Viva Voce Document

Viva voce from Varshini1999

MY SHORT FILM DRAMA

TECHNICAL

NARRATIVE

Narrative from Varshini1999

GENRE

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterised by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

• Period

• Dramadoc

• Crime

• Soap

• Comedy

Period Drama:

Either referred to a costume drama or period drama and it is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, set properties are shown to capture the environment of a specific area. The term is typically utilized in the context of film and television. It is an informal crossover terms that can be applied in various genres but often heard in context of historical dramas and romance, adventures films and swashbucklers.

This implication is that the audience is drawn into as much by the lavish costumes as by the content.

Great Expectations:

The serial Great Expectations is an example of a Period Drama; it is a fictional story that is set in the past, if to be specific during the Victorian Era. It is an adaptation by Sarah Phelps of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. The introduction of the programme instantly shows us that that it is set in the Victorian era based on the attire and setting. For instance, we are able to find old fashion clothes after moving into today’s era. The old buildings and the style of the houses are few of the major elements that gives out idea of the time it is set. As well as the colours used, for instance the frequent use of colour brown and yellow, in various shades, gives the viewers are more clear picture of a dusty and sandy times of olden era.

The drama fits well with the genre of period drama as it based in the Victorian era capturing the contents of the setting in the past. On top of this, the type of clothing worn allows the viewers to see that the old- fashioned style of clothing in contrast to our modern-day style of clothing. The image below shows that Pip’s (name of the character) attire is fitted to the genre and the utilization of old fashioned gives the actors freedom to get into their role and also the fact that they are allowed to be portrayed in the scenery well for a period drama.

Pip

                                                                                           Estella

                                               Herbert    

 Englefield House-

Is used as Miss Havisham’s ‘Satis House’. Englefield is one of the largest country house estates. It is usually used as a film location and the estate can be spotted in X-Men and The King’s Speech, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Poirot, Inspector Morse and Jeeves and Wooster.

Chatham Historic Dockyard-

In Great Expectations, it is used as the setting for the Liverpool docks where Herbert’s business is located.

Wrotham Park-

It is a Grade II listed Palladian mansion in Barnet, Hertfordshire and is used in the serial when Estella dances in the pivotal ballroom scene. This location has also been used in Gosford Park, Peter’s Friends and the BBC’s Sense and Sensibility.

This programmes is mainly evolved around in a village, in the countryside. Location supports the genre and the locations of a period drama are typically set in towns, old building and farmhouses, it creates the old traditional look of the setting being in the past. It also allows the audience to see the rich and poor divide. The poor living in farmhouses or small villages and the rich living in mansion and villas. The setting of the opening in Great Expectations is in a village. The characters confidently represent the type of class they are from. For instance, Pip is from a poor background and to represent this he wears ragged old clothes, torn shoes and his hair is very scruffy. As a viewer, even before getting to know him we make a judgement due to his appearance. The locations tend to be portrayal of fields and greenery, the reason for capturing these tiny details is so that the viewers can be more in touch with the traditional era and make the past setting realistic. The general use of colours in the serial are brown, black, yellow and grey.  The purpose of using these specific colours is due to the fact that they blend in well with that specific period of time and provides a more perceivable setting as well as indicating well with the narrative being provided.

The props used will be nothing close to our modern-day technology, meaning that it’s important that ensure that there is no use of today’s technology is presented as it will immediately disturb the setting and the overall presentation. The main use of props is the carriages used when Pip takes his journey on. Alongside this, the viewers are able to see that the style of language spoken is from the Shakespearean language with no trace of slang used.  Using words like ‘thou’, ‘hither’, ‘thy’ and so forth. Several period drama story lines are normally related to the viewers own set of social and cultural beliefs as well as their own life experiences. This appeals to a large audience.

Typical story-line of period drams will then to have elements that might have arisen in that era liking falling in love, wealth, torture, treachery, family etc. The drama explores themes of wealth and the yearning of love for Estella. It allows the viewers to create a better connection with the story as the elements used can be related this being the form of relationships or the maybe the change to get away from reality and everyday life in interest of the past.

In Great Expectations flashbacks are used but hardly any graphics used, almost everything is natural.

Drama Documentary:

In television programming and staged theatre, a docudrama is a documentary-style that contains dramatized re-enactments of real historical events. It may be filmed or written. In the core of its story a documentary achieves to follow known historical facts, while permitting a greater or lesser degree of dramatic license in peripheral details, and where there are gaps in the historical record.

Producers at times pick to film their reconstructed occasions in the actual locations in which the historical events have taken place.

Dialogue can comprise the actual words of real-life persons, as recorded in historical documents.

• Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

• BBC

'Surviving Disaster’ is drama documentary based on the 1986 explosion at a Soviet nuclear plant which released 400 times as much radiation as the Hiroshima bomb. The story is projected from the perspective of scientist Valeri Legasov, who later committed suicide, and the reconstruction leaks the disturbing truth that victims of Chernobyl were victims of secrecy and denial by those in power, and who believed that accepting the truth was far worse than the threat of the radiation itself.

It is a disturbing docudrama to watch especially when watching the examining of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. From the point of view of scientist Valerie Legasov, for sure gives no doubt about being a subjective attempt to link the social, political and human fallout from the world’s worst and deadliest nuclear explosion together. By looking at the graphically recreated of ridiculous levels of radiation, it instantly breaks it down for us and shows us that there were both human bravery and stupidity beyond measure.

The drama clearly informs us that the employees had not been educated of the potentially dangerous design flaw in their reactor and that by hitting the button to shut the plant down, could in fact result into meltdown. The management then claimed that the issue can be solved but in fact there was no reactor left; the minister meanwhile, initially believed that “panic is worse than radiation”. Divers knowingly swam to their deaths in a successful attempt to prevent a thermal explosion that would have levelled 200 km² and irradiated 200 million people’s water supply.

Screenshots:

Chernobyl Radiation Health Information:

The number of people who could eventually die because of the Chernobyl accident is extremely controversial.

Crime Drama:

The Bill is fits into the Crime genre. The programme is based on police officers and detectives and how they enforce law and order, on a regular basis. Encountering situations in relation to alcohol and drug abuse, rape cases, domestic violence etc. Officers are always on the chase to capture suspects, witnesses and evidence which can strengthen the cases as well as trying to avoid activities from happening.

Elements that are involved that makes it a crime drama is because that police officers are present which helps to keep law and order in society. Nevertheless, when laws are broke, it turns into a criminal action, perfectly fitting under the crime category. The viewers get to see a lot of action, for instance, there are extreme behaviours and use of police cars and sirens moving at dangerous speed to help create the suspense. As the suspense builds up it naturally creates tension and keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. This will instantly create a bond between the viewer and the programmes creating a bigger audience and influence them to watch the rest of the programme. However, due to the contents used in the programme it is targeted towards adults, however it is also suitable for teenagers.

Crime series are traditionally comprised with contents which lead onto investigating and collecting evidence with the problem is solved towards the end; very much similar to Todorov’s theory. The cops have to stop criminal activity and resolve issues at the same time and they could be used in different situations. Some of the action we get to see are of raids, violence and abuse, which the cops overcome, utilizing strategy.

The recurring settings of crime programmes are police stations, streets, pubs, counsel flats, courtrooms, alley ways, park etc. Crime can be done in almost anywhere meaning that locations and settings are unrestricted. The Bill meets the standards of a crime drama with settings in homes, streets and police stations. The main characters tend to be police officers, both in mufti and in uniforms, victims, criminals and key witnesses. Majority of the time police officers tend to be in mufti when conducting an undercover sting operation. It makes it more realistic and viewers are more likely to believe it.  

Soap Drama:

Sometimes referred to as ‘Soap’ for short, is an on-going, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. Historically, soaps were radio series broadcast in weekday daytime slots, normally 5 days a week, when most listeners would to housewives; thus, the shows were aimed towards and watched by a predominantly female audience.

Hollyoaks comes on for 30 minutes, 5 times a week. Soaps typically show contents of day to day life; and Hollyoaks is a great case of this and explores real life situations such as families, affairs, work etc. From the video above it is evident that there is more than 1 characters and with new episodes the main characters will changes based on the story-line and include sub characters and provide minor aspects of their daily life. The structure of soaps and for example Hollyoaks may contain cliff-hanger or a build-up of a gradual end of the plot.

There is a clear input in the social class this being an assortment from the lower to the higher class. In support to this, there are homeless children that stated in Hollyoaks, as well as the rich footballer, Riley. The recurring settings in Hollyoaks is in homes, schools, shops, pubs, clubs, they bring out the realist perspective to be made to the typical story-lines.

When looking at lighting, there is a constant change based on the emotion given off or wanting to be given off, and in Hollyoaks there is a variety of story-line and plot consequently the lighting and camera shot will differ. The attire of characters is modern and in some cases, based on their age, environment and social class it differs. Dresses for going out somewhere special or clubbing, teenagers wearing hoodies, casual outfits, school outfits etc.

Comedy Drama:

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film, and television that is a fusion of comedy and drama, containing both humorous and occasionally serious content.

The Office is an example of a sitcom. It was broadcasted on BBC2; it began on 9^th July 2001. The setting is limited being based in an office placed area. It differs to other comedy sitcoms for instance, Citizen Khan as it is set in a home. The camera shots are exhibited from clip to clip and always showing signs of change, permitting the introduction to engage and fascinating, the utilization of the format is single camera use which functions admirably making the realistic environment and connecting with viewers better with what is being displayed. The area is not always in the office and at times is outdoors.

The pure reason behind having this program is so that viewers can watch it to remove them from their distressing days’ lives at work and make humour, this can be based at an extensive variety of people yet it will have more effective to those whom work as the relationships and dislikes in colleagues is well known in everyday lives. Comedy sitcoms tend to solely concentrate in relationships, issues, affairs these elements in this particular sitcom are taken and put in the office and work living.

The costumes in this particular sitcom essentially suits the office look in workplace, as well as adding props such as desks, computers, offices, stationary etc. The dialect utilized inside this sitcom is formal and casual, this is for the most part to generate entertainment as it gives the complexity of how the characters ought to act in work and how they truly are which creates a component of humour.

The Sitcom has main characters so viewers can be familiar with, also has one primary plot this being the way of life in the workplace with sub plots, for instance below show the relationship in dislike between 2 people which is relatable to watchers.  

BIBLIOGRAHPIES:

• VisitBritain. (2012). Great Expectations Filming Locations. [online] Available at: https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/great-expectations-filming-locations#uMd1fw6zj0LEzijT.97 [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

• World-nuclear.org. (2016). Chernobyl | Chernobyl Accident | Chernobyl Disaster - World Nuclear Association. [online] Available at: http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

• Docuwiki.net. (n.d.). Image:Chernobyl-Nuclear-Disaster-Screen1.jpg - DocuWiki. [online] Available at: http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Image:Chernobyl-Nuclear-Disaster-Screen1.jpg [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

• News.bbc.co.uk. (n.d.). BBC NEWS | In Depth | Chernobyl. [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456957/html/nn3page1.stm [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

• BBC. (n.d.). The Office - BBC Two. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jd68z [Accessed 22 Jan. 2017].

FORMATS

Single Camera and Multiple Camera Formats

Single camera and multiple camera formats unit 22 from Varshini1999

SCENARIO

I have been recruited to shoot a short drama for a new slot just before the early evening news aimed at young adults. Effective production will call upon my ability to put into effect knowledge and skills relating to single camera formats, structures and techniques, as well as my ability to plan a shoot and film and edit the drama.

Pearls of wisdom to consider when planning to shoot a Short Film:



REFERENCE:

Britt, D. (2014). How to Make A Short Film: Important Tips and Advice. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PalEaciHvXI [Accessed 19 Jan. 2017].