Skip to main content

Introduction to TV Drama: Blog tasks

 Serial television drama is a show which has a continuous plot that unfolds in episode-by-episode and runs/returns for an indefinite number of years.


Five dramas discussed in the history of the genre:

- Doctor Who
- The Avengers
- Danger Man
- The Sweeney
- Starksy and Hutch
- Hill Street Blues
- Dallas

The genre has evolved in various ways over the years. An example of this is the way audienced viewed media changed from viewing it in black and white into colour. There has also been a change in the set narrative structure because producers have included a resolution at the end of each episode in order to keep the plot going.

Sub-genres of TV drama: 

- Police Procedural (NCIS)
- Medical  (Holby city)
- Period (Brigerton)
- Science-fiction/fantasy (Dr. Who)
- Family (The Simpsons)
- Teen (Grand Army)

Setting is important for TV drama because it gives the audience an opportunity to engage with the episodes more because they mainly use recognisable settings with regular locations. It's also vital for communicating the sub-genre and narrative expectations to the audience.

TV Dramas typically use characters because it helps the audience to gain a sense of personal identity or personal relationship. It tends to have a large ensemble cast and the characters are often stereotypical in order to communicate a lot to the audience quickly.

A multi- strand narrative is when there is more than one story being told at the same time in an episode. An example is Orange is the new black.

A cold opening is a teaser at the beginning to hook the audience and to keep them watching.

Todorov's theory of equilibrium can be applied to TV drama serials because they always have some sort of disequilibrium (conflict) that is resolved at the end of the episode which ensures that there is no cliffhanger and the audiences get the answers they need.

The typical form for TV dramas in the UK is having to fill a one-hour or a ‘commercial hour’ (about 50 minutes), with some dramas commissioned to span a two-hour slot.

Subscription channels and streaming services have changed the form and content of TV dramas because they have included more adult and challenging content. Serial television drama is a show which has a continuous plot that unfolds in episode-by-episode and runs/returns for an indefinite number of years.

A cold opening is a teaser at the beginning to hook the audience and to keep them watching.

Todorov's theory of equilibrium can be applied to TV drama serials because they always have some sort of disequilibrium (conflict) that is resolved at the end of the episode which ensures that there is no cliffhanger and the audiences get the answers they need.

The typical form for TV dramas in the UK is having to fill a one-hour or a ‘commercial hour’ (about 50 minutes), with some dramas commissioned to span a two-hour slot.

Subscription channels and streaming services have changed the form and content of TV dramas because they have included more adult and challenging content.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Music Video theory - Childish Gambino blog task

  Music Video theory - Childish Gambino blog task Childish Gambino, the musical stage name of writer and performer Donald Glover, released an incredible critique of American culture and Donald Trump with  This Is America  in 2018. The music video is a satirical comment on American culture, racism and gun violence. Racking up 10m views in the first 24 hours, it now stands at over half a billion views and has been dubbed ‘genius’ and ‘a masterpiece’.  Childish Gambino's This is America music video meets the key conventions of a music video. The artist is seen lipsyncing to the song, along with this the artist and other individuals featured in the video are dancing to the rhythm of the song. In addition to this, a narrative is shown through the video with the supplementary use of props and movements. This video was used as an aim to perpetuate the real and deep issues that lie within America. Topics such as racism and gun violence are addressed in this music video....
Post a Comment
Read more

Marxism & Hegemony

  Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital in the mail online review of Capital, the writer states that Capital features a plethora of left-wing ideologies. The writer suggests that this is because the writers want to appeal to people that are of ethnic minorities by portraying everything that is traditionally British as something that is negative. This belief, from the writer, is shown in the line 'Everything British came in for a dose of loathing'   Criticisms of Capital  'With a fizzle like a firework on a wet night, Capital (BBC1) dribbled to a soggy ending'.  This quote is quite critical of the plot to Capital however it made be argued that this criticism is valid. The first episode was strong in terms of plot but that may have changed later on in the series. 'One of the immigrant characters snarled, with real anger' This comment poorly reflects what actually happened in the scene. The writer must've purposely writt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Video feedback/learner response

  Video feedback/learner response Feedback from Mr Bush: Good decrease in volume Good use of contrapuntal sound Fade of sound at the end of video EBI: Highlight keywords Make the parallel sound clear  Feedback from classmates: They liked the introduction of the contrapuntal sound. My feedback: I enjoyed creating this video as I was able to show some of my editing skills to the teacher and my classmates. In my opinion, I think the highlight of my task was the volume dip so highlight the dialogue of the character. I also faded to a dark screen at the end of my video along with including a volume fad for the contrapuntal audio that I used EBI: I should've found a clip that included a higher volume of parallel sound or I could've put parallel sound in myself  The top 3 videos in the class were Nadima's and Tegan&Hannah's. They were successful as they made a clear distinction between the contrapuntal and parallel sound. I could've made my parallel sound clearer to th...
Post a Comment
Read more