P2: TV drama

Diegetic Sound and Non-Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is 'realistic sound' where the source is visible on screen or where the source is implied to be present in the action even if the sound source is out of shot (e.g. a door slamming in another room or sirens in the distance) common examples of diegetic sound include: 

- Dialogue (characters voices)

- Sounds made by objects 

- music coming from instruments shown on screen

- ambient sound (background noise that would be present)

N.B. this links to what we discussed last week in terms of TV Drama's needing to create a realistic believable 'diegetic' world for the viewer - sound is part of the verisimilitude.

Non-diegetic sound is sound where the source is not present in the action nor looks like it is meant to be; common examples include:

- Mood music

- Dramatic sound effects that do not match the sound anything on screen would make.

- Narrators commentary.

Sound Terminology

Inside these two categories there are a number of specific terms for different types of sounds that you must be able to use in the examination when you analysis, make note on and write about the extract in terms of representation they are as follows:

Non-diegetic

Title music: theme tunes (connote genre/represent TV drama).

Score/incidental music: orchestral music used to connote tone/atmosphere.

Sound motifs: sounds associated with certain character (often a villain like the shark in Jaws) that connote something good/bad is about to happen.

Sound effects: used to connote atmosphere.

Voice over: often used to give the viewer an insight into the thoughts of a character (creating a bond between the audience and character), set the scene or progress the narrative.  

Diegetic

Synchronous sound: sounds that match what you see on screen.

Sound effects: realistic sounds that match the action on screen creating realism and/or connoting atmosphere e.g. gun shots, door opening/closing.

Dialogue: characters speaking (dialogue progresses the narrative and reveals the character's personality/views to the viewer). 

Ambient sound: natural background noise you would hear if the scene on screen were real - this is vital when creating realism. 

Home work Pink Panther:

This theme tune is an incidental, non-digeticmusic track. it is a sound Motilfs because it is associated to a main character the series.
The Pink Panther is a British American media franchise primary focusing on a inept French police detective. the franchise began with the release of the classic Pink Panther film in 1963.
It has a major connection to the character as whenever you hear this track you know what is happening in the movie, as the Panther detects.

  Mise-en-scene

the arrangement of the scenery, props, etc. on the stage of a theatrical production or on the set of a film

-props

-  set design 

-lighting

-costume

-composition

-make up and hair  

-facial expression

-action 

                 




props:
-suitcase
-handbag
-scarf

costume:
-suits
bland colours
-smart clothes

lighting:
-dime
-bright behind them



Continuity Editing-
this video shows the definition, meaning and explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3tRhgQrLBc
-is is where they combine more or less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence so as to direct the viewers attention to a prexisting consistency of story across both time and physical location.

eyeline match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoAJFQcjx-A
-this technique is associated to the continuity one. it is based on the premise that an audience will want to see what the character on screen is seeing.

parallel editing 
-(cross cutting) is the technique of alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations. if the scenes are simultaneous, they occasionally culminate in a single place, where the relevant parties confront each other.

graphic matching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9oZOC866s0
-this is one of the many editing techniques used to continously transition two successive shots. a graphic match creates a cut between two shots that juxtapose their graphically similar images.




home land episode 1

The beging starts with an equilibrium where Brody a sergeant in rescued after 8 years as a prisoner of a war in Afganistan. this is because it is almost a happy start as you know that now he is back everything will be good and everyone will be happy and his life will just go back to normal, but that is only what the audience is made to think. As in the latter scenes a lady Carrie a CIA officer belives Brody to be acting as a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda. which changes the atmosphere putting a disruption into the episode, as everyone begins to think differently about Brody and staring to think weather he is a bad character or a good character.
The next scenes is when recognition that the disorder has occurred, as Carrie looks more and more into what he is up to and weather he is actually undercover with another country. which begins to make the audience think about what he has been doing in the scene to prove that he is against the country.Carrie the CIA officer has a way of acting to make you think more deeply into what Brody is doing on his screen times then what you would normal think just watching the tv programme usually. Their are little bits were their is attempt to repair the damage, where Carrie trys to get other people into the situatuation to see what is happening, but during this none of her teamates want to help her and just back her down saying she is not mentally stable to be saying these things and assuming what other people are doing.
Why Homelands episode 1 follow the Tordorovs narrative because they have an equilibrium showing as it is just a normal situation and all the audience just believe it is normal and an average time. which then goes into a disruption and then a person figuring it out, and also trying to sort it out. but the only difference is it does not have a solving the problem as it is an episode which means it is continuous and that the problem will be carried on for a lot of episodes until maybe the last one where they eventually figure what has been happening.


                 

Homeland episode summarys

Episode 1

This episode is focused on the return home of sergeant Brody, rescued after 8 years of being captured in war in Afghanistan.as Brody is celebrated as a hero, CIA office Carrie believes that Brody is acting  for a sleeper agent for somebody else against the country. it also starts the story line of how Brodys wife is sleeping with one of his best friend from the army as they did not think he was coming back, and were about to tell their children about their relationship. Carrie decides it would be best to keep an eye on Brody so she follows him to the park where he is going to met up with someone, which she soon finds out is someones wife that was captured as well and died in capturing being beaten to death. as the wife ask him was he there and he says he did not see anything that happened. in the final scenes you see more memories of Brody captured and it shows that he was commanded to beat up the man of the wife himself and beat him to death.

Episode 2
in the episode Brody begins to have nightmares about his capturing, and as he is having them in his sleep he is trying to escape and hurting and leaving marks on is wife while having these nightmares, so deicides to begin sleeping on the floor. Brody sees a presenter and filmed in a bush in his garden and warns him to get out and he doesn't listen to him so eats him up infront of his son and then runs away when his wife sees what he has done. He then begins to do something suspicious in the garage and carrie has planted cameras in his house but forgot about the garage so has no clue what he is up to in their. But through all of this when he is around his family he is abousloutly fine and pretends everything is normal.Carrie then brings in a girl sleeping with one of the guys that captured Brody to help her, she gives her a data tracker to put in his phone but promises her safety.Brody brings to meditate in a different language from his capturing. Carrie on the cameras watches brody have these weird flashbacks and is confused. And she is then given 4 weeks to figure it out.

Episode 3
Brody opens up to press to do an interview, daughter doesnt want to do it so rebels against the family. The wife is too comfortable about Brody with the kids as she doesn't know weather he will be able to handle it yet. the capuring guy gives the girl a necklace which makes her feel really bad about what she has done to him. Brody then talks to the press about how he was beaten up and really opens up about what he has been through. The daughter knows about how her mum has been sleeping with another man and tells her that she knows about it which stresses her mum about. The lady gets given a job to sleep with the man he is going to have a meeting with the next day to make him happy, which she then gets shot on the way in the car.

Episode 4
Carries time is up with the investigation, and she realises she has become really mentally ill from it as she as been so concentrated in his life and not really connected with the rest of the world. So when brody and his family go out she takes her people tp go on and take down all of the cameras in his house which is a big deal as she now has no contact as to what is going on in his house anymore. She begins to get back into her old life and goes onto another case and lets go of the Brody case. A  few days later she discovers something else about him and believes that he still has something to do with the whole case and could probably help with it so she goes back to his house, where they are having a party with family and friends and Brody decides to shot a deer in front of everyone and his wife says you are not living here infill you get help as you aren to well. so he goes to a club where Carrie follows him and bumps into him to say she doesn't belong here and he follows her and tell her to stay and they become quite close, and almost form a fancying relationship.


Episode 5
Carrie visits her dad to take some of his pills, as her had bipolar disorder as well. her visit is cut short when the CIA call her saying that they have Afsal Hamid in custody, who was the lone survivor of the capturing where Brody was rescued from Iraq. Saul meanwhile is at the airport picking up his wife who has got back from India, but soon also gets the call from work saying the same and he has to leave his wife without even being able to take her home first. Brody is brought in and recognises Hamid as his guard in captivity. they leave Hamid in a room on his own where they play really loud rock music until he is ready to cooperate with them to tell them what has happened. Saul gets home to his wife and before she can explain that she is done with life just revolving around him she is interrupted by Carrie rushing in to argue that Brody should not of been able to of confront his guard. Carrie then shows up at her sister Maggies house and explains that she thinks she just quite her job.
Episode 6
Hamid is shown to of killed himself, Carrie makes a decision that there should be a polygraph test for everyone who was in contact with Hamid, which excited her because she knew Brody would of been on the list and she knew he wouldn't pass the test.

Essay formula: Theory question

intro- 1-2 sentences, demonstrate you understand the theory.

-demonstrating your argument relating to how the theory can be applied to case studies.

-say which case studies you are going to write about.

A* 

spag

theory

terminology

contextualise 

Paragraph 1- discuss how equilibrium can be applied to tv drama, use lots of references to show you've watched it.

-show counter arguments .

-Also discuss how it could be argued for each episode .

-Discuss how each episode could have an equilibrium.

-link it back to the question- is it useful to apply Todorov's theory.

Paragraph 2 - Discuss how Todorov's theory of disruption can be applied, in first episode.

-Discuss the pattern of disruption across season 1.

-Link back to question e.g how this differs from being able to apply it to a film.

-Use own opinion- does it make box sets better than films.

Paragraph 3 - Resolution - what are they?

-Discuss how Todorov's  theory of resolution can be applied - what are they?

-How does this differ from films (Todorov's intended meaning for this theory).

-No resolution = No equilibrium 

Conclusion - 3 main arguments showing which parts of the theory you think can be applied and which bits can't.

-Your opinion on how this works for a genre/audience.

-link back to question - theory can be applied to some parts.

How does episode 1 of Homeland follow or disrupt Todrovo's narrative theory?

Todorov's theory consist with 3 different parts that then narrative should follow, this will mean the narrative will move forward. The three theory are an equilibrium followed by and disruptive and then a resolution. Todorov's theory can be applied to Homeland episode 1.But the theory was made for films so sometimes it docent work to well with TV drama's.

Firstly in the episode 1 of Homeland it begins with and equilibrium with a flashback of Carrie in Iraq where she sneaks into a prison to talk to an information person form the inside, which is shown to soon be executed. when she mets him she finds out that apparently there has been an American prisoner who has be turned, this flashback gives us a bit of back story to what Carrie actually knows in the present day, so when it is filmed back to present day it all being to come together, and the flashbacks are foreshadowing what is going to happen in the present day.

Against Todorov's theory the episode don't actually have much of a pattern through out, as at the end of every episode it is not also ways resolved the disruptive. Which means the next episode can not start on an equilibrium again. On the first episode after the flash back it goes to present day where their has been no disruptive yet, this is only shown when the equilibrium is brought back up after Brody and Amercian prisoner is found after 8 years in capturing. This then goes back to the equilibrium ands the start where Carrie knows that there is an American solider who was turned. this cause a disruptive as she begins to figure out what has happened. Todorov's theory in this Tv drama may not work as well because there is not always a resoultuion this os because episodes always will try and end on a cliff hanger to make the viewers come back for the next one, but a film there is usually only one so there has to be a resolution to end it. In my opinion this makes box sets more exciting and wanting you to come back and watch more as even if you have only watch one you will want to know what has happened to a certain character or a place, so i believe box sets cliff hangers a more effective then an resolution to a film.

Theory and framework 

media language

• levi stauss- Strauss argues binary oppositions e.g good v evil work in narrative to engage an audience and help us process the real world.

"Structuralism is the study of the hidden rules that govern a structure"

• Barthes
• Todorov
• Neale
• Baudrillard

Representation

• Gauntlet - in the modern world, it is now an expectation that individuals make choices about their identity and lifestyle.

"The media have an important but complex relationship with identities"

• Van Zoonen - In partichral culture , the way women bodies are represented as objects is different to the representation of male bodies in the spectrum.

"the way woes bodies are represented are different the the way male bodies are represented."

• hall
• Butler - gender is created in how we perform our gender roles - there is no essential gender essential gender identity behind these roles, it is created in the performance. Performativity is not a singular act but a repetition and ritual that becomes naturalised within the body.

"Any feminism concerned only with masculinity and femininity excludes other forms of gender and sexuality."

• Hooks - intersectionality refers to the intersections of gender race , class and sexuality to create a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy , whose ideologies dominate media representations.

"Feminism is a movement to end patriarchy:sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression. '                       

• Gilroy -Britain has failed to mourn its loss of empire , creating 'postcolonial melancholia', an attachment to an airbrushed version of British colonial history, which expresses itself in criminalising immigrants and an 'us and them' approach to the world founded on the belief in the inherent superiority of white western people.

"African diaspora caused by the slave trade has now constructed a transatlantic culture. 

Industries

• Hesmondhalgh - cultural industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration. 

"Cultural industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration."

• Curran and seaton 
• Living and Lunt

Audience

• Bandura
• Gerbner 
• Jenkins 
• Shirky
• Hall - Halls encoding decoding model argued that media producers encode preferred meanings into texts, but these texts may be read by their audiences in a number of different ways.

"it is not about whether the media reflects or distorts reality"