work in the same way as

medical/hospital dramas but we can substitute the health context for

representation of criminals and victims.E.g. The Bill.

As you watch this clipthink about the target audience. Who are they? How do you know?

RememberIt is rare to find a TV Drama that fits all.Audiences like choice and different audiences

find appeals in different types of media texts (Uses and Gratifications, Blumler and Katz)

What is in each TV programme has been constructed to appeal to those audiences.

Representation is constructed – your task is to deconstruct how it has been created using technical language.

RepresentationThe process by which the media present to us the ‘real’ world.

Okay, that’s harsh – I’m stereotyping!!

Representations can change over time…

The Sun, 1998 Headline ‘Banished

Beckham’

The Sun, 2001 Headline ‘Glorious Golden Balls’

Other factors that affect representations:Audience positioning – consider how different

categories of audiences will react to you.Interaction between other groups (important when

looking at characterisation within TV Drama).Cultural ideology – we hall have expectations about

how certain characters and groups should react, behave and operate within society.

Exam spec has changed – no longer is the extract exclusive to UK but can be an imported TV drama shown in the UK. How does the above affect this?

Key pointsFor many of us, the media are the key source of our

understanding of the world.For example, what is it like to live in Australia? If you

have not been there, how do you know this?Many people believe that the media are a powerful

means of shaping our attitudes and beliefs – what does this mean?

7 groups of representationClassSexualityDisabilityRegional identityAgeEthnicityGender

How accurate is the media?Can we trust the representation that is being made

to be an ‘accurate’ portrayal?

STEREOTYPINGWhat does ‘stereotyping’ mean?“The portrayal of people or places through a few

obvious characteristics”What is the stereotype of British youths?

YOUR TASKLook at the images on your table.

Answer the following questions on the images.

You will be required to feed back your answers!

Things to think about…How accurately do they represent young people in

Britain?Are the images a positive or negative

representation?

YOUR TASK1. Research examples of the following TV Drama sub-genres:•Teen Drama•Period/Costume drama•Police/crime drama•Medical/hospital drama

2. Look for representations of the following within each genre:•Class, Sexuality, Disability, Regional identity, Age, Ethnicity, Gender

YOU WILL FEED BACK YOUR FINDINGS TO THE REST OF THE CLASS!

Homework/independent studyChoose a TV Drama to watch before next

lesson (Monday)Choose a specific representation to analyseMake notes and be ready to feed back to the

class on Monday about what you have found!

END OF SESSION 1

AIM: By the end of the lesson, you will be able to deconstruct a TV Drama extract.

STARTER: Watch the following extract… (Put your homework on your desk ready for collection)

DeconstructingWhat is it?

Looking at the choices made in production. Picking them apart. We will ‘deconstruct’ the text.

What should we look at?

Camera (angles and movement)Sound (dialogue, effects, music)Editing (pace, transitions)Mise en scene

YOUR TASKTime to deconstruct another extract!You will be either a 1, 2 or 3…If you are a 1, you will focus on camera

(angles and movement).If you are a 2, you will focus on editing (pace,

transitions).If you are a 3, you will focus on sound

(dialogue, effects, music).

FEEDBACK

Future FocusesThere are more areas to focus on. You

should also be looking at shot types, special effects, props, costume, hair and make-up, setting, colour, and lighting.

See other presentations on editing, camera and sound.

AIM: By the end of the session, you will understand AIM: By the end of the session, you will understand realismrealism and apply this to extracts from a range of TV dramas.and apply this to extracts from a range of TV dramas.

STARTER: Complete the terminology test!STARTER: Complete the terminology test!

CAMERACAMERALet us recap what we know about camera.

ACTIVITY: Match the camera shots, angles and movements to the definitions. Write the correct

term above each definition.

Now tell me, what shot is this?

CAMERA: ACTIVITYCAMERA: ACTIVITYWatch the following clip from 24.Note down (in a list) every camera shot, angle and movement

you see!Now, in pairs, discuss the use of these shots and answer the

following questions:WHY was that shot used?What effect does it have?Write an account for the significance of each shot (and

sequence of shots used) in explaining the setting/location and social context.

This slide assumes you’re a 24 fan or can have access to any of the amazing episodes.

REALISMREALISMWHAT IS IT?WHAT IS IT?A style that attempts to represent the real world.TASK: TASK: Read the extract on your worksheet, then watch the following clip. Consider how the narrative, mise-en-scene, camera and sound are constructed to represent reality.

REALISMREALISMCharacters and narrative are plausible – they help to convince audiences and provide the effect of reality;

REALISMREALISMMise-en-scene – designed to look realistic (appropriate sets, locations, dress and lighting);

REALISMCamerawork Camerawork – although stylised and contemporary, – although stylised and contemporary, aimed at conveying realism;aimed at conveying realism;

REALISMSound Sound – mainly diegetic but non-diegetic sound is not – mainly diegetic but non-diegetic sound is not intrusive.intrusive.

MISE-EN-SCENE (RECAP)MISE-EN-SCENE (RECAP)What is mise-en-scene?Everything that appears before the camera.What can be included in ‘mise-en-scene’?Set, props, actors, costumes, composition, lighting.ACTIVITY: Watch the following extract and describe

the mise-en-scene of the scene.GIVE AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE!

Answer the following question…Answer the following question…Discuss the ways in which the following extract from Shameless constructs the representation of social class using the following:• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition• Editing • Sound• Mise-en-scène

HOMEWORKHOMEWORKKNOW THE APPROPRIATRE TERMSUSE THE CORRECT ONES!

AIM: By the end of the lesson, you will have analysed the representation of gender within a range of TV drama extracts.

STARTER: Complete the terminology test.

ACTIVITYUsing the worksheet, analyse the following

extract from Primeval.As in the exam, you will see the extract four

times. During the first viewing, you will not be able to

make notes.

http://petesmediablog.blogspot.co.uk/

ON YOUR OWNDiscuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following:

Camera shots, angles, movement and compositionEditingSoundMise en scene

AIM: By the end of the lesson, you will create your own character representation.

STARTER: Look at the still images from TV dramas and answer these questions:

•What sub-genre of TV drama does it belong to?•How do you know?

•Who is being represented?•How are they being represented in this image?

ON YOUR POST-IT NOTE…Write YOUR definition of representation (and your name) and

go and stick it on the whiteboard.

Watch the following video and be ready to discuss.

Stuart Hall – Key PointsHall emphasises the importance of visual

representation – the image seems to be the prevalent sign of late modern culture.

Representation – to present/to depict.

The word suggests something was there already and has been represented by the media.

Representation is that which stands in for something else.

Representation is the way in which meaning is given to the things which are depicted that stand in for something.

REPRESENTATIONWhat questions do we need to ask ourselves when we look at representation within an image (or an extract)?

WHO is being represented?IN WHAT WAY are they being represented?WHO is representing them in this way?WHY are they being represented in this way?In the representation FAIR & ACCURATE?

ACTIVITY: Go back to your still images sheet – answer all of the above questions about each image.

QUESTIONRepresentation is not present just in people… it’s in places and ideas too.

Does representation in media texts alter how we see the real world around us?

SEMIOTICS

The study of signs.Developed by Ferdinand de Saussure (1974).We make meaning through the creation and

interpretation of signs.Signs can be words, images, sounds, odours,

flavours, acts, objects.The word sign is used to describe anything

that carries meaning - whether it’s a word, a symbol/image, or a sound.

WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO…

SIGNSBecause of their nature, we have to view signs

as having two distinct parts:

The signifier - the physical sign itselfThe signified - the meaning carried by the sign

Alternatively, we can think in terms of the denoted meaning (what the thing is), and... the connotations carried by the thing.

It is important to remember is that signs are polysemic: open to many interpretations.

ACTIVITYLook at the following images and make a note

of:The SignifiersThe Signified

YOUR TASKYou will be given a character from the list. You must create a storyboard (minimum 5 slides) to tell the story of them taking a trip to the shops. How would you represent them? Use all the technical codes to add understanding to your storyboard.

Things to think about:•How would they get to the shops?

•What might they buy?

•What would they wear?

•How would you frame it?

•How would you edit it?

•What would we hear?

•Would they go on their own?

Characters:

•A teenager

•Middle class, middle aged man

•Elderly person

•A disabled person

•Housewife

•Doctor

Technical codes:

•Camera work

•Editing

•Mise en scene

•Sound

‘A trip to the shops…’

PRESENTATIONS

You should continue to look at TV Drama clips and practise analysing them.Presentations on the other key areas are on a

separate presentation.

Visit www.alevelmedia.co.uk for more ideas and suggested activities.