Preliminary exercise: TV drama scene- Research and planning tasks

1) I have chosen to go with crime.

2) Research:

Broadchurch trailer.

• Voiceover and music.
• Pace of trailer at the end picks up- creates tension and suspense
• Narrative is communicated by using many techniques-communicated through the dialogue from a news reporter at the beginning of the trailer stating “the body of an 11 year old child was found…”.Also, the various bits if dialogue such as “we will find who did this”, emphasises the crime aspect, as it shows that they will be searching for the killer.
•  It also implies how the narrative will be driven forward in each episode as the text on screen says “A town wrapped in secrets” so these ‘secrets’ will be “unravelled in a major 8 part drama”. 
• By using text on screen lures the audience in as it suggests enigma (Barthes). Moreover, a genre is communicated in various forms, one way is through the mise-en-scene. We are able to identify Broadchurch as Crime Drama because of its plot/storyline. 
• The opening shot of the trailer consists of the detective going into the crime scene and walking under police tape which already establishes the crime genre, along with this the dialogue is said “the body…”. 
• Forensics walk around the house wearing the white overall, the press conference etc. 
• Moreover, we can see that the genre is crime as they are showing various people’s faces to create suspense and enigma- who is the killer?-the ensemble cast. This drives the narrative. So they work together in conjunction.     

The Bodyguard

•  Text on screen
•  Sound (diegetic and non-diegetic) dialogue etc. 
• The opening shot of the drama is of a police chase, this establishes the crime genre of the drama. 
• The opening shot also shows the BBC 1 logo, which is similar to how Broadchurch showed ITV at the end of their trailer. 
• Also, every trailer I have analysed shows the name of their drama at the end as well, this one ends with saying ‘Bodyguard’-it’s done deliberately to remind the audience of what the drama is called etc. 
• Moreover, the typography in his trailer matches the scenario, for example bodyguard is a crime drama that contains a lot of violence and action, so its font is quite rugged and monochrome in its colour.  
• This trailer doesn’t necessarily use text on screen apart from the last shot showing the title, but it uses more dialogue and sounds. This trailer doesn’t have any social media links, however, other trailers I have analysed do have some synergy. 

Thirteen

• Costume- The protagonist is a 26 year old women who was kidnapped at the age of 13. She is seen wearing a white gown which is old and creased, showing how she has been missing and has escaped. This creates meanings for the audience as it suggests that she has been isolated and hurt and has escaped a house. She is wearing old clothes and night suits throughout the whole trailer to show her isolation and how the kidnapping affected her. Also, the costumes of the people around her are casual, everyday wear to show how their lives have moved on. We can see how this is a crime drama because of her interview at the station and the forensics clip.
• Lighting- The lighting throughout the trailer is desaturated and monochrome to highlight the slightly mysterious part of the drama, people are contemplating to whether Ivy’s story is true and how she escaped and also questioning who is her kidnapper.
  Actor- The protagonist in this drama is a female aged 26. We can see how her character seems unstable and unsettled as she has just escaped. Her voice is shaky and we can gear the desperation in her voice as she is talking to the police from the phone booth. In general throughout the trailer her face is in shock and looks under pressure.
  Make-up- The makeup on the protagonist is subverts the general stereotype of women, she isn’t wearing glamourous make up, instead her face is shown as weak and she has dark eyes to suggests the trauma she has been through. It’s all done to show her weakness etc.
  Props- They haven’t used many props in this trailer. One of them that could be seen as one is the phone booth she rings from, it’s quite old and unused.
  Setting- They have a used a few settings in this trailer: outdoors, the house and the police station. The settings have a monochrome colour. 
• Voiceover and msic in the background
• The pace picks up after halfway to show the mystery and tension increasing

3) Script: 

WRITTEN BY SUKHVEEN RATTAN

INTERIOR

(DETECTIVE HAS ARRIVED HOME FROM WORK AND ANALYSING DOCUMENTS WHEN HIS BROTHER COMES)

BROTHER

(TO DETECTVE)

"SAFE"

DETECTIVE

(TO BROTHER)

"YOU ALRIGHT?"

BROTHER

(TO DETECTIVE)

"YHH"

DETECTIVE

(TO BROTHER)

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY BOOK?"

BROTHER

(TO DETECTIVE)

"MUM FINISHED READING IT."

BROTHER HANDS BOOK OVER TO DETECTIVE AND IS ABOUT TO LEAVE THE ROOM, WHEN HE COMES BACK...

BROTHER

(TO DETECTIVE)

"BY THE WAY, SHE DIES OF DRUG OVERDOSE"

DETECTIVE

(THINKING TO HIMSELF)

"DRUG OVERDOES?"

DETECTIVE MAKES A REALISATION AND CALLS THE FORENSICS

DETECTIVE

(ON PHONE)

"HI, CANI SPEAK TO THE FORENSIC DEPARTMENT PLEASE"

END OF SCRIPT

4) Shot list:

• Over the shoulder shot of detective
• Medium shot of detective entering house
• Medium shot of turning lamp on
• Medium shot of sitting down
• Medium shot of reading documents
• Close up on eyes reading
• Medium close up on detective reading
• Low angle shot of detective
• High angle shot of brother
• Low angle shot of detective talking
• Mid shot of detective and brother conversation
• Medium close up of reaction
• Medium shot of phone call

5)  Mise-en-scene:

• C: casual costumes for the younger brother, formal costume for detective.
• L: low key lighting to create chiaroscuro, want the scene to feel like a crime scene, create mystery and build up to tension.
• A: 2 males.  BAME.
• M:detective reaching home and analysing documents, when he is interrupted by his brother and makes a realisation.
• P:police document, files.
• S: living room

6) I will shoot over the long weekend, it will allow me more time to correct any mistakes or errors I have made.