LO2 My Visual Mood board

LO2 Our Idea being developed

LO2 My Individual idea

LO1 Task 5

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Analysis of ‘My Murder’ TV Drama serial

My Murder is a Crime drama based on a true story about a teenage boy lured in to his death by the girl he liked. My Murder is a single camera production serial. In My Murder the voice over start before showing the dead body and because of this all attentions on the voice. 

When it shows the Cloth on the washing line it starts off silent, leaving the viewer confused about what it’s about. When the cloth blows away with the wind it shows the body just lying on the floor then the voice over starts and says “A young black boys been stabbed” right before they do a close up of his face and show the audience who that is on the floor.

The camera shows a close up of his head, while he’s lying on the floor struggling to move and the voice over saying “He looks about 14 or 15” this makes the audience want to watch more because they want to know what’s happened to him.

Next shot is a long shot over a women’s shoulder through a window and you can still see him struggling on the floor, while the voice over carries on so you know that’s the person who made the phone call and she’s the one talking about him.

The cameras on the floor next to him slowly zooming out of a medium close up of his head while he struggles and the voice over carries on and he starts breathing really loud making the audience feel more sympathy towards him.

In the next scene the camera is panning across a field with him walking while the voice over which is his voice is telling us about him and his life. The camera stops following him once he crosses the road. The next shot starts straight away they have left no gaps between the shots.

The camera is recording from the behind the gate; this makes the audience feel like it’s not a very friendly environment to be in, the gates are like a warning to stay out. The cameras handheld and the camera man is walking behind shakilus to show his journey and also to emphasise more on the horrible area he’s in.

One of Shakilus’s friends starts fighting with his and the cameras still hand held and is moving around during the fight. This gets the audience to feel like their more involved in this scene as it gives it a more realistic feel.

LO1 Task 4

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Task 4- Compare and Contrast

Eastenders is a prime example of realist drama. It revolves around a group of people and their everyday lives. Therefore audience feel they can relate to different character and different situations. Each episode of Eastenders has its own new twist which continues on to the next episode. This is the main factor about Eastenders that keeps its audience hooked.  The main location for Eastenders is a place known as Albert Square in London. Most of the scenes are set in different parts of Albert Square such as the Queen Vitoria Pub, club, and the homes of different fictional characters. As Eastenders is a realist drama audience emotionally connect to different characters. Each character is either loved or hated by the audience for the decisions they make or secrets they hide.

Doctor Who is a fantasy based anti-realist drama. It is base around the theory of co-existing parallel universes. Every new episode of Doctor Who is set in a universe which is different to the universe shown in the previous episode and the characters use different fictional gadgets as props to survive in the different universe. The director uses flashbacks at the end of every episode to allow the audience to understand what has happened previously. Another interesting fact about Doctor Who is that the Writer has used both fictional characters such as the Doctor, as well as non fictional characters like Daleks.

To be honest there are many differences between Eastenders and Doctor Who. However the main difference is the fact that Eastenders is a Realist Drama, which discusses realistic issues that the audience can relate. On the other hand Doctor Who is an anti-realist drama, which is created by the writers imagination to entertain the imagination of the audience using ideas like co-existing parallel universes, time travel, aliens, and fishes swimming trough the sky.  

LO1 Task 3

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Task 3- Genre

Period Drama- Downtown Abbey

Period dramas are dramas were costumes, sets, props and locations are use in order to capture the ambience of a particular era. A Prime example of this is Downtown Abbey which is set in the post- Edwardian era in Downtown Abbey which is a fictional estate in the Yorkshire County. The Drama is based around the lives of the aristocratic Crawley Family and their servants. Downtown Abbey is about the effects that great events in British history have on their lives and the British social hierarchy. The first series show the effects of the outbreak of World War 1 and the sinking of the Titanic. The second series is about the Marconi scandal and the third series about the formation of the Irish Free State and the Interwar Period.

Period/ Fantasy Drama- Merlin

Merlin is another good example of period Drama, as the costumes, props really capture the ambience of the past. It is also a wonderful example of fantasy/ adventure. It was originally based on the legend of King Arthur and the young wizard Merlin however the drama is very different to the original Legend. “Merlin” is about how Merlin’s mother sends him to live with a physician named Gaius in Camelot. During this period he meets King Arthur, and form a good relationship. He also has many adventures such as imprisoning a Dragon and practicing forbidden magic.  

Drama- Eastenders

Eastenders is what you describe as a realist TV series. The writers try to make the situations in Eastenders as realistic as possible by giving the characters completely different personalities, complex relationships, and a mixture of emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, greed, aggression, love and hatred. By making Eastenders realistic it allows audience to relate to the characters. Eastenders main location is Albert Square, London. Most of the scenes are set in different parts of Albert Square such as Queen Vic Pub, club, boxing club garage, Indian restaurant cafe and the homes of different fictional characters. There are usually 1 or 2 main stories, 1 or 2 sub stories and about 3 or 4 narratives happening in the same episode, which means there is always a lot happening and there’s always something new to keep the audience glued to the television.          

LO1 Task 2

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Task 2: multiple camera set up & camera production

What is a single camera production?

Single camera formats is a method of a video production and film making. It uses only one camera during the filming process of the scenes. This is to get all the action and give the audience more of a realistic feel. The main use for this on television is for prime time dramas, soaps and documentaries.

Advantages of single camera formats are:

·      They allow the director/ camera man to shoot the scenes out of sequence.

·      Another advantage is that camera production is generally cheaper as there is only one camera being used unlike multiple camera formats

·      Single camera production is a lot cheaper and cost less to shoot the cast as they can just use the characters individually with doubles. The characters can shoot all there lines at once so not all the characters have to be present to shoot a certain scene.

Disadvantages of Single camera formats:

·      It generally takes a lot longer to set up because there’s only one camera being used.

·      Another disadvantage Repetition this is because they have to do one shot at a time and to show one scene from different angles you would have to shoot it more than once.

Examples of single camera formats:

·      My Murder

·      Citizen Khan

·      Doctor Who

·      Bad Education

·      Revenge

·      Desperate Housewives

·      How I met your mother

·      Eastenders

What is a multiple camera production?

Multiple camera productions is usually done for live events or live shows for e.g. football. Multiple camera production is generally a lot more expensive as there are more camera needed and more equipment. Multiple camera productions are shows like the evening news, talk shows, sporting events, sitcoms; and also live concerts are all shot with multiple cameras that are connected to a video mixer and mixed onto a single tape and sent to your television via cable or the airwaves.

Advantages of multiple camera formats are:

·      It doesn't take as long to shoot a production because of all the cameras that are recording

·      Using lighting and sounds is  a lot simpler because you don’t have to moving all the equipment around and setting it up again.

Examples of multiple camera formats:

·      News

·      Live sporting events

·      Concerts

·      Talk shows

LO1 Task 1

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Task 1: Explain the difference between series, serials and single dramas.

Write about four TV programs from different genres and explain which category they fall into and why?
Series

A series is a story which has been broken down in to a set number of episodes; this is called a run of episodes. The number of episodes can vary from between 6 to 25 episodes per season. A season is broadcasted once a year. In a series all of the episodes start in the same way as it starts with a title and a signature tune. The characters fit in to stereotypes that the audience will recognise, the audience will expect the characters to behave and talk in a certain way.

A few good examples of series are Avatar- The last air bender, Doctor who, Misfits, Citizen Khan, Waterloo road, 90210, Big Bang Theory and Buffy the vampire slayer.

Doctor who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that is being broadcasted on BBC. Doctor Who has had 790 episodes broadcasted. Doctor Who was originally running from 23rd November1963 till 1989 when they had a temporary cancellation. In 2005 they started broadcasting Doctor Who again and it is still being broadcasted on BBC. Doctor Who has had 110 million viewers worldwide.

Avatar- The last Air bender
Avatar was an American animated television series that has been broadcasted for three seasons on nickelodeon from 21st February 2005 till 19th July 2008. Avatar has had exactly 61 episodes. Avatar The last Air bender had 5.6 million viewers just on its best rated showing.

Misfits
Misfits is a British science fiction comedy drama television series on E4. Misfits was first broadcasted on 12^th November 2009 and is still on going. Misfits have had 29 episodes in 4 series. The second series of Misfits had an average of 1,462,000 viewers per episode.

Citizen Khan
Citizen Khan is a family based British sitcom. This has been produced and broadcasted on BBC One. The very first episode of Citizen Khan was broadcasted on the 27^th August 2012. Citizen Khan has had six episodes in one series. It has had 3.41 million viewers which is 20.9% of the audience.

Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road is a popular British television drama series produced by BBC. This was first broadcasted on 9^th March 2006 on BBC One. Waterloo Road has had 160 episodes in 8 series so far. They have approximately had 9.96 million viewers.


Serials.
Serial is a serialisation of a book or an event. This usually reflects real life. Serials are a long-running drama, which can have from one to six episodes. Often serial narratives carry more than one storyline.

A few good examples of serials are Sherlock Homes, Gun Rush and Come Fly with me.

Single drama
The single drama used to be a staple of television but is now quite rare. It is designed as a ‘one-off’ story for television as this is only broadcasted once. Single drama reflects real life. Single dramas are often based on topical issues and subject matter that producers think is more appropriate to television than the cinema, for example ‘Dirty War’ about a terrorist attack on London, X Factor, and Crime watch.