AS Media Studies

TV Drama

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Overview of courseG321 Foundation Production

• 50% coursework• 50% Exam

• Details on handout.

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TV DRAMA

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Learning Objectives.

• To know how TV drama is classified

• To understand the conventions of different TV drama genres

• To be able to identify and suggest key characteristics for the many different dramas seen on TV

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What is TV Drama?

• What is TV drama? A broad genre - at is simplest, it is fictionalised action in a narrative form

• Hugely popular – wide ranging audience

• Very large genre – divided into sub-genres, such as crime drama, medical drama, docu-drama.

• What does genre mean? ‘Type’ - repetition and variation.

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Task.

• How many different sub-genres are there of TV drama?

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Sub genres of TV drama

• Crime drama - The Bill, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes

• Teen drama - Skins, Inbetweeners

• School drama

• Soap opera

• Family drama - My Family, Smallville

• Medical drama Casualty, Holby City

• Legal drama

• Espionage drama

• Period drama / costume drama

• Childrens drama

• Sci fi dramas – Dr Who, Heroes, Torchwood

• Historical adventures 7

What’s the sub genre of TV drama are these in?

• Holby City• Eastenders• Waterloo road• Casualty• Skins• Coronation St• Spooks• Silent Witness• Shameless

Task

• In pairs, each person must think of a well known TV drama series.

• Think of several facts (conventions) about the TV drama and give them one by one to your partner as clues, starting with the most difficult.

• Your partner has to try and guess the drama with the least amount of clues.

• Think about camerawork, dialogue, setting (dont make this too easy!), characters, plot, costume, props.

Group task

• Setting is important in a TV drama as its often the focal point for all the characters and its important in establishing a sense of a real place where a story can exists.

• Often TV dramas are set in a domestic location or a workplace. Many regional features may well appear – landmarks, local accent, dress and customs.

• What settings are used in the TV dramas you like?

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Conventions of TV dramas

• Characters - in single dramas small number of main characters supported by lesser characters based on stereotypes

• Narrative - both overall structure and how it’s constructed

• Sets and setting - locations against which the story unfolds and which are significant eg hospital, police station

• Camerawork and editing- particular camerawork is used for particular sub genres eg crime dramas and period dramas

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Conventions of TV dramas

• Dialogue, sound and music - sound and music create effects and emotion. Narrative is dialogue based in soaps. Music drives emotional or dramatic events.

• Themes and icons - tend to be associated with particular sub genres eg. the soap opera’s pub or square - recognisable every day objects. In crime series - crime icons.In the single drama varied but often based round love, family, relationships.

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• ANDY - I ONLY GOT THIS FAR IN THURSDAY’S LESSON!!

• But did give out your sheet on the Conventions Exercise

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The Serial

• Continuing narrative over a limited number of linked programmes with an over arching narrative.

• It the much the same cast, such as Footballers’ Wives, and a cliffhanger at the end of each episode.

• Closure is only achieved at the end of the run. Typically made in 13 episodes – a quarter of a year.

• Examples include State of Play and Rome.14

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Soaps

• An ongoing, multi-stranded television serial drama, typically set in an enclosed domestic location.

• Such as Albert Square in Eastenders, Coronation Street, or Emmerdale, with a large cast of central characters and arching story lines.

• The soap is an everlasting serial. 15

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The Series

• Linked programmes with the same lead characters where each episode is a complete story Spooks (BBC), House (C5) or The Bill (ITV), Heartbeat (ITV) or Midsummer Murders, Agatha Christie’s Poirot (ITV) Casualty (BBC) and Dr Who (BBC) or US series like Superman.

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Opening sequences

• Watch this opening sequence to a TV drama.

• Think about the conventions in each drama series.

• Waterloo Rd - Maxine Gets Shot

Model 1: Waterloo RdWhat is typical of each sub-genre?

• What impressions do you get from the sequence?

• What themes are in the storyline?• What type of camera shots do you notice?• Sound?• Costume?• What type of characters feature?• What iconography is there?

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Homework.

• With detailed reference to a drama of your choice, discuss the degree to which it adheres to generic convention.

• Analyse plot, characters, setting, dialogue and music, icons

• 600 words

• Due in:

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