GCSE Revision Guide for 2018

Transcription

1 STUDEN T BOOKLET ONE GCSE Revision Guide for 2018 Serial Television Dramas Student Booklet 1 Introduction... 2 Section 1: The Exam... 3 The AOs... 4 Exam FAQs... 4 Section 2: Prior Knowledge... 5 Media Language... 5 Genre... 5 Forms and Conventions... 9 Institution Audience The 4Cs Representation Section 3: Fact File Section 4: The Exam The Knowledge Question Task 1: The Knowledge Question 41 Task 1: Mark Scheme Exam-style Questions Section 5: The Exam Planning, Pitching and Selling Your Ideas Task 2: Plan Task 2: Mark Scheme Exam-style Questions Task 2: Plan and Sell Task 2: Mark Scheme Exam-style Questions... 54

2 Introduction This revision guide has everything you need to revise for your AQA GCSE Media Studies exam. It tells you what to expect in the exam and how to answer the different kinds of question. There are activities to help you practise each type of question, so you can use what you know to get the most marks in the exam. This guide will help you revise the key concepts and all of the media terminology you have learnt during the course. It will help you understand what you need to do when you get the preliminary material four weeks before the exam and what to do in the exam. It will show you what the examiners are looking for, and how to get better marks. The practice activities are designed to help you build your knowledge and practise your skills. The extension activities are slightly harder practice activities or require more independent work. The exam-style questions are to help you get used to understanding and answering the types of question that might come up in the exam. You can keep track of your learning in the revision tracking grid. Put the date in each section when you have finished it. Your teacher may want to sign that you have completed it. Tick whether it was easy, OK, or hard. You can use this to remind you which sections you need to revise again. When you have finished everything, go back to any hard sections and work through them again. Topic/Section Finished (date) Easy OK Hard The Exam and the Assessment Objectives Key Concepts: Genre Key Concepts: Institution Key Concepts: Audience Key Concepts: Representation The Knowledge Question The Pitch Planning The Pitch Planning and Selling Settings and Posters Storyboarding Websites Marketing Working with the Preliminary Material Ideas for the Preliminary Material Keywords / Terminology Activities GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 2

3 Section 1: The Exam Four weeks before the exam, you will get a brief the preliminary material (see Section 7). This helps you to understand what you need to revise, plan and prepare. The preliminary material will be released on Your exam will be on Check these dates with your teacher nearer the time. The exam is 1 hour and 30 minutes long. There are four tasks to complete. The AOs The exam tests these assessment objectives (AOs): AO1 Recall, select and communicate knowledge Can you recall (remember) what you have learnt about this topic? Can you select or choose what is relevant to this question? And can you communicate what you have learnt about this topic and get it down on paper in the exam? This is the most important AO and counts for half of the exam marks. AO3 Research, planning and presentation Can you show that you have researched the topic area (perhaps by finding out about institutions, watching serial television dramas, using lots of examples, and understanding who the audience is for different types of serial television dramas)? And can you show you have researched the products you are going to plan? Do you know the codes and conventions for different kinds of serial television drama, for example? Can you plan a product using the codes and conventions, perhaps coming up with ideas for a pitch? Can you present your work well? Is your writing accurate and do your drawings and designs look good? This AO is worth a quarter of the exam marks. AO4 Construct and evaluate Can you construct (design, sketch, create, label) something in the exam? This might be a storyboard, a poster, a website, or something else. You need to be able to show creative and technical skills. For example, in a storyboard, you can be creative with your ideas, but also show technical skills by drawing closeups and long shots properly, and by knowing how to describe the edits properly. Can you evaluate what you have done? This means you need to be able to explain why you have constructed your product in this way and what you think the effect of it will be for example, why did you use a close-up or a certain colour scheme, and how did you think the audience would react to this? This AO is worth a quarter of the exam marks. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 3

4 Exam FAQs I like drawing can t I just concentrate on the creative/design task? You can but you probably won t pass the exam! You will be better off dividing your time equally. No matter how fantastic your creative task is, you can t get more than 15 marks for it. I hate writing. Do I have to do the long essay question? Yes. But the exam board is always happy to reward answers in bullet points, lists, mind maps, charts, and so on. If you don t like writing paragraphs, put your ideas across in a different way! I always run out of time and I m worried I won t finish the paper does it matter? This is a common issue but you can solve this. You have 90 minutes and four tasks. This is about 20 minutes per task, with a little extra time for thinking and checking. What time does your exam start? Work out what time you should finish each question. This can keep you occupied while you are waiting for the exam to start. When you are allowed to start writing, jot down your times on the exam question paper, and stick to them! Leave a space if you haven t finished a question and come back to it at the end if you have time. I panic and forget everything I ve learnt. You don t need to panic for this exam. You have the preliminary material. This gives you a really good idea of what will be in the exam. And it gives you four weeks to plan, prepare and practise. I can t draw. Will I get marked down? No. This isn t an art exam. Your pictures just need to get your ideas across. It s your ideas and your ability to communicate them that matters. And if you have to produce a storyboard, for example, each picture is only a quick sketch there really isn t time for proper drawings. But practise your sketching can you show clearly what is in ECU, CU, MS and LS? (Look at Section 6 for help with this.) I never watch serial television dramas. Does this matter? Yes, it does. One of the key things the examiner is looking for is evidence that you have watched serial television dramas. It is better if you have watched lots of different types of drama too. You will have watched a lot in class, but keep watching and rewatching dramas right up until the exam. Keep a log (notes) about what you have watched this will help you to remember. You can use the Fact File in Section 3 of this resource. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 4

5 Media Language Genre Section 2: Prior Knowledge What is a serial television drama? It s a serial: The main purpose of a drama is to tell a story over a series of episodes. A serial has a story arc a story that runs through the entire series. It is episodic narrative it unfolds gradually over a series of episodes. Typically a serial drama will have 9 12 episodes in a series or season. The season or series does come to an end, even if another season is made. They do not go on forever like soap operas. They are not single products like films. It s on television: A television drama is made for initial distribution on television. They are not made for cinema release. Some may be broadcast over the web via Amazon Prime, Netflix and so on. They may also be downloaded or bought on DVD. However, they are made for television rather than for the cinema or radio. It s a drama: The name tells you what is in it: drama! Drama can be defined as an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances (Oxford Dictionary Online). There may be other elements of course, but the drama has to be the strongest aspect. Drama can occur in many different genres, and serial television drama can be within the following subgenres: o Crime or police procedural o Romance o Medical o Historical/costume/period o Science-fiction / alternative history o Action-adventure o Comedy GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 5

6 Practice Activity 1: Think about the drama Call the Midwife o What makes it a serial television drama? o Which genres and subgenres is it in? Subgenres and hybrid genres Genres and subgenres can merge and overlap. Dramas can use elements from more than one subgenre. Many dramas are hybrids this means they mix elements from two or more genres. Dramas Actionadventure Historical /costume Comedy War Romance Pirate adventures Historical medical Practice Activity 2: Explain why each of the following cannot be considered a serial television drama: 1. The Great British Bake Off 2. Emmerdale 3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4. The Big Bang Theory GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 6

7 Practice Activity 3: Match the dramas to the subgenres. Some dramas can go into more than one category. Dramas Call the Midwife Skins Poldark Misfits Home Fires Grimm Holby City Sherlock Peaky Blinders CSI The Dumping Ground Game of Thrones Supernatural You, Me and the Apocalypse The Night Manager Westworld Law and Order Genres and subgenres Period/costume Science fiction and alternative history Fantasy Stranger Things The Man in the High Castle And Then There Were None Vera Downton Abbey Casualty Wolfblood Once Upon a Time Suits The X-Files Doctor Who Arrow Happy Valley The Wrong Mans Line of Duty SS-GB Dramas Action-adventure Romance Medical Police/crime/ forensic Legal Children/teens Extension Activity: Looking at your completed table, which do you think are the most popular and least popular subgenres of serial television drama? Why do you think this is? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 7

8 Extension Activity: Some serial television dramas stay within one subgenre, while some draw from a range of subgenres. Which approach do you think makes for a better drama? Explain your reasons. Serial television dramas often have elements of drama and elements of romance or action-adventure, for example. Drama conventions: High tension, high emotion, arguments, sudden discoveries, falling in love, infidelity and adultery, pregnancy, ending of relationships, death, neardeath, arrests, imprisonment, revelations. Action conventions: Fights, battles, races, chases, daring escapes, explosions, high speed and lots of danger. Adventure conventions: Hero on a quest to find/rescue/save someone or something, a journey to new or exotic places. Practice Activity 4: Read the synopsis for Series 4, Episode 3 of Sherlock. Which parts are drama? Which parts are action? Which parts are adventure? Use different colours to colour code them. Synopsis: Watson turns out to be alive! (He was shot at the end of the last episode). Sherlock tricks Mycroft into revealing that they have another sibling a sister called Eurus. Eurus sends a bomb attached to a drone to Sherlock s apartment. Sherlock and Watson jump through the windows to escape it. Mycroft only just escapes. The apartment is destroyed. They hijack a fishing boat and go in disguise to Sherrinford, a maximum-security psychiatric prison on a remote island. It is slowly revealed that Eurus is running the whole asylum. She gives them puzzles to solve and tasks to do making them choose who to kill and who to save. A plane is on a crash course into London, and there is only a little girl awake on it the crew and passengers are all either asleep, drugged or dead and Sherlock only has minutes left to save her. Sherlock also finds out what Eurus did to his dog, Redbeard, when he was a child. But then it is revealed that Redbeard was not his dog but another boy, Sherlock s friend, and Eurus killed him. Sherlock realises that Eurus is lonely and that he should offer her the love and companionship she has never had. Eurus returns to the asylum. Sherlock and Watson rebuild the Baker Street apartment. Extension Activity: Why do so many serial television dramas hybridise with action and/or adventure? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 8

9 Forms and Conventions of Serial Television Dramas Conventions of serial television dramas can include: Complex characters and relationships o The main characters have to be interesting enough to hold our interest across hours of programming. o Heroes often have a dark side too, or villains have likeable qualities. o Relationships are rarely simple! This is where much of the drama comes from. Think about the relationships in soap operas in dramas they tend to be similar. o Common features are: love triangles, hidden siblings, uncertainty over who is the father of the baby, adultery and infidelity, first loves returning from the past, hidden identities, secrets and lies. Interesting settings o Often in the past, with elaborately recreated worlds using costumes, props and settings. o Even fantasy-based dramas tend to have convincing settings, such as in Grimm. o Some dramas show you the inner workings of an institution, such as a prison, hospital or school, that you would never normally see. o Some dramas are based in beautiful places and the scenery is important to the viewing pleasure of the audience, e.g Poldark, Jamaica Inn. Strong narrative lines o A main story arc runs throughout the whole season, or even over several seasons. o The plot unfolds in an episodic nature. Each episode will have its own plot lines that may get resolved, but these will be part of the bigger story arc that spans the whole series. o Most dramas follow the five stages identified by Todorov: an equilibrium (everything is normal at the beginning) a disruption (something strange happens, someone new arrives, something changes) a recognition of the disruption (a person, or the hero, realises that they have to do something) an attempt to repair (the hero tries to get things back to normal, tries to overcome the threat) a resolution (a new equilibrium is established) GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 9

10 There are usually a lot of enigma codes at the start of a drama the end of the drama solves the enigmas and provides answers to the questions. Enigma codes are the hooks or mysteries that keep the audience watching the drama. o The narrative of a drama is often organised around opposite pairs (also known as binary oppositions a theory by Lévi-Strauss). The conflict between these opposites drives the narrative forwards. The most typical binary opposition is good vs evil. The battle between good and evil is often shown through the hero vs villain. Practice Activity 5: Which conventions of serial television drama can you identify in each of these images? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 10

11 Extension Activity: Watch a range of trailers or opening sequences of serial television dramas. Identify the conventions of the genre. Practice Activity 6: Identify Todorov s five stages in the narrative in Season 1 of Poldark. Underline and label the equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair and new equilibrium. In the 1700s, Ross Poldark has been fighting in America. He is a hero. When he comes back to his home he finds his father has died and his family home and business have fallen into ruin. Even worse, Elizabeth, his childhood sweetheart and fiancée, has just got engaged to another man his cousin Francis. Ross still loves Elizabeth and he is sure she still loves him. But he realises he can t win her back and he needs to move on. He meets and marries another woman, Demelza. He starts rebuild his home and his business. He lives happily with Demelza and his Mine is in business again. Practice Activity 7: From the synopsis of Poldark, identify some enigma codes that could hook the audience in. Practice Activity 8: Binary oppositions often drive forward the narrative. What binary oppositions could work for these? Example: Men vs women Teenagers vs Teachers vs The government vs Servants vs The poor vs Pirates vs Prison guards vs Justice vs Americans vs Extension Activity: Identify a serial television drama that focuses on some of the main binary oppositions you have identified OR watch a trailer for a serial television drama and identify all the binary oppositions within it. Practice Activity 9: Look at the list of names for serial television dramas below. Create a list of rules or tips for a good serial television drama name. Breaking Bad Poldark Mad Men Peaky Blinders The Walking Dead Vera Downton Abbey Holby City SS-GB GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 11

12 Practice Activity 10: What is a title sequence for? Tick the common ingredients and effects of a good title sequence. Includes the name of the show Indicates the tone or mood of the show Creates a sense of anticipation or excitement Lists who helped make the show camera people, make-up artists, etc. Gives the name of the main actors Shows the setting and time period Gives the names of the characters Has a strong theme tune that the audience can recognise Shows some key aspects of the content of the show Now underline or highlight what you consider to be the one most important feature of a title sequence on the list. Extension Activity: Write the common elements of a title sequence from Practice Activity 10 into the following table, then watch the title sequence of three different serial television dramas. Note which features they use and how they use them. Which title sequence do you think is the most effective, and why? Title sequence element Serial television drama 1 Serial television drama 2 Serial television drama 3 GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 12

13 Institution Who Produces Dramas? Institution is all to do with the business and industry behind serial television dramas. Institutions are the companies who create, produce, distribute, show, market and regulate serial television dramas. Institution can mean: o the TV channels (e.g. Sky, the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5) o the production companies (e.g. Fremantle, Endemol) o the programmes themselves (e.g. Downton Abbey, Casualty) o production and streaming companies (e.g. Netflix, itunes, Amazon Prime) o the regulators (e.g. Ofcom) Some channels are public service broadcasters. They get money from the government, the licence fee or charities. They have to provide a service to the public. Other channels are commercial. They are run solely as businesses. They have to make money for their shareholders. They often make money by selling advertising space, or by a company sponsoring a programme. They may also sell merchandise. Streaming companies are increasingly important and dominant in the world of TV. Many people use live streaming and on-demand TV, and whole series and box set downloads. Some are pay by subscription, others are pay on demand. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 13

14 Budgets Serial television dramas are often made by the larger production companies for the bigger channels such as ITV, the BBC, HBO, AMC, etc. as they have the money available to fund these expensive dramas. Serial television dramas can be expensive because of: o costly special effects o elaborate stunt work o large casts o the big spectacle / set piece o expensive models of settings, ships, monsters, etc. o lots of different locations Low-budget dramas are also possible. Low-budget dramas usually have fewer action sequences, fewer special effects, or effects that can be created through CGI rather than by making expensive sets, props, employing stunt actors, etc. They are often filmed inside, on a set, in a few locations that can be used over and over again. Many television channels have some low-budget dramas and some bigbudget dramas. New technology has made it possible to make independent low-budget dramas too. These are usually made and shared completely without any connection to the usual production or distribution companies or TV channels, instead using cheap technology to create, upload, share and distribute dramas (iphones, laptops, the Internet ); for example, Ikea Heights. Low-budget dramas are often more unusual, innovative and risk-taking in their ideas as they do not have to please a big studio or guarantee big profits. Big stars usually only appear in big-budget dramas. Low-budget dramas cannot afford to pay them. Low-budget dramas use less famous stars, or stars who want to do something different or worthwhile. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 14

15 Marketing Institutions market their dramas to try to make sure the drama gains a bigger audience and so is more likely to be profitable for the company. Marketing can be expensive or cheap. Serial television dramas rarely have the same amount of marketing as, for example, a Hollywood blockbuster, but many of them are marketed in some form. The marketing campaign can last for days, weeks or months. It usually peaks when the drama is about to be broadcast. The marketing campaign can include: o using the actors names as a way to guarantee quality to the audience or draw in a fan base o posters on buses, billboards o a website for the drama o trailers o stars on chat shows or doing magazine interviews, etc. o social media such as Twitter and Facebook o gaining interactivity with the audience through competitions, web-based forums, chat rooms, etc. o releasing behind the scenes information, sections of footage, shots of the set o event marketing such as flash mobs or laser shows o cross-media promotion, including merchandising, websites, talk shows and radio shows, presence in the press, TV magazines, Heat magazine coverage of the premier and the red-carpet dresses and so on. All this helps to create a buzz about the drama. Big-budget dramas with a lot of money to spend on marketing can afford to use any marketing strategy. Low-budget dramas have very little money to spend on marketing. They often use online methods and even guerrilla marketing tactics. Websites are often a key marketing tool for serial television dramas. On the website, the audience can find many features to inform them about the serial television drama, to engage and entertain them, to promote the serial television drama and to make them want to watch the serial television drama. There are also opportunities to buy products and merchandise. Franchising adds to the profits of the institution. A franchise is when other programmes or merchandise (games, books and so on) are based around the same ideas as the original series. The related products will usually feature the same locations, or the same characters, or the same events. Any product which has a sequel or spin-off can be considered the start of a franchise. For example, Torchwood was a spin-off of Doctor Who. Some dramas make a lot of money from merchandising, such as Doctor Who. The merchandising makes money in its own right. It also adds to the visibility of the core brand, increasing the popularity of the programme. Many serial dramas are sold overseas. Downton Abbey and Sherlock are particularly popular and have been sold worldwide. The US is the biggest market, closely followed by Europe. China is one of the fastest growing markets. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 15

16 Practice Activity 11 Compare the different types of TV. Put yes / no / doesn t apply. PSB TV e.g. BBC Commercial TV e.g. ITV Streaming / ondemand TV e.g. Netflix Must show TV programmes at specific times Must sell advertising space Series should have cliffhangers to entice audience to watch the next episode Programmes must be a regular length, e.g. 30 mins, 60 mins Programmes need to start with a reminder of what happened in last week s episode You can choose whether to pay for the service Programme content must appeal to all licence payers, and not offend anyone Programme content must appeal to advertisers Whole season is available to watch whenever you want GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 16

17 Extension Activity Which model of TV (PSB, commercially funded or streaming) do you think will be most popular in 20 years time? Why? Extension Activity Which model of TV programming gives most freedom to programme makers? Practice Activity 12: Big budget or low budget? Put these features of a serial television drama into the correct category. stunt work outdoor sets indoor sets one location lots of different locations CGI monsters models of monsters large cast small cast lots of special effects effects done on a laptop filmed on an iphone filmed using many professional cameras famous stars unknown actors Big Budget Low Budget GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 17

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19 Practice Activity 13: Big budget or low budget? Put these features of a marketing campaign into the right category. using the actors names using the director s name posters on buses billboards websites trailers stars on chat shows magazine features magazine interviews with the stars Twitter and Facebook competitions web-based forums and chat rooms releasing behind the scenes information, sections of footage, shots of the set event marketing such as flash mobs or laser shows merchandising Heat magazine coverage of the premier and the red-carpet dresses Big Budget Low Budget Extension Activity: Compare the production values of two serial dramas such as Once Upon a Time and Misfits. Find out how much each one cost to make and decide why each one was either expensive or cheap to make. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 19

20 Extension Activity: Use the TV listings to compile a list of serial television dramas currently on TV. Name of programme Subgenre Channel Scheduling (day and time) Length of programme GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 20

21 Practice Activity 14: Case study. Find out about an influential institution. Look at the example below. Case Study: The BBC One of the biggest and most influential TV companies in the world. Launched A PSB. The original remit was to inform, educate and entertain. Hosts several serial dramas: Silent Witness, Apple Tree Yard, Taboo, Sherlock, Being Human, The Cider House Rules, etc. Complete a case study for Endemol Complete a case study for AMC Complete a case study for Ofcom GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 21

22 Extension Activity: Choose a serial television drama and research it to prepare a more detailed institution case study for this drama. Example institution case study: Cast Offs Institutional Issues Funded by the disability section of Channel 4 Broadcast on Channel 4 in the late-night slot The show was cast before the script was written. This was because there are fewer disabled actors available, so the director wanted to gather his cast before he finalised the script. A serial TV drama, a comedy in the mockumentary style Cast Offs cost 100,000 per episode. (Compare to Skins which costs 600,000 per episode. Disabled writers and some of the writers from Skins wrote Cast Offs All relatively unknown actors (so lower wage bills) Extension Activity: Find out what range of merchandise is available to buy for one of serial television drama s big franchises, such as Doctor Who or Game of Thrones. Extension Activity: Research the marketing campaigns for a big-budget drama and for a low-budget drama. Which campaign do you think was the most effective in reaching its audience? Practice Activity 15: Look at the website for Doctor Who at zzed.co.uk/ Note five features that help it to appeal to its audience. Practice Activity 16: Look at the website for The Walking Dead at zzed.co.uk/ How is it different from the website for Doctor Who? Note three features that The Walking Dead website has that the Doctor Who website does not have. Extension Activity: Which website do you think is best Doctor Who or The Walking Dead? Why? Extension Activity: Look at the websites for other serial television dramas. How do they help the audience stay connected to the shows? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 22

23 Audience Who Watches Serial Television Dramas? Different serial television dramas will have different audiences. Not everybody will watch the same drama. The audience who watches SS-GB may be very different from the audience who watches The Dumping Ground. Dramas can have a primary (main) audience and a secondary audience. For example, a serial television drama may have a primary audience of teens, but a secondary audience of the age group. The primary or main audience is often called the target audience. Audiences can be segmented different segments will watch different serial television dramas. Audience demographics, such as age, location, gender and class, can all be used to define or segment the target audience. Audience psychographics segments the audience by their attitudes and approach to life. This can also be used to segment and define the target audience. The 4Cs (Young and Rubicam) the cross-cultural consumer characteristics are psychographics, dividing audiences or consumers into seven types: mainstreamers, reformers, aspirers, succeeders, the resigned, strugglers and explorers The Uses and gratifications theory suggests the audience has four main needs. These can all be satisfied through serial television dramas: o information and surveillance o personal identity o companionship o entertainment Big-budget serial television dramas are often very mainstream they need to appeal to a very wide audience so that they can make enough money to cover their huge costs of production. Independent and low-budget dramas may be niche they appeal only to a small group of people. They are not under pressure to appeal to everyone, so they can be more unusual or take more risks. Serial television dramas sometimes inspire extreme fans. They watch and rewatch the series, they buy all the merchandise, they join fan groups online, they read and write fan fiction, they attend events, they cosplay and so on. Doctor Who and Firefly in particular have inspired very strong followings. Doctor Who has a fairly mainstream fan following, while Firefly has a more cult following. The merchandising often supports this extreme fandom, appealing to people who like to collect obsessively and to complete their collections. Extreme fans gain much of their personal identity through their fandom. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 23

24 Scheduling and audience Some serial television dramas will be broadcast after the watershed at 9pm. Others may only be seen as suitable after 9.30pm, or even in the late-night 11pm slot. The target audience and the scheduling of a show are often linked. TV companies often break down the day into segments. They use audience information to decide who is likely to be watching television at each time of day. This can seem stereotypical, but can be a useful guide. Scheduling can play an important part in the success or failure of a programme. Scheduling it at primetime (7 10pm) will help its success. In particular, scheduling it on BBC1 or ITV on Sunday night at 8pm or 9pm almost guarantees an audience at least for the first few episodes. Scheduling it on, for example, BBC2 at 11.30pm will mean it has a much smaller potential audience. This may be good for niche products or slow growers which are new and risky and may take time to build an audience. Sometimes schedulers will hammock a new programme put a new or risky programme between two strong programmes, to help it get an inherited audience of people who don t bother changing the channel after the good programme, instead waiting for the following good programme, and almost accidentally viewing the hammocked programme in between. Practice Activity 17: Look at the following list of dramas. Which demographic is likely to be the main target audience group? adults family children (5 12) teenagers Dramas Doctor Who Misfits Skins Breaking Bad The Dumping Ground The Walking Dead Downton Abbey Target audience group(s) GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 24

25 Practice Activity 18: Create a demographic profile for the following serial television dramas. Decide the age group, gender, location and interests of their typical or target viewers. The first one has been filled in for you. Audience demographics Skins Downton Abbey Sons of Anarchy Gossip Girl Your favourite drama Age group Gender Both Location Interests UK Teen culture, relationships Practice Activity 19: Scheduling. Look at the following breakdown of the day. Who is most likely to be the main audience group in each time slot? retired people the unemployed working adults preschool children and their parent(s)/carer(s) children (5 12) teens students (18+) Time slot 6am 8.30am 8.30am 12pm 12pm 3pm 3pm 6pm 6pm 9pm 9pm 12am 12am 6am Likely audience group(s) Extension Activity: Look back at your answers for the Extension Activity in the section on Institution where you compiled the scheduling information. How do you think the scheduling helps or hinders the serial television dramas to reach their target audience group? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 25

26 Practice Activity 20: Match the need with how it is fulfilled by a serial television drama. The Four Needs Information Entertainment and diversion Companionship Identity Definition Getting accustomed to the characters as if they are friends; getting involved in the plot and wanting to find out what happens to the characters; discussing serial television dramas and their issues with other people; having something to talk about with other people. Comparing yourself to people in serial television dramas; wondering how would you react in the same situation; thinking about how you feel about various issues and conflicts. Finding out about new things and new places; finding out about different historical periods or ways of living; getting behind the scenes glimpses into usually closed institutions, such as prisons or hospitals, helping you to get knowledge about the world and what is happening. Taking you away from your own problems and your own world for a while escapism to give you some excitement and drama in your life, to stop you being bored. Follow up question: Which of the Four Needs is the most important for every serial television drama? Extension Activity: Watch two serial television dramas. Each serial drama should fulfil some or all of the audience s Four Needs. Make notes of specific instances where each drama fulfils each of the Four Needs, e.g. where and how does the drama fulfil the need for information? Four Needs Information Drama 1:... Drama 2:... Entertainment and diversion Companionship Identity GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 26

27 The 4Cs The 4Cs (a theory by Young and Rubicam) is another psychographic approach to audience segmentation. Young and Rubicam suggest that everyone can essentially be divided into one of seven main types, although, of course, some of us may have elements of more than one type, some of us may change from one type to another during our lifespan, and some of us may not fit into any type! The 4Cs refers to the phrase: Cross-cultural Consumer Characteristics. Mainstreamers are people who tend to focus on family, on the tried and trusted, and on the domestic and everyday. They like to follow the crowd and do what everyone else does; this makes them feel safe. They tend to choose the most well-known brand/dramas. Reformers tend to be anti-materialistic and interested in social justice. They often reject advertising and fashion and like to make their own choices based on what is fair and good. They often support independent programmes and programmes made by minority groups. Aspirers can be seen as wannabes they tend to be materialistic and interested in appearances, celebrities, fashion and status. They will take on new fashions quickly and are often interested in whatever is trending. Succeeders are often professionals people who tend to be responsible, successful and the pillars of society. They have done well out of the status quo and like things to stay the same, and they often reward themselves with high-status expensive brands. Explorers are people who like to try new things. They are likely to be early adopters of new technology and to seek out new ideas and new approaches. Strugglers are the people who find it difficult to make ends meet. They may live disorderly or chaotic lives, and may be seen by others as victims or the dispossessed. They may rely on bingo, gambling or the lottery to change their life. They often seek escape from their problems. The resigned tend to be older people with old-fashioned or traditional values. They don t like change and can be nostalgic about the past. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 27

28 Practice Activity 21: Match the person with the type, and then with a drama type that might suit them. Some drama types could suit more than one type of person. Some people might like more than one type of drama. Person description Type Drama type A lawyer. She earns a lot of money and likes to buy nice things for herself. REFORMER Will watch the most popular drama because everyone else is watching it so it must be good. A social worker. She feels strongly about improving rights for people and animals. She is a vegetarian. A games designer. She loves trying out new technology, going to new restaurants and trying new sports. An unemployed person. She watches TV all day and plays online bingo. A retired person. She knows what she likes and she s not changing now. She thinks the modern world is dangerous and unpleasant. An office worker. She loves to follow fashion and always tries to buy what the celebrities are wearing. A part-time worker and mother. She thinks more about her children than herself. She buys the big brands because she knows she can trust them. SUCCEEDER MAINSTREAMER EXPLORER ASPIRER STRUGGLER RESIGNED Whatever drama her favourite actor is in. Might watch an old drama from years ago, or one set in the past. Doesn t like dramas about new things or ideas. Will watch dramas online and subscribes to Netflix finds regular scheduled TV a bit old-fashioned. Will watch dramas with high production values that get good reviews. Prefers the BBC as a mark of quality. Will watch dramas that are set in exotic locations, or that provide a strong sense of escapism. Looks out for unusual or independently produced dramas, or ones with a cult following. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 28

29 Extension Activity: Are you one specific type, or do you have elements of more than one type? Explain which type(s) you are, and why. Extension Activity: Watch some serial television dramas. Make notes of specific instances which could appeal to each of the types of people. Type Mainstreamer Drama name and how it could suit this type Explorer Reformer Resigned Struggler Aspirer Succeeder Extension Activity: Research and find out about the opportunities which are available for fans of Doctor Who or The Walking Dead to become involved in fan activities. Are there fan groups, conventions, websites? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 29

30 Representation How is the World Represented? Representation is how a person, place, idea or anything else is shown, or represented on screen. Dramas, like all media products, always show a biased and selective view of the world. They do not reflect reality. All representations reflect the ideas, biases and assumptions of the producers. The audience can also read the representations in a biased way, or from a particular point of view. It can be a problem if we believe the media represents reality, and if we forget that it is a constructed, created and biased view of the world. Serial television dramas often rely on stock characters (similar to a shorter version of Propp s character roles): the main hero; the sidekick; the evil villain; the victims who need saving; the authorities/experts/scientists who can be arrogant or foolish, and the hero has to fight them too. Propp s character roles: the hero, the helper, the donor, the false hero, the princess, the villain, the dispatcher. Repeated representations of groups/types of people can lead to stereotypes or one-sided views of issues or events. Representations are constructed by what a character looks like, what props or costume they have, their posture, gestures and facial expressions, and by their place in the narrative. Dramas often use stereotypes as a shorthand to communicate ideas. This is because the audience finds stereotypes (e.g. the good-looking but untrustworthy woman; the self-sacrificing mother; the daredevil teen; the brave old man) easy to recognise and easy to understand. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 30

31 It is easier for producers to present a stereotype rather than a more complex character. People who don t fit the stereotype sometimes aren t represented in dramas they become invisible. Men are often stereotyped as active and important for what they do, and women are often stereotyped as passive and important for how they look. Some institutions, particularly PSBs, try to avoid using stereotypes. They have a remit to provide diverse programming that will appeal to all types of people. They may try to move beyond gender, race and age stereotypes. Countertypes can challenge traditional stereotypes and offer new ways of representing people. For example, Helen Mirren played one of the first female detective inspectors in Prime Suspect in She was a countertype then. Now it is much more common to have a female in the role of lead detective. Heroes and villains are often stereotypes. Villains tend to be evil, cowardly, less intelligent, charismatic, easily tricked, and sometimes they are old, ugly and foreign. Heroes tend to be resourceful, strong, brave, determined, good. They also tend to be male, white and young or middle-aged. This reinforces the idea that good-looking people are good and trustworthy and ugly people are evil or untrustworthy. Practice Activity 22: Identify the stock characters in Doctor Who. The person or people who need saving. HERO Humans Tries to prevent the hero from achieving his or her goal; often works on the side of evil. Usually the main character, the good guy, their struggle or journey drives the narrative. HERO S SIDEKICK VILLAIN Doctor Who Clara Helps the hero, acts as backup or support. VICTIM Missy GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 31

32 Practice Activity 23: Identify the stock characters in Poldark. The judges and rich men who want the poor to suffer. The poor miners and fisherpeople who are starving. George Warleggan who hates Ross and will do anything to beat him. Ross Poldark, who stands up for the rights of the poor. The doctor who helps Ross Poldark. Hero Sidekick Authorities Villain Victims Extension Activity: In many serial television dramas it is hard to identify the stock characters because they overlap or change over time. Can you think of a serial television drama which does not use the stock characters and explain how and why it is different? Practice Activity 24: Look at the comments about the representations in this image. Do you agree with the interpretations? Can you add anything? Dark colour palette could suggest he is evil or untrustworthy. His facial expression is unsmiling he could be angry or annoyed. Dressed smartly with a tie is he a businessman? Old-fashioned clothes and beard suggests this is a costume or period drama. He is looking at his watch this has connotations of being impatient, or that he is a busy man with no time to waste. Clothes are smart and expensive looking perhaps he is wealthy. Overall impressions suggest he might be a villain. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 32

33 Practice Activity 25: Make comments about the representations in this image. Practice Activity 26: Make comments about the representations in this image. Speculate about what kind of narrative and setting the image suggests too. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 33

34 Extension Activity: Consider the representations in the dramas you have studied. Sketch one or more of the characters and make annotations, commenting on the representation. Practice Activity 27: Stereotypes of gender. Look at the list of qualities. Put the qualities/actions you stereotypically associate with men in one box, and the qualities/actions you stereotypically associate with women in the other box. caring brave strong fearless daring emotional sensitive cries fights cheeky determined rebellious follows the rules afraid good with technology prepared to die for the cause a lone wolf / maverick needs to be rescued wants to fall in love Man Woman Following the stereotypes, are men or women more likely to be cast as the hero in a drama? GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 34

35 Practice Activity 28: Some gender stereotypes can feel outdated now. The audience doesn t always want to see strong men and weak women. It doesn t reflect the world we live in or the people we are. Some dramas try to be more up to date, or to reflect a wider range of character types. They use countertypes, and gradually these become the new normal. Consider Mary and John Watson in Sherlock. Which of the qualities would you choose to describe each of them? caring brave strong fearless daring emotional sensitive cries fights cheeky determined rebellious follows the rules afraid good with technology prepared to die for the cause a lone wolf / maverick needs to be rescued wants to fall in love Mary John Extension Activity: Consider three different serial television dramas. Explain how each one uses stereotypes or countertypes of gender and whether you think this appeals to its audience group or not. GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 35

36 Section 3: Fact File Use this section to create fact files about three serial television dramas. Make sure the three dramas you choose are dramas you know well, and are quite different from each other. Be prepared to watch these dramas over and over again! Put key details / notes / examples in each box. Drama 1 name: Genre, subgenre and/or hybrid genres Settings (time and place) Main narrative (story arc of series) Plot of one episode in Todorov s five stages Main enigma codes Binary oppositions The hero The villain GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 36

37 Stock characters Stereotypes Countertypes Gender representations Audience demographics Audience psychographics Uses and gratifications Scheduling Budget Marketing campaign details Website details GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 37

38 Drama 2 name: Genre, subgenre and/or hybrid genres Settings (time and place) Main narrative (story arc of series) Plot of one episode in Todorov s five stages Main enigma codes Binary oppositions The hero The villain Stock characters GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 38

39 Stereotypes Countertypes Gender representations Audience demographics Audience psychographics Uses and gratifications Scheduling Budget Marketing campaign details Website details GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 39

40 Drama 3 name: Genre, subgenre and/or hybrid genres Settings (time and place) Main narrative (story arc of series) Plot of one episode in Todorov s five stages Main enigma codes Binary oppositions The hero The villain Stock characters GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 40

41 Stereotypes Countertypes Gender representations Audience demographics Audience psychographics Uses and gratifications Scheduling Budget Marketing campaign details Website details GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 41

42 Section 4: The Exam The Knowledge Question Task 1: The Knowledge Question This mainly tests AO1: Recall, select and communicate knowledge. Can you recall (remember) what you have learnt about this topic? Can you select or choose what is relevant to this question? And can you communicate what you have learnt about this topic and get it down on paper in the exam? This is the most important AO and counts for half of the exam marks. This AO is tested in the knowledge question AND in all the other questions if you don t know anything about the topic, it will show in all your planning and practical work too! Task 1 also tests AO3: Research, planning and presentation. Can you show that you have researched the topic area? You can show this by finding out about institutions, watching serial television dramas, using lots of examples, understanding who the audience is for various dramas, etc. Can you present your work well? Is your writing accurate and do your drawings and designs look good? To do well in this question you need to have a good knowledge of the topic (all the revision points in Section 2 above) AND be able to apply this to serial television dramas you must be able to give actual examples from serial television dramas. Sometimes the questions have bullet points. Use these to organise your answer write a paragraph or two for each bullet point. If the question makes a bold statement Serial television dramas are a dying genre, for example argue for and against it. Show you have your own opinions and ideas! GCSE AQA 2018 Revision Guide: Serial Television Dramas Page 42