G322A TV Drama Tips on Preparation and technique
The Question • Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of X using the following: • Camera shots, angles, movement and composition • Editing • Sound • Mise-en-scene Gender
Age
Sexuality
Class and status
Regional identity
Politics
Ethnicity Physical ability/disability Religion
How to use time in the exam • During 30mins viewing: – 2mins read question – what can you expect from this clip? What themes/ issues are likely to be important? – Viewing 1 – make no notes; decide on representational issues – 30 seconds – Create noteframe – Viewing 2 – make notes – 2mins pause – make notes – Viewing 3 – make notes – 2mins pause – make notes – Viewing 4 – make notes – Complete notes. Write essay
How to discuss editing and sound well – the most difficult technical areas •
Sound – How do the sounds emotionally/ culturally influence our understanding of the text? – How does sound change our perception/ perspective/ focus/ view? – How does sound position us? How does it encourage us to take a particular point of view? – Whose sound are we hearing? (sound perspective) – Asynchronous sound dominating other characters’ screentime
•
Editing – Screentime – who dominates? – Shot/ reverse-shot creates conflict/ opposition – Contrasts/ juxtaposition between scenes/ characters/ representations – How does editing position us? How does it encourage us to take a particular point of view? – Pace and energy – Long/ short takes – Continuity – Ellipsis/ expansion of time – Fades/ cuts
How to revise • • • • • •
Use www.youtube.com/cnsmedia Practice note-taking Practice essay planning Practice timed essay Plan for key issues Learn all terms
Questions to consider (conclusion) • Who is this representation for? Who is the audience, and how does this effect how the characters are represented? – e.g. Skins = teen audience – Midsomer Murders = slightly xenophobic white middle Englanders (!)
• How does the genre effect the representation? – Would scifi have the same representations as a a docu-drama? – Is it conventional for this genre?
• How does the setting affect the representation? – Would a drama set in the 1890s have different representations of gender compared to a piece set today? – Is it using representations that are ‘of today’ or ‘of the time’ or is it playing with this?
Questions to consider (conclusion) • Is the representation simplistic or complex? • Is this representation reinforcing conventional representations? – – – – – – – – –
Traditional/ Regressive Reinforcing/ perpetuating Progressive/ Challenging Binary opposition Tokenism/ Otherness/ Exoticism Proportionally represented Normalisation of difference Stereotypes Diversity vs monoculture
• How do the representations position the audience? – How are we encouraged to respond to the representations?