Unit 22Understanding single camera techniques

And Then There Were None

‘And Then There Were None’ (2015) BBC One directed by Craig Viveiros.

Narrative Structure

Format: Series

Genre: Crime

And then there were none is a crime series based on a Agatha Christie novel. The narrative appears in a linear fashion as the storyline follows a certain path to a clear ending for the ten people on the island. The use of flashbacks can appear that this would make the drama a non-linear however these flashbacks are to give more information to the audience and to add more character backstory which is the reason that the whole event happens. The drama is set in a realist fashion as throughout the whole drama it remains true to the period of 1939. This series does have a clear closed ending due to the audience because the audience learns who the murderer is and why he had done everything that he has done.

Story Arc

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1. This part of the story is when the audience is introduced to all ten characters and the location of the drama of Soldier Island. These is also a key point of the story of all ten characters meeting each other. However through the edit, the audience starts to have the feeling that not very thing is right on the island.

2. Recording accusing each of the characters of murder, this is used to tell the audience that something is going to happen. But to the characters this is the starting of tension and horror as they hear that someone knows their secrets that they had kept hidden and secret.

3. After the recording the action starts to build as Anthony Marston and Ethel Rogers are killed on the same night. It is after the news of Ethel Rogers’ death, the audience and the characters’ learn that the poem means more than they first thought. It is a list of how they are all going to die. On the day after the characters learn of the deaths are linked, General MacArthur and Thomas Rogers are both killed leaving five out of the ten on the island alive. In the morning of the third day and after they find the body of Thomas Rogers, they soon find the body of Emily Brent. And soon after Lombard helps Blore to carry Rogers body to his room he finds his gun missing. With a gun missing they search for it before they start to turn on each other. The next day, Justice Lawrence Wargrave is found dead with a bullet to the head leaving only four of the characters on the island, to which by now they are getting very nervous around each other believing that one of them is the killer. The next to go missing is Dr Armstrong who disappears in the night.

4. The Climax of the story is left to the three remaining people on the island they start to believe that Dr Armstrong is the killer as he has disappeared and they start to see that they are not going to escape the island alive.

5. The murder of DS William Blore sends the last two characters looking for Mr. Owen but only to find Dr Armstrong’s body on the cliffs. As they reach the beach Vera Claythorne takes Philip Lombard’s gun believing that he is the killer and soon as he tries to take the gun she shoots him, killing him and then leaves him on the beach believing that he is the killer and is about to kill her. This shows that her natural behaviour is to try to survive even if it means that she has to kill the man she slept with.

6. As Miss Claythorne returns to the house she finds that she has survived, however then she sees Cyril the little boy she allowed to die which leads her to her room where there is a rope to which she climbs up when Justice Lawrence Wargrave walks in and explains everything as he watches Vera try to stay alive standing on the chair leg with the rope around her neck. He explains that he still has cancer and he is going to She then offers the chance for her to lie to the police saying that they believed her last time when she lied about Cyril dying believing that she used all the bullets in the gun to kill Lombard on the beach.

7. As Wargrave explains why he did it all to Miss Claythorne he kicks the chair away leaving her hanging and as he get to the door he turns and show her the bullet that was meant to have killed him leaving her to her death before going to kill himself.

EditingThe way that the drama has been edited together plays an important part in how successful the drama is, as the drama must flow seamlessly. Throughout the drama, the audience is aware of the time and space of the drama as there is no extreme time jumps and the audience is able to be gripped by the drama.

Cross cutting is a edit that is used often in this drama to show where each character is at a centre time in the story. The cuts between the guests sitting down for dinner to the kitchen shows how different the upper floors and below stairs are and that these two worlds don't normally mix. This cut also makes the audience think about when the killing starts how cut off these characters that work below stairs are from those above linking with the feeling that it could possible be Rogers who has started killing as the audience soon learns that he has killed before.

Elliptical edit is also used in this drama to remove small amounts of time to quicken the pace up of the drama. Like when the characters arrive at the dock to get the boat to the island and then the time jumps to them almost arriving on the island. This also adds tension that the audience feels about this island and what is going to happen on this strange island.

CameraMaster or establishing shots are used throughout the the drama to show the location of these characters, this is also an introduction to the audience of the island at the same time as the characters see the island for the first time. This is also used to show the audience that these ten characters are left on this island alone, and unable to make contact with anyone which heightens the tension and worry in the audience about what might happen on a island that is cut off.

Tracking shots are used to show the characters through a shot as they move, this technique has been used as the characters enter the house on the island and follows them as they file and to the base of the stair case. The is scene also shows the low key lighting that gives the house a tense feeling to it. By using a tracking shot, it shows each character as they enter the house like they are all crossing a line that they will never come back from.

Deep focus and shallow focus is used throughout the drama to capture the drama and the emotions of each character as they talk. At dinner a deep focus shot is used to capture the emotions and reactions of each character as they speak and argue at times. This allows the audience to watch for emotions and reactions to things that are being said.

Shallow focus is when the camera is only focuses on one character in a scene, this can be to used to show this character's emotion to an action of another or something that has been said.

SoundSound plays a key role in this drama to help build tension to the drama. This is very cleon-diegetic music that plays in the beginning of the drama as the audience watches the ten statues crumble into the island. This dramatic opening makes the audience think about what type of drama they are watching, but the music has a harsh beat to it that helps to add tension and suspense to the drama.

As the scene opens up to a beach, the editor has used sound perspective of the waves crashing onto the beach and the cries of the gulls overhead and the breathes of Miss Claythorne. This is a foreshadowing look into the past of this character that links all the events together. This gives the audience a little look on one of the characters past lives but also makes them question about who this character is and has this got anything to do with that is about to happen on the island.

Lighting

The lighting in this crime drama is very important to set the mood of the episodes but also to increase tension to the events that might happen. By using low key lighting using a tracking shot to show the dark hallway it increases the mystery about the house and who lives there. This is more visible during the scenes of which that all the guests are having drinks before dinner, and when a wide shot is used to show a few of the guests outside to of which are flooded with natural light and then the scene cuts to inside the house where the whole room is lit with low key lighting. This use of low key lighting throughout the episode has given the audience the sense that there is something dark in this house and that it is almost confined to the house in the beginning.

The low key lighting is also used in areas like the below stair area where only the staff use, this is a misleading hint that maybe it is Rogers or his wife that are the killers due to this dark lighting when as the upper floors had based in somewhat natural or soft lighting. This doesn't lose the sense of the house being what it may of being a house of mystery but with these darker areas it gives the audience the idea of these areas being were the killer is or has been.

However this soft lighting upstairs could be used to show how the house and the island is wrapped up in mystery, and that as the house is lit up using softer lighting it almost gives the feeling of the calm before the storm. Is this later explained during the conversation between General John Gordon MacArthur and Philip Lombard on the staircase at the end if the episode. ‘This is the peace before the carnage.’

Mise en sceneAs this drama is set as in the summer of 1939, the clothing of all the characters and the set have been careful designed around the period to make the drama feel more realistic for the audience. The characters’ costumes are not just to show the time period of the drama but also to show each character's’ social class. This is evident with the different clothing of Miss Claythorne, Emily Brent and Ethel Rogers. All three women are from different social class and that is visible in both the women’s behaviour with each other and in the clothing.

The costume of the character Miss Claythorne changes through the episodes of the drama. It is almost like her clothing is an expression of the character’s state during the whole event. In the beginning, Miss Claythorne’s clothing is set in a smart fashion as she knew that she needs to make a good impression on her new employers. At dinner she is dressed in a blue dress that covers her, showing to the others that she is a respectable woman, however as the time goes on it becomes clear that she is not the woman she tried to be in the beginning. It is like as time goes on, she begins to show her true natures in order to survive till the end, to which she does however she doesn't escape.

This is carried also with the language that is used during the dialogue of each of the characters use, which also gives information to the audience about the characters history and where they are from. This is very aparment for the character of Philip Lombard, as seen in a scene add to show Davis, who the audience is introduction to which they later find out that he is in fact Detective Sergeant Blore, writing down the word ‘fenian’ next to his Lombard’s name. Fenian is a name that is commonly refers to the Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish Republican Brotherhood. This turn isn't commonly used in modern day life so this in itself shows the period of his drama by the way that the English look down on the Irish.

The use of FlashbacksNormally the use of flashbacks is commonly used in a non-linear form of drama however in the case of ‘And then there were none’ the use of flashbacks has been done to provide and withhold information from the audience and gives each character more of a back story. A case of this is when Philip Lombard tells the group that he has in fact killed 21 men like the record said and with the use of the flashback it hits a nerve with the audience showing that this character feels nothing for the 21 men that he killed and doesn't feel any remorse for doing it. The flashback also makes the audience think that maybe he is the killer as he has no remorse which means he doesn't mind killing.

Flashbacks are also used in the case of Rogers to explain why he is now under employment of the Owens as when he explains that his former employer died in her sleep the audience is shown that in fact Rogers’ killed her so he could get his hands on the money that she had left him and his wife. This also gives the audience the thought that maybe Rogers is the killer or knows who is.

Opening scenes of Miss ClaythorneDuring the opening screen, the audience is introduced to one of the main characters of this story. Miss Claythorne to which later we learn is a teacher. In the first few scenes of her the audience see, she is lit with bright natural light to show that in this time her life was bright and happy. This also tells the audience that in this time she was in a stage of her life to which she is enjoying herself, this is also shown by the colour palette that has been used in this scene. By working in a bright and colourful background it gives more evidence to the audience that this is before something happened to the characters and then the camera cuts to the scene to which she is looking out of the window. This scene shows that whatever happened in between these two moments in Miss Claythorne's’ life has destroyed that happiness at she once had. This also draws the audience into what more of the series because it later is explained that she was involved in the murder of a little boy who was under her care, which allowed her boyfriend, the uncle of the child to inherit everything and in thinking that she would marry him. However he soon worked out what she had done and quickly left her, leaving her broken. However due to the events, she can only work in a lower class schools because of her involvement of the little boy’s death, which in turn causes her downfall and her death. By using different colour pallette to give information to the audience but also to show that time has past gives the thought to the audience that this character is very important to the story line.

Philip Lombard’s reaction to what the recording says

When the record is being played accusing all ten people of murder all except one reacts in a way that anyone would when being accused of murder. They looked shocked and also scared as each of them know that they were somewhat involved with someone's death, all expect Philip Lombard, doesn't look surprised at he is being accused of killing 21 men of an African tribe. This is because as he says in the next scene to which they are all talking about what was said, he is the only one that agrees with that has been said. He also says that he is the only one who ‘holding his hands up to it.’ He also in a way justifies what he has done by saying that he isn't the ‘only white killer in Africa.’ This reaction along with his confession makes the audience think that possibly he is the killer and the mysterious Mr. Owen and getting nine strangers together was his way of a confession,knowing that no one will make it off the island.

See No Evil: The Moors Murders

‘See No Evil’ ITV (2006) directed by Christopher Menaul

Narrative Structure

Format: Serial Drama

Genre: True Crime

See No Evil is a true crime serial drama that follows the horrific crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that took place in the 1960s that took place on the Moors on the outskirts of Manchester. It is set in a linear fashion as the audience follows the drama in a clear storyline through the lives of the characters who are based on real people who really experienced the real events. The tale is told from the paths of both Ian and Myra but also Myra’s sister Maureen and her husband David. The serials follows Ian and Myra’s killing spree which resulted of the death of five children. The serial has a closed ending as it the serial ends with the imprisonment of Ian and Myra which is the end of their killing spree. The creators of the serials chose to set the ending as a tribute to the five victims of the murders.

Story Arc

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1. The beginning of the serials the first thing the audience sees is a range of different shots of the moors, this is a foreshadowing event to what is to happen on this landscape. This is then moved on to Maureen and her baby as she travels to see her sister Myra and that is where the audience gets a look at both Myra and Ian together as who they want their work friends to see them like.

2. Maureen and her husband David soon visit the couple in their home and the audience sees a different side to the couple to what was shown before.

3. The two couples go to the moors to drink and the audience sees that the there is something odd about Ian and Myra compared to Maureen and David but also hints are given about Ian, that he is more of an outside because he is from Scotland and the others are from the area. But the key location of the serials is the moors which gives hints to the audience that something is going to happen about this location

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EditingDuring the argument between David and Ian in the moors is set as a shot Rev shot to show the emotions and anger that these two character are feeling towards each other. This is mainly due to the fact that Ian doesn't talk much about his past. David seems not to understand why Ian is so protective about his past. As David, Myra and Maureen are from the same place they are in a way a group with Ian being Scottish being the outsider, which becomes more apparent when Ian chooses not to share any information about his life in Scotland.

Continuity editing is very visible in the scene to which the camera follows Maureen and her daughter as she travels to visit her sister and Ian. The range of different shots that are edited together to show Maureen's journey has been created seamlessly to allow the audience to follow her which then leads up to the two main characters been introduced, Ian and Myra.

CameraWhen the camera is set on the character of Ian Brady, it is always in a slight low angle however this is not picked up on if the audience is not watching. This is set in this fashion to show and to give the idea that the character of Ian Brady is almost higher up than the others, if that may be in intelligence, social class or if he believes that he is more important than the other character. This almost makes the character seem in a way approve the others which also is shown later on in the serial when he is questioned by the police believing that he is even approve the law.

By using establishing shots of the moor it gives the audience a look at the area to which the main focus would be for the film but also with the text writing on the establishing reminding people that this is about a true story grips the heart of the audience.

Sound

Non-diegetic music is used to add tension to the drama and grips the audience into the scene when the emotion of the scene increases. This music also is used to give little pieces of information about how dark the events of drama. However diegetic sounds are used very carefully but well in the office scene to when Maureen is walking down the corridor and people are seeing her daughter.

The sound of the characters’ accent are very noticeable during this serial as it gives clues to where these characters are from. However it also helps to add some mystery to one character very strongly and that is Ian Brady. Ian is from Scotland so has a strong Scottish accent which in turn makes Ian an outside to the other because he is not from the area and has moved there. This also adds a little bit of tension around this character that the audience will pick up on and that this mystery behind Ian is also noticed by the characters themselves like David.

Lighting Lighting is very much used in natural forms for the shots outside however for these shots, natural lighting helps to increase the tension and overall feeling to the sets. This is very clear because of the first few wide shots of the moors that the audience is shown. They are dark with a sense of mystery around them, this gives the audience the overall feeling that something is not right with the location and that something is going to happen or has happened in this location.

In Ian and Myra’s house the lighting of the house increases the tension around the couple of Ian and Myra. The lighting is low key and is quite dull. This also shows that set in a wide shot to show that the house itself is small but by how much of the room the audience is shown, it is a little hint to that this house is key to what happens to these characters.

Mise en sceneCharacter’s costumes are very important to show how the character is and what the character and the director wants the audience to think about the character about how this character is like. With the character of Ian Brady, the character is dressed in more higher class clothing than the other character. Almost showing the audience that this character is more higher classed than the others.

However with the character of Myra, the audience first meets her in smart clothing of a woman who works in the office. The thought of this character is that she is sensible and well dressed meaning she care about what people think of her. However when she is shown in her house she is wearing all black. This is almost telling the audience that this character has a darker side to her and that maybe she is not as innocent as she was first shown to be.

Cutaway Opening scenesThe cutaway of the opening scenes sets the scene to the whole serials. The opening master shots of the moors are set in a low lighting to add tension and create a darker mood about this location. This gives the audience the belief that this location is also a key character to the serial but also that something dark and horrific is going to happen. Then the scene is moved on to the Maureen with her daughter walking to see Myra. This cutaway show that whatever is going to happened hasn't happened yet but will. This is shown by the colour pallette of the two scenes put together to show that the master shots of the moors are dark with dull colours when the street scene is not as dull and dark creating a scene of that this was the brighter time in this character's life before the down fall.

Camera shakes on sceneThe scene of which Ian, Myra, Maureen and David are having picnic on the moors is a scene that the audience starts to feel that something is odd about the character of Ian Brady. The camera shakes during the argument between David and Ian which can be because of two reasons. One of which can be from the location of the shoot, as the moors can become almost like a wind tunnel so during shooting the wind on the day with evidence from the characters hair can be the reason for the camera movement. However this shaking can also be used to tell the audience that there is something upsetting about the character of Ian and that David is almost confused about Ian and the camera movement is showing the confusion that David has.

Cyberbully

‘Cyberbully’ (2015) Channel 4, directed by Ben Chanan

Narrative structure

Format: Single Drama

Genre: Docu-Drama Thriller

Cyberbully is set in a linear fashion as the storyline is very clear from the beginning. The story follows a girl named Casey who is set in the modern technology age and like modern age young people she is connected to the Internet. However this soon becomes her enemy as she is hacked and the hacker then becomes a new Unknown character that in a way becomes the focus of the film. The message behind this story is very clear from the moment that the hacker starts to threaten Casey, that technology can be very dangerous as they can't truly know who they are talking too. The story starts to pick up pace because of a tweet that Casey gets about her from her ex-boyfriend however later the information is given that in fact it was the hacker who sent the tweet tricking Casey into bullying her ex to which she thinks has done it to her. Trapped in her bedroom by the hacker, Casey is trapped in the world to which she normally feels safe. This is a scary but true fact that normally the abused takes place in the home normally even with parents at home, this is shown through the story by Casey's dad calling up to her or trying to take to her. However Casey is too scared to ask him for help as she knows that the hacker could destroy her life. The film ends when Casey works out that she still has a life to live after the whole event and in turn closes the laptop before calling for her dad, however it is not a clear closed ending as the audience never finds out who the hacker was. But in a sense this is a message to the audience that there are more people who would do people harm on the Internet and not all of them will show themselves, instead they hide behind a computer screen.

Story Arc

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1. Casey notices that her music is playing up, as she takes her medication for her depression she calls Megan to see if it is only her music that is playing up. To which she is told about the tweet.

2. Casey sees a tweet that her ex has sent about her and is upset. Megan is worried about her friend and asks Casey if she is alright. This tweet is the cause of the action as when Casey is heartbroken about what her ex has put about her it leaves her open for what happens next.

3. Alex who is a hacker helps Casey to hack into nathan’s Twitter and let's Casey write a horrible tweet about him. However soon Casey works out that it isn't Alex who she is taking too it is a hacker that she doesn't know and starts to threaten Casey with some photos she took for her ex boyfriend. However then the hacker shows Casey what has happened to Jennifer Li and how her one comment let Jennifer become a target for trolls and in the end she killed herself

4. The hacker makes Casey admit that she is a bully and then reminds her that she needs to take her medication, and Casey works out that the hacker is trying to make her kill herself

5. Casey starts to work out pieces of information about the hacker and that in fact he or she is pretending to be a younger age than they really are. This is mainly due to how he or she uses spelling of words or old phrases that are not used anymore.

6. Casey's father tells her that he had Megan on the phone and gives her a message that she knows it isn't her doing this and she understands.

7. Casey then has the courage of knowing that she isn't alone because of what this hacker has done and has the courage to close her laptop and call for her dad for help

Editing

Eyeline match is very important in this film as it connects Casey's emotion to what is happening in the film with the hacker. This also helps the audience to connect with Casey and what is happening to her with this hacker. The eyeline match is very much centred on the camera on top of the laptop or on the screen, however this also gives the idea to the audience about why doesn't Casey just close the laptop when the hacker starts to make threats? However this could be because she knows that she can't escape from the Internet.

There is an elliptical edit used in the first few moments of the film when Casey changes from her school uniform to her normal clothes. This scene was cut to miss out the time it took her to change as it wasn't needed in the film and allows the action if the film to happen sooner.

CameraThe bird's eye view of Casey's room shows the audience that Casey is trapped in the one place that she should feel safe, her home. This in a way shows the audience that with Internet crime and cyber bullying it can happen in the very place that should make the person feel safe like their home or the room.

Shallow focus is used very effectively to show the emotion on Casey's face as she is threatened by the hacker unless she does what they ask. However with Casey's close up it also helps to show the fear that she is feeling knowing that she is being watched. And the audience can relate to how she is feeling and that is more clear through using an extreme close up.

LightingLighting has been used very clearly in this film to add tension and to create the correct mood to the film. This helps the drama by showing the audience that this is very much a dark film by using low key lighting in Casey’s room to make the audience feel like they are as much trapped as Casey is in the room.

In the end Casey works out that she will have a life after the event and as she chooses to leave, the room is flooded with light from the hallway. This in a way by using the high key lighting in the hall it creates a sense that she has finally broken from the darkness of her room and the world that she had in cases herself in because of the hacker. She is also working out that this hacker didn't rule her life as many victims of Internet crime feels like, and in fact she has people around her that can protect her.

Sound

In the beginning of the film, Casey is listening to diegetic music in her room which is upbeat and fits with the character’s appearance however all of a sudden the music is changed to a more depressing song, to which Casey doesn't listen too. This starts to annoy her as it is not her changing the music as every time it happens she is not in full frame. This is the first sign that something is wrong with her computer and the first sign of the hacker.

In the beginning of the film, the sound of a message coming through the computer and her phone as a happy thought of her friend messaging her to ask her something or answer a question. However then the hacker shows him or herself to Casey, the sounds of the messages coming through is like what threat is the hacker going to make next? The sounds are sound perspective and become a sense of dread to Casey and the audience as each message becomes more dangerous for Casey.

Mise en sceneThis film is set in the modern age where technology runs the lives of most people. For this film, the Internet and technology is a character in itself as it becomes the main threat to the character of Casey. This is also by using the Internet or hacker as a character it creates a worrying reality that there are people who would do harm to others for no real reason and by not showing who this hacker is it tells the audience that there are people out there that are still unknown, and things like this can happen.

The way that Casey and Megan speak to each other also show how young people talk to each other, this is also how Casey works out that the person she thought was a friend called Alex wasn't indeed Alex. The hacker uses older phrases like BFF and lol to which Casey and her friends don't use. This is also about how Casey is able to work out little pieces of information about the hacker like his or her age by how they speak.

Cutaway from computer and CaseyThe way that the camera is used to show how Casey and the hacker communicate shows that Casey does feel trapped by something that she use to enjoy. By cutting between the two it is almost like the director is tell it the audience that there are two different characters in this story not just one. By showing that the hacker is a character in itself, by how Casey talks to it and is also threatened by it.

By showing that Casey and the hacker are the two main characters it also gives the hacker a human element and at is shown through to the end by when the hacker begs Casey to stay with him or her. Showing that this character is as lonely as Casey at times and wants someone to talk too however by how the hacker has gone about it, it is clear that Casey has chosen to end it and close the laptop cutting the hacker off.

The Missing

‘The Missing’ (2014) BBC One, Directed by Tom Shankland

Narrative StructureFormat: Series

Genre: Crime

The missing is set in a non-linear fashion because the time is jumped between 2006 and 2014, this is because it gives the audience little pieces of information about what has happened in the lives of Tony and Emily Hughes and how they have lost their son Ollie on holiday in France. The flashbacks give the audience little pieces of information about how Ollie became lost and how the police reacted to the call. It also gave hints that Tony and emily’s marriage falls apart in those years after their son was taken. The drama is called as a psychological mystery crime thriller because it is all to do with the taken of Ollie but also that there is a mystery around each of these characters as the audience isn't given the whorl story about the characters which grips the audience to watch the series so they can understand what happened. It is set in a realist form, this is backed up with the police actions to the case that a child is missing but also grips the hearts of the audience with how must the parents of this missing child must feel. The episode finishes with an open ending with the find of a drawing that looks similar to what Ollie had done for his dad.

Story arc

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1. In the beginning, the audience is introduced to Tony, who has gone back to France as he has found something about what might have happened to his son Ollie, who disappeared. Flashbacks are used between 2006 and 2014 to explain about what has happened in both of these years that are filled in pain and sorrow to the Hughes family

2. As Tony finds out that he has found something that could lead them to his son or to find out what has happened a old friend gets involved that he is not pleased with at first as he was accused of killing his son, retired French Detective Julien Baptiste.

3. When finding were his son’s scarf was sold, Tony quickly found a drawing that was drawn on a wall. A drawing that matches his son’s early drawing of him that he left in the car,

EditingThere is a fast and carefully placed cut between the time the audience sees Ollie and then with the passing of someone’s arm he is gone. This heightens the tension of the scene as the audience sees how quickly a child can be taken, in a blink fo an eye almost. But also to increase the pace of the action within the drama as the fact of a missing child all the action is quickened with the question of will they find the child alive?

The shot reverse shot between Tony and Julien when they meet in the present day to talk about what Julien has heard from others about his behaviour and the way that he is trying to find his son. The audience can tell the tension between these two character because of how the set is lit and the way the camera is positioned. The room is let with a yellow tone with low key lighting showing how dark and painful the world that Tony is living in but also how this emotion affects Julien. This style of editing also helps to show the characters emotions, Tony feeling like he has been betrayed by others who were suppose to help him find his son and Julien, trying to keep calm and falling back on his police experience when talking to Tony. Also during this scene the audience finds out that the police at one point thought that maybe Tony had killed his son and an angle that the press had thought of too and had attacked him with, destroying Tony’s trust with the police. Sadly this is a true fact that the police need to follow up on in real life cases.

This elliptical edit is used to show where the character of Tony is going. Tony leaves the light and bright side of Chalons Du bois and heads back to the same hotel that he stayed in with his wife and son eight years before. This helps to show the audience that Tony is not thinking very clearly about how he is going to find his son but it also shows that he is determined to find his son. This is proved by the fact that he returns to the same hotel room every year and since he has found a new clue to his son he is trying everything he can to find anyone who could help him. Even if he has to team back up with Julien the police officer that was in charge of the missing person’s case in the first place.

CameraEstablishing shots are used throughout the drama to show the audience a range of different things, location, emotion and how important that location is.

There are two different locations that are important to this story, France were sadly Ollie was taken from and is where most of the action takes place and London. The original place where the Hughes family lived and where Emily has remained trying to move on with her life.

This tracking shot of Tony heading back to the hotel tells the audience a lot about how badly this event of losing his son has affected him, also as he is traveling alone it gives the audience the idea that he is alone in the world. That he can not move on from what happened in France and that by walking alone he is walking the journey in trying to find his son himself. By only having natural lighting with the low key lighting from the street lights it gives the audience a sense that this is a real life story played out to show the effect losing a child can be.

SoundDiegetic sounds of the rain and sounds from within the restaurant gives the scene a sense of realism and allows the audience to believe more in the scene that Tony is trying his best to try not to miss him son as much but as he sees other family with their children he knows and see what he is missing because he turned his back on his son for a second.

As the audience is taken back to 2006 they are introduced to this with no sound to start with but then the sound is slowly raised in the car and the environment. This could be inducting that Tony’s mind is still stuck in this period of time and that he is remembering what happened and how much his life has changed.

Lighting Lighting plays a key role in The Missing, as it is a direct link to what year the audience is watching. The lighting is also used to describe the emotion and mood of the scene. In the flashbacks to 2006, in the beginning the lighting on the young family is bright and light with natural and high key lighting to show that in the beginning they were happy and enjoying their holiday in France but when it all changed the lighting became dark as the mood did.

In 2014, the lighting has become low key with a duller colour palette with tones of green and bronze to give the audience a physical representation to how Tony is feeling returning to France after losing his son and how he feels knowing that he has found something that could lead him to find his son or at least what happened to him.

Mise en sceneIn The Missing, the scenes cut between 2006 and 2014 so because of this there are little hints of what year the audience is watching. The main tip of which the audience can tell which year they were watching was at the beginning of the episode was the 2006 Football World Cup, this is a key point of the story as the room to which Tony and Emily stays at was a room with a broken TV. This is also shown by revisiting the same locations in both time periods, as in 2006 the World Cup was on so the city was celebrating that fact when the jump to 2014 the streets have no sign that the world cup took place and that the street is empty. This is a almost reflecting the emotion and feeling that Tony was going through in life, in 2006 he had a family and a life to enjoy however that was taken from him and when the audience meets him in 2014 he is a broken man.

Tony finds the drawing on the wall

This scene is the last scene of episode one and it is the gunning of the raising action of the storyline. This scene is also when the audience sees the true pain in Tony about his son being gone so long but also it is a moment that both Tony and Julian believe that maybe they are on the right track to find out what truly happened to Ollie that day. This scene was a scene of great emotion from the two characters as they find that they have found something but to Tony it is a clue that starts to haunt him because the drawing is the similar to the one that his son had drawn in the car.

Mrs Hughes new lifeMark Walsh, the British liaison police officer sent by the British government to help work with the france police and the family to help find Ollie. This is a true act that the British government puts in place when a British child goes missing in another country. As Walsh was holidaying with his own son, a boy the same age as Ollie when the Hughes meets him.

In the present day, the audience finds out that Emily has ended her marriage with Tony and is planning to marry Mark, and now lives with him and his son. It is almost like she has replaced her son with another one so she can be a mother to someone. Unlike Tony who is stuck in the past she is trying to move on however when Tony finds something she is slowly being dragged back in the past.

This is England 90s

This is England 90s (2015) Channel 4 directed by Shane Meadows

Narrative Structure

Format: Series

Genre: Drama

The story narrative of This is England 90s is set in a linear fashion but following the different storylines of a set of characters and how their lives are joined together through different events and problems. The events of the dinner scene during episode three is the climax of the series and it also examples what happened during previous episodes and series and all the episodes run into one main storyline. This allows the audience to believe in the drama and give it a realist feelng to it.

Story arc

1

2

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1. As all the character get an invitation to go round to Woody’s and Lol’s place for dinner they are all unaware about what is going to happen and why they are all asked to go round. This is backed up by the layout of the room, being small and crowded.

2. Lol tells the group a secret that she had been keeping for all of her life. The fact that she was abused by her father along with her other sister.

3. Kelly doesn't believe her sister and demands to her mother to tell her that they are wrong. They also learn the combo is been released from prison and that he is going to come and live with Lol and Woody which Milky isn’t happy about because of what happened between them. They also learn that Combo did the time for Lol and that she can only repay him by letting him stay with her.

EditingThe continuity during this scene flows seamlessly and effectively due to the fact that this scene was taken in one to two tasks allowing the emotion and the anger to flow more naturally like the scene had happened for real.

The Shot Reverse Shot allows the audience to see the emotions of all the characters as Lol tries to explain why she had called everyone over knowing that what she is going to tell them is going to shock them. This also allows to audience to see how each of the character act around each other.

CameraThe deep focus angles on both sides of the table allows the audience to watch as what Lol has just told them sinks in and the emotions start to form in each of the character’s faces. This also allows the audience to read the body language as it is set up in a medium shot allowing the character’s to uses their body language to express more emotion.

The establishing shot of the living room is very important to the series as it is the place of a horrible event that has lead down to the dinner scene and is the reason for it happening in the first place. The camera holds onto the location a little too long, giving the audience the scene that this place has a major impact in what happens in the next scene.

SoundAt the end of the scnene all the sound is slowly drowned out by music, this hightens the emotion and the pain that is been felt in the room after what has happened. The way that Kelly acted around her sisters caused them all pain and the fact that she was demanding to know if her father abused them because he loved them more is a feeling that is clearly visible in the characters. This also gives the audience a break from the heavy quick pace of the action they have watched and allows them and the characters to take in what has just happened in the room. Feeling emotionally drained Lol looks away from the others and with the natural lighting coming in from the window it gives the sense and the feeling that the character is now feeling the pain that she felt when she was been abused and that she is alone in the world once again.

The sounds of plates and glasses are the diegetic sounds in the scene however they are also increased by the fact that no music is placed over making the audience wonder what is going on and why Lol and Woody have clal all these character to their home to speak to them. This is also the calm before the storm as they wait for Woody and Lol to tell them what is going on, life for these characters seem normal in this moment and as Woody starts to explain that they wanted to talk about is really bad the emotion starts to build.

Lighting High key lighting from the window in the dining room scene is used for the natural light that would normally come from a window however the light needed to be bright to stop the audience been able to see through the window as the set only contained the room. This also makes the audience look directly at Woody and Lol who are the main character’s in this scene and are the reason for the gathering. The lighting draws the audience to notice them first in the room and highlights the fact that these characters are sitting very close together almost as if they were comforting each other as they tell the others the truth.

As Kelly runs away from the family home, the lighting of this scene is very important in describing the character’s mood and what emotions she is feeling. By increasing the low key lighting as Kelly gets deeper into the tunnel, shows how much her life has changed and how confused and upset she is. Along with the colours that have been used in the tunnel helps to increase the audience’s feeling towards Kelly.

Mise en sceneThe wide master shots are used not just to show the audience the location of the drama but also to give the audience key information about who these people are. Like the fact that they live in a terraced house can class them as being part of the working class. This idea of the characters being [part of the working class is heightened by how the dining room is set out. The fact that the table is made up of two different tables and the chairs don’t match shows that they don’t normally meet up in such a large group of dinner implying that they are there for some reason.

Kelly runs awayAs the audience watches as Kelly packs a bag and then runs away from her family, an elliptical edit has been used to show only key moments of Kelly running away from what has just shattered her life as she knew it. By having on the non-diegetic music playing tit helps to heighten the emotion in the scene and also tell the audience that she doesn’t want to believe what has just been told to hr about her dead father. Because of this she is running away from what has happened because she can’t face it that she didn’t truly know her father.

High angle shot over the dinner table

In the wide shot of dining room, it helps to draw the audience’s eye to the who is at the head of the table which is Lol and Woody. As these characters are responsible for getting the others there it shows that whatever they need to tell the others has caused them some pain as they are sitting very close together almost if they trying to help the other speak to the group.

Flashpoint

‘Flashpoint’ CTV (2008) Created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern

Narrative Structure

Format: Series

Genre: Crime

Flashpoint is a crime series that follows Team One, a team within the Strategic Response Unit of the Canadian Metropolitan Police Force. These series follow a linear fashion as it follows the storyline within the episode and remaining to the overall story of the series. The episode from season two named ‘Clean Hands’ is a episode about doing the right thing which is one of the main messages of the series. The series is set in a realist form, and as this is a police show the creators worked with the Canadian Metropolitan Police Force to make sure that the rules and police procedures behind a range of different calls. This also helps the audience to get involved in the episodes as they can see the human emotions behind each of the characters they meet but also the characters themselves helps the audience see the real troubles that real police officers face every day and the horrors that they can face. The Flashpoint series mostly uses foreshadowing to grip the audience by what happening within the episode. In this episode, the audience follows two storylines that join together in a very deadly way. The main storyline of this episode is a closed ending as the audience learns what truly is going on and how it ends, however it is also an open ending as it continues the storyline of the teams absent team mate after being injured.

Story arc

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1. The team is given the job of protecting serial killer Peter Wilkins, who fled to Germany before he could be arrested. As the team is briefed, the audience is introduced to Walter. One of Wilkin’s victim's father who was away with the army when his daughter died. As he feels responsible he has chosen to kill Wilkins before he gets to the safety of a mental hospital.

2. As the team arrive at the airport to find that somehow the press and the victim’s families have found out that Wilkins is being brought in by the airport. This causes a problem for Greg and the team which is increased when Agent Semple arrives asking Greg how they are going to get the prisoner out and to the hospital without going through the crowd.

3. As the team work out a plan to get Wilkins to the car to get him to the hospital they are shot at by Walter who hits Wordy leaving the team shocked however then the training kicks up Sam, and Ed return fire. As Walter runs the team tries to regroup however Semple runs after Walter with no bad up, as Sam and Ed go to follow Greg orders Ed to stay with the prisoner leaving Sam to go after Agent Semple by himself.

4. Sam finds Semple cornering Walter but in an attempt to get away Walter throws a concussion grenade making Sam to throw himself on top of it to save Semple who isn’t wearing body armour. Sam gets taken hostage by Walter and as the rest of the team work out how to get him back and not risk the prisoner as Walter is demanding Wilkins for Sam’s life. During his time with Walter Sam learns that he is a soldier who was in the Sudan when his daughter was killed.

5. Walter holds Sam with a frag grenade and threatens to set it off unless ‘someone has got a better opinion’ giving Greg the hint that he is working with someone else. Ed who knows that Sam’s body armour wouldn’t save him needs to work out a plan without risking the other members of the team.

6. After the standoff with Walter Ed is able to use a slug that freezes around Walter’s hand stopping the grenade from being dropped and in turn save Sam. As Greg questions Walter Sam mentions that ‘this isn't the sudan’ which quickly makes Greg put things together in his head and that it was in fact Walter and Semple who were behind the events and that she only helped them so she could get to Wilkins. Also Semple had only offered her help when she learnt the true danger that Walter had put Sam in, an officer who had risked his life for hers. Greg quickly tells the team that it wasn't the head of security but the agent they were working with and quickly sends Wordy and Donna to go back to the prisoner only to find him missing.

7. Wordy and Donna soon find Semple who is holding her weapon at Wilkins who she has already shot once, Greg soon arrives and tries to talk Semple into surrendering however Semple has already made up her mind and when she tries to kill Wilkins DOnna is shots and kills Semple. Greg turns to Donna who is still in shock over what she has just done. Greg helps her by lowering her weapon for her.

8. During debriefing Greg sums up the whole event and then asks Donna if she is ok, telling her that they have a saying that ‘just because you do the right thing doesn't mean you have to feel good about it’ his quote is what Donna who is feeling upset that she had to kill another cop. She also says what Wordy had told her before, that her hands are clean. However soon after the audience is shown that Donna isn’t find about what she has done and breaks down in tears.

EditingThis shot Rev shot has been used to show the conversation between Ed and Wordy the team talk about how they can prank the newest member of the team. The way that this scene has been put together shows the friendship that these characters have with each other and that the team in itself is like a family unit. For the audience this scene shows the humour behind the officers that have a very rough and dangerous job and for this reason it gives the drama a realist feeling to it. These two characters are both in a shallow focus keeping the audience's attention on the character’s face to see their emotion but also the friendship between them.

Parallel editing has been used throughout this episode because the team breaks up into small teams to get different jobs done during the episode however the main parallel is of Sam and Walter and Greg. As Walter holds Sam hostage in a different part of the airport waiting till for any sign of Wilkins so he can kill the man that murdered his daughter, Greg is trying to understand how this all happened. By speaking to the head of security he has a feeling that someone had to tip off not just the press but also Walter of Wilkins presents at the airport to plan the attack. This troubles him and the audience as they are to work out who is Walter working with in the attack and what does this all mean for Sam.

CameraThe establishing shots in the beginning of the episode gives the audience key information about where the action is going to take place but also makes them think about what type of call would the SRU be called to at an airport.

This low angle shot on Greg has been used to show that he is in charge of the situation that the team are facing and that it is his job to get Sam out of here alive if he can. This angle also helps to show the real concern that he has for Sam's life and as team one is his family he care very much about them. By working with his angle it also shows that Greg doesn't really know how this is going to work as it shows the audience the worry that he is feeling.

Tracking shots are used to follow the action in a scene, this tracking shot has been used to allow the audience to know where Ed is coming from and how they have silently moved around Sam and Walter so Ed can get a better shot that would save Sam’s life if Walter was to drop the grenade. This scene shows also the way that Ed is also risking his life as he needs to get close to Walter for the round to work and to stop Walter from killing himself and Sam. This shows the close friendship that remains within the team and that they would risk their lives for each other mirrors the real life friendship that happens within the police force, and that officers will be willing to risk each their own lives for others.

SoundDiegetic sound of the airport has been used even before the audience see the true master shot location of the call in the foreshadowing scene. This sounds makes the audience think quickly that it might have something to do with planes and as the next cut shows an airport, it comes clear to them that that is indeed the location. Throughout the whole episode, airport and plane sounds are played to give the realist feel to the episode that it is need happening in at working airport.

As Sam throws himself on top of a concussion grenade the blast of that grenade is past through the mic that all SRU officers wear, this high pitch sound is highlighted in the scene where the audience see that the sound is high pitched affecting all the team. This increases the tension of the scene as the audience has already seen the foreshadowing event so they know that Sam isn’t that badly hurt but they don’t know what has happened to him but also they can relate to the characters as they start to worry about how badly Sam is injured and if Sam’s kidnapper has any more grenades on him, threatening the lives of Sam or civilians.

Lighting In the scene of Walker’s ex wife Wendy speaks about her daughter she is lit with high key lighting showing that she is trying to get on with her life after her daughter was killed. This gives a sense to the audience that she is trying to rebuild a piece of her life, but because his he wants to heal and by speaking to a group of people who could understand what type of loss she is feeling she is starting to let go of her pain and move on with her life. This in itself makes the audience understand that she is looking to a brighter future to what she is feeling now.

On the other hand, outside the room Walter is set in low lighting looking to the bright room to which his ex-wife is speaking. This tells the audience that he is very much still grieving for his daughter and is in a very dark mind set. Which the audience later learns that he wants to kill Peter Wilkins that killed his daughter and in turn takes a darker path when he holds Sam (member of the SRU) hostage with a grenade, which he says that he will let drop if he doesn't get Wilkins.

Mise en sceneAs this is a police series, it is important that the actions, speech and uniforms all match up with the Canadian Metropolitan Police Force as this is the location of the series. Even though the SRU is a fictional unit, they have remained true to the Canadian Metropolitan Police Force rules and training.

The uniform of the SRU was designed similar to the real SWAT of the Canadian Police Force to remain true to the police rules and made the show real for the audience. By including the correct police codes and speech it allows the audience to believe that these events can truthly happen to real life officers.

Foreshadowing OpeningThe foreshadowing opening is set in the form of a flash forward about what is about to happen in the episode. This grips the audience into the episode as they will start to ask questions about what happened to cause the event they have just witnessed. This also gives some information about the type of the type of call that the SRU might get called too.

To show that the episode is about to begin, a range of quick cuts happen very quickly in a sense of looking through the lense of the camera in a pale green colour to tell the audience but also to give little hints of what will happen in the episode without given too much away.

By having the amount of time before the event happens gives the audience a sense of knowing that is going on at that time of the day and also work out what might happened in those four hours that caused the event that they have witnessed.

Comparing the dramas

Flashbacks - And then there were none / The MissingFlashbacks are commonly used to give the audience pieces of information about what is happening in the story. However it is the way that they are used counts for what they make the audience fe abut the character the flashback is involved with or the drama itself. In And Then There Were None, the use of flashbacks were to give more depth to a character's story and how the audience looked at them. This helped also to the audience about thinking through who out of the ten people on the island was the killer, as it either shows what the person was saying to the group or was indeed lying to the group hiding who they truly were. On the other hand, in The Missing, the flashbacks take the audience to two different times give only a small amount of information to the audience about what happened to the character and how losing their son has changed Mrs and Mr Hughes. However both of the flashbacks are used to give the audience information about the characters or the events that have lead them to a point in their lives. This can help the audience make a judgement on the character or help them to feel how they must be feeling in that moment.

Foreshadowing - See No Evil / FlashpointForeshadowing events that are going to happen is one way to draw the audience into the drama by making them think about how this could've happened.

In See No Evil, using wide shots of the moors outside of Manchester is foreshadowing evil and horrible events that would take place there in the serial drama because of one couple who entered a killing spree leading to five young people dead. It is the way that the moors have been shot and the time of day helps to indicate and set the mood of the film is going to be dark.On the other hand, in Flashpoint the foreshadowing is used to grip the audience into the episode as it gives them the a small part of the climax of the whole episodes. It also gives information about the type of call the team is going to be called out too and gives the location of the call, this is normally done with a master shot. However both of the foreshadowing helps the audience to understand what the drama or episode is about and in a way prepares them for the action and tension they are about to feel without giving too much information away. .

Realist and Anti-RealistThe difference between Realist and Anti-realist is the point where the audience thinks that these events could possible happen or are set up in a way that they could see these events as real life. An example of a realist drama is Flashpoint, this police themed drama has been filmed and created as close to the rules and techniques of the real police force to capture the drama and the emotions that real police officers face every day. An example of Anti-realist drama is Red Dwarf, a comedy drama that followed the events of one crew member who was trapped in locked in suspended animation for having a cat only to wake up to find the crew dead. These events are set in the future with events that wouldn't happen.