Sound Glossary

Non-diegetic sound - Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action:

• Narrator's commetry
• Sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• Mood music

Diegetic sound - Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present in the action:

• Voices of characters
• sounds made by the objects in the story
• Music represented to be comeing from the instruments in the story

Soundtrack - A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundtrack

Theme tune - Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_music

Incidental music - Music composed to accompany the action or dialogue of a drama or to fill intervals between scenes or acts

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dialogue

Sound effects (FX) - An imitative sound, as of thunder or an explosion, produced artificially for theatrical purposes, as for a film, play, or radio programme

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sound+effect

Ambient sound - Ambient sound or ambient audio means the background sounds which are present in a scene or location

Dialogue - Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dialogue

Voice-over - The voice of an unseen narrator, or of an onscreen character not seen speaking, in a movie or a television broadcast

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dialogue

Pitch for my own TV drama!

If I were to make my own TV programme, it would be a Crime Drama.


The basic plot line would be:

• Set in the East End of London in 2012
• Family consisting of a father(56), mother(53), a son (27) and a daughter (23)
• Father is the ring-leader of a gang, that has been 'wanted' for over 30 years, after a series of burglaries, drug crimes, murders and blackmail
• Son has never been interested in the 'gang life' much to the disappointment and annoyance of his father, who wanted him to carry on the family business
• Been a recent murder and the gang is the main suspects
• Son is a detective inspector and has been put on the case, aware that his father is responsible
• Son refuses to risk job to protect his father
• Mother and daughter know about the situation, but are forced, by father, to disown the son
• Son is forced, in court to give evidence against his father

The TV drama will be set in a court room. There will be flash backs of events leading up to this scene, including crimes that the father and his gang have committed, family life from a young age  and present day interactions between the family (mother and daughter with the son, now the father is being held in prison awaiting trial).

The father will be played by: Ray Winstone

The mother will be played by: Amanda Redman

The son will be played by: Iwan Rheon

The daughter will be played by: Hannah Murray

Iwan Rheon

Ray Winestone

What roles or jobs are there in TV drama?

There are many roles/jobs that need to be fulfilled to produce a TV drama, here are a few of them:

Director - This is the person who takes responsibility for all creative, visual and sound aspects of the production. They are also responsible for the positioning of camera, lighting, microphones, props as well as actors and staff members. They are expected to call out commands and maintain order within the production team.

Producer - The producer deals with all the practical and political aspects of keeping a project running smoothly, so that the director and the rest of the team can concentrate on the creative aspects.  They are involved in every stage of the television programme overseeing the project from start to finish, both in the studio and on location.

Script Writer - Writers are involved in the creation and development of  fiction and non-fiction scripts.

Runner - There is no single job description as runners act as general assistants and undertake whatever basic tasks are required to ensure the smooth running of the production process. Runners’ general responsibilities include tea making, transporting scripts and hire equipment, taking messages, looking after guests and getting everything in place for shoots. The most junior member of the production team.

Actor - This usually involves interpreting the work of a writer under the instruction and support of a director, although some work may require the actor to devise a character or improvise the reactions of a character to a situation.

Glossary of TV Drama Terminology

Pull Focus:A filming technique whereby the focal point (the centre of interest or activity) is drawn towards the viewer

Tilt Down/Up:A vertical camera movement

Pan: Camera stops following your leader and pan in the specified direction

Story:A sequence of events, known currently as the plot

Narrative:The way those events are put together to be presented to and audience.

Technical Codes:All the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text

Open Text:Allows multiple or mediated interpretation by the readers

Closed Text: Content is arranged so only a limited number of interpretations are possible by the readers/audience

Mise-en scene:Arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a scene is enacted (props, styling, lighting, set design)

Extreme Wide Shot:The view is so far from the subject that it isn't even visible.

Very Wide shot: the subject if visible (barley), but the emphasis is still on placing it in his environment

Wide Shot: the subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible

Mid Shot: Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving am impression of the whole subject

Medium Close Up: Halfway between a mid shot and a close up

Close Up:A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame

Extreme Close Up: Gets right in and shows the subject in extreme detail

Cut-In:Shows a different part of the subject in detail

Cutaway:A shot of something other than the subject

Two-Shot:A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot

Over-the-Shoulder Shot:Looking from behind a person at the subject

Noddy Shot:Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject

Point-of-View Shot:Shows a view from the subject's perspective

Weather Shot:The subject is the weather.

Representation of Social Groups

How are Social Groups represented or challenged in this clip?

Clip: Eastenders (8:51-9:02)

          The stereotype represented in this Eastenders clip is that Asian parents are very harsh on their children about their education and career choices.

            The stereotype is very much enforced in this clip. One way in which the director shows this stereotype is through camera angles. During the confrontation between Zainab (mother) and Tamwar (son), they start off with a mid-close up of Tamwar. They used this to show his facial expressions and to emphasize that he is angry and annoyed. The director then did the same with Zainab to emphasize her frustration.

         Another shot type used is a two shot. This shot is used to show the proximity of the character and also to show the audience how they interact  and also to show their body language towards each other.

         Another way they show the character's feeling towards each other is using camera angles. During the scene, both characters are filmed in mid-close up. When Tamwar is being filmed using this shot type, the camera is tilted slightly down, however when Zainab is being filmed using this shot, the camera is tilted slightly upwards. This is to highlight the fact that in their situation, the mother is supposed to be superior to the child.

        One more way in which the director shows the child to be inferior to the parent is using props. Throughout the scene, Tamwar is always sat on a chair, and Zainab is standing. This is to enforce the idea that the mother is in charge, and to belittle Tamwar, even though he is an adult himself. The chair does this by literally putting Zainab at a higher level so she is looking down on him.

Scheduling

The scheduling of different types of TV shows can vary a lot, however if you pay attention, you will notice there are patterns that emerge and a lot of thought that goes into the timings of certain TV programmes.

• One example, is that soaps such as Hollyoaks and EastEnders which are both half an hour in length, are on either most or all week nights. Soaps mostly start from about half 6-8ish. They are on at this time so that people can get into the routine of coming home from work, relaxing and watching a soap.
• Another example of a pattern that emerges in scheduling is with one episode documentaries. Most of these are on for one hour and are normally on a week night (a lot of the time Tuesdays) and are normally on at 9pm. 
• Another example of clever scheduling is reality shows, such as X Factor and Dancing on Ice. These types of shows are on at the weekends. This is because their target audiences, mostly females aged from about 14+ have weekends off, and therefore get more viewers.