Television Drama and the Representation of Regional Identity.
In the last class you were given different Soap Operas to research. Each Soap Opera was based on a different area of England. Your job was to prepare a presentation (using still and moving images) about how the Soap represented that region. This is a possible question that you could be asked in the exam. You had to talk about Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition; Sound; Editing and Mise en scene. This is what you came up with.
Your Homework Task (for a chocolate!)
If a Soap Opera was to be written based on this area (Rural Suffolk) what might it be like? Write one paragraph about how this area would be represented - try to link it to the four textual analysis areas!
If a T.V. Drama were to be set in Suffolk it would have a similar feel to Emmerdale as Suffolk is renowned for it’s fields and countryside. The diegetic sound would include things like birds, the wind and very natural sounds along with a few cars every now and again to show that we are still a civilisation. Dialogue doesn’t often need to be increased in volume as the country tends to be a quiet place but louder characters may have their dialogue brought up. The mis-en-scene would include a lot of green as a main colour since the colour green is associated with nature. Most of the costumes would be practical for the conditions they live in for example wellies as it is muddy and rough clothes rather than suits and dresses as would be worn in more urban areas. I feel the editing would be slow as the country often represents a slow and calm life rather than bustling and busy like the cities. I feel that a lot of establishing shots would be use din this TV drama to show the different locations throughout the local place. Over the shoulder shots would be used to show conversations as often the drama would be in the dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that the setting would be presented to be as rural as it is in Emmerdale because the Yorkshire setting of Emmerdale is isolated and remote which is in contrast to here. Maybe the soap/TV drama would be played out in a town like Bury St. Edmunds, following a community of key characters like Eastender’s does. Also, perhaps the soap would follow the lives of teenagers at school, maybe Thurston even though the events would have to be exaggerated because nothing dramatic really happens at Thurston, unlike places like ‘Waterloo Road’. In terms of camerawork, I think plenty of straight cuts would be used to give the programme a realistic feel. Also, there might be a lot of shot-reverse shots and close-ups to reiterate that we are on the outset, observing the key characters lives. The sound might include a lot of bird’s singing because we are in the country side but then traffic to show that we aren’t completely secluded. In terms of mise-en scene the characters might wear fashionable clothes, especially teenagers and young adults because of the access we have to high street shops in this area. Lastly, the editing might be slow paced to represent the steadiness of Suffolk people’s lives, however being a ‘drama’, when exciting or shocking events happen, it could be expected that the editing would change to ‘fast-paced’ to create the feeling of panic.
ReplyDeleteI think a TV drama set in Suffolk would be similar to Emmerdale. This is because both are rural areas with conventional countryside scenes such as fields. However, Suffolk is not as remote as Yorkshire where Emmerdale is set, so a TV drama in Suffolk would have an urban aspect to it. As well as scenes of fields and villages, there would be towns and city buildings (e.g. in Bury St Edmunds).
ReplyDeleteDiegetic sounds would include natural ones, for example the sound of trees and birds. But, there would also be the sounds of traffic and typical city noises. This would represent Suffolk as slightly remote and a tight-knit community, but still with communications with the surrounding area.
In terms of editing, it would be quite slow paced to represent the often calm and slow lifestyle of people in the countryside. Establishing shots would be used to show the rural scenery and introduce the setting (similar to Emmerdale).