Sound In TV Drama

Firstly Matt and I intended to create a new opening for hit comedy sitcom, ‘Friends.’ However after watching and re-watching the opening credits, we soon realised that we had bitten off more than we could chew! The theme tune is so iconic, and ‘i’ll be there for you’ by ‘The Rembrants’ is so well known, that no matter what it was replaced with, nothing else would be classed as the theme tune. So instead we decided to re-make BBC’s medical drama ‘Casualty’s’ theme tune. Unfortunately, by the time we had downloaded the appropriate tracks Matt had to leave to go on an I.C.T trip. Therefore I carried on doing the work throughout the lesson on his account on the computer, which obviously I can not access. So I decided to re-do the edit on my own computer at home. This, not only was good practise, it also allowed me to experiment with Garageband, and have yet more practise on iMovie.

Above, I have embedded the original opening credits to ‘Casualty’, before I edited them. The sound accompanying the credits is all non-diegetic, which I think is mostly due to the fact that the images that it runs in conjunction with are all quite jumpy and they include many quick cuts, which along with the sound creates a strong sense of urgency. It begins with what sounds like an electric keyboard playing, then overlapped with the faint sound of an ambulance siren. Then around seven seconds in, more instruments are introduced, all of which sound electronic and modern, which in my opinion conforms to the idea of a modern medical drama as the level of technology in this drama will be very high. The pitch is also varied throughout the clip, with the volume increasing and decreasing, which already creates a sense or drama and emergency.

The video above is my edited version, firstly I cut the clip in certain areas on iMovie, removing the end of the BBC advert at the beginning, and also a few seconds at the end. I then muted the original track completely, leaving me with the base form of the opening credits to work with. Not wanting to change the images too much I simply added ‘CJL PRODUCTIONS’ to the bottom right hand side of the clip, as my own personal trademark. I then exported the muted clip from iMovie so that I knew that no matter what, I would still have a base copy of the sequence. I then preceded to open the base of the clip in Garageband. This allowed me to still see the music and the movie together, but to also have more control and lenience over what i could do with the music. Like the original clip I only used non-diegetic sound, I thought this would create a better effect as there are so many quick cuts in the opening sequences that the sounds would not be able to be recognised in conjunction with the images. After searching through what seemed like millions of sound clips, i found some unbranded music which i thought would be appropriate to accompany the opening credits. I picked this particular track because it still keeps to the upbeat nature of the programme. I then added a drum beat to the background to try and build more suspense and to create a greater sense of action. The music then cuts quite suddenly at the end, an is overlapped slightly with the sound of an ambulance siren. I also edited the track of the siren, increasing and decreases the pitch in order to seem like the ambulance has driven past at speed.

Thriller Sub-Genres, Some Editing Techniques In The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption can be classed under many sub-genres of thriller. After only fifty-nine seconds of the movie, you are shown a gun which suggests an element of a crime thriller, which is also corresponding to the idea of a crime at the centre of the narrative, one of the key conventions of a thriller movie. It then after around one minute fourteen seconds, cuts to the scene in a court room, suggesting an element of a legal thriller as well. In my opinion there is also an essence of a psychological thriller, as in the first ten minutes of the clip, you are led to believe that the man did in fact murder his wife and her lover, but the way the lawyer is speaking is almost trying to psychologically fool the man into admitting to a crime which in my opinion, he did not commit, however I have never seen the film all the way through so i could be wrong!

There are many different styles of filming used in this short clip. The first sequence uses many cutaway’s from inside the car, to the court and back again. This is used in conjunction to parallel editing, used in this case to dictate the happens of the night in the court room, and then a flashback to supposedly back up what the lawyer was claiming in court. During this sequence of shots the flashbacks to the happening on that night followed a linear narrative as they showed the story how it actually happened and in chronological order, not cutting and switching to different times. There was also the use of L-cuts, these are  first recognised when you hear the lawyer’s voice as a voiceover while the main protagonist/antagonist (depending on whether you think he was guilty or not) is still sitting in the car. Throughout the cross cutting of the court room scene and the scene in the car, there is musical accomplement. Firstly the music is non-diegetic, but then as the camera zooms in onto the car it switches to being diegetic after being played through the car radio, it then dies down and as the scene cuts to the court room the volume decreases a considerable amount, leaving only a quiet atmospheric sound. The music also alters when the defendant is about to speak, with the sound that in my opinion reflects piano keys making it sound jumpy and nervous, as the defendant probably would be. Throughout the whole sequence there was also all the natural diegetic music, such as the noise of the drink swishing in the bottle, the sound of him breathing and his footsteps etc.

Firstly in the court scene, there were no match shots used, which in my opinion signified that the lawyer and the defendant were opposing and were on completely different sides of the argument. However, when there were cutaways there were match shots used, which i believe shows that it links in with what the lawyer was saying and the scene that he was describing.

There was also a strong juxtaposition between the lighting. During the flashbacks the scene was very dark, the main character looked very distressed and disorganised and his clothes are messy, all of which in my opinion represent his mental/psychological state (another thriller convention). Whereas in the courtroom the same character shows a complete transformation, his clothes are all pristine and his hair is all in place.

There were also many eye line cuts used, especially between the lawyer and the defendant, also in the car, looking down at the bottle of drink. Furthermore, during the court scene, it featured many low angle shots making the lawyer seem more important and at a higher stance. On the other hand, there are high angled shots concentrating on the defendant, making him seem like he was at a disadvantage, which is true in this case.

Additionally, towards the end of the clip embedded below, you get to see the prison from an aerial view, making you seem like you are in control, as you can look down and see all of the goings on in the prison itself.

Developing Higher Mark Blog Entries: Thriller Conventions In ‘Kill Bill’.

In today’s media lesson, we were looking at and learning how to develop our blogs to a higher standard, using simple but effective techniques. We were presented with two blogs, one extended and one which needed extending. The one that we concentrated on was the one which needed extending, the original blog was on Kill Bill, so we then watched the trailer for Kill Bill to try and develop the blog to a higher standard.

Unlike my last blog entry on ‘Deep Blue Sea’, we only had the chance to watch the trailer for ‘Kill Bill’ which makes my blog entry based solely on the content of the trailer. Furthermore, I have never seen ‘Kill Bill’ before, which means that this entry is likely to mirror that of someone who saw the trailer for the first time when it originally come out.

At the beginning of the trailer you have the diegetic sound of the plane flying above and over the camera, and then decreasing altitude at a considerable rate over an obviously built up city. This in my opinion already puts people on edge, even though it is only an eight second clip, the idea of a plane flying that low already makes me feel like danger is near approaching.

The trailer then fades into yellow credits on a black background, informing the audience of the director (Quentin Tarantino). The yellow of the font used in the credits matches the main protagonist’s yellow suit that she is wearing throughout the trailer and also the motorbike she drives in the next sequence of clips. The idea of the credits matching the protagonist is also one of the key conventions of a thriller movie. The credits are overlapped by the non-diegeticupbeat rhythm in the background, which carries on throughout the duration of the clip, apart from a brief pause, in which key dialogue is taking place. The non-diegectic sound also reflects the action, and as a fight scene approaches, the music becomes louder and seems stronger and more dominant.

The title ‘Kill Bill’ suggests that although not actually present in the trailer, Bill must have committed or being behind some kind of crime that affected Uma Thurman’s character in someway that has led her to seek revenge. This brings in another element commonly seen in thrillers, that a crime is at the centre of the narrative, and also once she (Uma Thurman’s Character) had fought back, she was drawn into a web of danger and intrigue by the antagonist, essentially meaning that she has become a moving target. This is strongly shown in this trailer as in all the shots she is severely out-numbered. Tarantino has adapted many techniques from other directors to capture this idea, in my opinion the most poignant part of the clip that portrays that idea is around one minute and eleven seconds in. The camera is firstly at a mid-shot, focusing on her, but still revealing a considerable amount of background, which consequently is filled with other men with the intention to kill her. The camera then tilts up revealing that it is not just men behind her, she is actually fully surrounded by men.

This is no doubt an action thriller, and Tarantino uses many various ways to create a sense of action and using different camera angles and shots he gives the viewer many different perspectives. The camera often zooms in on Uma Thurman, and then usually it pans across to reveal the rest of the action or the goings on in the scene. He also uses cut shots throughout the trailer in which props such as the Samurai swords are presented in an extreme close up, and also of Uma Thurman eyes, allowing us to connect with her as a character, and to see the anguish and determination that she obvious feels. Theprotagonists are also established using the camera angles as they are filmed from a low angle, making them seem important and significant, and us a viewer seem inferior.

Unlike many other thrillers, this trailer in no way presents a realistic situation in which the action takes place. It is obvious by the use of flash backs (shown in black and white) that this film is not meant to carry any realism. Nevertheless, this trailer does create many enigmas, another essential part of a thriller movie.

You as the viewer are left thinking:

• Who are the antagonists?
• Why are they seeking revenge?
• What is the protagonist’s name?
• How is this all linked to the assassins?
• Why do they want to kill Bill?
• And most importantly- Who is Bill?

In this trailer, you can only contract themes of the character’s identity via her physical doings and the way she acts, as although she has one line of speech at the end, all that is really revealed is that she wants to escape her life, and she doesn’t care about how many people she has to kill to do it.

There are however themes of mirroring, as almost all the characters shown were fighting and at war with each other, they were all fighting in the same style, which was generally some form of martial arts sword fighting.

In regards to mise-en-scene, a lot of the atmosphere in my opinion was created by the camera angles, which I have mentioned in the previous paragraphs. However also the props involved, especially the Samurai swords, connote that the issue involved is no laughing matter and the fights in hand are deadly serious with death being many peoples outcome. Also the setting varies a lot, which denotes to us, as the viewer, that it is not just one, one off fight that is occurring, it is essentially a war. The areas in which the fights occur are also very varied, but usually in a public space, e.g. a restaurant.

In my opinion the main two sub-genres presented in this movie (judging from the trailer) are action and crime. Which is obviously portrayed by the number of elaborate fights, and the ongoing list of casualties throughout the trailer. Also I think on some level it could be classed a psychological thriller, as not much of Uma Thurman’s character is revealed, which almost mean that you as the viewer have to put yourself into her situation and try and work out what she is thinking and why she is thinking it. I also predict, not from the trailer, but via previous experience of watching thrillers, that there is most probably a sub-plot in which there is a romantic interest which is fuelling the ongoing feuds, or that there was a loved one that was lost which caused the feuds in the first place. Naturally however, I can not be sure of this.

Thriller Sub Genres

In our lesson yesterday we got to watch approximately the first twenty minutes of thriller movie ‘Deep Blue Sea’ (I have embedded the trailer for the movie above). At the beginning of the film you are introduced to a scene of a boat, you first see the boat from an aerial shot/bird eyes view, which establishes the scene. You then see a shot from underneath the boat, this could be classed as a point of view shot from the shark’s perspective, however you are not yet aware that there is a shark involved, however this is the first part of the opening sequence in my opening that puts emphasis on the boat. Overlapping these first few cuts is deep threatening sounding non-diajectic music. It then goes to more upbeat diajectic music, which is accompanied by scenes of what is going on actually on the boat. Before and during the shark’s first attacks the boat a lot of cut shots are shown on the screen, in particular the shot of the teddy bear sinking and the red wine spilling over in the water like blood, which naturally the sharks are attracted to. Instantly the plot begins to take shape as an action and disaster thriller.

The plot then takes a strange twist as the shark is captured before any bodily harm can be caused. It is then revealed by a newspaper article that it is in fact a test shark that had escaped. Further through the storyline, after arriving on the old world war two submarine docking station, it becomes clear that scientific testing has been carried out on the sharks in order to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which the apparent antagonists father had previously suffered from. This idea also brings in an element of an eco-thriller, conspiracy and medical thrillers, as it makes you think, could it really be taking place outside our television screens?

The camera work is extremely effective in my opinion, and it certainly built up suspense. Some notable shots that I think were very effective at creating enigmas were when the camera was lowered parallel with the lift however it was from inside one of the shark pens which always makes you on edge as you are effectively  shark bait also you can still hear the voices of the people in the lift which emphasises the idea that the sharks were listening and watching them. Further more, the film constantly throws the viewer off track, firstly when one of the marine biologists comes up onto the deck the camera cuts to a cut shot of flares, which stereotypically are a distress signal which is a forbidding sign of whats to come. However it is then revealed soon after that the fireworks were simply part of the celebrations for the woman’s birthday.

There is also a complicated plot in regards to the characters, stereotypically, doctors are seen as protagonists as they are trained to help people, however further in the film it is shown that although the doctor is ultimately aiming towards a good cause, she is doing it a shady and potentially a very dangerous way. This then switches her character to an antagonist in my opinion, as she constantly threatens ‘Carter’ who is obviously very attached to his job, and does not want to jeopardise it in any way. Nevertheless the shark is still the main antagonist throughout the film, and it constantly emphasised that they are one of the oldest living creatures and are practically indestructible.

There is also a sub-plot involving the romance between the doctor and Carter, which the doctor constantly uses to get control over Carter. I also think this film could be classed under a techno thriller as the level of technology in at it obviously at a very high standards in order to carry out the complicated tests involved.

The second thriller trailer that i chose to analyse was ‘Capricorn One’ and unlike ‘Deep Blue Sea’ I has never seen this film (well not that I can remember!). The clip begins with a establishing shot of a stationary space craft, it is accompanied by the voice over of some one counting down from ‘T minus eighteen seconds’ till lift off, signally that the rocket was about to be launched. This beginning part of the clip could make the film fit into the section of techno thriller as obviously a lot of technology is needed in order to get a rocket into space. Around twenty-one seconds into the trailer the first sense of danger is revealed as a man is telling the astronauts rather unsuccessfully to abort the mission and leave the rocket. An atmosphere is created as the camera pans across crowds of people intently watching the launch, illustrating how well publicised and important the launch was. There is then a voice over which unlike before is non-diajectic. You as the viewer are then fooled into believing that all went well, as you hear the supposed voice of one of the astronauts announcing that Capricorn 1 has landed, it is only then revealed when the camera zooms out that the images been transmitted to everyone around the world were actually been filmed in a studio, in a government plot to cover up what they believe was a tragedy in which three people died. The remaining parts of the clip are full of action and also of disaster as the astronauts who were meant to dead were now moving targets for the government who could obviously not afford to have there $30 billion hoax revealed. This also brings in strong elements of conspiracy, and makes the viewer re-consider their opinions of issues such as the moon landing, and whether they did actually happen. There also seems to be a sub plot of a romance between one of the original astronauts and a woman whose name is not mentioned in the trailer, this is often the case in a lot of thrillers. The trailer ends leaving one main enigma of whether the astronaut survives or not as all you are left with is the view of his brakes been disabled and him potentially plummeting off of a bridge. I have embedded the trailer of the film below:

Different Camera Angles In Doctor Who

Personally when I found out that I had to watch part of an episode of ‘Doctor Who’, I wasn’t very pleased, as I am not a big fan of the programme (after having to watch hours of it with my dad!). But their is one particular episode I like as it has my old drama teacher, Russell Tovey in it. So i choose this clip to analyse.

The clip begins with a close up of Kylie Minogue’s character talking to the doctor. Although the close up centres on the facial reactions of the actress, you can also see her shoulders and see that the uniform she is wearing is that of a maid/waitress, and you can also see the top of a tray full of classes that she is holding. The camera then follows her away to a certain point, at which it cuts to a reaction shot, showing the doctor following her every move as she walks away. The next shot shown is almost a cut shot as the action in the shot is irreverent to the story and is just added for effect, the actual shot type however is a master shot, in which all the characters can be seen from this angle throughout the small clip. Next you see a mid-shot of a woman eating at the table, then it cuts back to the previous master shot of people laughing, then followed by a two shotof the woman and her husband. Next there is an over the shoulder shot showing the doctor speaking to the couple, almost from the point of view of a third person sitting behind the couple. Throughout this bit of interaction the camera switches between over the shoulder, reaction shots, two shots and mid shots.

The next scene is set on the ships captains quarters/deck, the screen starts of black, and then it tilts upwards to reveal both the captain and his understudy (Russell Tovey) working on deck. It begins with a long shot of the two crew fiddling with the controls, and it then cuts to a point of view shot, showing the controls and the various different warning messages flashing up on the screen. There is then a mid shot showing the reaction of the captain and the second officer in charge trying to deal with these messages. There are also some close ups in the scene, but mostly towards the end.

The next scene is back in the restaurant and uses a variety of shots from close upsto establishing shots/extreme wide shots. Also during the dialogue between the doctor and the waitress there are a lot of over the shoulder shots been used. There is also a close up cut shot of the waitress putting the wrist strap on which is used to transport them.

After the transportation has happened you first of all see an establishing shot of an empty street at Christmas, special effects are then used to insert the characters in. There are a lot of wide shots and two shots in this scene to cover the interaction between the Doctor and the waitress, there are also a lot ofclose up and reaction shots as the people in the scene are meant to be shocked of their arrival and there surroundings as it is the first time they were supposedly on earth. During this scene it also cuts to a news broadcast to accurately inform the doctor about what is happening.

Also in general there are alot of special effects that make the clip, and really give the audience an idea of the goings on, e.g. the meteor shower, as seen from the boat deck. Other than the special effects the different camera shots were quite repetitive throughout this clip, however I think the effects used worked well with this genre of television drama.

Thriller Conventions

In todays lesson, we observed two different opening sequence’s to two very different thrillers. We soon found out that there are many different conventions to a thriller film.

Firstly we watched the first five minutes of Saw, an american thriller/horror film. From watching this sequence, it was immediately clear that a crime was at the core of the narrative. However it was many crimes, most obviously the man who is supposedly dead in the centre of the room, and also the fact that the two men had been kidnapped and were being held against there will. Also there were a lot of clues of what was going to happen next, some being misleading. The ones that we saw was the tape player in the ‘dead’ man’s hand and also the image of the key at the start, which would lead some to assume that there was an easy way out. Furthermore the first scene creates many enigma’s that the viewer is waiting to be resolved. The writers had not yet revealed how they got there, who got them there, who the people were, and what were they doing there. The protagonists in this clip so far were the two men who had been kidnapped, in my opinion the fact that one of the men is a doctor also presents him as more as a protagonist as his job is primarily to help people. You are also led to believe that the dead man was also an innocent victim in all of this. Another convention is extraordinary events happening in normal situations. One minute the two men had just been living there lives as they normally would, like everyone else, the next minute they are chained up in a filthy cell with a dead body. Both of the kidnapped men had common factors which are mirrored such as, they are both seemingly normal, both having had lived there lives normally up to that point, and now both chained up left seemingly for dead. There are also themes of voyeurism in these films as you are shown the scene from the angle of a CCTV camera which the characters do not know is watching them. Furthermore later in the film you find that the dead man is in fact alive, and tapping into their opening conversations as they discover they have been kidnapped. The protagonists in the film all have flaws, which are eventually revealed to be the reason why they are in the predicament in the first place. This flaw is abused by ‘Jigsaw’ throughout the film, playing on their weaknesses as a person. The opening credits also create an extremely eerie atmosphere, as they use cold dark colours, not quite revealing what is going on. After the credits, it is still practically pitch black, and as they are using a point of view shot you get the feeling of now control as you have no idea what is happening around you. Then when the lights are turned on everything is blurry, as is your sight after you go from seeing something very dark to very light, and also the reaction you might have after been knocked unconscious. The scene is also tinted blue which represents sorrow and death, and almost a forbidding sign of what is to come. Furthermore in regards to the camera work, it is quite jumpy with lots of quick short cuts. Also there is noestablishing shot, there is always an element of mystery left regarding what else is accompanying them in the room.

The second opening sequence that we watched was the opening to ‘Psycho’, another American thriller/horror film. The clip begins with red opening credits which signifies blood, which suggests that there will be a certain amount of gore involved in the film. Along with the opening credits, there is very jumpy music, which I think was violins (i’m not that great with music though!). I think the music makes you feel more on edge, and the high tempo beat almost gets your heart beating at the same rate, as it convinces you that something is going to happen to either scare you or make you jump. In regards to the camera work, we are firstly presented with a shot of Phoenix, Arizona. Out of this shot there is no way of knowing where the action was happening. It then uses words on the screen to inform of when the actions are occurring, meanwhile the camera is zooming in gradually, until finally you see two people in a hotel room. I also found that the city looked beautiful and clean from the first shot but then as it zoomed in, it revealed more dirt and grime. During the scene in the hotel room, there are also a lot of cut shots, most prominently the one of the fly landing on the food, then you are left with the noise of the fly in the background, i think this factor alludes to the idea that they are not in a very nice place. Further into the film the woman seems to become very edgy and awkward when away from her on/off boyfriend. At work she doesn’t seem comfortable with any one, and the head ache she was also suffering from at the time only added to the awkwardness of the situation. Yet again, the emphasis of the story line is on crime, as in under ten minutes of the film the woman had stolen a large amount of money, and had fled from Arizona to California in order to pay off her boyfriends debts. Music is used constantly throughout the film in order to increase heart rates making you believe that something is about to happen. There was also a noticeable amount of pathetic fallacyas, as she pulls into California you see a shot of a very dark cloudy sky, as if a storm was brewing. Also after the crime had been committed many point of view shots were used, mainly from the woman’s point of view and occasionally from the police officers. Some shots also had the background blurred, signifying that it was unclear to her quite what was going on. Also in comparison to Saw, the length of shots was considerably longer, with less jump cuts, and cut shots.

Test Anxiety Shot Evaluation And Final Product

Recently we were given the task of having to film a short clip which falls under the title of ‘test anxiety’. We were given twenty minutes to go and find a suitable place and to film our clip from a variety of different camera angles. Our group was made up of seven individuals including me. We all took turns with the camera, each filming various different shots from various different angles. I have embedded a video outlining the different shots we used below:

The first clip shown is an extreme close up of faith twitching her eyes, this type of camera work in my opinion creates suspense as not only are you connecting with the character, you see every slight movement they make in the area filmed. You also do not know what she is twitching her eyes about, the shot is based solely on the characters reactions unlike other shots where they can either be based on the background e.g. extreme wide shot, or on both the background and the subject e.g. a wide shot.

The second shot in the video is a mid shot, this concentrates mainly on Vickie, however elements of the background and setting are seen as well. We used this shot for many reasons, mainly because it also captured the movements of the top half of her body, including her body language, which can not be captured in a close up.

The next shot is a cut shot of a close up of  barney tapping his feet illustrating his supposed anxiety caused by the test. This shot draws you attention away from the facial reactions of the characters, and shows that it is not just your face that creates the atmosphere.

The next shot we filmed was a very wide shot, which zoomed into an extreme close up. We used this to gradually reveal Joe’s expression of anguish, which is not immediately seen from the very wide shot. This technique was also used in the film ‘Psycho’, however it was an establishing shot of Phoenix, Arizona, gradually zoomed into a hotel block, then into one of the hotel bedrooms.

Next in the video is a wide shot of six of us sitting down looking anxious, like the previous shot, we then zoomed in and panned across to a medium close up which covered most of us. We choose to sit in a line because we thought the idea of sitting in a straight line is most representational of waiting. The reason we zoomed in was then to capture everyone’s different reactions to the pressure of the test.

It then switches to an extreme wide shot of the goings on, on the stage. We picked an extreme wide shot as it was the only way in the given circumstances that we could capture everything on the stage without affecting the continuity of the piece. This is also the first glimpse of what the test was meant to be, which unlike the assumption of a written test, it is in fact a performance test.

The final shot we used started from an over the should shot to a point of view shot. The over the shoulder shot revealed to the audience that the actual examination is in front of an audience. Then as he falls in my final edit of it i have included an extra point of view shot of what Matt would have seen when he collapsed. However the shots included show Barney’s point of view of running over to Matt on the floor, and then from Matt’s point of view of Barney and Faith checking that Matt is in fact okay.

Overall I was quite pleased with my final edit of the video, however there are a few continuity issues where I have re-arranged the order of events to create a slightly different story line. The main continuity issue being in the final few shots in which at first Vickie, Faith and I are seen walking behind Matt, then in the next cut we are sitting in the audience, while Matt is still doing the handstand. If given more time I think it would have been extremely beneficial to film the same shots from a variety of different angles, not just the one angle for each shot. I have embedded the final edited version of the video below.

The Change In Television Broadcasting

After reading the article published by leading screenwriter Andrew Davies regarding BBC’s supposed following of ITV. I can not fully decide whose side of the argument I would follow.

Although Andrew Davies brings up some valid points about the so called ‘dumbing down’ of television nowadays, he seemed to have drifted away from the fact that the BBC is a publicly founded co-operation, therefore it needs to conform with what the public wants. Yes, some people love the idea of the lesser known classics been made into period dramas, but retrospectively, the odds are that the ratings will not conform to what is needed to cover the funding of the programme in the first place. Unlike many other television dramas, period dramas carry the extra pressure of needing high budgets to cover the basic mise-en-scene elements such as costume, hair, make-up and props. Undoubtedly the viewing figures would be reasonably high, but the BBC need to cut their loss’s especially in the current economic climate, and risk taking on some thing on such a large scale is not at the top of any ones priorities.

However looking at it from Davies point of view, the BBC are stereotyping people into the category of unwilling to watch and enjoy new programmes. Just because the book was not as popular as some of the great classics, it doesn’t make them any inferior in comparison.

In denouement, I would say I more against what Andrew Davies is trying to illustrate, but i think if the economic situation was more balanced and secure, I would definitely lean more towards Andrew Davies point of view.

Evaluation Of The Mise En Scene In Pride And Prejudice

Like many other period dramas, Pride and Prejudice is a prime example of the importance of mise en scene in television productions.

Everything in this clip is completely altered to fit the time at which it was set. The episode begins with images of some form of embroidered cloth, with sewing needles and thread placed on it, with the opening credits over the top. The non-diegetic music was also produced around the same time that the series is set, which in my opinion sets the scene of the programme.

The location is no where near a town, meaning that no aspect of modern life could creep into the filming. The manor houses used were also built around the same era, meaning the historical accuracy is also correct. Not only is the outside historically accurate, the inside is also full of furniture and decoration from that period of time. Even the lights on the walls are simply candles. There are no modern features such as radiators etc at all.

In regards to costume everyone is in costumes that mirror exactly what people at the time would wear. Both the men and women are wearing elaborate clothing which also are a very accurate representation of the class at the time. The hair styles and the make up are also identical to those at the time, which is also a vital part of the programme.

Furthermore, even the little things, such as the father writing with a quill instead of a pen or pencil is accurate. It is not only physical things that fit in with the style of the time. The way the actors speak and the accents they use are a direct representation of the time it was set. They tend to sound very well spoken using words and referring to things that we would no longer refer to.

Personally I believe that period dramas carry the most responsibility regarding mise en scene, as without it, it just wouldn’t work. With soap dramas, they are set in present day, so practically anything could be passed in the mise en scene of the piece. But there is no way that you could have a period drama in which everyone is in nike tracksuits with the latest trainers on, or have a tudor drama set in sky scrapers. It just wouldn’t be realistic, and viewers wouldn’t watch it, as in my opinion I think people watch period dramas to learn about the way of life at the time not just for the story lines.

Viewing Figures Analysis For Soap dramas

After researching the BBC’s ratings between 31st August and the 6th September, I was shocked to find that ‘Eastender’s’ was not in fact top of the ratings. The top programme was ‘New Tricks’ which topped the chart with a total of 8.53 million. The programme itself falls under the category of Drama. After researching more of the programmes on the list, I found that top seven programmes are all classed as dramas, with four of the spaces taken up by hit soap ‘Eastender’s’. Other dramas that made it into the BBC’s top 30 shows were ‘Waking The Dead’ and ‘Holby City’. The run of dramas is then split by the ‘Ten o’clock News’ and the filmed ‘Framed.’

In comparison to BBC, ITV’s results were much different. Unsurprisingly ‘The X Factor,’ topped ITV’s viewing figures with 12.84 million people tuning in, which is over four million more than the BBC’s top show (These results are gathered from the same time zone). Slots two to twelve were then taken up by ITV’s two soap dramas, with ‘Coronation taking position two to six and ‘Emmerdale’ taking positions seven to eleven. Unlike the BBC there seems to be a wider range of programmes in the top thirty, for example, the football, comedy shows such as ‘You’ve Been Framed,’ game shows such as ‘The Cube’ and documentaries such as ‘Joanna Lumley- Catwoman’. Other dramas that feature in the list are crime dramas such as ‘The Bill’ and period dramas such as ‘Wuthering Heights.’

Overall soaps take up 1/3 of ITV’s top thirty, 2/15 of the BBC’s top thirty, none of Channel fours top thirty and 13/30’s of Fives top thirty.

Considering the wide range of programmes on offer, and the fact that millions choose to watch Soap dramas, it is obvious that they are extremely popular!

Personally I think that there are many reasons why soaps are so popular. The constant continuity that they offer people allows the viewer to be able to follow a character throughout their life, and you can witness how the character grows. For example, in Coronation Street, characters such as Ken Barlow, who has been in the programme from the first episode. The characters are also portrayed as normal people, unlike in the movies, not everyone is a size zero with a picture perfect complexion e.g. Heather in Eastender’s. There is never a benevolent character in a soap, all characters are written to have mistakes at some point, which in some ways attracts the viewer, and almost comforts them, showing them that everyone makes mistakes. Not all the characters can be related too, however I can always find someone in a soap that I can relate to in some shape or form, which I also think entices the general public to tune in religiously every week.

The story lines are very varied, but I normally find that one story line makes it way round the soaps all at once. Furthermore, as the programme is continuous, there is no time limit (like films have). This allows them to run many story lines at once, involving more characters, and attracting more people to watch.

One thing that the writers of soap dramas are expert at is taking an everyday situation and embellishing it into an exciting and enticing event, which although exaggerated, is still watchable and believable. Also the way story lines are dragged out over months keep people watching, and with constant cliff hangers, people are left wanting to come back for more. The best example I can think of for this is earlier this year in Eastenders when after almost a year of building the story line up, Ronnie found out that Danielle was in fact her long lost daughter, who was promptly knocked over and killed by Janine soon after. I have embedded the video below (I think it was one of the best scenes I have seen in the show, in regards to the acting and the circumstances)

I do not believe that is the lack of other programmes that leads people to watch soaps as with technology with Sky, there is almost always an alternative that people would like/prefer.

People constantly say that soap dramas are dumbing down television, which personally I think it is a ridiculous statement. Soap dramas are basically an exaggerated version of events currently going on in the world. So people who say they are dumbing down television are in my opinion saying that the country is dumbing down itself. However I do think that the soaps create a lot of stereotypes, for example, teens in the soaps are often portrayed as drunkards who have a criminal record before they even reach their teenage years, which although true in some circumstances, it does not reflect everyone.

In denouement, everyone has there own reasons why they watch soaps and if I were to write every single reason why down I would be here forever! It is obvious that soap dramas play a big part in the countries television broadcasting, and without them I think many people would be at wits end between 6:30-8:30 in the evening!