Format

A format is basically the general set up of a drama, such as its technical equipment such as
lighting and cameras. These components make up the set of a drama. A format is a technical
definition of a set of characteristics using image capturing. The primary characteristics of a
film is in the shape and size. There are conventions within a format which are series, serial,
serial drama and single drama. A drama is a piece of writing that is performed either on TV
or stage. It is used to portray life or a character. Drama usually tells a story involving
conflicts, issues or emotions through body gestures, action and dialogue typically deigned
for a particular theatrical performance. Tension in a drama is what engages the force
between the performers and the audience in a scene. A format is how something is
delivered to the audience on television, the three formats used for TV shows are series,
serial and single drama.
A series is a continuous drama, this is a programme that is broadcast regularly, usually once
a week, where the same characters and situation will be used to tell a different story in each
episode an example of this is CSI. Serial is an ongoing drama such as EastEnders and
hollyoaks. The format often uses the same cast and locations regularly, but each episode is
not complete in itself and storylines will continue through to the next episode encouraging
us to watch again this time next week to see what happens next. Often serial narratives
carry on more than one storyline- American stories such as ER may have as many as four to
five. A single drama is a one off story for television, single dramas are often based on topical
issues- subject matters that producers think is more appropriate for television than the
cinema, for example Dirty War about terrorists attacks in London.

Drama series
A series is when a TV show is split into different episodes via seasons, it can tell different
types of stories but will often continue with the same characters, for example, Sherlock, Lost
and family guy. Dramas, such as Sherlock, The Missing use a wide range of conventions to
make it dramatic and engaging for the audience to watch. Dramas use and wide range of
conventions such as, the plot of the drama is shown in the through line. A drama is become
emotionally attached to the actions that are going on. To do this the producers and
directors structure the dramas to have climaxes and anti-climaxes so that there are peaks
and troths in the tension thats being created, this then keeps the audience interested and
stops their mind wondering from the screen.
Conventions of a drama Series such as Skins consist of various locations,
various story plots and characters. It
also exhibits real life situations wit
realistic characters, settings and
stories. Locations and settings are
vital for dramas, film adulthood uses
gritty urban London locations,

normally flats, ghettos, schools, estates and workplaces. However scenes in other dramas
such as Sherlock use a nice looking range of London locations, such as Baker Street, Soho
restaurants, Trafalgar square, south bank and Waterloo Bridge, this makes the production
look more interesting and helps the audience connect more because London is attached to
Sherlock massively, this helps make it seem more believable to the audience. Locations in
London are often recognisable and look more engaging; this makes the choreography of the
drama series look nicer. Locations are key in any drama, movie or film, a drama wouldnt be
a drama without its location, which is critical to the production, and it sets the scene in a
drama and is vital for the scene to work as it sets the mood and is key to the storyline.
Costumes are key in a drama, having the right clothes sets the right
setting for the film, for gritty dramas, costumes such as worn out,
dirty hand me down clothing whereas with a period costume such
as TV series downtown abbey and films such as Atonement, old
fashioned 1930s suits are worn along with military outfits, women
normally wearing corsets and dresses.
Normally dramas have dull lighting, this is to portray a gritty and
bleak nature, for example Sherlock uses dull but
clever lighting to show his characters
seriousness, the light in the picture on the right
is coming from the window, hes positioned so
the light hits the edge of his face but not all of
it, this gives the character an elusive effect.
Emotions normally run high in dramas, so often
there are many close ups of the characters
faces, showing their emotions to the audience so they can relate to the characters.
Characters are crucial to a drama as they help to create and build the tension of the film due
to its circumstances they are facing, a mixture of characters consist in a drama such as the
character that everyone always confides in, the villain, normally a hero.
Low angle and high angle
shots are used to portray
strengths and
weaknesses amongst
characters, for example,
the gritty film Kidulthood, the weaker
girl is shown by a high angle looking
down on her and the bully is shown with
a low angle
to portray the strength and power of the bully. Having clear
shots and angles show different groups within the cast such as
television dram Waterloo road. Typical props for a drama
would include knives, phones, alcohol, drugs and mobile
phones. These props are typical to the type of gritty dramas

such as adulthood and one of my favourite films, looking for Eric.

Dramas also often portray journeys of character development. Dramas normally have a
dramatic storyline to move its audience emotionally. In the heart of a drama theres always
a conflict which include inner/outer realistic struggles depicting hardships, difficulty and
pain. Directors and producers hope the audience relate to the
character some way or another, they structure it with climaxes
and anti-climaxes, this is so they hope the audience keep
emotionally attached and that the tension is ongoing. However
some films break there
conventions, for example in Joel
and Ethan Coens a serious man, it
broke the convention of a typical
ending where the audience knew
what was going to happen to Larry. The film tried something
new that the audience could not predict, these sorts of films
leave the audience gripped and wanting more, also with Titanic, all does not end happily
and has a rather tragic ending.
Sound in a single drama often uses an orchestra or a soundtrack in the background, serial
drama often uses the theme tune which happens at the opening of the programme such as
when the titles come on. A series such as Sherlock often has an orchestra in the background,
or a series such as Broadchurch use the same tune but sometimes with high or low notes
depending on the mood of the scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8jCHw44oD4 In these scene from Joe Wrights
Atonement, we see the two main characters Robbie and Cecilia leave each other, the
audience can clearly see that war has torn them apart. The vehicles and the costumes give
the immediate impression that this is a period based drama. There accents clearly show
especially cecillas that she is from an upper class and his is middle class. This is an emotional
scene, we can see that the two characters are clearly in love and now they are torn by the
war, this makes it gripping and emotional for the audience to watch. We see the true depth
of their love as cecillas goes off in a bus, Robbie then mutters under his breath I love you
and runs after her but is too late, scenes like this capture your imagination and make you
emotionally attached to the characters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPx8UDziyfI
This scene from Adulthood shows the main character running away from the police. It
shows the suspect running away. The camera angles are fast and are short to keep the
viewers attentions. Towards the end we see him running off, music suddenly starts playing,
it happens to be in time with him running away, this is what grabs viewers attention. It also
has many jump cuts towards the end as if the character has run much further than he
actually has.

Serial
When filming a serial drama you have to make sure that you keep the same
cast in every episode, sticking with the rules that will make the programme
more realistic and real. Cliff hangers also keep the audience active and make
them continue to watch the series so they can see what unfolds within the
story. Using narrative will limit the events within the programme, closure will
always happen at the end of any series. An example of a closure would be in
EastEnders were we see evil villain Archie Mitchell be hit around the head
with the statue of the queen Vic.

A serialised drama is a drama that usually runs week in week out

all year round, such as soap operas such as EastEnders, Hollyoaks
and Coronation Street. These dramas often follow continuous
storylines or narratives often dealing with dramatic subjects such
as personal or family relationships.
Serial dramas often have a well know theme tune and intro
sequence which rarely changes. Conventions of a serialised drama would be a lot of
characters, locations that are easy to film in and are local such as the queen Vic pub, the
market and houses surrounding it. Studios are also used to build the scenes that are in
houses.
Lighting is often fairly basic, such as for example natural light or minimal is used to create a
gritty dramatic effect, this helps to create realism due to the realistic high levels of light.
Costumes for series dramas are often basic; its normally just casual clothing that is used to
represent their character and personalities.
Scenes are often kept short so the audience dont lose interest so lots of cuts when editing
are used to do this, straight cuts are often used for soap operas. However some serial
dramas, such as big budget productions such as Lost take a lot more editing, some scenes
are used with multi cameras and some single, so it often takes longer to edit and set up the
production due to its major storyline, it follow the survivors pf
the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney
and los angles.
Many popular and well know soap operas such as Hollyoaks
and Coronation Street have a memorable theme tune and are
played at the start and end of each episode. The sound is
mostly diegetic due to dialogue. Lyrics used often portray the
story and create the mood that the director and producers
wants the audience to feel. Soap operas often use multi cameras, this helps them to capture
shots from different angles and its faster to film.

The casts from soap operas tend to be bigger than drama series there is a limit to the
number of characters available at any one time; this then normally allows the soap to focus
on a small amount of characters. The plots are often open ended and many are linked or
featured in its next episode. An example of this is the current storyline in EastEnders, the
murder of Lucy Beale, where it is often a red hearing or it end
http://youtu.be/1B288a5TEsw
In this scene from Eastenders, we see Eddie Moon get hit by a car, in the background you
can here the character Mo screaming and the churning of the car, the sound is always
crucial and the sound effects in this clip leave the audience gripped. The lighting is natural
because its shot outside so everything being filmed is clearly seen. The accents the actors
have give immediate impressions were the location is set in this case London.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SemVxW1dVE this clip from EastEnders shows a

scrap between two main characters, Bianca and Danielle. The characters voices are high
pitch without any music in the background to make it more dramatic. The camera switches
between close ups of characters and mid shots, mid shots are used to remind the audience
that the characters are still there and shows off their body language, for example in this
argument we see Danielle go for Bianca.