Media Pre-Production

 Media Pre-Production

The genre of the program which we are thinking about producing for our coursework is the theme of crime drama as this in a very interesting genre in terms of the programs like this on television. Also it appeals to the targeted audience; which is the 15-35 year old demographic audience. 

In order to create an effective crime drama which follows the general themes and concepts of a film in this genre, i'm going to research some film clips and analysis them using media language in order to see the key conventions of a crime drama production. Its also good as this would be something which i'd like to look upon and hopefully create a production of that caliber. 

The first program is a crime drama film known as Dexter. The program is a television drama which involves an American serial killer who goes by the name of Dexter hence why this is the name of the drama. Dexter Morgan is a Miami forensics expert and spends his days solving crimes but as darkness arises, he spends the nights committing them. The clip above is the title sequence of Dexter which introduces the main character; who arguementally is the protagonist and the antagonist in the drama program. In the title sequence, the first person you see is Dexter therefore the title sequence is showing and basing it around him which is an enigma code as we; as the audience; are able to see that the drama is based around this guy; one way or another. Another enigma code used in the title sequence is at the very beginning where he swats a fly/mosquito on him arm. This suggests that he is a cold blooded killer in the drama. The fact that there is blood in the scene also can represent the fact that he's a killer.

The use of camerawork also connotes this as the actions which he is doing as quite aggressive and expresses the nature of violence. An example of this is the use of the knife for slicing meat but then using it to pick the meat up. The extreme close up on these shots show his actions as violent as he is picking up the meat with no care in the world. There is also a constant use of objects to portray weapons such as the constant shots of the knife. At the end of the breakfast scene, a knife is left on the plate with ketchup on there to connote blood. Other objects in the title sequence for Dexter which have similar meanings is like when he uses the floss. He wraps it around his finger tightly as if he was going to strangle a person to death. The other object which has the exact same connotation was when he's pulling up his shoe laces. The constant use of close-ups and extreme close-ups in the entire scene help to portray Dexter as this killer and emphasizes this point drastically.

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The lighting used in the entire title sequence; which is part of the mise en scene; is quite bright (high-key lighting) and therefore the viewers are able to see the entire main character. This is important as the title sequence is not beating round the bush but instead are letting the audience know exactly what this person looks like. In crime drama's, the producer can go either way in terms of the lighting. The lighting can be high-key or low-key lighting. To build suspense in a crime drama, you can use low-key lighting in order for tension and suspicion as the viewers would not know who the killer is and therefore would keep there attention. However, Dexter does the opposite and allows the audience to know exactly who the killer is, as well as going as far as making him the main character (protagonist) of the drama. In the screenshot above, the mise en scene in terms of lighting is high-key lighting, however the fact that there is shadow covering half his face connotes that he's a villain in the drama.

The mise en scene in terms of sound used is contrapuntal as it does not really suit the mood of the title sequence, however despite this, it brings a lot of mysteriousness and really makes the scene more exciting from a audiences point of view. The sound is also non-diegetic due to the fact that when the acting was taking place, no one could hear this music and it was added during editing. A stereotypical crime drama has quite intense, non-diegetic music as a title sequence or trailer therefore by going against the trend, you are making the production seem usual which could in theory keep viewers watching. Due to this, i therefore think that when producing our crime drama, we should have non-diegetic, contrapuntal sound in the background.

This is the opening title sequence from the American crime drama show "Person of Interest" which is about a former CIA agent who now lives in New York, chasing after people who are about to be killed or are going to commit a crime. His job is to stop the events from taking place whilst working with a computer genius who built a supercomputer; after 9/11; which identifies all people about to commit crime. The opening title sequence of "Person of Interest" is aimed very much at the audience due to the language used. They say, "You are being watched...". This therefore engages the viewer(s) as they are being specifically targeted by this television show. Also, the dialogue used to say this is diegetic as it's added in during editing as a voice over. The music used in it is the stereotypical backing track for a crime drama production as it's quite dramatic and fast therefore going with the pace of a crime drama production. In other words, the backing track for the title sequence is parallel sound.  I personally like the way that it targets the audience and involves them in the opening sequence. I also like the graphical editing used on the opening sequence as it portray a CIA or MI6 sort of feel to it therefore adding a factor of realism to the show.  

The first episode of "Person of Interest"; also known as the pilot episode; built up suspicion in terms of the character(s). The protagonist; who in the scene above is known as "the bum", does not give a name and is quite to himself. He has special skills and the audience gain knowledge that he has been in some kind of government secret agent role. As the audience, we know this due to the dialogue exchanged at 2:11 as well as the beginning fight scene. 

In the beginning scene of the crime drama, there is a fight scene therefore appealing to the 15-35 year old demographic audience. From i personal opinion, i absolutely love this show, and has always kept me watching as it's full of mystery, crime and conflict hence why i think that this would also appeal to others of a similar age to myself.

The camerawork used in the clip above seems like a handheld camera as it seems to shake quite a bit, especially when the fight scene begins. It seems to follow the action a lot and zoom in and out slight such as at 1:15. Also, there were a few high angled shots during the fight scene which made the it look as if we were watching the fight from a cctv camera which i thought was a very clever idea as it links back to the title sequence when they say "You are being watched...". The use of high angle shots therefore confirmed this factor said in the title sequence.

In terms of the mise en scene of "Person of Interest" the props used such as the bottle of alcohol are typical objects seen every day depending on the situation. For example, you see a lot of drunk homeless people on the streets and this follows that convention of realism. Also, the fact that we are able to see a guy with a gun in the scene follows the conventions of a crime drama as this connotes a crime about to be committed. The clothing worn by "the bum" were tattered old clothes which were dirty therefore following the stereotypical look of a homeless person. The fact that he had a huge beard and long hair adds to the realism and genuinely makes you think that he's just a typical homeless guy when in actual fact he's much more. If the homeless guy had short hair this would make the scene seem unrealistic and this would also look a little silly and usual (in a bad way).  

This is the Original Batman series which came on television every week. I really like the opening for the old Batman Tv series as in the first 50 seconds of the clip, much tension is built up through the suspense as well as the dilemma which has occurred. The series starts off with dramatic dialogue followed by a call to Batman (who is the protagonist of the series along with Robin). A lot of drama was produced due to the sound used, which is part of the mise en scene used in the first 50 seconds of the clip. The sound/ backing track of the scene was non-diegetic sounds as the music could not be heard by the actors at the time. The use of this non-diegetic sound creates suspense and tension as its paralleled sound to the dialogue and situation. At the end of the 50 seconds, as the main protagonists leave the shot, the music becomes higher and ends therefore suggesting that they are the heroes in the series as everything they do is dictated by non-diegetic sound. The other non-diegetic sound used is at 2.10 which is the voice over which gives an quick over view of the two heroes and informs the audience who is who. 

The title sequence comes 52 seconds into the scene. I really like this as the audience are not shown the title sequence at the beginning of the first series, instead they have a scene which creates tension and suspense and then they introduce to us the protagonists who inevitably are going to resolve the situation. The story-line of the Batman series relates to Todorov's theory which is that every great movie or television show will consist of a beginning equilibrium; followed by a disequilibrium (or a dilemma), which is finally resolved and a new equilibrium is formed. This Tv show follows Todorov's theory as in each episode, there starts off with an equilibrium of some sort; which is disrupted by an antagonist; but in the end is resolved by the protagonist(s). In the title sequence, the backing track is the well known tune for the Tv show therefore being iconographic music for this Tv show. 

Along with the sound, another part of the mise en scene; used in the clip which i'm going to analysis; is the lighting used. The two protagonists are well lit and the type of lighting used is high-key lighting. This is important as this type of light makes the characters seem important and the fact that we are able to see them properly means that they have some kind of significant role in the series. If they were shown in the dark with low-key lighting, this would represent the characters as villains in terms of the film as they would look more mysterious. This would therefore confused the audience and would not be a very effective scene.

The trailer for season 13 CSI is very intense in terms of the way that the editing has been put into place. The form of editing for the trailer is in montage form in order to show different clips from various scenes in the series. It's also in montage form in order to show whats going to be shown (whats to be expected) throughout the series so that new audiences and viewers know what CSI is all about. The task for our coursework is to produce an opening 2 minutes of the first ever episode of a series. This therefore means that we will not be producing this in montage form. However, despite the fact that we will not be using this factor of these Tv dramas, we can still use the concepts and typical conventions of the genre of Tv drama which we are creating. In terms of CSI, there is a lot of action used to attract its target audience. 

The location (setting); in terms of the mise en scene used; follows the typical conventions of a crime drama as  it involves some sort of detective agency as they are at some kind of police station. This therefore means that crime is taking place and that the point of view which we will see could be from the protagonist(s). Another factor of mise en scene which is used in the trailer is the actors expressions and movements. For example, 28 seconds into the trailer a guy is holding a gun to another. By the situation as well as the actors expression, you can tell that the one who has the gun to him is the villain or antagonist; in terms of the series. Also, the fact that he's not too shocked or scared of the fact that there's a gun to him implies that hes the villain as he knows the protagonist legally cannot shoot him. 

The other factor of CSI which creates the mood of the genre ( crime drama series) is the on screen text which appears in between cuts/scenes. The text used consists of "ITS NOT JUST A CASE... ITS NOT JUST A CRIME... ITS PERSONAL". This intends to the audience that there's more to the story-line than just the crime. Also, the fact that the on screen text is bold and in capital letters emphasizes the words that little bit more which makes the seem important to the viewers. 

The poster for CSI is predominantly dark in terms of the colours which are used for the design. The main colours consist of black, white and dark blue. These colours portray a crime drama sort of series that involves a lot of action. The minimalist design does not give too much away with what the story-line may be however, the fact that there is a person placed in the center of the poster (in front of the other characters) connotes that he may be the protagonist in the series. It follows the conventions of a typical crime drama series due to the openness of the poster, not giving too much away as well as using the minimalist design to portray a sense of mystery. 

In terms of our production, are idea is to use a non-linear style narrative. The film will begin with the ending and rewind back to the start therefore showing how the situation occurred. This would be the selling point of our urban crime drama as this will make it unique in comparison to the other urban crime drama productions available. In order for it to follow the conventions of a crime drama, we will have to take into consideration a few different, successful crime drama series. Also, in order for it to have a bit of an urban vibe, it'd be good if we were to take in consideration films such as Adulthood, Kidulthood and even Ill Manors as these involve the gritty crime which takes place in some areas that can relate to our production.