F2F KEDUAF2F KEDUAKOB3431 PENULISAN SKRIP

UNIT-UNIT F2F 2UNIT-UNIT F2F 2Unit 5 Pendekatan penulisan

skrip genre drama untuk penyiaran dan filem

Unit 7 Media elektronik dan filem

Unit 8 Khalayak media elektronik dan filem

Unit 9 Jenis rancangan untuk media elektronik

PENDEKATAN PENULISAN PENDEKATAN PENULISAN SKRIP GENRE DRAMA SKRIP GENRE DRAMA UNTUK PENYIARAN DAN UNTUK PENYIARAN DAN FILEMFILEM

UNIT 5

Basic Ideas of Drama Script Basic Ideas of Drama Script Writing: Conflict in DramaWriting: Conflict in Drama

All drama depends on conflict. That is not the same as saying that drama depends on people shouting at each other.

Generally speaking, people shouting at each other should be avoided.

Basic Ideas of Drama Script Basic Ideas of Drama Script Writing: Conflict in DramaWriting: Conflict in DramaAt its most basic, conflict means that Character

A wants something to happen, and Character B wants something different to happen.

This might mean anything from: ◦ A murderer wants to escape – a detective

wants to arrest him. ◦ A schoolmaster wants promotion – another

wants to sabotage him. ◦ A girl wants a man – another girl wants him

as well◦ A girl wants a man – another man wants the

girl◦ A husband wants sandwiches for breakfast –

his wife wants him to have high-fibre muesli.

What Does Conflict Mean?What Does Conflict Mean?

It can mean:A problem to be solvedAn obstacle to overcomeA threat to be handledA decision to be madeA challenge to be met

Basic Ideas of Drama Script Basic Ideas of Drama Script Writing: Dramatic TensionWriting: Dramatic TensionYou must always have something on

screen that holds the interest of the viewer. It might be one of the following:A development of the plot – our

attention is held because we have become involved in the characters and the story, and we want to know what will happen next.

Emotion – happiness, shock, tears. It is distressing but true that people are fascinated by other people’s emotional reactions.

Humour – an interlude involving a humorous theme might not move the plot forward or reveal anything new, but providing we laugh all can be forgiven.

Visual interest – by providing movement, rapid cuts from location to location, interesting locations, people running, vehicles moving at speed. What we see on the screen can help sustain dramatic tension.

Things That Lose Dramatic Things That Lose Dramatic TensionTensionScenes or fragments of dialogue that do not

go anywhere, and do not relate to the story or plot.

Scenes that repeat themselves and fail to move the story on.

Characters who fail to react in a logical manner. To a considerable extent viewers look to the reactions of characters in a play in order to work out their own reactions.◦E.g.: If a woman hits a man in a restaurant

and nobody pays any attention, and the man carries on eating his food, then there will be no dramatic tension. But if the entire restaurant falls silent, and the man stares in cold fury and the woman begins to shake – then there is dramatic tension.

Script Formats for Television Script Formats for Television Dramas and ComediesDramas and Comedies

Script written for television dramas, whether shot on film or tape, almost always use a quasi-film format. Although film script formats aren’t totally standardized, in general they follow these principles:

Names of characters (MARY) are ALL CAPS.All important information (SCENE B) is ALL CAPS.Visuals (DROP HER GLOVE) are ALL CAPS.Dialogue (Hello, Ramon. How’s It going?) is in upper and lower case.Omit directions, such as cut to or face to black.

Make your script as easy to read as possible – use double – or triple-space, wide margins, lots of white areas.

SCENE ASCENE A

INTERIOR OF UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE. WALKING TOWARD THEIR CAR ARE MARIA, AND FRED. MARIA IS CARRYING A LARGE SHOPPING BAG. RAMON HOLDS LARGE HEAVY BOX.

RAMONWow! This box weighs a ton.

RAMON STOPS, AND ROUGHLY PLACES BOX ON THE HOOD OF A JAGUAR

MARIACareful, Ramon – that’s something yuppy’s sixty-thousand-dollar toy!

RAMONHey, what’s the problem….

MARIA(INTERRUPTING) Ramon! Some guy’s in the back seat!

FREDNot to worry – he’s asleep

MARIA

(MOVING CLOSER TO CAR) Better take another look – he isn’t breathing!

Types of Stories: Theme and Types of Stories: Theme and MeaningMeaning

Cinderella – unrecognised virtue recognised at last; the dream come true.

Tristan – love triangles. The trouble which follows falling in love with an unavailable other.

Romeo and Juliet – boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. They do or do not end up together again.

Endings Endings Some people find forming endings a

difficult matter, perhaps even being reluctant to set out on the story telling journey at all until they feel sure they know how their tale will resolve.

Often, if you follow the energy of a piece, happily complicating your protagonist’s life and driving them ever onwards against the odds in pursuit of their goal, the natural conclusion to the drama will probably suggest itself. If you do find yourself wrestling with how the story should resolve, it is always important to play with different possibilities.

Try out several different kinds of moment and try turning them on their head. What if… it all happened exactly the opposite way around? What then?

Narratives often have a deliberate circularity, ending up to all appearances with an identical moment to the one which started the piece. Sometimes the character(s) in question are discovered back where they were first introduced, but having undergone a major life-change. Sometimes, as in that framing device in Titanic, we are taken back to the same character(s) in the same setting as the start, but now knowing much more about them. In Titanic, one more significant action is going to unfold which will resolve matters for Rose and for the audience. Sometimes this circularity comes in the form of an echo. Where we may have seen one character in a particular setting, we now see another in the same situation.

Whatever you choose, if the ending is a closed one, fully resolving the narrative tension and completing the protagonist’s journey, then it should neatly sums up as ‘relief and release’.

Endings also can fall broadly into one of two groups leaving the central character(s) isolated or embraced (actually or metaphorically). He goes on to list several more kinds of ending including: the fantasy triumph ending – it all turns out well, but

only in the hero’s mind; the blessing – of love, friendship, or the discovery of a

common bond; solitude – characters walking off into the sunset; long shot – a retreat from the setting and the action

allowing for us to put everything into perspective.

ScenesScenesCommon to both TV and film

scripting is the need to clearly define each scene. Newcomers to drama writing are often confused as to what a new scene is. Very simply:

a new scene is a change of time or place or both.

SceneSceneEach and every scene has a scene

heading. This is not merely some stylistic affectation. Important information is included in this line. ‘Int.’ and ‘Ext.’ are short for ‘Interior’ and ‘Exterior’. These are followed by the exact location of the scene. This is followed by the time the scene happens. In some scripts this is expressed simply as ‘Day’ or ‘Night’. In some, you may find the exact time of day or night specified. All off this information is directly relevant to the lighting of any scene.

Typographical Typographical conventionsconventionsIn TV drama scripts, all the

action, as well as the characters’ names, are written in upper case. They may or may not be centred and may or may not be followed by colon – take your pick.

Numbering scenesNumbering scenesBetween first draft and shooting

script most scripts go through several if not many changes. For this reason alone, whilst it is essential to number pages (try having a phone conversation about your script without page numbers to refer to) it can be quite counter-productive to number scenes before you reach a final draft.

Making scenes, building Making scenes, building sequencessequencesA half hour episode of British soap

opera will, on average, contain somewhere around 15 to 20 scenes.

Usually these will concern themselves with three separate stories (possibly a much less significant fourth story element), one of which will be the major point of audience interest. These slices of separate story are told in intermingled sequences of four or five scenes.

MEDIA ELEKTRONIK MEDIA ELEKTRONIK DAN FILEMDAN FILEM

Unit 7

Media ElektronikMedia ElektronikRadio TelevisyenFilem

FM Radio and AM RadioFM Radio and AM Radio◦ FM/AM technologies

A means of radio broadcasting. Terrestrial radio stations broadcast using one of 2 technologies, AM or FM

AM stands for amplitude modulation, and FM stands for frequency modulation

Frequency modulation (FM)

◦ FM radio was invented by Edwin Armstrong during 1930s.

◦ Utilizing the band between 88 and 108 megahertz◦ FM signals are marked by high levels of clarity,

but rarely travel more than eighty miles from the sites of transmission

FM Radio and AM RadioFM Radio and AM Radio

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

◦Utilizing the band between 540 and 1,700 megahertz.

◦AM signals are prone to frequent static interference, but their high powered signals allow them to travel great distances, especially at night.

◦Lists of AM radio in the U.S.◦WAAM (1600 AM)◦WAAV (980 AM)◦WAAX (570 AM)

Commercial Radio Stations vs Commercial Radio Stations vs Noncommercial Radio StationsNoncommercial Radio Stations

In terms of funding, there are two types of radio stations:

◦Commercial stations◦Noncommercial stations

Commercial stationsThe vast majority of stations are commercial

stations.These stations support themselves financially by

selling time on their airwaves to advertisers.

Commercial Radio Stations vs Commercial Radio Stations vs Noncommercial Radio Stations Noncommercial Radio Stations (cont…)(cont…)

Noncommercial stationsDo not receive financial support from

advertisers in the traditional sense of airing commercials.

Most noncommercial stations are located at the very left of the FM band (between 88 and 92 MHz).

Eg.: - Putra fm (90.7 FM) - UMalaya Radio - Radio USM

Defining Features of RadioDefining Features of Radio

Radio is portableRadio is supplementalRadio is universalRadio is selective

Defining Features of RadioDefining Features of Radio Radio is portable

◦Some radio sets, like the Walkman, are small and personal. Radio sets are easily transported and go everywhere - the beech, sporting events, jogging trails, the workplace. Car radios provide news end entertainment to commuters on their way to and from work. In fact, it is hard to find place where radio cannot go.

Radio is supplemental◦Most radio listening occurs while we are doing

something else—driving, working, studying, falling asleep, waking up, cleaning, and so on. Radio rarely is the prime focus of our attention; it provides an audio background for our activities.

Defining Features of RadioDefining Features of RadioRadio is universal

◦Virtually every household has at least one radio. In fact, theaverage house has about six. Almost every car equipped with a radio. In an average day, about 75 percent of Americans listen to radio.

Radio is selective◦Much like the magazine industry, the radio

industry has become a niche medium. Radio stations choose formats that attract a small, narrowly defined audience that is attractive to advertisers.

Station FormatsStation Formats Most modern stations can offer an amazingly precise

description of the kind of listener they want their format to attract.

Three basic categories of radio formats: music, ethnic, and news/talk

Popular music formats: Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) Adult Contemporary (AC) Urban Country

◦ Other formats:◦ Beautiful music

◦ Album and Progressive rock

◦ Modern rock

◦ Jazz, classical, country, and all-news format

Station Formats (Cont…)Station Formats (Cont…)The Music Format Music is the largest category In 2013, the 2 most listened-to formats are:

◦ Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR)Also called “Top 40”Features a small playlist of hits in a fast rotationThe format is aimed at 16 – 24 age groupArtists whose songs are frequently played on CHR stations

in 2013 included;

i. Lady Gaga – Applause

ii. Selena Gomez – Come and Get It

iii.Justin Timberlake – Mirror

Station Formats Station Formats (cont…)(cont…)

◦ Adult Contemporary (AC)The main appeal of the AC format is to 25 to 49-year old

females.Play the “hits of the 80s, 90s, and today” with a blend of about

80 percent oldies and 20 percent current tunes such as:

i. Katty Perry – Roar

ii. Muse – Time is Running Out

iii.Exist – Mengintai Dari Tirai Kamar

iv.Maroon 5

v. Celline Dion

Station Formats (cont…)Station Formats (cont…)

Other top formats:

─ Urban Showcases a large number of African American artists and plays

rap, hip-hop, and dance music. Aimed at city dwellers but has attracted listeners in rural areas

as well. In 2013, some prominent urban artists are:

i. Jay-Z

ii. Ne Yo

iii. Kanye West

Station Formats (cont…)Station Formats (cont…)

Other top formats:

─ Country Traditional country stations – play mainstream classic, twang

country music such as: Kenny Rogers – Through the Years

Contemporary country stations- play more current artists who might use synthesizers and other modern sounds for example:

Taylor Swift – Sweet 22 The audiences are mainly comprises adults from 35 to 55.

Station Formats Station Formats (cont…)(cont…)

Other formats:

◦Beautiful musicPlay opera music genre. Comes from the

composer such as:i. Ludwig Van Beethoven ii. Vivaldi, Mozart iii.Sarah Brightman◦Album and Progressive rockScorpion, Bon JoviMuse – Starlight

Station Formats (cont…)Station Formats (cont…)

◦ Modern rock Attracts 18 to 34-years old, in about equal

proportions of men and women

◦ Jazz, classical, country, and all-news format

Generally attract an older crowd, with most of their audience coming from the 45-and-over age group

Station Formats (cont…)Station Formats (cont…)News/Talk FormatBecoming more and more popular on the AM bandNational, regional, and local news reports are

broadcast periodically throughout the day.Sports, traffic, weather, editorials, public-affairs

programs, and an occasional feature round out the programming day.

Ethnic FormatsThese formats aim for special audiences that are

defined primarily by race and nationality.E.g.: German, Italian, French

TODAY’S TELEVISION INDUSTRYTODAY’S TELEVISION INDUSTRY

Divided into three domains:Divided into three domains:◦TV broadcastingTV broadcasting◦Cable servicesCable services◦Satellite servicesSatellite services

TV BROADCASTINGTV BROADCASTING

The most popular domain of the The most popular domain of the three. It’s signals are transmitted three. It’s signals are transmitted from towers owned by local from towers owned by local stations on frequencies allocated stations on frequencies allocated to them.to them.

People can receive the signals People can receive the signals without chargewithout charge by simply turning by simply turning on a television set. on a television set.

TV BROADCASTINGTV BROADCASTING Most of the stations are what people in the TV industry Most of the stations are what people in the TV industry

call call commercialcommercial; the rest are ; the rest are noncommercial.noncommercial.

Commercial stations:Commercial stations:

◦Consists of all those local stations whose Consists of all those local stations whose income is derived from selling time on income is derived from selling time on their airwaves to advertisers.their airwaves to advertisers.

Noncommercial stations:Noncommercial stations:◦ Consists of those stations whose income is derived from Consists of those stations whose income is derived from

sources other than the sale of advertising time. sources other than the sale of advertising time. ◦ The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) serves as a The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) serves as a

network for noncommercial stations.network for noncommercial stations.

CABLE AND SATELLITE CABLE AND SATELLITE SERVICESSERVICESCable networks – program channels offered Cable networks – program channels offered

by a cable television system to its by a cable television system to its

customers in addition to what is broadcast customers in addition to what is broadcast

over the airwaves in their geographic area.over the airwaves in their geographic area.

Cable television Cable television refers to businesses that refers to businesses that

provide programming to subscribers via a provide programming to subscribers via a

wire (historically a coaxial cable, but wire (historically a coaxial cable, but

increasingly a fiber optic line). increasingly a fiber optic line). Cable Cable

subscribers subscribers rent set-top boxes or use cable rent set-top boxes or use cable

“smart cards” to receive their programs.“smart cards” to receive their programs.

DEFINING FEATURES OF DEFINING FEATURES OF MOTION PICTURESMOTION PICTURES

The most noticeable characteristic of The most noticeable characteristic of motion pictures is their potential cost. No motion pictures is their potential cost. No other media product - book, magazine, TV other media product - book, magazine, TV series, CD costs as much as motion series, CD costs as much as motion pictures.pictures.

Partly because commercial motion picture Partly because commercial motion picture making is so expensive, the industry has making is so expensive, the industry has become dominated by big conglomerates.become dominated by big conglomerates.

Film has a strong aesthetic dimension. Of Film has a strong aesthetic dimension. Of all the media discussed in this unit, film is all the media discussed in this unit, film is the one most discussed as an art form.the one most discussed as an art form.

Going to the movies continues to be a Going to the movies continues to be a social experience.social experience.

DEFINING FEATURES OF DEFINING FEATURES OF MOTION PICTURES: MOTION PICTURES: POTENTIAL COSTPOTENTIAL COST

Sumber: http://www.finas.gov.my/index.php?mod=industry&sub=filemmalaysia

Production in the Motion Production in the Motion Picture IndustryPicture Industry

The MajorsThe MajorsThe companies that people most The companies that people most

associate with Hollywoodassociate with Hollywood

Production in the Production in the MalaysianMalaysian Motion Picture Motion Picture IndustryIndustry

ASTRO SHAW SDN. BHD. / ASTRO SHAW SDN. BHD. / WOOHOO PICTURES SDN WOOHOO PICTURES SDN BHD. BHD. (The Journey)(The Journey)

ASTRO SHAW / DOUBLE ASTRO SHAW / DOUBLE VISION SDN. BHD. (VISION SDN. BHD. (Ombak Ombak Rindu)Rindu)

FILMSCAPE SDN. BHD. FILMSCAPE SDN. BHD. ((Juvana)Juvana)

MIG PRODUCTION MIG PRODUCTION ((Nangkung, Adnan Sempit)Nangkung, Adnan Sempit)

TAYANGAN UNGGUL SDN. TAYANGAN UNGGUL SDN. BHD. BHD. (Hantu Kak Limah (Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah)Balik Rumah)

SUHAN MOVIES SUHAN MOVIES (Balistik) (Balistik)

TALL ORDER PRODUCTION TALL ORDER PRODUCTION SDN. BHD. (SDN. BHD. (Lemak Kampung Lemak Kampung Santan)Santan)

ANIMASIA STUDIOS SDN. BHD. ANIMASIA STUDIOS SDN. BHD. (Bola Kampung The Movie)(Bola Kampung The Movie)

KRU INTERNATIONAL SDN. KRU INTERNATIONAL SDN. BHD (BHD (Hikayat Merong Hikayat Merong Wahangsa)Wahangsa)

SKOP PRODUCTIONS SKOP PRODUCTIONS (KL (KL Gangster)Gangster)

PRIMEWORKS STUDIOS SDN. PRIMEWORKS STUDIOS SDN. BHD. (GRAND BRILLIANCE) BHD. (GRAND BRILLIANCE) (Lagi-lagi Senario)(Lagi-lagi Senario)

FILM PRODUCTIONFILM PRODUCTION

Film production firms are involved Film production firms are involved in coming up with story ideas, in coming up with story ideas, finding scriptwriters, hiring the finding scriptwriters, hiring the

personnel and ensure the work is personnel and ensure the work is carried out on time and on carried out on time and on

budget.budget.

FILM PRODUCTIONFILM PRODUCTION: PRE PRODUCTION: PRE PRODUCTION

GETTING THE IDEAGETTING THE IDEA• An idea for a movie can come from An idea for a movie can come from

virtually anywhere – e.g.: Television virtually anywhere – e.g.: Television shows, Books, Short stories, Newspaper shows, Books, Short stories, Newspaper articles.articles.

GETTING THE STARSGETTING THE STARS• When a production firm purchases a When a production firm purchases a

script, script, its executives typically have certain its executives typically have certain actors and directors in mind.actors and directors in mind.

Getting the Idea: TV Getting the Idea: TV ProgramProgram

Mr. Bean’s Holiday

Getting the Idea: ComicGetting the Idea: Comic

Batman (1991)Superman (1978)

Spiderman 2

Getting the Idea: Video Getting the Idea: Video GameGame

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

FILM PRODUCTIONFILM PRODUCTION: PRE : PRE PRODUCTION (CONT…)PRODUCTION (CONT…)

GETTING THE MONEYGETTING THE MONEY• The costs to make a movie varies over The costs to make a movie varies over

a wide range:a wide range:– from over $100 million dollarsfrom over $100 million dollars– Between $50 and $100 million Between $50 and $100 million

dollarsdollars– to less than $50 million dollars.to less than $50 million dollars.

FILM PRODUCTIONFILM PRODUCTION: : PRODUCTIONPRODUCTION

• This This is THE ACTUAL is THE ACTUAL stage in MAKING stage in MAKING MOVIES.MOVIES.

• The movie making process involves a The movie making process involves a large number of people. To get an idea of large number of people. To get an idea of how many, how many, watch all the credits watch all the credits at the end at the end of the movie you watch.of the movie you watch.

• The cost: a moderate-budget film can cost The cost: a moderate-budget film can cost $400.000-500.000 per day.$400.000-500.000 per day.

• The shooting schedule: the average for a The shooting schedule: the average for a typical film is about 70 daystypical film is about 70 days

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION : POST : POST PRODUCTIONPRODUCTION

This phase This phase begins after the filming has begins after the filming has been completed. A film editor, working been completed. A film editor, working with the director, decides where close-with the director, decides where close-ups should be placed, what angles ups should be placed, what angles scenes would be shown from, and how scenes would be shown from, and how long each scene should last.long each scene should last.

The special effects will be added during The special effects will be added during this phase.this phase.

AUDIENCE FOR AUDIENCE FOR ELECTRONIC MEDIAELECTRONIC MEDIA

UNIT 8

Why audience is Why audience is important?important?When choosing an audience to

target with TV advertising, advertisers can define it by gender, social class and age at a national or regional level.

Audience categoryAudience category

An audience category is a classification of the viewing audience into a specific group. The following audiences are sometimes referred to as main categories - Homes, Individuals, Adults, Men, Women, Children and Housewives. Sub-categories are more detailed breakdowns of the main categories - by age groups, social grades etc.

DemographicsDemographicsDemographics are simply the

characteristics of people: age and gender, for example. Other attributes such as race, religion, marriage status, educational level, profession, and income are also demographics.

DemographicsDemographicsPublic TV is not singularly

targeted at the 18-to-49-year-old female, as the commercial networks are. One of the distinctive elements of public TV is the variety of programming available. This, public TV has an inherent potential to attract different demographics with the broad spectrum of programs.

DemographicsDemographicsDaypart DifferencesWhile the potential for

diversity exists in the public TV schedule, dayparts tend to have similar demographic skews at public TV stations around the country. While local schedule variations may cause some straying from the archetype, the dominant public TV demographic in daytime (7 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday) is usually 2-to-5-year-old children, who are in the audience to watch early morning, noon-hour and early afternoon kiddy programming.

DemographicsDemographicsDuring the rest of the day, many stations

program instructional TV for school consumption -- the audience consists of 6-to-11-year-olds and their mothers or fathers; and an over 50-year-old, heavily 65-plus female public affairs audience for the news programming.Prime time also has an older audience, but it contains viewers of different ages that arrive to watch specific programs. Late fringe, by custom, has a younger public TV audience -- 18 to 49, both males and females, depending on local schedule options

DemographicsDemographicsDifferent programming attracts

different audiences. It is clear that different programs attract different demographics.

TV3 & TV9 VIEWERSHIP SEP TV3 & TV9 VIEWERSHIP SEP 20142014TV3 and TV9, conquered the highest daily

viewership across primetime segments, with a peak of 6.9 million viewers during the Buka Puasa Primetime from 4.00pm to 8.00pm.

Maintaining their reputation as the most-watched TV channels among the Malay audience, TV3 and TV9 successfully reached out to 78 per cent (10 million) of the overall Malay demographic in the first five days of Hari Raya. - See more at: http://www.mediaprima.com.my/pressrelease/press-release.aspx?id=240#sthash.rISPYOXE.dpuf

FILM AUDIENCE: THE GLOBAL FILM AUDIENCE: THE GLOBAL AUDIENCEAUDIENCE

THE GLOBAL AUDIENCE: For the film industry the global audience obviously

means a wider source of revenue for a single film. However, whilst technology enables the film and publicity to move around the world more freely and quickly there are certain problems that have to be considered.

Can you think of any other problems with trying to make a single film appeal to a global Audience? East is East, a British film, has been received very well in both America and France, two territories which have had a completely

different 'take' on it.

FILM AUDIENCE: THE GLOBAL FILM AUDIENCE: THE GLOBAL AUDIENCEAUDIENCE1. Global audiences do not all speak the same

language.2. Global audiences have their own cultures,

film preferences and interest in stars and genres from films made in their own countries.

3. Global audiences may see a film in very different circumstances to the ones originally

4. intended by the producers. Seeing a blockbuster on a small screen or on a large screen may elicit different responses.

JENIS RANCANGAN JENIS RANCANGAN UNTUK MEDIA UNTUK MEDIA ELEKTRONIKELEKTRONIK

UNIT 9

FILM VS TELEVISION GENREFILM VS TELEVISION GENRE Film versus television genres. There are some

important differences between film and television genres. Film genres (see list below) tend to be more general, for example, the western, action/adventure, comedy, horror, science fiction, etc., while television genres (see list below) are often specialized, for example, cooking shows, sports-talk shows, children’s animation, etc. A film that is representative of a certain film genre also tends to be self-enclosed—the conflicts are often resolved within the film, even with film sequels. In contrast, a television genre program tends to be part of a serial, in which a storyline may continue and develop or characters may evolve across different programs.

CONCEPT AND GENRECONCEPT AND GENREThe Action SeriesThe Police SeriesHospital DramaScience FictionSoap OperaSituation Comedy (Sitcoms)The Quiz Show/The Game ShowThe Celebrity Talk ShowSportsReality Television

The Action SeriesThe Action Series

• Several genres within US and UK drama focus on action rather than character. There are some obvious examples: police programmes that feature violence rather than detection, and science-fiction (Xena: Warrior Princess, US, 1995) epics.

The Police SeriesThe Police Series• For more than five decades the police

series has been one of the most popular genres on television, with some series proving so successful that they have retained a presence in the schedules for ten years or more.

• These two approaches to the police series – the ordinary uniformed policemen on the one hand, the skilled plain-clothes police detective on the other – set a pattern for the genre that has prevailed throughout its history.

Hospital DramaHospital Drama• In the mid 1990s a common

observation made by critics and commentators was that the proliferation of television medical dramas had reached epidemic proportions.

• Hospital dramas such as ER, Casualty, and Chicago Hope were at the forefront of this explosion of television’s interest in medicine.

Science FictionScience FictionLike much television drama, the

earliest science fiction (SF) television was based on novels or stage plays.

The studio-bound setting of early television, and shooting on film for location work, imposed their own restrictions, and special effects work was time-consuming and expensive.

Soap OperaSoap Opera• What is soap opera? What are its distinctive

features as a narrative system and a way of addressing the viewer? The name itself gives us some clues. • ‘Soap’ marks the genre’s commercial origins. It

refers to the fact that the formats emerged from the radio sponsorship by detergent companies in 1930s radio; indeed the immense popularity of the soap opera in the 1940s means that it must be viewed as a central force in the rise of broadcasting as a commercial institution.

• ‘Opera’ is a clue to the kinds of judgments often made about this genre, as a well as an indication of its characteristic emotions, plots and performance styles.

Soap opera is, most basically, seriallised narrative in broadcasting. To begin with, all in one way or another centre on the concept of seriality. Seriality is a narrative structure that spans multiple media and story-telling genres. Its core feature is a distinctive packaging of the experience of fiction over an extended period of time, in segments; all serial narratives thus involve some form of interruption in the flow of the story.

Open-ended serial narrative development that engages audiences with it’s “good” and “evil” characters and emotional conflicts in ways that keeps them tuning in week after week.

Targeted primarily for female audience.

Soap OperaSoap Opera

Situation Comedy Situation Comedy (Sitcoms)(Sitcoms)Situation comedy (sitcom) is one of the

staples of mature broadcast television.It could use a studio with one or at most

two sets, and few or no film inserts. One of the pleasures of watching sitcoms

was to observe how bizarre some of the family set-ups were, no matter what their surface ‘silliness’, it suggested about ‘family values’

There were monster families (The Monsters), vampire families (The Addams Family), witch families (Bewitched).

The Quiz ShowThe Quiz Show

• Like soap operas, TV quiz shows in America grew out of a popular radio format of the 1930s; and both genres have been aimed principally at a daytime, and largely female, audience.

• The various television quiz formats turn around differing calibrations of luck, knowledge and skill, and almost all offer the spectacle of ordinary people facing life-transforming decisions in extended real time.

• Indeed, although several episodes of a series are typically taped back-to-back some weeks before their air dates, contemporary high-stakes quiz programmes expend a great deal of effort to create a sense of ‘liveness’, supporting an analogy to televised sporting events (see ‘Sport’, p.87)

• Most game show formats depend heavily on the figure of the host, almost always male ( of the thirty-five national versions of the current global hit programme Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, only three are hosted by women).

The Quiz ShowThe Quiz Show

The visual design of the game show ranges from the opposing tables and podiums of the school spelling bee to the video game and science fiction film inspired mise-en-scene of the contemporary big-budget Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Indeed, it is not unusual for producers to spend more on the programme’s set than upon any other element of the programme, including prizes.

The Quiz ShowThe Quiz Show

The Celebrity Talk ShowThe Celebrity Talk Show Since its start, the set on the stage replicates a living room

with a desk for the host and a couch for the guests (with a curtained performance stage to the right). The format, too, has remained the same: an opening monologue by the host, a segment with the studio audience (interviews and games), and a set of interviews and performances with well- known guests on stage.

The programmes are recorded with a live studio audience in the daytime and aired at night. Late Night with David Letterman (1982 - ) represent the most successful examples in the United States.

The genre focuses on interviews with entertainment celebrities (actors, musicians, popular artists, and television personalities) but sometimes politicians, authors and average citizens who lives merited public recognition.

SportsSportsTelevision sports coverage

combines two competing genre forms—journalism that attempts to provide background information about players, coaches, policies, contract negotiations, and strategies—and promotion that attempts to promote or dramatize sports in order to attract an audience (Brookes, 2001).

Reality TVReality TV Nabi, Biely, Morgan, and Stitt (2003) collated five

general characteristics to define reality TV, which are – it portrays ordinary people; it is shot in a natural environment; it is unscripted; it contains narrative and is entertaining.

Reality TV programs can be more educational (e.g. Supernanny) than just entertaining (e.g.

America’s Got Talent). Hill (2005) defines reality TV as “a catch-all category

that includes a wide range of entertainment programmes about real people … reality TV is located in border territories, between information and entertainment, documentary and drama” (p. 2).

Reality TVReality TVHill (2005) divides reality TV types into nine

subgenres such as ‘infotainment formats’, ‘surveillance reality formats’, ‘fly-on-the-wall docu-soap formats’, ‘lifestyle formats’, ‘reality game formats’, ‘reality life experiment formats’, ‘reality talent formats’, ‘celebrity reality formats’, and ‘reality clipshow formats’.