bleak house class and social status

Scene 1

Terminology

Hyperbolic sound- Exaggerated diegetic sound for dramatic emphasis

Scene 2

Scene 3 Terminology

Depth of Field-Refers to what is in focus in a shot-Large DoF = majority of the frame is in focus-Shallow DoF = Foreground only is in focus, background is out of focus

Scene 4Terminology

Bridge Here we have a ‘Sound Bridge’ of the

Judge’s voice-A device that ‘bridges’ the transition between two scenes-Can be used to suggest some correlation/link between the two scenes

Scene 5

Terminology

Direct mode of address

Contrasting term: Indirect mode of

address

Terminology

Whip Pan- A extremely rapid pan that is sometimes used to merge one shot into another. Often accompanied by a ‘whoosh’ SFX

Flashback

Terminology

Shot Reverse Shot

Scene 6

Nemo

Scene 7

How is Bleak House a TV Drama?

A serial, multi-layered narrative – modern soap operas follow a similar pattern

A story concerning true identities, tragic deaths, murder and a missing will – such details are the staple fare of modern crime drama

Romances involving central characters – a common thread in contemporary dramas

Rich gallery of characters – some tragic Lady Dedlock/Nemo, some evil Mr Tulkinghorn, some good Esther, Ada, Rick, some comic Guppy – soap operas are abound in such characters

An exposure and critique of social ills – poverty, debt, class prejudice, lack of healthcare, injustice and inequality, corruption and abuse of power – all of these issues remain at the core of contemporary drama

An evocation of the atmosphere of life in London for both rich and poor using powerful descriptions of realistic settings and locations – much drama relies on a high level of realism

Bleak House as a Soap Opera?

When it was aired, it consisted of 30 minute episodes, twice a week in the early evening – Like a soap. This went against the conventional approach of traditional costume dramas which are associated with tea-time Sunday scheduling

The editing of the programmes display separate scenes building up on one another helping to develop the narrative complexity: • Esther on the coach is followed by the Court scene• The two plot strands don’t immediately seem

connected • Once we hear about a companion on her way to

Court to join the wards of Jarndyce, and then cut back to Esther in the coach, matters make more sense

Bleak House – Episode 2

Group 1 – Features of a Costume Drama

Group 2 – Count the number of scenes and come up with a summary of the different narrative strands

Group 3 – Innovative use of camera/editing

Group 4 – Representations of Class and Social Status and Gender – through performance (movement and speech), costume, hair and make-up, plotlines and camerawork (e.g. high/low angles...’more screen time’ than others in a scene = more important)

Features of a Conventional Costume Drama

Period Costume and hairstyles

Appropriate settings and locations – based on a specific community, such as a town or village (large country houses, London slums, country estates, rural scenes, market towns and villages)

Period interiors (furniture, fittings, domestic equipment, paintings)

Depictions of different levels of society (upper classes, lower classes, landed aristocracy, self-made men, the poor and destitute, the criminal class, the professional class – lawyers, doctors...)

The arrival of a newcomer

External threats to the community from events of developments which will change lives forever (railways, medical progress, political upheavals, modernisations of all kind)

Relationships which defy class and age barriers (older, upper class male and the younger, lower class female)

Thwarted romantic relationships

Tragic deaths of all ages, classes and genders, by accident, illness or crime

Half Term Essay Question – 1000 words minimum,

typedHow does Bleak House conform to as well as

break away from a conventional costume drama?

• Conventions of the genre

• Narrative/Plot/Characters

• Mise-en-Scéne

• Camerawork and Editing

• Representations of Class and Social Status and Gender

Half Term Essay Question – 1000 words minimum,

typedHow does Bleak House conform to as well as

break away from a conventional costume drama?

• Conventions of the genre

• Narrative/Plot/Characters

• Mise-en-Scéne

• Camerawork and Editing

• Representations of Class and Social Status and Gender

Technical Indicators of C and SS

Mise-En-ScéneCamerawork

Class and Social Status

Sound Editing

Class and Social Status – Rome Series 1, Ep. 1

Caesar, one of the rulers of Rome

Octavian, his nephew

Vorenus – Officer in Roman Army

Pullo – A soldier in the army