AS G322: KEY MEDIA CONCEPTS

(TV Drama)

What’s the aim?

• FIRST HALF OF EXAM: To test your textual analysis skills and your understanding of the concept of REPRESENTATION.– Mrs Field/Mr Amato

• SECOND HALF OF EXAM: To assess your knowledge of media institutions, production and distribution, etc. – Miss Brookes

What to expect from the exam

• Two hours, two questions, 100 marks• SECTION A (TV Drama analysis) – 1hour 15min– 30 mins viewing time– Followed by a compulsory question – 45mins– 50 marks

• SECTION B (Institutions & Audiences) – 45min– One compulsory essay question on a preprepared

case study

More about Section A• You will watch an ‘unseen’ TV extract from a TV drama • During this time, you will be able to make notes, in preparation for

answering an essay question.• The essay question will ask you to interpret the way representations

are created by analysing content and media language.• You could be asked about any of the following representations:

– Class– Sexuality– Disability– Regional identity– Age– Ethnicity– Gender

More about Section A

• When analysing the representations, you must explore HOW these representations are created. You MUST refer to the following:– Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition– Mise en Scène‐ ‐– Editing– Sound

So, skills you must develop are…

• analytical skills so that you can analyse any TV drama• Understand the concept of representation as a key

element of a TV drama• Show how representations are constructed• Show an awareness of the relationship between

form and content• Understand institutional and cultural contexts but

keep focus on the construction of representations, with examples.

What is TV Drama?

TV DRAMA

• Dramatic programming or television drama is television programme content that is scripted and (normally) fictional along the lines of a traditional drama.

• This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows.

• Also, by convention, the term is not generally used for situation comedy or soap opera (though the exam may include soaps)

Did you know?• Television drama is the most expensive form of

television, with a prime time American TV series such as House costing up to $12 million per hour – that’s about £6 million. The average cost for US drama is more like $2 – 5 million per hour. British drama such as Dr Who (60 mins) costs about a £1 million per hour.

• In fact a US broadcast hour is only a maximum of 52 minutes of drama which is a 58 page script. Some US broadcasting networks only broadcast 44 minutes of actual drama in an hour that means 16 minutes of advertising.

Which TV dramas do you watch?

• Use www.tvguide.co.uk to help you think

• EXTENSION: WHY do we watch TV Dramas?

What are the conventions of TV Drama?

Homework

• Self Assessment sheet