Task 3

There are many different types of programmes that are shown on TV including Soaps, Serials, One offs and Reality shows, some being more successful than others. These shows can be either linear, non-linear, narrative, a cliffhanger or closed or open ended. It depends on the type of programme whether they will be expected to be seen or not.

Eastenders is a very popular soup that originated in 1985, as you would expect there are the usual codes and conventions that you would expect to see in a soup, one of them being familiar locations like the Queen Vic pub, the laundrette and the cafe. These types of familiar locations are common in all soaps as it give the viewer a sense of comfort with the familiarity, as you would if you were at home. The reason for this is because soaps are supposed to be reflection of reality, so these places are there to make you feel as much of an affiliation to Walford as you do with your real life home.

This theme is continued with the use of characters, with there being a wide range of character types. The reason for having a diverse range of people with different traits and sexualities is to keep things more interesting for the viewer; it is also to give the viewer more of a chance to have character(s) to relate to and keep it more interesting to continue watching there idea of a second reality, this is why you never really see a main character because if the viewer doesn't care about that person they may stop watching.

If you apply the socio-economic scale to the audience of Eastenders, they would usually be in the lower range, so D or E, which means that they are low income earners. On top of this the majority of those people watching will be women, most likely the type who would read 'Hello' or 'OK' magazine. Eastenders has been on the air for over 25 years, and to this day it is still gets some of the highest viewing figures of any show on TV, regularly reaching figures of over 8 million and frequently being one of the BBC's most viewed programmes.

Even though Eastenders is supposed to be a reflection of reality, a lot the storyline that go on aren't very realistic. The reason for this is if all the storylines were believable then the audience would see it as too mundane and they would get bored and stop watching, that is why you tend to often see fairy unlikely storylines. One of Eastenders most famous characters is Phil Mitchell; who is a typical cockney hard man that suits the part perfectly for a soup set in London. His character works for the audience of Eastenders as he is working class (works in a garage,) not concerned about his appearance and not particularly smart. This plays into the audience hand as the don't want to be watching someone who is better than them in any way, so Phil Mitchell is then seen as more of an equal to the Eastenders audience.

As per usual with soap operas, Eastenders end every episode with a cliffhanger, as famously the theme tune begins to play over it. They do this to entice the audience into watching the next episode to see how the aftermath unfolds. It also gives the audience a clear point to which escape from this reality and connect with others about the events on screen, this links into the gratification theory. Even if the main storyline that had the cliffhanger didn't really interest you, they will hope that at least one of the several other storylines running at the same time will have caught your interest enough to tune in next week, that is the reason why there isn't usually just one main storyline in a soup like there is in other shows on TV.

Task 2

There are certain rules and regulations that must be abided by in television, one of the more obvious ones being the 9pm Watershed. What this means is that things that are deemed inappropriate for before 9pm, can be shown after 9pm; these include swearing, alcohol and drug use, sex and nudity. These things are allowed to be shown later as young children will be less likely to see it. An argument could be made about the need to have a watershed as you could argue that children will be exposed to that kind of material with their friends elsewhere, and if TV is a natural representation of society and real life why shouldn't they be able to see it.

In my opinion they should keep the watershed for swearing, sex and nudity as nobody likes to hear little kids in the playground swearing their mouths of as it would most likely get repeated to the nth degree. Sex and nudity should also be kept in the watershed as children could get the wrong idea about sex and possibly treat women with less respect. I also believe however that violence and drug use doesn't need to be kept hidden from children as they will play even more violent video games all the time so it would be pointless, and they won't even get what people are doing or talking about whenever drug use is shown.

Another important issue in the TV industry is licence fees. If you own one or more TV's you have to pay a licence fee, you pay this for as long as you have a TV in your household. The reason behind this is so that the BBC can give us a better service with no adverts. This is unique to any other channels as there adverts pay for the shows that they produce and not the licence fee; the licence fee also pays for radio stations and online features such as Iplayer from the BBC. The problem with this is that some people want to watch TV but not watch BBC channels which in theory means they are stuck and they have to pay the licence fee even if they're not interested in any BBC programming. This can lead to licence fee fraud where people own TV's but don't pay there licence fee as it can be fairly easy to get away with.

Reality shows can cause a lot of controversy with the content they display that some people may find offensive or simply untrue; an example of this would be Geordie Shore as somebody watching the show who has never been to Newcastle may believe that everyone from Newcastle acts like what's shown on the show. The Only Way Is Essex is a new breed of reality show that appears to be real but is actually scripted, this tool is used to make something false seem more believable and gives you free reign to make up whatever you like but in a reality show setting. TOWIE has also come under fire for stereotyping people from Essex and also contributes that the idea that TV is becoming more and more for idiotic and aimed at stupid people, or "dumbing down".

Another example of "dumbing down" would be BBC's heavily criticised coverage of the Diamond Jubilee, presented by the infantile Fearne Cotton. I agree with the argument that TV is getting stupider, as it is very common when I turn the TV on to see the presenters of whatever show to be getting excited like a child over something meaningless.






























    

Unit 23: Multi-Camera Techniques

The use of multi-camera can be very important for such formats as concerts, sports and other live events as well as studio productions like chat shows. Fictional programmes can also utilise the multi-camera setup, sitcoms for example, that are filmed in front of a studio audience like "Friends" or "King of Queens." Films can also use multi-cam even though for the most part they use single-cam, but for action and stunt scenes using multi-cam can make it easier to pick up all of the fast action faster.

Below is an example of a fairly simple multi-cam set up 

As you can see with this image you can have cameras 1 and 3 situated OTS of the guest and host while camera 2 can get a shot of both of them, this means that you can get the scene shot a lot quicker that having to do each shot individually.

If you wanted to shoot something realistic like a documentary or a found footage style film, you wouldn't usually use multi-cam as it would break the sense of realism with the frequent shot changes.

In terms of editing you would want the cuts to be smooth so that the audience doesn't really notice what the cameras are doing. With shot choice you need to make sure that what your getting is relevant to whats going on and is as interesting as possible.

This video is an example of when a multi-camera system is very beneficial, you can imagine how much less professional the coverage would look if was done with just a single camera. The use of multi-cam in this instance is a great way to keep the audience interested with the changing of angles and shots, as you often see watching football matches when nothing much is happening on the pitch they sometimes show a shot of someone interesting in the crowd which can make it seem more watchable. this can backfire however as regulars ITV have proved that a loss of concentration on the game and an important moment is missed, which wouldn't have happened if there was one camera and or one focus.

The multi-camera system can be vital to make a good show for almost any live event, it is also essential to create any real fast paced looking production, and faster paced to make.

Unit 22: Single Camera Techniques

Single camera production uses only one camera to shoot TV programs and films. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using a single camera as oppose to multi-camera production. This technique has been used since the 1960’s and has recently been popularized by shows such as “Scrubs”, “30 Rock” and “Malcolm in the middle”. One of the biggest disadvantages to using single camera production is only being able to get one angle or shot at a time. This makes the process of shooting one scene a lot more time consuming, compared to using multiple cameras. A benefit of using a single camera is the cutting back of employees as only one camera operator is needed.

Sitcoms such as “Friends” and “the Fresh Prince of Bel Air” that are filled on a three walled set in front of a studio audience are multi-camera. Films and hour long dramas like “Dexter” and “Game of Thrones” are shot with a single camera, to try and emulate the style of a film. All narrative structures such as linear, non-linear, flashback, flash-forward, realist, anti-realist, open ended and closed are possible using a single camera. A linear narrative structure is a story line that runs from start to end in chronological order including no flashbacks or flash-forwards and not broken up in anyway. The most popular linear story lines are included in Soaps such as Coronation Street and Eastenders.

Flashbacks are points in a narrative story line were it goes back in time to show something that has happened in the past. There are several ways that the director can enter a flashback. Such as a bright flash, or zooming right into the eye or face. The flashbacks usually exit the same way as they entered although this is not necessary. Flash-forwards are the opposites of flashbacks; they are used to show the audience a section of the future that is important to the story line. These are very similar to the flashbacks in the way that they are presented, however flash-forwards are frequently used to open a film. Both of these techniques can be used with a single camera

Realist narratives are story lines that are believable by that audience because they appear real, or are based on a true story that has happened in the past. This is a used to good effect in many horror films as something is much scarier to the audience if it could happen or has happened before in the past. The Blair Witch project is a very good example of a realist narrative as it if filmed using a hand held camera, this could be done by anyone using a camera. This is scarier because it feels real.

Anti-Realism is a narrative that is blatantly not realistically filmed, and used a lot of after effects. Providing the movie involves good quality effects and actor’s anti-realism can be used to create good films in all different genres by applying suitable effects. Star Wars is the most popular example of an Anti-Realism narrative, this style maybe the hardest to pull off using the single camera technique.

The 180 degree rule is one of the key principles in single camera production. It is employed mostly in the filming of dialog between two or more characters. By following it, you reduce the risk of making a scene that both disorientates an audience, and makes no sense. The rule consists of the scene having an imaginary line running through the middle of it. By staying to one side of the line when filming, you reduce this risk. By venturing over it, you break the rule.

There is a lot of editing involved when creating single camera productions. The reason for this is because all of the scenes are shot with the same camera. There still is not as much editing involved as multi-camera production, this is because it is easier to edit the footage from one camera as oppose to several. Techniques have been developed to help cut down on shooting time and editing, such as videoing all of one persons lines, covering half of a two-way conversation before moving the camera to record the other persons responses.

Task 1

The three main broadcasting bodies ITV, Channel 4 and BBC, are all regulated television channels. This means that there are restrictions and guidelines to what they can and cannot show, however there are several reasons why a channels programming turns out the way it is.


The BBC is a public service broadcaster, which refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than for purely commercial concerns. The BBC is funded by a license fee, this makes the BBC unique as no other channel is funded this way. With the BBC being publicly funded, it has certain responsibilities to broadcast a large range of interests, for example film, with 'Film 2012,' sport, with 'Match of the Day and religion with 'Songs of Praise,' the list could go on. This is partly the reason why you don't see shows like 'Geordie Shore' or 'Desperate Scousewives' on the BBC, as people who hate those shows (of which there are plenty) will have more to complain about as they are paying for it; whilst channels that do show those programs are given free rain as they don't have as much responsibility. 'Geordie Shore' for example is shown on MTV, the reason that they chose to broadcast a show like that is because it appeals to its channels target audience of teenagers to young adults.


Before the digital switchover there were just four terrestrial channels, or five depending on where you lived, they were BBC1 and 2,  ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Over time Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB grew becoming as powerful, if not more so, than the original channels. Sky was and is especially prominent when it comes to sport; gaining the rights to show all england cricket and almost all premier league football and would have gained all if they weren't allowed due to the fact that it would have become a monopoly, which UK TV laws don't allow, so the rest went to ESPN.


Ofcom is a government approved regulatory authority for all broadcasting industries in the UK. Its duty is to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by protecting the public from what they believe might be considered harmful or offensive material. In May 2011 Ofcom acted against 'Press TV,' an Iranian English-language satellite channel as they ruled that were responsible for a serious breach of UK broadcasting rules for airing an interview with Maziar Bahari, the Newsweek journalist arrested covering the Iranian presidential election in 2009, that was obtained by force while he was in jail.


The BBC operates under a royal charter, which is a document issued by a monarch, used to grant power or a right to certain organisations, that basically sets out its public purposes and shows that the BBC is placed in a higher regard than other media broadcasters. The current charter was put into force in 2007 and runs until 2016. At the top of the BBC is The Executive Board which manages the BBC. It is responsible for operational management and for the delivery of BBC services according to the plans that have been agreed with the BBC Trust. The Board is made up of executive directors from within the BBC and 5 non-executive directors from outside. It is chaired by the Director-General. The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of the BBC and is appointed by the BBC Trust. The other Board members are appointed by the Nominations Committee and Executive Board, with non-executive appointments requiring approval by the BBC Trust.




Under the charter the BBC is governed by the BBC trust, which sets the direction of the BBC and has a clear duty to represent the interest of licence fee payers. There are eight television channels run by the BBC; BBC1, 2, 3, 4, BBC HD, BBC1 HD, Parliament, News, CBBC and CBeebies. They have all these channels to fulfil their remit to educate, inform and entertain. The BBC news channel is used to inform, they educate with shows like the 'Learning Zone,' and entertain with the majority of their programming, and for all ages with CBBC and CBeebies.


The BBC owns 50% of UKTV, which is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC, they own channels such as Gold and Dave. These channels have the right to show shows that had their original run on the BBC such as 'Mock the Week' and 'Top Gear,' this is good for the BBC as it means that shows like those still have an audience, thus money.


Sky is a subscription funded service, this is another good way of generating money through broadcasting as it is a solid monthly payment, which is easy to entice people to paying for it as you can have a wide range of deals and specialist subscriptions which you couldn't offer with the like of pay per view or a licence fee.