Wednesday, 3 October 2012

LO1: Task One - Series, serial and single dramas


Task One


In this unit we will be looking at the features of single camera production, we will plan and apply single camera techniques in a five-minute production.
Series

In the media industry a series is known as a number of episodes, which generally continues the same story but is broken up into collections. They fall under the same name always. They are usually aired once or twice a week. They have the same characters involved but they are used to tell a different story every episode. Examples of series are 'Waterloo Road', 'Doctor Who', 'Britain’s got talent' and 'X Factor'. However, they fall under different genres. ‘Waterloo road’ and ‘Doctor Who’ fall into the genre of drama. They are action packed and are based on a new story being told every episode. The same characters are involved in each episode. They both are successful because the audiences have been able to build a connection with the actors and have been able to pick characters as their favorites. However, ‘X Factor’ and ‘Britain’s got talent’ fall into the genre of reality. The shows are different all the time and are based on real people and real life. They both are successful because the audience are able to see someone’s life change dramatically just by the chance of winning or appearing on the show. A series could be non-fiction (as in documentaries, news or reality television shows) or fiction (as in comedies or dramas). 

Waterloo Road

Waterloo Road is a British television drama series, which is produced by the BBC. The series focuses on a secondary school called Waterloo Road and the lives of the teachers and students who attend there. Waterloo Road is an eight part series. In each series there at up to 8 to 20 episodes that make the series. It airs once a week and is broadcasted on BBC One. The series was first aired in early 2006 and is still running in 2012. The series won an award for 'Most Popular Drama' in 2011 at the National Television Awards. The series has roughly 4 to 5 million viewers. 





Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series, which is produced by the BBC. The programme focuses on a character called 'the Doctor'. The programme airs once a week and is broadcasted on BBC One. The programme won an award at the 2006 British Academy Television Awards for Best Drama Series. Doctor Who has had 7 series so far. Each series has from 13 to 15 episodes. Each series has had 7 to 8 million viewers. 





Britain's got talent

Britain's got talent is a British television talent show competition. The show is a Thames production and is broadcasted on ITV. In 2011 the show won the award for Best Talent Show at the TV Choice Awards. The show has had 6 series and roughly 19 episodes per series. The show has 7 to 12 million viewers.  



X Factor

The X Factor is a British television music competition that consists of finding new talent. The show is a Thames production and is broadcasted on ITV.  In 2012 the show one the Best Talent Show Award beating its rival shows. The show has had 9 series and from 23 to 31 episodes per series. The show has from 7 to 14 million viewers. 





Serial

A serial is usually a collection of a couple of episodes. They are usually based on a book or event. Similar to a series, they air under the same name. Usually they are made up of three episodes or more. The same characters and locations are used. Stories are left usually unfinished and continued on the next few episodes. Examples of a serial 'Lost in Austen', 'Make Bradford British' and 'This is England 88. They all aired on TV for a short period of time and ended quick or with a cliffhanger. ‘This is England 88’ falls into the genre of drama. It is based on fictional characters who build a storyline. The show aired on Channel 4 from the 13th to the 15th of December 2011. It consisted of three episodes. ‘Make Bradford British’ fall into the genre of reality as it included real people and real situations and events. The show was aired on Channel 4 and consisted of two episodes the first on the 1st of March and the second the 8th of March 2012. 'Lost in Austen' falls into the genre of period drama as it is set in the past. The drama aired on ITV and consisted of four episodes. It aired from the 3rd of September to the 24th of September 2008. 

Examples of Serials 

Lost in Austen


Make Bradford British




Single drama

Singe dramas consist of one episode. They are usually aired once and are based on a real life event. They are usually based on topical issues and can sometimes be controversial. Single dramas have the whole story in one and do not need a number of episodes to complete the story. Examples of single dramas are 'My Murder', 'Appropriate Adult', 'United' and 'Toast'. The genres of single dramas are usually drama or reality as they are based on a story or event that is seen as interesting or out of the ordinary.

My Murder


Appropriate Adult



United


Toast



No comments:

Post a Comment