25/02/09 Introduction to TV Drama

Draw a terrorist.
What an bizarre introduction to TV Drama.
Amusing enough, the whole class pretty much drew the same thing. A typical asian character wearing some sort of headgear. This is all down to the MEDIA'S REPRESENTATIONS.
You might be thinking how does this link to TV Drama?
Dramas rely on stereotypical representations. The audience do not wish to watch hours of a programme getting to know a character. Dramas conform to the expectations of stereotypes allowing us "click in" without the small talk.

Our exam is on TV Drama and we were informed that a question such as How does the extract represent groups of people through the four following elements?, could come up in the the exam.
Relatively easily, you just have to nail the technique. I have written loads of micro-analysis essays before, I think it is safe to say I have this down to the art. I may be abit rusty, I just need to get back into the habit.
The easiest way to answer this question successfully and under timed conditions is to pair up the elements! Yup, as simple as that..so naturally when talking about camera angles/cinematography I would mention mise-en-scene..because this cannot be helped.
Sound and editing also work pretty closely together.
& so on.

We then looked at BBC drama, Spooks, or Spooky Dooks as Nina likes to call it.
Spooky Dooks is a BAFTA award-winning drama series produced by an independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The majority of the storylines are tied up to the events of 9/11.

We watched a 3 minute sequence from the Drama, unfortunately I cannot find it by the code is disabled for it by stupid BBC so I wouldn't have been able to post it anyway ¬¬'

The sequence begins with two "teaser" shots, quick glimpses of two different characters. It then cuts to an establishing shot and the audience learn they are standing opposite one another. The camera work is never completely still, its fast, its edgy and has a very 'hand-held' feeling to it.
The cinematography here is beautiful. There are a few religious connotations such as a church in the background and a cross found in the building work. The two different character's shot are very similar suggesting they are in the same boat.

It then cuts to a closeup of a man sitting in a chair, on the phone to the character we have just seen before. Behind him there is a woman standing with her hands on her hip - connotations of a bitch. This shows he is dominated by her.

My favourite shot in this sequence was the shot of this character.
It's a low-angle shot, extremely close-up showing how the audience are powerless to him. The fact that he is stepping out of the frame anchors his authority. A blue tungsten is present, this connotes how evil he is, how heartless, mean and cold he is.