C2 TV

Tuesday 7th January 2025

TV Drama

LO: To explore the content and format of the unit

Do Now:

1. There are 2 written media exams

2. The exams are 1 hour 30 minutes each

3. Genre means the specific theme a type, of a media form, that involves a particular set of characteristics

4. The target audience for The Archers is older middle class white British women

5. The BBC's remit is to educate, inform, entertain

Component 2: Understanding Media Forms and Products

- Written examination: 1 hour 30 minutes [60 marks]

Section A: TV Crime Drama (Luther and The Sweeney)

- Question 1: Media language or representations

- Question 2: Media industries or audiences or media contexts

Section B: Music Videos

Genre - a type, of a media form, that involves a particular set of characteristics

Sub genre - a subdivision of genres (crime drama, medical drama, period drama, etc)

Hybrid genre - media texts that incorporate elements of more than one genre and are therefore more difficult to classify

Within Crime Drama there are also multiple sub genres such as forensic crime

The responder

Narrative - Positive family dynamic

Setting - Driving through streets

Characters - Two characters are immediately introduced in an interview like set up, family at dinner table

Mise-en-scene and iconography - Police uniform

Happy Valley

Narrative - Immediate issue of a man at the park with a lighter and has had a lot to drink

Setting - The park

Characters - Introduction of who seems to be the main police officer

Mise-en-scene and iconography - Lighter, fire. extinguisher

Line of Duty

Narrative - Tense atmosphere, collection of scenes the silence

Setting - A house

Characters - Many police officers but one in particular, a mother and child?

Mise-en-scene and iconography - Broken glass?

Close ups are used to capture the moment

Low Key lighting

All involved the police in some form

Initially attempting to prevent a crime from happening 

Scenes in police offices

Arial view following police cars

Mainly in cities and urban areas 

We are positioned to be on the polices side, shown from the police's point of view

Typical codes and conventions of TV Crime Drama

- The narrative is often centered around a detective/police officer attempting to solve or prevent a crime but not necessarily the main crime the series focuses on 

- Set in urban areas such as cities

- They utilise low key lighting, gritty realistic settings, handheld camerawork, fast paced editing, diegetic sounds

- Have an inciting crime

- Some form of police or detective character

- The protagonist is the main character who is intelligent and determined to solve the crime

- The antagonist is also crafty and intelligent and seems to be one step ahead of the protagonist

- The suspects have motives and a reasonable opportunity to have committed the crime

- There are clues and red herrings that help or hinder the investigation 

- There are typical character types, such as a villain, a hero, a helper, and a dispatcher

- The representation of characters ab themes can challenge pre-conceived ideas

All of the conventions create tension, suspense and enigmas which cause you to question certain aspects of the show and make your own judgements and opinions about the characters. This encourages you to come back for the next episode to see whether you were right or whether the story has headed in the same direction as you thought. This hooks you and makes you want to continue watching and the fact it is realistic with settings and handheld cameras making it seem as though you are there.