Miss O’Dell
To identify the generic conventions of TV Drama
To identify and explore conventions within different TV Drama sub-genres
To understand how TV Drama conventions are used to engage a target audience
As
a group brainstorm what you think are the essential ingredients for any TV Drama…
Characters – a crucial element, deeply embedded in narratives consider the roles they play Narrative – both its overall structure and how it is constructed Sets and settings – locations against which the story unfolds and which frequently take on a symbolic significance Camerawork – particular kinds of camerawork are often associated with particular sub-genres Dialogue, sound and music – sound and music create effects and often underline emotional content Icons – these tend to be associated with particular sub-genres
Watch the clip from er ‘Be still my heart”
Fill out your allotted conventions on the worksheet
Share your answers with the rest of the class to complete the worksheet as a whole
http://www.nbc.com/ER/about/
Particular
sub-genres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable. Icons that symbolise the sub-genre: Police cars or ambulance Blue lights Operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals.
Each of you will be given a different TV Drama sub-genre to explore independently
You must complete the conventions worksheet with information relating to your sub-genre
You will present your completed worksheet information to the rest of the class
Consider
that this sub-genre concerns age specific situations and anxieties. Relies upon target audience empathising with a range of authentic characters e.g. Skins
Find
your own example of a teen drama and fill in the worksheet
Consider
that this sub-genre never ends, conveys a sense of real time and depends on the audience accepting them as socially realistic e.g Eastenders
Find
your own example of a Soap Opera and fill out the worksheet
Consider that they are often intertextually linked to classic novels or plays and offer a set of pleasures different to own time and space can be one off or a series e.g. Bleak House
Find your own example of a period/costume drama and fill out the worksheet
Crime Drama Conventions
Consider the similarities with soap-opera conventions, the interplay between victim and villain and the use of a set of staff (forensic scientists) for narratives e.g. CSI
Find your own example of a crime drama and fill out the worksheet
What
are the conventions of a TV Drama?
What
sub-genres of TV Drama have we explored?
How
are the conventions used to engage the target audience?