HOW TO ANALYZE A TV DRAMABy Beth Bouchareb

SECTION AThe exam will be a viewing of a 4-5 minute TV drama and then creating a textual analysis of it and discuss how it represents a construction on one of the following• Gender• Age• Ethnicity • Sexuality• Class and Status• Physical ability/ disability• Regional Identity.

We will construct this textual analysis by looking at the camera shots/angles/movement , sound types, editing and mise-en-scene.

SHOT TYPES• Establishing Shot- Also known as an ‘Extreme Long Shot’, it shows where the scene will take place. • Master Shot- This shows the limit of action, basically where all the action will take place. • Over The Shoulder Shot- This is the common way to film a conversation.• Following Over The Shoulder Shot- Again, how you present a conversation, it follows the previous over the shoulder shot. It allows us to see a characters reaction and keeps continuity. As a viewer we are not meant to notice this.• Close Up Shot- This is usually a face shot and it allows us to see a characters reaction evidently. Within this shot we see less environment.

SHOT TYPES• Extreme Close Up Shot- A shot that produces more detail and highlights a significant action. It tends to create more impact for an audience and allows them to guess what is coming. • Medium Close Up Shot- A shot of the chest and up. • Medium Shot- A shot of the waist and up. • Long Shot- A shot of the entire person. • Panorama Shot- A shot where the camera horizontally sweeps across. • Tilting shot- A shot where the came vertically sweeps up and down. • Tracking Shot- A shot where the camera follows something/someone.

CAMERA ANGLES• High Angle Shot- A shot where the angle is usually above eye level and the camera tends to look down on the subject.• Low Angle Shot- A shot where the angle is anywhere below the eye line, the camera is placed low. • Canted Angle Shot- A shot where the angle is purposely slanted to one side for dramatic effect.• Birds Eye View Angle Shot- A shot which shows a scene from directly overhead.• Eye Level Angle Shot- A shot which shows a scene from a humans perspective as if they are observing the scene.

SOUND TYPES• Diegetic- A natural sound that is involved in the scene that can occur on or off screen. • Non Diegetic- An un natural sound that is used in the scene, it can be mood music, a narrator or sound effects. • Synchronous- A sound that occurs on screen accompanied by the action. • Asynchronous- When a sound occurs off screen and we aren’t accompanied by the action.

MISE-EN-SCENEDefinition- What we can tell about a scene from everything in a scene. E.g. the buildings, the streets, the clothes characters wear, items in room, color scheme etc.

EDITING• Cut- Cutting straight forwardly from one shot to another. • Action Match- One piece of action is then followed by another bit of action e.g. a door handle being turned to then the person walking in. • Eye line- The eye line of a character, shows who they are talking to or what is in focus. Creates continuity. • Pace- The speed in which shots are cutting, emphasizes the mood and speed of the moment. • Jump Cut- A quick transition from one scene to another. • Wipe- One shot replacing another, the shot travels from one side of the frame to the other. • Dissolve- A shot changing from one shot to another very gradually.

EDITING• Fade- When a shot changes to a single color (usually black or white and indicates the beginning or start of something).