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House Of Cards

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24 March 2020
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Drama: TV drama is a broad genre. At its simplest, it is fictionalised action in narrative form.

Long form TV drama: Long Form Drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards television series of high quality that many consider to have replaced the cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide a content, often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the conventions of cinema as well as network television. 

Media convention:  A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:technical codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera angles, framing, typography etc. verbal codes .

Definitions

A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.

In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:

•technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles, framing, typography etc

•verbal codes – everything to do with language -either written or spoken

•symbolic codes – codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level

verbal codes ...

Genre:

A genre is basically the category of any type of art or literature, for example categories of movie would be comedy, horror, thriller etc.

Genre Hybridity

Some media texts are hybrid genres, which means they share the conventions of more than one genre. For example Dr. Who is a sci-fi action-adventure drama and Strictly Come Dancing is a talent, reality and entertainment show.

verbal codes ...

Synopsis  -   A brief summary of the major points of a written work

Roland Barthes

Narratives like a ball of string

Roland Barthes was a semiologist.

If you imagine a text is like a ball of string, can it be unravelled in one way or in many ways?

Open or closed?

texts may be

• ' open ' (i.e. unravelled in a lot of different ways) or

• ' closed ' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on).

Barthes also decided that the threads that you pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes and that they could be categorised in the following five ways:

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The Hermeneutic Code    ENIGMA CODE

 

• The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

 

 • The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

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• The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described them as:

 

• "...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions represented….."

The Semantic Code

 

• This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

 

The semantic code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation

Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference.

•Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre.

•Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:

–How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.

–How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.

What is a Thriller?

 â–º Uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements

 â–º Includes many sub genres: Mystery, Crime, Psychological, Political and Paranoid.

 â–º Atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder.

â–º Society is seen as dark corrupt and dangerous

â–º Literary devices like plot twist, red herrings, and cliff hangers

•POLITICAL THRILLERS A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve legal plots, designed to give political power to enemy, while protagonist has to try to stop the enemy. They can involve national or international political scenarios. The common themes are: political corruption, terrorism, and warfare. Political thrillers can be based on true facts such as the assassination of John F Kennedy. In political thrillers there is usually a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller. For example in the 2012 film Argo, the protagonist has to rescue the American hostages from Iran

OCR SPECIFICATION

TV drama conventions

What do they have in common? You will find that TV dramas all have the following ingredients:

•Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters.

• Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance and they often, but not always, end happily.

•The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios. However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects.

•Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction and, in particular, close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.

•Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as voiceovers, a character telling a story).

• Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense, tension) and underline emotional moments.

• Particular subgenres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable – police cars, blue lights, operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons of the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.©British Film Institute 2007Page 2 of 2 TV Drama

Codes and conventions 

A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.

In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:

•technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles, framing, typography etc

•verbal codes – everything to do with language -either written or spoken

•symbolic codes – codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level – all the things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts, our cultural frame of reference.

•codes can create feelings to the audience through effects and techniques, for example rain in a film and a woman looking upset can make the audience feel bad for the woman and be emotional.

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Conventions are what you would expect to see in a certain genre, for example: in a fantasy genred film you would expect to see maybe unicorns, demons, hero’s/villians, strange settings, basically things that are fictional and unreal in our world.

 

The codes and conventions in media can be separated into 3 groups

•Technical (e.g camera angles, movements & shots),

• Symbolic (e.g clothing, colours)

• Written and audio (music etc).

These three distinct groups give the text meaning and determine the response of the viewer.

Part Two

The Influence of technological change 

How Long form dramas came into being.

  • Terrestrial TV

  • Schedule content was fixed (reliant on analogue (radio wave technology as pre the internet)

  • Viewing experience was communal (families watched the same/similar content) as content was transmitted via Radio waves.

  • Dramas developed to encourage regular viewing

  • Program content with high audience numbers secured revenue via advertising.

  • Advertising revenue or PSB income (TV license) pays for drama for e.g. a typical Eastenders episode costs £141,000

  • There is a clear shift towards SOD (subscription on demand viewing of television)

  • This has been enabled through the Technological change i.e. the provision of streaming services

  • (2017) Netflix receives an income of 2.5 $bn from UK subscribers.

  • Their income is used to fund “high end” television content such as the HOC

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LFTVD

Historical cultural and economic contexts.

•HOC belongs to a genre called Long form television drama. (LFTVD)

•LFTVD (Game of Thrones, HOC, etc.)  are characterised by high production values.

•Series one and 2 of the HOC costs an estimated  $100 Million for the first two series (26 episodes) to produce.

•By comparison Eastender’s costs  £29.9 million a year for 212 episodes.

•Referring to the revision notes page 146, the cost of production of this High end Drama (HOC) is linked to

–Sourcing highly skilled actors (you need to list who you would consider to be a famous actor)

–Cinematic styling camera work actors (you need identify examples)

-Lighting and editing (you need identify why the drama is considered high end (like a film)

-Complex narratives (multi-stranded) (Barthes) (you need identify the multi stranded narratives associated with the drama to help you I have listed three clusters

-Zoe Barnes narrative – give an account of the story

-Frank Underwood narrative and Claire’s – give an account of the story

-Russo’s narrative - – give an account of the story

-Composed music  identify who the composer is  describe why sourcing high end/established music is important.

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The Influence of Technological, Cultural and Economic Contexts

Digital (streaming)

 

  • Netflix  - In just a decade, Netflix has grown from a video service with seven million U.S. subscribers to one that reaches 93 million people worldwide.

  • The company's now worth about $60 billion

  • 2016, Netflix spent $5 billion on original programming.

  • The income from subscribers has allowed them to commission highly rated long form TV dramas such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

  • 2017 sales rose to $2.48 billion. With a global presence in 190 countries.

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Long form TV is an American concept which effectively is a hybrid of a serialised drama with the high production standards of film.

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  • Long form TV Drama

  • (genre) conventions

  • Drama that runs in a series

  • They start with an intense beginning to grip their audience

  • They contain cliffhangers to maintain interest

  • They conclude the episode until the end where they conclude the episode.

  • Very much dialogue led.

  • Production values are higher than TV drama (funded by subscribers)

  • High budgets permit high end actors and high end production

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Ideology:

 

“A set of beliefs values and assumptions shared by a social group and embedded in social, cultural, political and economic institutions.”

 

Usually thought to reflect the interests of powerful groups.

 

Consumerism, freedom, equality and individualism are often considered dominant ideologies in free market capitalists societies as they reflect the economic basis of these societies

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The prime contexts influencing medium language in television drama may be ideologies such as:

  • Individualism: e.g. focusing a drama on an individual protagonist

  • Consumerism: e.g. judging characters on their possessions or desirability of their lifestyles

  • Patriarchal: power and the challenge to this by feminism e.g. using or refusing to use women’s bodies as objects, or narratives that present a male, female or gender neutral perspective

  • Racism and ethnocentrism and the challenge to those from multiculturalism and internationalism, e.g. narratives that present a monocultural, multicultural or minority perspective – hint you must follow up on the OCR notes as this will enable you to understand how the HOC is ethnocentric due to its main focus on white characters, who are the central figures who execute power…    you should reflect on this and try to identify examples in support of the ideological assumption of ethnocentrism or if you disagree identify a counter argument

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​Stereotypes : are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.

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Todorov’s theory (Equilibrium and Dis-equilibrium)

 

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages:

 

  • the equilibrium,

  • disequilibrium,

  • acknowledgement,

  • solving

  • and again equilibrium.

 

The theory has its limitations when applied to LFTVD as the restoration of equilibrium may not be realised due to the serialised nature of the drama

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MICRO – ELEMENTS   relate to the following

  • CINEMATOGRAPHY(camera work) – (angle, composition, etc)

  • SOUND

  • EDITING (& SPECIAL EFFECTS)

  • MISE EN SCENE, (what is in the scene (set, costume, body language, etc.) including how lighting is used.

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Diegetic sound.

Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film: 

  • voices of characters 

  • sounds made by objects in the story 

  • music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

  • Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world  

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  • Non Diegetic sound. Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: 

  • narrator's commentary

  • sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect

  • mood music

  • Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space.  

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  • Shot reverse shot is when a shot goes from shot A, shot B, shot A, shot B etc.

  • It goes continuously back and forth between the 2 shots to show there is a connection between them

  • It is often used in conversations so you see what both characters are saying

  • It is a form of eye-line matching if the character is looking at someone and the next shot is what they were looking at. 

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Part Three

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  • the influence of technological change on the production, marketing and distribution of long form television drama in a global context (including the impacts of digital distribution platforms on the contemporary global television industry)

  • how audiences consume and interpret long form television dramas, including technological factors related to consumption, and media language factors related to genre hybridity, intertextuality and multiple narrative strands

  • the media form specific elements of media language used to create meaning such as camera shots, angles, lighting, settings, locations, editing and sound

  • the values, attitudes and beliefs conveyed by representations and the social and cultural context of these

  • all relevant contexts, for example a consideration of the economic context behind the large budgets currently given to contemporary US long form television dramas.

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Economic context.

Reduction in the cost of technology such as

  • CGI allowing visual effects even within TV budgets

  • Drones allowing ariel photography (ref. opening sequence of HOC and Washington)

  • Developments in Streaming e.g. 5G (generation) fibre optic technology which has enabled digital streaming service providers such as Netflix and Amazon to provide TV viewing.

Cultural contexts of technological change

- This means that the way we consume TV has radically changed  as a result of high speed broadband connections.

  • Consumers can view programmes outside of a TV schedule

  • Programmes can be watched as a complete series (binge watching)

  • Programmes can be watched on phones and tablets

The film industry has undergone a radical change having transitioned from film (analogue technology) to digital.

This has yielded several benefits including lower production and circulation costs , convenience, etc.

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Terrestial TV

Schedule content was fixed (reliant on analogue (radio wave technology as pre the internet)

Viewing experience was communal (families watched the same/similar content) as content was transmitted via Radio waves.

Dramas developed to encourage regular viewing

Program content with high audience numbers secured revenue via advertising.

 

Advertising revenue or PSB income (TV license) pays for drama for e.g. a typical Eastenders episode costs £141,000

Digital (streaming)

  • In just a decade, Netflix has grown from a video service with seven million U.S. subscribers to one that reaches 93 million people worldwide.

  • When Netflix first launched in the late 1990s, it distributed DVDs – mainly films – by mail.

  • during the early 2000s, advances in compression technology – coupled with more homes gaining access to high-speed internet services – allowed large video files to be easily streamed over the internet.

  • video streaming services such as Netflix deliver programming “on demand” via the internet, viewers can choose what and when to watch instead of watching “what’s on.”

  • Subscription TV therefore offers significant benefits to terrestial TV.

  • Netflix has developed its global market with a presence in 190 countries.

  • Its popularity is achieved by providing high production content in several TV serial genres.  This includes complicated serial dramas (“House of Cards”), action series (“Daredevil”), horror series (“Hemlock Grove”).

Digital (streaming)

  • Netflix  - In just a decade, Netflix has grown from a video service with seven million U.S. subscribers to one that reaches 93 million people worldwide.

  • The company's now worth about $60 billion

  • 2016, Netflix spent $5 billion on original programming.

  • The income from subscribers has allowed them to commission highly rated long form TV dramas such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

  • 2017 sales rose to $2.48 billion. With a global presence in 190 countries.

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Part Four

21/04/20

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