Maddie Haywood's A Level Media

The thriller genre of our TV drama is adamant from the offset, as we have used themes with connotations relating to typical thriller elements. In our title sequence, scenes of corridors within an asylum are used. Here the lighting is limited, though with the occasional bright, hospital-like light. In the opening sequence the use of mystery and the unknown is used, again linking to the thriller elements within our TV drama. The font used also creates connotations of creepy and dark ideas, merging childish normalities with the thriller elements. Within the episodes, the title sequence will occur approximately two minutes into the scenes. This will allow the action of the episode to be initiated and then or the title sequence to serve as a break for the audience, allowing them to process what they have just watched. It also should help the audience t be put into the right mind-set of the TV drama, as the theme is presented within the ...

Maddie Haywood, Ben Black and Lydia Clarke Characters: -Main character: approximately 60 year old man, with mental problems -The children who visit the asylum -The carers of the asylum -The other patients of the asylum -The victims of the attacks -The hero is a carer of the asylum Plot: The old man is a patient in a mental asylum, he has visions of terrorist attacks which later episodes have happened and are seen by the audience on news broadcasts. The nursery children visit the mental asylum and the man plays mind games with the children, manipulating their mental outlook as they grow up, becoming terrorist attackers. The hero suspects something of the old man and looks into what he is doing over the series, eventually realizing what he's been doing. He then tries to stop it by finding the children he manipulated and protecting the public from the attacks that he now knows will occur. The Title Sequence: An establishing shot of the me...

E.g. Top of the Lake In the opening sequence for TV drama Top of the Lake, the thirty seconds gives the audience a insight into what events there are to come within the series. The music used in the background is the soundtrack to the TV drama. Its repeatable tone, traditional feel and almost old-fashioned sound makes for a calm though also fast-paced soundtrack. This soundtrack is very similar to others used in TV dramas, hence, giving the audience the idea of mystery from the off-set. The graphics used within the opening sequence are cleverly done; the title is shown in a tall but thin, silver font. Making it look delicate, precious and easily damaged; possibly linking to a character the reader will go on to meet. Further credits are also then showed, these include actors, producers and writers. Again, the font used is all uniform throughout, though compared to the title, is of a bolder font. The shot scans down the picture, reinforcing the waterfall affect which has been c...

In 'Stranger Things', the typical childish stereotype is used throughout. The narrative follows a group of young boys, who are the main focus from the off-set. The establishing shot shows the house, then cuts to the basement where the boys are playing. A sequence of past-paced editing is then used, showcasing how seriously then boys are taking their made-up game; hence working with the childish stereotype. Shot-reverse-shots are also used to keep with the dialogue between the children, with each shot being of the pint-of-view of another child - helping to place them all equally. This idea is often used in modern concepts, with all minors being seen as one and not individuals. The next shot is a low-angle shot, positioning the mother up the stairs; therefore placing the children and the audience on a lower level. This helps to give more authority to the mother, making the audience feel on the same hierarchal level as the boys. A similar authority is given in the next scene, the...

Dr Foster This series, first aired in 2015, showing huge popularity with the female gender; and again showing just as popular in the second series, which aired September this year. The lead character, Dr Gemma Foster, played by Suranne Jones is the towns local GP who discovers her husband has been having an affair with her friends daughter. This first suspicion which Foster has, leads on to unravel a much deeper plot, involving family members and proving that Gemma shouldn't have completely trusted those who were closest to her. In this TV drama series, Dr Gemma Foster's character is presented as the complete opposite to the female cliché. The traditional female stereotype says that a female is gentle, sympathetic and nurturing. Whereas the character takes over the aggression of the typical male stereotype, though instead of being seen as empowering and strong, she is shown as almost being insane and crazy. This all has occurred over the male in the series,...

After watching a short clip from season 1, episode 1 of Mad Men, there are many points that I can pull from the scenes - looking at gender representation and techniques used. Firstly it is clear that the scenes are set in the typical 1960s era, with the mise-on-scene including 1960s suits and skirt styles. The scenes also showed an old-fashioned office building, with a shot of 1960s cars and the traditional yellow taxi cabs of New York. The scenes within the office showed typewriters and black and white pictures, again showing how the mise-en-scene is of  the 1960s era. In the clip, the director uses many different types of camera shots to showcase the whole scene, providing the audience with a full insight into how the director wants to represent the 1960s era. For example, at the beginning of the clip, an ariel shot is used. This shows the side of a office building, where you can see old fashioned  cars and the typical New York yellow...

A TV drama following GP Gemma Foster, who suspects that her husband is having an affair with another women. This initial thought begins to snowball inside of Foster, causing her to begin to believe her worst thoughts. Though when her nightmare soon becomes a reality, Gemma soon begins to look deeper into her husbands other life. The shocking reality of the plot, helps to grip the audience with Suranne Jones portraying the perfect wife; seemingly acting just as any other would in the situation she is flung into. The plot follows as Foster explores further into her husbands affair, going against the law as the local GP to gather more information than she should find out. Personally, this new TV drama will definitely make my top 10 list. I enjoyed the unique plot idea, with the added twists that the writer has used; it keeps me engaged and I would definitely recommend the series to anyone who has an interest in television dramas or even reality TV.

This new series is set in a remote town in New Zealand, with the inexperienced detective Robin Griffin, played by Elizabeth Moss, leading the case to fine information on the girl who washes up on the Sydney beach in a suitcase. The scene opens to a scene of an Asian family eating noodles, with a suitcase in the foreground. The audience then sees this suitcase being dragged towards the coast, through a cemetery first, making the audience question the contents of the case. These theories are then confirmed when the camera pans across to the suitcase floating in the ocean, with a split in the side, and from it, long black human hair is flowing. The plot continues as Robin finds herself thrown into being the lead detective, with the case taking her into brothels; later finding a connection to her 17year old daughter's older boyfriend. This brings them closer together, at the dismay of her adopted mother. Split between family and work, Griffin soon finds herself in a torn situati...

The Night Manager This was a one-off series based on a previous hit novel by John le Carré. Tom Hiddleston plays the lead role, a spy who gets deeply involved with illegal affairs. The plot was gripping from the offset, with added unexpected twists in each episode; ending with a dramatic finale where the illegal business is busted. Silent Witness The several series of Silent Witness have all followed a team of  forensic pathology experts who become involved in crimes, these become very deep-routed, involving the entire plot, even from previous series. Due to the continuation from previous series, the story line is well matured, becoming more involving as each episode goes on. Line of Duty This is a police drama that investigates the anticorruption of the police unit AC 12. The TV drama gripped audiences from the start due to its unique and twisted plot, where one of the police inspectors becomes involved in a crime, though hides this from t...