Although watching TV is something most of us do every day, analysing a TV programme is as complex a process as analysing a written text. TV has its own language, a series of building blocks, the visual equivalent to words, which are connected together for an audience to 'read'. The creators of a TV programme, or a TV commercial, use a series of codes in order to represent reality in the two dimensional form of television. For any sequence of moving images you need to consider the following
The way in which the story is put together, and how the sequence you are analysing moves the story along.
How the images are put together - lighting, camera angles, shot composition, editing, any special effects
The thinking behind the images - how settings (location, colour), characters, costumes, props etc (the re-presentation of reality) create meaning
The way in which sound adds to the images through dialogue, music and sound effects.
It is only by combining all these elements that we create a story - try watching TV with the sound off, or imagining that the characters were all dressed in identical, bland clothes. Nothing you ever see onscreen is accidental: the makers of TV programmes have total control over what is known as the mise-en-scène (a French phrase meaning 'the things in the picture') and take great care over the contents of every shot.
When analysing TV, it is important to think about the individual contributions of the different members of the creative team. The director has overseen the whole operation, and is the one who tells the actors what to do, but you also need to think about the quality of the contribution of the following:
A script is a set of instructions, including not only dialogue, but details of action that must be interpreted by the director. The instructions might be as simple as "they fight" to cover a four minute sequence. The story belongs to the scriptwriter, as well as what the characters say. TV dramas, especially series, are usually written by a team of scriptwriters
This is the person ultimately responsible for recording a scene, and decisions about camera lenses, lighting and depth of focus belong to them. They work very closely with the director, both on set and during the planning/storyboarding process
Production Designer
Sets and costumes are vital to the overall atmosphere of a tv programme.
Characters
All stories are told by way of characters' actions, so it is important to consider what actors do in order to create those characters. Never forget how much costume creates character, either - we tend to judge people by what they wear in real life as well as in the movies. For instance, if you see someone in police uniform you instantly assume they are a member of the police force whose job it is to uphold law and order. Costumes can be more subtle than that, but they still give audiences a lot of instant information about the status (expensively dressed? wearing ragged clothes?), age and personality (are they flamboyant? shy?) of a character.
Stereotypes
In TV programmes, as in other media, characters may appear onscreen for only a couple of minutes, and it is not important that they have a fully developed personality. The characters may be created as a stereotype, which is a kind of code, prearranged with the audience. This means that if a character is given certain attributes, the audience will recognise them as being of a certain type, and judge them accordingly. They will not have to do any more working in interpreting the character. Stereotypes are essentially assumptions that are made about a person or group's character or attributes, based on a general image of what a particular group of people is like. Here are some examples of stereotypes:
Good or bad?
Although using stereotypes saves a lot of explanation and onscreen time, some people think this is a lazy way of creating character. Others would go so far as to say that stereotypes are dangerous, as they encourage us to think large groups of people are all the same, and often have the same bad characteristics.
- How would you feel if someone judged you as a stereotype and not an individual?
- Do you think non-fiction TV programmes ever use stereotypes?
- How much do you think TV commercials use stereotypes?
Stars
Stars are performers who are more famous than the roles they play. A TV star brings the same set of qualities to every part they take, and audiences expect them to be nearly the same in each TV programme they appear in. These qualities are known as their star persona. TV stars don't have to be actors, although most are, they can be chefs, presenters, chat-show hosts or even participants in commercials or gameshows who are widely recognised.
TV stars often appear in long-running soap operas or comedy series, and may have been playing the same part for many years. Fans often confuse them with the character they play, which can make life very difficult for an actor, especially if they want to leave that role behind and try something different. They may find this impossible as they have become typecast (ie they can't play anything other than variations of the same role, not because they are a bad actor, but because audiences won't believe in them).
Stars are very important to the producers of TV programmes because they are popular with audiences and can guarantee that people will watch - increasing viewing figures. Check out some of these sites dedicated to TV stars to see what sort of fans they attract:
Genre
TV programmes are normally categorised first by whether they are fiction or non-fiction and then into genre, such as soap opera, historical drama, police series, sitcom, thriller, science fiction etc for fiction and news, documentary, chat show etc for non-fiction. This helps audiences in choosing and understanding a TV programme as they will have certain ideas about what you would expect from it. Some TV programmes mix up the different conventions and are described as 'cross-genre'.
- How would you categorise the TV programme you are analysing?
- Which category do you think 'reality TV' (such as Survivor) fits into?
Browse through some 'by genre' reviews of TV shows here.
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