Single Camera theory Assignment
Intro:
- A single camera drama production involves a number of
various techniques.
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Formats
of dramatic story telling
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Serial
Serial drama is a single camera drama format. It
consists of a number of ‘episodes’ that are pre-written. Each of these episodes
will be part of a larger plot, or consist of several plotlines. This format of
single cam drama is designed for television broadcast as new episodes will be
released on a regular basis. These shows are written from beginning to end,
this means that the entire plotline for this form of drama has already been
planned out and will unfold as scripted throughout each episode broadcast. A
good example of a serial drama is Breaking Bad which features a central plot
taking place over five seasons. The show consistently keeps the same characters
included, sometimes adding in new characters or removing some as the plot
demands but keeping the same characters after each episode. Shows of this
format will keep the same characters and use the same locations consistently
since it is part of a longer story. Since each episode is written to a part of
a larger storyline no episodes but the last one will have an actual legitimate
conclusion to the story since it is designed to continue for longer.
- Single Drama
- Single Drama
A single drama is a format of single camera drama that takes place over a single episode. The entire plot plays out through one episode which can range from 1 hour to 1 and a half hours. Many single drama will have a plot based on a real world current event, sometimes affecting the intended audience. Some will be written purely for entertainment purposes. An example of a single camera drama format is, Mark Of Cain, a war drama that won a BAFTA award.
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Soap
Opera
Soap operas is a continuous plot driven single camera format made up of various episodes. These shows are usually broadcast daily. Soap operas are one of the most popular forms of drama filmmaking. Soap operas generally have a large audience, usually mostly female. Soap operas make themselves more appealing to a larger audience by having the characters and plot affected by things that could happen in ordinary life, such as affairs, theft etc. An example of a soap opera would be shows such as The Bill, Emmerdale or Coronation Street.
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Narrative
Structures
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Realism
Realism is a form of narrative structure in film that conveys truths in their film as oppose to works of fiction. The plot may be fictional following a group of fictional characters but will still have truth to it. usually in these films the characters may be original creations but the time in which the film is set is true to that same time period ion history. And example of realism in film is the film This Is England (Directed by Shane Meadows). Due to the nature of realism, many films with realistic narratives will not have an overly exaggerated plot and will keep it simple. This is because in the case of realism the time itself is usually a key feature in the plot. For example in the film This Is England, the plot remains relatively simple throughout however the actual time period that the film is set in is a key player in the plot itself. The film is an exploration of the time period of Thatcher Britain, what it was like and how it affected the people at the time.
Realism is a form of narrative structure in film that conveys truths in their film as oppose to works of fiction. The plot may be fictional following a group of fictional characters but will still have truth to it. usually in these films the characters may be original creations but the time in which the film is set is true to that same time period ion history. And example of realism in film is the film This Is England (Directed by Shane Meadows). Due to the nature of realism, many films with realistic narratives will not have an overly exaggerated plot and will keep it simple. This is because in the case of realism the time itself is usually a key feature in the plot. For example in the film This Is England, the plot remains relatively simple throughout however the actual time period that the film is set in is a key player in the plot itself. The film is an exploration of the time period of Thatcher Britain, what it was like and how it affected the people at the time.
- Non-Realism
Non-realism is essentially the opposite of realism. Whereas realism is based around facts and logical events a non realistic film is not constrained in the same way. Non-realistic films make up a huge portion of the film industry, this could be contributed to the fact that non-realism as a narrative structure in film allows the people making such a film to have much more freedom in the way they make their film. There are many genres attributed to non-realism such as sci-fi, horror, fantasy,etc. There are entire corners of the industry based around these kinds of narratives. Disney, is a company that has built itself up upon non-realistic films often based around folktales and stories. There are a huge number of examples of films not based around realism, from Lord Of The Rings to The Incredibles. In these examples the films are not bound by the laws of logic or realism. The films take place in a separate period of time, with things that to us would seem impossible or illogical. It is because of this non-realism though that many audiences are attracted to these films. It can act as a form of escapism for the audience. An audience can impose themselves on any of the fictional characters in the film.
- Linear
Linear film structure is a structure of film that simply unfolds in linear, chronological order. These films generally do not take an immense amount of thought in order to figure out what is going on. A linear film essentially follows a straight line with the events unfolding before the viewer and the audience understands what is happening at every step of the narrative. Most films follow a linear structure. An example of such a film is The Martian, which follows a straightforward plot from start to finish happening in the order the events occur.
- Non-Linear
Non-Linear structure is a structure of film narrative that does not follow a straight forward plot line. Often events will happen in seemingly random orders that may not make sense until much later in the film. Non-linear narrative represents a significant opportunity to make a film that requires the audience to think about and comisder what they're seeing in order to piece together the bigger picture. Due to this structure a film with non-linear narrative needs to keep good pacing and make it interesting so that an audience does not get fed up and stop watching before it reaches its conclusion. It does however present an opportunity to create more artistic films and sometimes more expression in your work. An example of a film following a non-linear narrative is the film We Need To Talk About Kevin. In this film it follows the perspective of a mother who has a troubled life, even being physically abused by other people atone point. The events of the film do not happen in chronological order. It begins after the most significant event of the film which is not shown until near the end. The film leads viewers to make their own conclusions about why the mother is treated as such and then ends in a payoff. through clever pacing, use of colour and character development it slowly helps the audience realise which character they should be suspicious of and piece the film together. The colour of the film also helps significantly with this. The colour features a large amount of bright red in many shots, hinting at the more violent nature of the film.
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Technical
Requirements
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Lighting
Lighting is very important while making a film. There are various lighting rigs and equipment that a director can make use of when making a film. Lighting is crucial to shooting films as often the shot that you want may not have the best lighting for that shot and as such it would be necessary to make use of lighting equipment to light the scene the way you want. Lighting is commonly used in film to establish meaning to a shot. This can be done using either natural or artificial lighting but it is always done deliberately. For instance if scene is about loss and needs a sad tone the director may opt to make the seen look more dull by lighting it dimly or using natural light from a cloudy day. There are different types of light that a director can use including, soft light and hard light. Both types of light are useful for different types of scenes. Hard light illuminates characters and objects and creates sharp outlines. Hard light is useful for making smaller details and textures more visible. Soft light covers a wider area makes the outlines less distinct and reduces the amount of shadow and makes edges less sharp. A strong example of lighting for effect in film is film noir. Noir films rely heavily on lighting, being in black and white lighting is required to create heavy visual distinctions and to attract the audience view to whatever is meant to be important in the shot.
Lighting is very important while making a film. There are various lighting rigs and equipment that a director can make use of when making a film. Lighting is crucial to shooting films as often the shot that you want may not have the best lighting for that shot and as such it would be necessary to make use of lighting equipment to light the scene the way you want. Lighting is commonly used in film to establish meaning to a shot. This can be done using either natural or artificial lighting but it is always done deliberately. For instance if scene is about loss and needs a sad tone the director may opt to make the seen look more dull by lighting it dimly or using natural light from a cloudy day. There are different types of light that a director can use including, soft light and hard light. Both types of light are useful for different types of scenes. Hard light illuminates characters and objects and creates sharp outlines. Hard light is useful for making smaller details and textures more visible. Soft light covers a wider area makes the outlines less distinct and reduces the amount of shadow and makes edges less sharp. A strong example of lighting for effect in film is film noir. Noir films rely heavily on lighting, being in black and white lighting is required to create heavy visual distinctions and to attract the audience view to whatever is meant to be important in the shot.
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Sound
Sound is equally important in films. There are different kinds of sounds in film, human voices, recorded with a microphone during the scene. Sound effects, which may be recorded for a foley artist or made up of creative commons sound effects and music which may be recorded from a musician or made up of creative commons music. Sound can be balanced and can be faded in and out throughout a film where necessary for atmosphere. Atmosphere of films rely heavily on sound design. There are two different forms of sound in film. Diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is a sound that's source is present on screen or known to be in the scene. This can take the form of; characters voices, music coming from a source such as a radio, etc. Essentially it is any sound that is present in the films setting. Non-diegetic sound is the opposite of diegetic sound. It is any sound in a film thats source is not present on screen or in the film world. Essentially it is any music added in the editing process, commentary, drones, etc. Both of these forms of sound can be used to great cinematic effect among any genre.
Sound is equally important in films. There are different kinds of sounds in film, human voices, recorded with a microphone during the scene. Sound effects, which may be recorded for a foley artist or made up of creative commons sound effects and music which may be recorded from a musician or made up of creative commons music. Sound can be balanced and can be faded in and out throughout a film where necessary for atmosphere. Atmosphere of films rely heavily on sound design. There are two different forms of sound in film. Diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is a sound that's source is present on screen or known to be in the scene. This can take the form of; characters voices, music coming from a source such as a radio, etc. Essentially it is any sound that is present in the films setting. Non-diegetic sound is the opposite of diegetic sound. It is any sound in a film thats source is not present on screen or in the film world. Essentially it is any music added in the editing process, commentary, drones, etc. Both of these forms of sound can be used to great cinematic effect among any genre.
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Editing
Editing is the process attached after the production stage of film-making. During editing, the editor pieces together clips and audio to make a coherent film. When editing they take into consideration the pacing, continuity, colour and sound. An editor has a crucially important job in the film as the final edit can either piece together the film well or ruin it if the editing is not done properly. There are various editing programmes available for n editor to use on a film including; Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Avid.
Editing is the process attached after the production stage of film-making. During editing, the editor pieces together clips and audio to make a coherent film. When editing they take into consideration the pacing, continuity, colour and sound. An editor has a crucially important job in the film as the final edit can either piece together the film well or ruin it if the editing is not done properly. There are various editing programmes available for n editor to use on a film including; Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Avid.
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Directorial
Style
Each director has their own directorial style, this is what makes them unique in the film industry and makes their films stand out. A directors style can be influenced by other directors, films or their own ideologies. For example Edgar Wright has his own directorial style that is unique to him. Edgar Wright has made many comedies. In each of his films his own style is exhibited. In films such as The World's End and Scott Pilgrim he uses a lot of visual cues for comedy. In this way his directorial style is a challenge to the comedy genre saturated with films that dont make full use of a directors tools, relying almost solely on dialogue and close ups to deliver jokes whereas Edgar Wright takes advantage of a directors full arsenal of tools to deliver a joke. He can take advantage of a joke and use inventive shots to emphasise that joke. In summary a director needs their own directorial style to truly stand out in the industry. Without a style a director would be forgotten, there are a great many directors many with their own style, so without one, you would simply not stand out and wouldn't last long in that industry role.
Each director has their own directorial style, this is what makes them unique in the film industry and makes their films stand out. A directors style can be influenced by other directors, films or their own ideologies. For example Edgar Wright has his own directorial style that is unique to him. Edgar Wright has made many comedies. In each of his films his own style is exhibited. In films such as The World's End and Scott Pilgrim he uses a lot of visual cues for comedy. In this way his directorial style is a challenge to the comedy genre saturated with films that dont make full use of a directors tools, relying almost solely on dialogue and close ups to deliver jokes whereas Edgar Wright takes advantage of a directors full arsenal of tools to deliver a joke. He can take advantage of a joke and use inventive shots to emphasise that joke. In summary a director needs their own directorial style to truly stand out in the industry. Without a style a director would be forgotten, there are a great many directors many with their own style, so without one, you would simply not stand out and wouldn't last long in that industry role.
