Format of Single Camera Production

(Format section)

Series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWeXkZEHfeY

It is a type of show which can be shown online and also for mainstream. The industry would often make their show run for set amount of episode for each of their series. Also in each series it may has a different plot to it depending on the TV show. Another thing that an industry may do is make a multiple of series name of the same show such as Naruto and then the next name of the series is called Naruto Shippuden as there is part 1 story and part 2 story. The genre that would often tend to run as a series is drama, crime or comedy.

Example

An example of show that run multiple of series is called Family Guy. The reason why this would relate to the format is because it runs for multiple series and it has reached to season 15 and it is still on-going. For most of the 15 series it run up to approximately 20 episodes

Season 15 is still ongoing  picture is shown below

Advantages

The advantage that this has on the broadcaster is that they have a set time to show this to the viewers as it is very popular. The more popular the show is the more likely that the broadcaster will be able to spend more money for each episode of their show.

Disadvantages

Whenever a show becomes too popular, the other broadcasters from different channel will try to buy the show. Once the show is bought it will go to another channel therefore the viewership will go down for the channel that has not got the show any more. Another thing is that if the broadcaster invested lots of money into a show and it does not become popular they waste a lot of money and the broadcaster loose some profit. If a series goes on for too long often the viewership of the programme will decrease as the picture from above illustrates it.

Serial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKhYDtnadrQ

These are a type of shows which are very popular in UK and also South/ Central America and it is on-going series 52 weeks a year. The broadcaster may show a couple of episodes per week of the show. The show have low budget in each episode as they have lots of cast of character. These type of shows have lots of complex storylines and the show can often run for months or even years.

Example

An example of a show that does relate to this type of format is called Hollyoaks as it has been running from 1995 for 21 years. This is an on-going series show, during the weekdays everyday new episodes are shown. Therefore this means that the cast member must be spending in production 52 weeks a year if they are showing that many amount of an episode.

Advantages

The advantage that this has on the broadcaster is that it brings in the viewers. This will also allow the broadcaster time to put in slots of the shows that need to be put in for the weekend. Another advantages that this has on the broadcaster that it allows the viewers to catch up on the programme that they missed throughout the weekdays because it is shown during the weekends as a repeat.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage that this has on the broadcaster is that the show may lose viewership as it has been for many years also many of the same story line are shown frequently for the characters in Hollyoaks especially like murder cases and court cases. The viewers may only rely in only watching the catch up times when the soap genres are mainly shown in the weekends. That means all of the episode that was shown for that programme during the weekdays will be shown in the weekend in the morning. Therefore there will be less viewership during the time slot that Hollyoaks is shown during the weekdays as the viewer will prefer to watch Hollyoaks during the weekends.

Single drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va1N9r2Vieg

This is just a one off time when the broadcaster decides to add something new within the channel. This will be shown only once in the channel and not more. The broadcaster will make a show with a high budget involved with it and there is no series to follow. Whereas a TV series spends lower in budget. Single drama used to be popular however it is not as much today. Sometime it is done in a series but it is done in a completely new storyline, something unrelated to the previous series. The genre that would broadcast often this type of style is a Docu drama.

Example

An example of a docu dram that relates to this genre is called Exposure-Please Don't Take My Baby. The reason why this would is one is because there is only one episode about this topic and no more.

Advantages

The advantages this has on the broadcaster is that gives the one off shows opportunities to be advertised and a let the show tell one story to bring in views for the channel. Another good thing that this has on the broadcaster is that it gives them opportunity to put new element to the programme so it would intrigue the viewer.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage that this has on the broadcaster is that they will invest lots of money to make this show especially if it is a film or documentary that couldn't get any support in funding and the making of it. If the documentary does not get lots of views especially when the channel does invest in a lot of money it should be fine for the broadcaster as it is just one episode that they will be showing. However this means that the broadcaster will lose a lot of money. One off single drama used to be popular however it is not as much as many channels tries to make similar documentary as the ones that have been made such as smoking.

Genre

Period

http://watchseries.cr/series/downton-abbey/season/2/episode/1

A period drama is a type of drama which is set in the past. This can be set about a couple of years ago or 100 years ago. Often the producer will have to spend a lot of money on the Mise-en-scene as they may have to create a location set in the past and the costume set in the past. The camerawork is pretty much very refine as they will make the look of the area look posh and there would be not much incident happening within the location. This is often peaceful. An example of period drama show is one called Downton Abbey as it  is based in the past.

In Downton abbey at 17:05 the audience can see the costume that is being worn by the character. The clothing that they are wearing is set from the past. the location is set around an old building and the character are wearing lots of make ups. The inside of the house, old portraits are shown which contain people in the picture, this is shown during the time of 30 seconds which will make the audience believe it is set in the past.

Drama doc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIIN0Ug8wg8

A docudrama is a show which illustrates videos on actual event but adds drama so that it is more interesting to the audience. It often shows real archive footage based on that event. They use real expert to add on the drama which will make the audience believe that the experts is well educated within that field. This is often done as a documentary. An example of a documentary that does this is called 'America the story of us'. In this video they show footage of an actual event which started at the time of 0:01 using dissolve editing. It shows that the American soldier are invading into another country by the river and showing some of their death. By showing some real archive footage of the soldiers death, the audience can gain some information on what war is like.

In this programme they use the experts to explain what happen during the American invasion. This is done at the time of 0:12. By using the experts within the documentary the audience are more likely to believe the experts as their knowledge is better. They also used voice-over, over the archive footage to let the audience see it from their point of view and this will make the audience feel more involved in the event.

Crime

http://www.watchseries.ac/link/exashare.com/5656800

This is based around criminal activities that happens in the real world. The camera often follows the crime solvers, not the criminals. One of the themes that makes a crime show is investigation and interrogation. Usually a case is solved per episode however it it can be done as a series. An example of a programme that shows this element throughout their programme is called Midsomer Murder as it contain themes that relates to a crime show.

In Midsomer Murder season 18 episode 1 there are scenes which relate to the convention of an crime. Throughout the whole show the camera sticks to the crime solvers, the only time that the camera does not follow the crime solvers is when a point of view shot is being illustrated of a murder happening at the beginning of the show. Then there is an investigation scene which was done at the time of 5:34. This show that this is a crime show.

Soap opera

A soap opera often reveal real situation that happen in the real world. They tend to deal with issues very dramatically and exaggerate the whole situation. This will include actor over reacting to situation that is quite small. This is only film by camera not animated. Their chosen location is often a permanent set and it is set in a small town in the real world. An example of soap opera is called Eastenders as it is shows situations in a over dramatic way.

In Eastenders, there is a moment in the episode where a a situation is being over dramatic near the end of the episode. This is shown during the time of 26.09 to the end of the Eastenders episode where there is a conversation scene between the two characters. The camera stays static and throughout the scenes which it only ends when the women takes off her clothes and takes a picture of herself. This happen during the time of 26:45 last shot of her expression as a close up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCpc1XFbfhs 

Comedy

A Comedy is a type of show which contain lots of funny moment that would make the audience laugh. The amount of cast member that would be involved is quite small around 5 to 6 people. The reason why they do this is to keep the character memorable. A comedy genre can be a sketch show. An example of a TV show that illustrate this type of convention is a show called Friends. The reason why this show be a great example for a comedy show is because there lots of scene where the character says or do something silly.

In Friend season 1 episode 1 part 2 there is a scene where Joey place his hand on Rachel's shoulder for a very long time. This will make the audience laugh as you can see the expression on Rachel's face and also Monika who is sitting next to her. This is done between the time of 3:41-3:50. The first shot you will see an over the shoulder shot of the Rachel looking sick to the women next to her which is Monika, a long shot of Joey intervening with the conversation, then there is a close up of Joey placing his hand on Rachel's shoulder. In addition there is another close up of Joey holding onto a sandwich and eating it and the camera cuts back to the shot of a close up of Joey holding on the shoulder of the Rachel and by one hand shakes it like a shot reverse shot.

The Short Film Brief

Types of Brief

Contractual Brief

A contractual brief is a type of contract that is easy to understand and it something that you have to sign. There is no negotiation on what you can do within you job. The contract should tell you all the information that you require for example: the payment for the job, deadlines when work needs to be completed, and job requirements.

In a film production team, an employee who gets the job within the industry will be given this type of brief as they will need to know what is require for their job. People who get a full time job within a film company will come across this type of situation.

The advantages of people who get this type of brief from a film company is that it is formal and the brief gives lots of clarity to the employee. This is because all the information of what is required of them is detailed in the contract. Another good thing about this brief is that everyone knows where they stand within the company and they know that they are legally protected. However there are some problems the employee may face within this situation, once they sign the brief it is no longer negotiable and they can't ask for a larger sum of money. Another problem is that the employee must agree with all the terms that are stated within the brief and they cannot break any conditions, otherwise they will face consequences. This therefore means that the brief is very strict to what it says and that there is lots of restriction what you as an employee can do within the company.

Negotiated Brief

This is a type of brief that an employee can negotiate in terms of ideas of what they ask from the employer. This type of brief is not very strict with deadlines as it can be changed and the brief allow the employee to be quite open with new ideas. The brief will often give some leeway than any other brief you can get within the job in the film industry.

I have seen this type of brief before when I had to make a short film. The brief did not tell us specifically what type of genre it had to be but it did tell us what we had to include within the beginning of our short film which was the encounter scene. It also includes a deadline of when the work needs to be completed however it’s not strict like a contractual brief. I did not meet the deadline to finish the work for the short film due to being unwell; however I was able to negotiate with the client to get some extra time to do the work.

I was very happy to get this brief as it felt less intense and it allows me to use more of my creative vision. The best part of getting this type of brief especially for an employee who works within a film company is that there is more flexibility within the deadline as I was able to spend some more time improving my work. One negative aspect I came across when being part of this brief is the people that you are working around. The reason is they may have lots of bad ideas when coming up with ideas of making the plot of the short film as the ideas will overwhelmed over their head. Another thing is that there is a lot less restriction so therefore the end product of the short film may end up not relating to the brief.

Formal Brief

It is a type of brief which formally and clearly outlines what the employee must do specifically. It is often very well structured and the layout of the brief is often neat. One way you can tell that this formal brief is that there is no slang and. They do this because it looks professional.

I have seen this type of brief before. I got this type of brief when I had to make my magazines TV show where it had clearly outlined what I had to do within my role of the TV production and also what was needed to make the product of the show. The brief told us to include interviews, music, snap chat content and graphics. I was the graphic generator and the brief told me everything i needed to do as a Graphics Generator.

When I got this brief I could tell that everybody within the production team knew what they were doing when they got their job roles and I also, as we all had the same vision on what kind of show we had to make. The layout of the brief was easy so therefore it was easy to understand what we individually had to do. However the problem when reading this brief is that it a very long time to read it all so we could understand what we had to make within our show. Another thing is that the brief it is very strict to follow.

Informal Brief

This is a type of brief which give an employee who work in the film company very little information on what they need to do. This can be found out as a short piece of text or an email that request someone to do some work for them. This doesn't have to be written information this can be a verbal agreement where the boss ask an extra favour from one of the employee or colleague to colleague to do some work for them.

I have been in this situation before especially when making my TV magazine show. One of my friends came and asked me a favour to make some extra graphics for the TV show. I ended up doing it as it was related to the TV show; the reason why I did this is because I had nothing else as I had already made all the necessary graphics for the show already by then. He ask me this favour mainly because he was the presenter and he had to present at one point of the show as the news reporter. This therefore means he wanted to use the graphics as illustration for his news report.

When I ended doing the favour for my friend it made me look more loyal to the company. Also because it was a verbal agreement from a friend I could get across the information that he was getting at. However when agreeing to the favour I kind regret doing as it was time consuming as I had to make lots of graphics for him and make sure it had looked neat. Also when showing him the end looking of the graphic, he felt I did not get the vision he told me to make in the first place as the graphics at its greatest of my abilities.

Commission Brief

This is a type of brief where a client goes to look for employees to the only company they trust. The client would often trust the company as he or she would have had some relation to the company and have work with them before. The reason why the client would look for employee within the company he trusts is to save time.

In this type of situation, this would involve the employer who want to get employees as fast as possible as he might have a tight deadline which needs to be completed. Therefore to reduce time of finding employees to work for their company they will end up going to a company of their choice. The reason is because they will think that they will find potential employee over the company of choice they would like to work with.

In this type of situation this could be an advantage for the employer if they do this type of brief as they will know the company of their choice is trustworthy for them. The reason is because the employer would have established some relation with the company. Another good thing that this brief has on the employer is that it saves time for the employer to find and recruit employee as they had a good relations with the company. However when working with this type of brief the person starts to rely the same company too much and expect them to pay him. Another bad thing about this brief is that the employee may become too used to being part of this brief and not any other types of brief.

Competition Brief

This is type of brief where an employer makes a competition that is opened to the public. This type of brief will make often encourage wide range of people who likes making films enter the competition. The public will look at this type of brief and see what the company is asking for. The brief can be shown online however they will need to go on the actual website to find it.

I have seen this type of brief where I got the brief for free it was based on a competition that they wanted the public to enter which was to make a short film. I wanted to end up doing the brief as it cost nothing to enter.

When I had got this type of brief I felt that I had the opportunity to be recognised by everyone that I had made a film. This also allowed me to enter the competition and everyone in the public had the opportunity to do it. However when participating in this type of brief I had realise that the company would not pay for you to make your film, I had to pay everything to make my film, and this meant for any equipment I needed or item I need. Another thing is the reward is not priceless it is pretty small like a trophy and that is it no money is involved.

Tender Brief

This is similar to the competition brief however this is open to companies that is outside of their company. When companies receive this type of brief they may come to the client and pitch from their point of view of why they should get the job to work with client. The client will then select the best candidates and decide to work with them.

I got this type of brief where I had to pitch my idea in a production meeting of the TV magazine show that the company should make and my reason. The reason I why I did this, so that my ideas for the TV magazine show could be selected.

When I got this type of brief it allowed me to open up people vision of the ideas i gave out to make the TV magazine show. This also allowed me to have the opportunity to show what I could offer for the company and what my industry can do for their company. However this type of brief is not opened to everyone. Also I may have to spend a lot of money creating my idea for the TV magazine show.

Cooperative Brief

It is a type of brief where two companies or more are required to work together on the same project. The reason this type of brief is given is because for multi skilling as one company would specialise in a skill that other companies would not. Another reason would be for tight deadlines.

This type of brief would be given when an employer is looking for companies to work with to make maybe a TV show. Therefore he would go to different companies that specialise in the job he want required which would be cameraman, graphics generator and many more. The reason why he may do this is so that they know what company specialise in what area and don't teach them how to do thing that they are weak on.

The good this has on the employer is that they have specialist to do the required job they want them to do as they will know how to fix any problem that may occur within the job. This also has a good impact for employee as it gives them more opportunity to work in a project. However there is a problem that they will face is that many companies are working together. Another issue the amount of imput that needed for this brief especially for making a TV show as they required lots of different companies that need to work together