TV drama research project

TV Drama

Genres

·        Soap opera

·        Costume / period drama

·        Medical / emergency

·        Literary adaptations

·        Crime drama

·        Contemporary melodrama

·        Comedy drama

·        Sci-fi / fantasy

·        Spy drama

 

Conventions of TV drama

What set of rules, codes or formulae does TV drama follow?

·         Scripted, fictional narrative

·         Central characters

·         Often continuous storylines

·         Often familiar settings

·         Key themes

·         Verisimilitude (relatable, realistic settings, characters and storylines)

·         Could be a one-off / special, mini-series, serial

·         Serials can be progressive storylines, continuing from week to week and developing across a series, or can be self-contained each episode, despite featuring the same characters and settings.

·         Distinctive style of directing / shooting

 

Further reading –

Douglas Kellner ‘Television Images, Codes and Messages’

“a genre refers to a coded set of formulas and conventions which indicate a culturally accepted way of organising material into distinct patterns.  Once established, genres dictate the basic conditions of cultural production and reception.”

Martin Esslin ‘The Age of Televison’

Bardwell & Thomson’s ‘Film Art’.

Drama research – AUTUMN TERM

Can be presented as a blog or slideshow.

Work on this each week of the autumn term and update.

1.      Research types of TV drama and give 3 examples of each

2.      Research scheduling – what proportion of the TV schedules are drama? When are drama series or one-offs scheduled and why? What audience do you think they have? Explore the notion of mainstream and niche audiences in relation to the scheduling of TV drama

3.      Representation of social groups. How do different TV dramas represent social groups and social issues?  Conflict – what dramatic conflicts are represented between social groups? How does shot selection and directorial choice demonstrate this?

4.      What roles or jobs are there in a TV drama eg. Director, producer

5.      Find a selection of stills from TV dramas demonstrating the range of shot types (CU, WS etc) and annotate in detail, exploring why and how this shot type has been chosen, including how social groups are represented.

6.      Create a glossary of TV drama terminology eg. Wide shot, Mise-en-scene

7.      Develop a pitch for your own TV drama, specifying plot, setting, characters/actors.