Key Vocabulary for TV Drama

Key Vocabulary for TV Drama

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

• Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.

• Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.

•  Movement: Pan – Where the camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.

Track - a shot whjere the camera follows a subject/object. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along the side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.Crane – A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward.Steadicam - A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.Tilt - where a camera scans a set or setting vertically (otherwise similar to a pan).Zoom – Using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer to (zoom in) or further away from (zoom out) a subject/object when in fact the camera may not move (so, strictly not camera movement). Can be used for dramatic effect.

dolly, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

• Diegetic - included in the clip. Non-diegetic sound - Added in the clip in the editing process.

Score - The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.

synchronous/asynchronous sound - Sound which is indigenous to the action but not precisely synchronized with the action. ; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

• Lighting; colour design.

Areas of representation

• Gender

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Sexuality

• Class and status

• Physical ability/disability

• Regional identity

How is class represented in Cranford?

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Camera:

• Camera looks down on the poor boy whose birthday it is, revealing his lack of class and lack of wealth. This emphasises that the adults involved in this clip are wealthy, more superior and have more authority. When he brakes into the wealthy man's mansion, he is found on the floor which also reveals his lack of class suggesting "that is where he belongs" because of his low status.

Mis en Scene:

• It is his birthday and he is extremely grateful for the boots he receives, because he does not have any shoes, this reinforces his lack of money. He is grateful for the smallest token.
• Poor boy dressed in dirty, ragged, grubby clothes revealing that he has no money
• He is employed by the rich man to earn a "shilling", this shows the boy is desperate for any kind of money
• The family with a high status travel by horse and carriage, this presents their wealth
• The boy didn't know what ice cream was, shows he is uneducated

Sound:

• Sad music as the clip opens, displays the poor boy in ragged clothes, makes the audience feel empathy towards the character.
• Rich, posh music with a variety of instruments played when the rich man grabs the poor boy by his shirt, this juxtaposes the idea of his lack of wealth and the man's wealth.

Editing:

• Cross-cutting - displaying the different scenes occurring at the same time.

Monarch of the Glen - January 2009

How is age represented in this clip?

Camera:

• Mid-Shot
• Over-the-shoulder Shot - makes the audience feel empathy as the viewer can see the the action from the character's points of view.
• Point of View Shot - displaying what the character can see
• Camera always looking down on the 16 year old, emphasising she is a minority and the adults in the clip are superior and have authority.
• Reverse Shots - opposition between the two age groups

Mis en Scene:

• There are a lot of people much older than the 16 year old, the audience can clearly see that she is uneducated and quite immature as she does not know how to drive but she still lies and says that she can drive, consequently resulting in a crash.
• Clothes makes people look older - Headmaster, wearing an old tweed suit, reinforcing his high status and position of authority. Additionally he drinks brandy in this clip, displaying he is a sophisticated man. On the other hand, the 16 year old wear young clothes, such as a hoody. She also runs away emphasising her lack of knowledge.
• Her room is filled with teenage magazines, photos, teddy bears which has youthful connotations depicting innocence.
• Rural setting - all wearing farming clothes apart from headmaster and girl, the headmaster is visiting the village. The costumes are juxtaposed as we can see the manual/working-class clothes as oppose to her "trendy" youthful clothes.
• Older generation - grey hair/big beards. On the other hand, the girl is made up and has a flower in her hair symbolising youthfulness and blossoming.The setting is a Scottish rural Island with archaic buildings, this is out of place in this modern day, the audience can empathise with her vulnerability as it is a place meant for older people. The people who live there believe that way of life is the "norm".

Sound:

• When the girl is shown in the clip the music becomes more exciting emphasising her youthfulness.
• When the rest of the characters are shown, the music is country/folk reinforcing that the are manual labour workers.
• When the young girl is packing her stuff to leave, the music is slow creating a sad atmosphere.
• Accents - headteacher - posh - received pronounciation, which is a reflection on his appearance and his dominance. Amy, northern/Scots creating an uneducated image.

Editing:

• Cross cutting - displaying what is happening in time sequence.

How is Youth represented in this Clip?

After watching this clip, I discovered that youth has been represented in various ways, such as, Sound, Mis en Scene, Editing and Camera Shots as follows:


Camera Shots

• The camera looks down onto the child when he brakes into the wealthy man's house which in actual fact is the man is looking down on the child, this shows that he does not think much of the boy. Additionally, this suggests to the audience that the man is superior to the boy, giving the man authority and a high class appeal.

Editing

• Cross cutting - displaying what is happening in the party and also showing Sid and Cassie talking on the trampoline.

Mis en Scene

• Clothing - most characters are dressed in youthful, stylish clothes.
• The setting is at a party which is a location typically associated with teenagers, the connotations are drinking and fighting which is evident in this clip.
• Colloquial language - emphasises  teenagers not bothering to speak correctly, they use swearing and slang, such as "safe" describing something which is good.
• A trampoline is included as part of the set, displaying the characters are juvenile and youthful.
• When the three boys first enter the clip, they say they have already had two bottles of vodka, signifying to the viewer that it will be a messy party. 
• This clip juxtaposes the idea of bad behaviour and criminals, for example stealing phones when the teens arrive at the party, with the ide that there is helium balloons and amusing music empohasising innocence.
• Additionally, the big mansion does not fit in with the idea of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and fighting.
• The character Sid, who was situated with Cassie on the trampoline wears childish clothes revealing his youthfulness, and giving the audience and impression that he is cute.
• The viewer witnesses girls fighting which challenges stereotypes.
• In this clip, the dialogues are closely linked to teen issues, such as, anorexia.
• Whilst on the trampoline, Cassie and Sid hold hands emphasising innocence as this is a symbol of young children, the setting is quite intimate which juxtaposes the idea of innocence.

Sound 

There is both diagetic and non-diagetic sound featured in this clip.

• Bob Marley music when  the teens steal phones and other electrical items, which is the reggae genre and sounds rather amusing. 
• Shouting at the party
• When the fight begins when everybody is drunk at the party, rock music begins to play loudly emphasising youth as it appeals more to the teenage generation rather than older people. This reinforces the darker, more evil type of atmosphere.

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How Ethnicity is represented in 'Compulsion'

The TV Drama 'Compulsion' presents various aspects such as camera shots, sound, editing and mis en scene to help contribute to Ethnicity. All of these different aspects help the audience to gain a better insight and understanding into the Indian culture displayed on screen.
In the five minute clip that we viewed in class, it showed an Indian Family having a party which is for their daughter who has just turned 25 years old. Her parents want her to marry an Indian man to follow their traditions and values, however, she rebels and has an affair with an English man at the party. 

• Costumes - The costumes of the majority of guests at the party are Indian-orientated, consisting of lots of jewellery and colourful and traditional saries. This emphasises the Indian culture proving that they follow their religion in how to dress. The daughter had been studying at Cambridge University and some of her English friends attended the party. This enabled us to see the English culture and how they dressed. The girl was in a stylish dress and the man was dressed in a suit proving they are not associated with the Indian culture.
• Music/Sound - There are lots of examples of both diagetic and non-diagetic sound during the clip. The music being played throughout the party includes lots of instruments and would resemble Bollywood music. The music used has an element of elegance and sets the scene in the viewer's mind.
• Setting - The set of the party has been culturally decorated with religious ornaments and symbols. It looks very colourful and also helps set the scene in the viewer's mind.
• Names - The names of the Indian people immediately reinforce the emphasis on culture, as they are not English at all.
• Accents - It appeared that the older people of the Indian ethnicity had a stronger accent and were traditionally dressed. On the other hand, the younger Indian people possessed a standard British accent which proves she is multi-cultural. Additionally, her friends from Cambridge Uni illustrate this as well.
• Camera Shots - At the beginning of the clip there is an establishing shot displaying a big house. It would seem to the audience that the family live in a rich community. The clothing, setting, props and the drugs all reinforce this view. The drugs prove that the people involved can afford cocaine, additionally emphasising they are sophisticated and elegant.

 Another shot that I noticed was, the Indian people were placed at the back of the shot and the English people were near the front of the camera shot, there was also a gap separating the different cultures. This shows the division of the two ethnic groups and shows the cultures are not fully integrated. The younger generations are, however the older generations are not.


Finally, there is a shot including Ray Winstone admiring the daughter who's party it was, this is a point of view shot, showing the image from his eyes.
Ray Winstone is usually known for his stereotypical gangster roles in different TV shows and films. The viewer is already aware of his traits and they can immediately make connotations. As his character provides the drugs, he succeeds in bringing the criminal World to the Indian community portraying class and wealth. This therefore displays a murky underworld as the Indian man asks for drugs.

Coronation Street - March 2010 - How is age represented

In this episode of "Coronation Street", age is represented through various methods, for example, clothing, dialect, language and many more aspects.

• There is a young girl featured in the first few seconds of the clip, she is wearing pyjamas with bright colours and lairy patterns on them which is the type of bed clothes that you would expect to find a child in. This emphasises her youthfulness and immaturity.
• Additionally, there is an older woman featured in the same scene, her age is depcited by her old-fashioned hair style, bleak/dull clothing and her moany tone to her voice. All of these aspects reinforce her age, as she is moaning about her garden, it would seem she is very protective of it and she would be willing for an argument if anybody went against her will. This is an old-fashioned trait to admire and take pride in your garden.
• There is also a young boy in this clip, he appears to be around 17 years old - he shouts at his dad which displays his immaturity and demonstrates his juvenile ways as it is the type of actions you'd expect to see from a toddler having a tantrum.
• Additionally, there is an older man talking to "Natasha", he is wearing a tweed suit and uses R.P when he speaks, this presents him in a very formal manner telling the audience he is well-educated and gives the viewer an element of authority. His tone of voice talking to this younger woman makes him seem more superior and her seem not as educated and aware as he is. By her making a cup of tea for him displays who has the power.
• Finally, it is ironic as a younger police woman is talking to an older woman (who is being accused of a crime) and the camera angle is focused down onto the woman which reinforces the fact that she has committed a crime and done something wrong in society and displays to the audience that the police woman is more powerful and authorititive due to her high status.

TV Drama Analysis: Skins - Series 3 Episode 1

Skins

Synopsis: The beautiful and elusive Effy is joined by her kooky best friend, Pandora. The guys are led by the irrepressible and irresponsible Cook, the daring and charismatic leader of the gang.

Soundscape:

• Diegetic Sound - lots of examples, such as Freddie's skateboard, traffic and doors slamming.
• Non-Diegetic Sound/ Incidental Music - theme tune music
• Ambient Sound - traffic
• Sound perspective

Camera Shots and Angles:

• Two Shot
• Establishing shot
• Extreme close up - recognise the character's emotions
• Medium Shit - display two characters having a conversation
• Over-The-Shoulder-Shot
• Point of View Shot - showing what the character sees in their eyes
• Close up
• Crane Shot

Editing:

• Jump cut
• Cross Fade
• Action Match