Youth TV Youth Drama Excersises

"The facebook kids"
How would commisioners perceive this group? What sort of programming would be commisioned to appeal to this audience?

As young people who spend a lot of time online and have short attention spans and like up to date information on their favorite media, I imagine shows designed to appeal to them would be based around characters their own age with references to online media and social networking sites, as well sa users set up on popular sites such as Facebook to allow the audience to research the programme and get up to date behind the scenes information. This will appeal to them as it would become a talking point amoungst peers. These shows tend to have very exxagerated action or drama so as to keep the audience interested.



I believe 16-24 year olds are spending more and more time online and getting entertainment through their computers as opposed to from TV, however as TV can be watched online this doesn't particularry surgest a loss of interest in TV, however it is becomming very common for people to be on a social networking site talking to friends whilst watching TV.

Instant Audit

Watching Scheduled TV
Playing Games on a console
Online social networking
Listening to music on MP3 player
Live streaming Music
Using Mobile phone
Watching TV online
Watching DVDs
Watching TV on demand
Going to the cinema
Listening to scheduled radio

I would think the best way to reach a Youth audience would be through an online campaign over social networking sites, however not forgetting the value of broadcast television with some advertising on there aswell.

Letter to controller of Series and Serials for the BBC

Dear Mrs Harwood
Although I agree that TV drama is less popular in the younger demographic, I think this audience want to see TV drama however are put off as most TV drama focuses on serious issues that don't appeal to a younger audience as they can not relate to it and enjoy it voyeristically. However the Dramas based around schools and colleges tend to follow a certain formula which has become convention and never stands out as appealing to younger people just because its an enviroment they recognise.
I disagree with you that Heroes and Skins have a small audience, although i don't know the figures I've found amounst my peers over the last couple of years than these two shows have become most popular of all TV drama aimed at Younger audiences. Skins strong push towards extra content online enticed it's audience into looking up the show and this helped it's popularity hugely with free song download offers to draw people in. Heroes, although probably does have a niche target audience I believe grew in popularity very quickly gaining a large following in the first series that, at least amounsgt my peers has not seemed to diminished.

How E4's website targets a young audience/

E4's website design is similar to the way it portrays itself on adverts on it's channel. With spray paint and duct tape designs to give a young rebellious, unorganised look to the graphics used by the channel to be relatable to a younger audience. Quite a lot of bright colours are used with a informal tone to the text on the site. As well as this the majority of the shows focus on young people, there is a teenager is almost every picture on the homepage. it also has a play on the E-mail Slang WTF on a tab standing for "Wheres the fun" on it's website.

Criminal Justice Prison Scene Character Representation

The characters performance in the prison scene in criminal justice is quite simple. There are the inmates, a group stereotypical looking thugs, carrying gormless expressions and saying very little aside from encouraging violence in the background. This represents them as slightly dangerous and mysterious as they do not reveal much of their characters in the scene apart from violent tendencies. They act almost like Pack animals following Graham around. Graham himself is represented as very strong and sinister, his voice is deep and aggressive, he is the only character who shouts in the scene, all others talk softly or whisper, this futher represents his power as greater than all other characters around. This is futher represented by the prison guards whispering about not opposing the fight Graham’s gang have started as they would be overpowered, so observe, but do not interrupt. Hooch is the man who breaks up the fight, although after doing this he is quickly put down by Graham who reveals Hooch’s betrayal to Ben. This slight opposition to Graham leaves Hooch feeling abandoned for trying to help Ben.
Ben is shown alone at the start, ignoring the friendly guard’s comments too distraught by his situation. He is drawn in by Graham who shouts “look at me” when Ban looks away to see the goon getting behind him. Graham has complete power in this situation; he then initiates the fight, although not he having a follower steps up to fight. Ben looses, although keeps trying to fight by jumping on the guy, this represents Ben’s anger building up and him being fed up with his situation and how he wants to fight his way out although he is too weak. A similarity can be drawn here to the court scene where the prosecutor had him verbally in a corner, he was unable to say anything with enough meaning to gain a following amongst the crowd, too weak to change his situation without help.
Gordon who appears at the end of the extract appears creepy although speaks friendly is represented as menacing by being under observation by a guard outside, but also in the way he says you’ll be safe here, sounds almost over caring and suspicious.

Cutting it Mise-en-scene notes

The clothes worn by both characters represent them as middle class. They are dull and blend into the background slightly, this is don to put an emphasis on what they are saying and doing in the scene, it also fits into the quite bland colour pallet of the scene to set the mood. The black cabs show the location relevant to the show. As the woman goes into the hospital she ignores the blue truck to her left, turning round to look at the man, this again puts the emphasis on the realationship of thoose two characters in this scene, hinting at later events showing all the woman cares about is him now. The office in the hospital doesn't look cliche white and clean, but rather a little cluttered and run down, to set the mood for bad news. As she comes out a man in a red jacket serves as a warning, it is also incidentally the 13th bus in the scene whcih goes by as she gets hit. the abulances also hint towards the danger beforehand. Time slows down in the scene and the fairy lights behind the man serve to re-enforce the surreal notion as she gets knocked down. There is a lot of symbolism at the end with flowers scattered on the ground on the side the man is and nothing on the pavement the side the woman lies, this represents her life and their love being smashed apart by the event, also the absence of flowers on the left side show the woman is without life now. The props throughout the scene represent inportant ideas from the narrative. For example the wedding ring represents their feelings and the elephant model on the doctors desk could hint at not being able to put their past behind them and have "a clean slate" as they want to because of the bad news playing on the saying "elephants never forget".

TV Dramas

TV Dramas generally focus on a few major characters and their realationship, useually focusing on dramatic or depressing topics. Dramas are broadcast in several different ways, as One-offs, two parters, Mini series, or serial, or several Series with a set number of episode in each, or as an ongoing soap. They often focus on serious issues.

CSI:Crime Scene Investigation

CSI focuses on the Crime Scene Investigation department in a major city, each episode of it's series focuses on a new case however there are some scenes throughout that show the realationships and lives of the main characters. The show is quite contraversial showing some very dramatic scenes and has gained huge popularity. Many different versions of the show have been made due to this popularity.

Dexter

Dexter follows a fictitious serial killer and shows the realationship between him and the people close to him. Each series focuses on one big event in Dexter's life while gradually creating various realationships with people around him

The show is an adaptation of a series of novels written by Jeff Lindsay.

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers was a Mini Series directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a true story about a company of soilders in the second world war. Each episode focused mainly on a different character, and some realationships, all the characters being linked through the fact they were in the same company but also each episode showing the realationship between the main character and each soilder.

All these shows conform the the genre conventions of focusing on realationships in a serious, and not comic way, all being about dramatic things, a serial killer, a war and murder cases, all dangerous themes to make the shows exciting for the audience and allowing them to voyeristically enjoy being involved with these exciting scenarios.

Mise-en-scene notes

Skins

In this scene there is a focus on academic mise-en-scene, showing trophies in the background to represent the acheiving nature of the school, and therefore representing the headmistress as acheiving and acomplished, this also sets the scene as her office. Chris wears a fairly normal sports jacket and has scruffy hair and does not hold a direct mode of adress very often, this is contrasted with the head of college who wears a blazer and is very confident with her actions. The Newtons cradel also strongly represents academicness and inteligence. This is well shown as Chris is playing with the cradel at first however the head mistress stops him when telling him he is expelled. Taking away his ability to play in this academic enviroment, much like in the narrative of the scene itself. The computer is used as a prop showing Chris examples of his rebelliosness, in highly exaggerated ways to conform to the shows conventions.


Shameless
1.18-2.15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEmAd1n7LwU
The Mise en Scene is mostly in acordance with where a scene is set, in this example the majority of the mise-en-scene is items being sold in the shop, the till, the shop workers' uniforms etc. Other mise-en-Scene is characters clothing which varies from character to charcter. there are two men both wearing practical coats in the scene, nothing too expensive representing them as middle or working class. The younger boy in the clip wears fashionable clothing and has a fashionable gold chain around his neck, this is quite common amoung youths in this day and age so represents more middle class than upper. He also wears a blue jacket with stripes to link to whilst contrasting to the shop workers' uniforms (blue with white spots). The women in the clip (2 of which wear work uniforms with make up and hoop earings) are show in realistic clothes with enough make-up and jewellery to show their personalities to an extent. the other woman wears a fancy coat and nice clothes, however her situation (shopping in a corner shop) company (With a not upper class man) and body language (smelling her finger inspecting goods around her-practical attitude not pampered as an upper class person is useually represented hint at her being also middle or working class, however a bit of a snob, almost putting herself above thoose around her with the more extravagent clothing. The older woman is wetting her financial documents, emphasising her situation and character- cheating the insurance company.