Formats of Single Camera Production

Formats:

Series

Series is a program which is aired on TV but have gaps for around 6 months, they have a set amount of episodes in each season, series are well known as season in america as most are made in america due to the monopolisation. 

The example which i have chosen for series is 'Scandal' as that is a programme which is very popular and know to have around six series made, this fits into the format of an series because 'Scandal' takes a gap of six month in between of each series. 'Scandal' is an American series which produces roughly 21 episodes per series, in the UK the series are much smaller. In series like 'Scandal' every series has a different narrative which is shown over the whole series for example the first ever series about introducing the lead character Oliva Pope and her team , we also see the relationship build between the president and Oliva. 

An advantage to the broadcaster was that they know that 'Scandal' got very popular which drove them to making 6 seasons of it, this means the broadcaster have a large amount of audience wanting to watch it and knowing this it gave them an advantage as they could place not so popular programes around the timing after or before. A disadvantage of series is that if a character from 'Scandal' dies it can reduce the amount of views this means them having to be careful what the narrative is as it can have an big amount of views.

Serial 

Serial is programme which is always on TV no matter what, this means that they are broadcasted 52 weeks a year, this can be daily soap operas which broadcasters are known for, you may not think it but the shows which are serial are the most populist programme on their channel this is why it is an serial.

The example which i have chosen for serial is 'Hollyoaks' as that is aired 5 days a week for the whole year, this programme has characteristics of a serial as it tends to deal with day to day lives of individual characters, 'Hollyoaks' has an large amount of characters with different storylines to keep it interested all the way throughout. An advantage to the broadcaster is that serials can allow the broadcaster to have loyal viewers which will watch the show every day it is on as they have been watching it start and they want to know what happens in each of the episodes, this means that the broadcaster knowing there is going to be a program on the channel that brings in the viewers. A disadvantage to the broadcaster is that a show like 'Hollyoaks' needs to film every single day so they won't have no breaks even during festive times, this will mean them needing to have an big budget so that they can keep up with the demand and schedule.

Single Drama 

Single drama is a programme which is shown on TV only once with not sequels, by this i mean that there will only be one part so it would never be continued. Single drama often have a high budget as it is like an film as they last for around 90 minutes. 

The example which i have chosen for single drama is called 'Murdered by my Boyfriend' as there is no sequel and one part, this means it does not continue. From the example you can see the whole drama had an big budget this may be because it might have been a film but could not get the funding to accelerate the movie, we also see that it sets focus on a specific character and is only one story. An advantage for the broadcaster is that it allows them to be unique and orignial as no one else would have shown it and it no content for the broadcaster and if the broadcaster see there is a large audience watching it they can create more similar content for example after the BBC released this in 2014 they then released another single drama called 'Murdered by my Father' this was not a sequel just a similar idea but different narrative. A disadvantage to the broadcaster may be that they take a big risk as they do not have a loyal viewers as it is an one off, this can mean that the programme not getting views this can effect the broadcaster as they would not be able to cover their costs.

Genre:

Period

Period is an genre which is usually programmes set in the past and this would be shown in the whole programme with the mise en scene as there scenery would be a lot different compared to programmes that are created nowadays. Period genre is usually set back to the 20th century and set on the actual location rather than sets.

The example i have chosen for period is a programme which is set back in the 20th century which is called 'Downtown Abbey', this programme fits in the genre period as we see it is set back then because of the mise en scene for example there custom at 1:20 is very old and something which you would have worn before. We see that this programme uses single camera at 9:05 when we see the character walk but the same camera tracks him this allows the audience to see the movement of the character in more detail it makes the audience feel they are actually at the scene. Overall the editing pace is slow and there is not much movement for example at 9:33 the characters talk a while but no movement and they talk for a while which tells us it is a period genre as the editing technique is not advanced.

Drama-doc

Dramadoc is a genre which attempts to reconstruct scenes and turn it into more of a drama than a documentary, the purpose of this is that it allows it to be more entertaining as the audience can see step by step what happened and the build up. Dramadoc try their best to keep it as the true story but they do change it slightly to make it more entertaining for the audience as they do not really know every single detail.

The above example is from a online series called 'Narcos', this is an dramadoc as we see them tell a true story about Pablo Escobar, we see him get shot in the above scene, this was the reconstruction of how he actually died. The dramadoc is very fast pace due to the genre for example the shot at 0:28 there camera moves and changes a lot and it is very like a film as we see dramatisation throughout the clip, for the audience this means that they can fill the tension for example when the chase is happening at 1:01 the editing and sound really helps to build tension and realism for the audience. The continuinty of ediitng allows the audience to get more detail for example when the chase happens we get to see from the officers point of view and the suspects point of view, this give the audience greater detail.

Crime

Crime is another genre which is all about investigations on criminal activities which have taken place, they tend to have different cases different episodes, this keeps the audience interested as it is not dragging. Also some crime programmes have episodes which continue if it is a big topic this allows them to have cliffhange, which builds tension for the audience.

The above example is called 'The coroner', we see the two leading characters investigate different cases every, this fits the crime genre as we see criminal activities such as murder take place then it is left to the coroner and police to investigate. Crime genre programmes are often really slow for example at 21:46 min we see them ask questions which is very slow as they want to create suspense for the audience and often the investigation is slow, this connotes that they want the audience to have time and guess who committed the crime this allows them to take part. You can see throughout the programme we see continuity editing when they interview suspects as this gives the audience greater detail as they get to know what is said in a sense they participate as they are investigate with them this makes it interesting and entertaining.

Soap Opera 

Soap opera is another genre which is mostly drama as we see in soap opera it's shows people liftstyle on a daily basis different issues which the audience even go through, this is why soap operas often are very popular. Soap opera usually have a purpose built set and it is very simple.

The example above is called 'Eastenders', this is a famous soap opera on BBC ONE, the programme goes through daily issues and real world issues for example in the above clip at 5:23 we see the character grieving for the loss, this is an issue which we go through. We see the soap opera use various shots for example at 6.54 they use a close up shot to show the facial expression of the character as he is grieving for his loss, this allows the audience to know what the actor is going through and it can relate them back to a situation where they felt the same. Another shot the use is a long shot at 7:01min when we see them in a clinic setting this done to show the audience where they are.The continuity editing helps the audience understand the story to greater depth as we get to see the information which needed for example at 10:58 min we see them go in the police care by having a continutity editing scene it gives greater depth.

Comedy

Comedy is a genre which purpose is to make the audience laugh and usually is a small group of characters. Comedy genre is very popular with the younger audience and most comedy programmes have same kind of innovation. 

The above example i have chosen is called 'Citixen Khan' as that is a comedy programme which purpose is to make the audience laugh for example at 0:45 we see him do the cinnamon challenge but then he chucks it out this makes the audience laugh because he was very confident at the beginning, this makes the audience laugh. A shot we see in the programme is a long shot at 0:58 when we see the camera stay still in a position for a long time but it shows us all the action as the character looks for water, this connets that this has been done to make the audience laugh by showing the action of the character. We also see an establishing shot being use at 14:12 when we see a overview shot from a high angle of the scenery where we see a small town called 'sparkhill', this is done so that the audience know where the programme is located and how the scenery is out there then they can aim it towards the people down there. The continutity is used to create meaning as we see them use throughout at 13:51 then continued at 15 min this continues to tell the audience the story and how it is, this also gives the audience greater detail as they know what is actually happening it gives them the expectation.

The Short Film Brief

Types of Brief

Contractual Brief

Contractual brief is a agreement between the client and business. A contractual brief states what is expected from you and it will describe the finish product exactly, so your task will be to have all things which are mentioned in the brief. A contractual agreement is signed for precaution if the contract is not meet they can be prosecuted.

An example of contractual brief would be when i have made a short film as a project the brief stated what the wanted like the editing technique which they wanted and it also told me how what they wanted to see in my short film for example it stated that there should be some in to a room then they sit beside each other on chairs. 

An advantage for me was that the contractual brief allowed me to know what was expected and by telling me the editing techniques they were looking for it made it a lot easy as i knew what the wanted. A disadvantage was that i was not allowed to add my own creativeness that much and also if i did not add all the mentioned points in the brief i would be breaking it this would mean me being to be persecuted for.

Negotiated Brief

Negotiated brief is a brief that is negotiable, by this i mean producer can give input on what the brief has stated as the client is willing to take on board ideas from the producer. 

An example negotiable brief would be the show we created called 'Listen up', in this brief it mentioned that we had to make sure we used multi camera and it had to be a music magazine show but we could negotiate on what content we had in the for example we had a lot of pre-recorded footage like 'Through the Keyhole' this was segment where we go to a celebrities house and then the audience guess it. 

An advantage of negotiated brief for me was that i believe it gave us the freedom in a way as we could give ideas of what content we wanted in the show this allowed me to be involved in the show and add my personal touch to the show. A disadvantage is that the ideas which i might have recommended the client may have not like it this makes it a lot more time consuming as you need to work with the client.   

Formal Brief

A formal brief is a brief which is a document that tells you what they expect, this will give you a rough structure and outline. Formal brief look very professional and in formal language, the formal brief is explain thoroughly so you know what you are doing.

An example would be the chocolate advert which we had to create for Creme Eggs and we had to appeal it to the young audience, the brief was in formal text and was very professional, the brief stated all the elements they expected.

An advantage of the brief i had was that it was easy to understand and i know what to add in my advert as it was explained in depth and from the brief i know i had to keep the festive representation which is Easter. The disadvantage was that formal brief have strict deadlines and you cannot change anything for example we had to make the advert in 3 weeks this included pre-production, production and post-production.

Informal Brief

Informal brief is a brief which does not have that much of information, it's more like a request on what they want but the producer will be able to do what they want as long as it meets the request. Informal brief tend not to be formal language as it is not professional work as you may be requested by your friend or family.

An example of a informal brief would be when i was asked to make a swede, this was done verbally without to much information, it just had to be a remake of a specific scene of a film without an budget. 

The advantage of this brief was that i had the freedom of choosing any scenes from films that i liked this allowed me to be very creative as i added extra details to make it imitation of the scene. An disadvantage of this brief is that there usually is not money involved as it may be favour or request from friend or a family member this means no budget so you need to emphasis a lot.

Commission Brief

A commission brief is when a business or person has a contact which they have used previously so they will go straight to that person rather than putting it on tender, this saves time and money as you know they'll produce high quality standard. 

Commission brief was when i had used the same characters as a previous project for example we used Rayhan for a project where we had to create a video for a client demonstrating what to do in an interview and then as i know Rayhan was a reliable and good actor i made sure that i used him in another project like the ultra short film which i created recently.

An advantage of commission brief is that you know how the person is, this gave me a personal advantage as i knew how the actor is from previous experience this would tell me if they are reliable. A disadvantage is that sometimes i thought that professional standard was being broke this meant them trying to take advantage as they may think you are not top priority which means you're work not being done to the best standard.

Tender Brief

Tender brief is when the business or person decides to put the brief to companies and then the business which offers the best deal will get the brief that is mentioned, the client always does not pick the lowest offered price as they look at the company which has offered it.

An example of a tender brief would be when a business has a specific job and then advertisers it with other businesses then at the end all the business have give their offer if they are interested this will not just depend on the price but status and how well the business does their job. This can be a director who has a concept or even owns a show they can put a tender where there program is place for example the TV channels.

An advantage of a tender brief is that it allows the client to get along with other businesses and try different business as well as it may make their work better which means it being improved. A disadvantage of a tender brief is that small companies do not really get a chance to but a bid as they may not be known and also it may mean that they cannot offer the same as other big companies. 

Cooperative Brief

Cooperative brief is when two or more businesses work together, this means they may share the work depending on the specialty of each company, this means that the final product will be up to high standards. 

An example of cooperative  brief would be for films, specifically Dead pool as they had a different distributor compared to their production companies as their production company was Twentieth Century Fox Film and the distributor in the UK was Warner Bros. 

An advantage of cooperative brief is that both business have specialty in different sectors they can help each other, this means the film will be completed to high standards and it also allows smaller business to get involved as they can specialise in a specific area in media. A disadvantage of cooperative brief is that sometimes production companies do not credit the smaller companies this is a downside as the smaller companies do not get any renegotiation.

      Competition Brief

Competition brief is a brief which is put out to the public across the world, the brief will state what they want and expect this will give the public what to do or create. Competition brief usually have a prize at the end if entered in the competition. 

An example of a competition brief would be the project where i am going to be creating a short film and will be entering it in the film festival, the film festival is where thousands of people send their short movie and then it is judge and if it wins i will be getting a prize at the end of it. 

An advantage of of competition brief is that i have a lot of freedom as it does not restrict me from a lot of things like the genre of the short film. An disadvantage of the competition brief is that you often do not have no budget unless you pay yourself and also you actually do not know what the prize of the competition so you cannot invest as much in and also having no budget means you need to find cast and crew willing to volunteer this is very difficult as they have the work life.