Red+Riding+-+Group+1B

=High End TV Drama= By Ceri Roberts and Caleb Oatey

Mainly using the books:
 * State of Play: Contemporary “High End” TV Drama – Robin Nelson
 * Everything Bad is Good For You – Steven Johnson

Looking at: Red Riding: In The Year Of Our Lord 1983 (2009)

One of the ways that Robin Nelson noted that contemporary high end TV drama differed from traditional TV drama was in its aspiration to be as close to cinema as possible.
 * Aspiration to be close to cinema**

Technology played a big part in this with developments such as HD and widescreen TV’s making the idea of a ‘home cinema’ more achievable, and also in the impact it had on the way TV dramas were/are created. (more about technology later)

“It is clear that the traditional claim of film that it’s imagery is deeper and more rich in detail and thus more visually exciting and complex is being challenged by developments in television technology” – State of Play, pg. 111.

Two ways that are apparent in television trying to be seen as cinema are, firstly the development and increased emphasis on visual style, and secondly with its use of soundtrack.

“...a tendency towards production values which aspire to the depth, complexity and visual interest of those traditionally associated with cinema” – State of Play, pg. 112.
 * Visual Style**

Nelson highlights visual style as “the most evident impact” in TV’s attempt in becoming more like cinema, especially in high end TV drama, saying that: “...there can be little doubt that visual style in television has become something to be appreciated in itself” – State of Play, pg. 112

Some of the ways that Nelson lists that high-end TV drama accomplishes this more cinematic visual style are:-
 *  Digital Effects (particularly its purpose in Ally McBeal as opposed to CSI)
 *  Visual Iconography (especially the different functions it serves – e.g. the Manhattan skyline in SATC vs. the representation of New Jersey in The Sopranos)
 *  Filming on Location (a variation on the traditional cinematic approach, as opposed to TV studio/outside broadcasting that’s traditional to TV)
 *  Lighting

“In Particular, lighting is more focused in respect of the specific visual style aimed at, in contrast with general studio lighting which tends to flatten out features of faces and environments” – State of Play, pg.116
 * Lighting in Red Riding**

In Red Riding, lighting is particularly used to create a sense of gritty social realism.

The lack of lighting seen in most of it – often combined with cigarette smoke – creates a grim, brutal mood for the viewer.

Also noticeable is the harsh contrast between light and dark seen throughout.

One example of this is in the following clip, in which you can see the stark difference between the darkness and the light when Hazel is found which seems to represent hope.

//CLIP -// [|//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evcPhirwCaU//] //(about 1 hour, 33 mins in)//

Apart from visual style, Nelson also points out that the use of soundtrack is a way in which high-end TV drama aims to be closer to cinema.
 * Soundtrack**

Early TV drama only had 2 types of sound – ambient + diegetic.

As TV drama developed, this changed – sound or music was typically used to emphasize emotion or to signal a particular mood – e.g. impending danger.

This is generally how music is used in Red Riding, the only other example that springs to mind is the solicitor’s love of soul music – and apart from telling us about his character, it might also serve to draw attention to the time when the drama is set.

Other recent high end TV dramas make more use of contemporary music, and use it to portray the inner thoughts and feelings of characters, or sometimes the lyrics and mood of the song can reflect the mood of the episode’s narrative.

An example of this is in this scene from prison break where the character of Haywire dies. The music played is Home by Alexi Murdoch, and the lyrics reflect someone wanting to go home. The lyrics at end are child-like, which in addition is appropriate for his character.

//CLIP// //-// [|//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR7k-XqRvfY//] //(from about 50 seconds in)//

As you can see from this clip, the lyrics are about wanting to go home are appropriate as he kills himself as a means of escape.

In “Everything Bad is Good for You”, Steven Johnson talks about how high-end TV is becoming more complex and is demanding more from its audience, and how it does this using narrative forms – in particular by asking them to follow multiple threads.
 * Narrative Forms**

(Other ways its demanding of its audience include that the pace of TV dramas are accelerating, and also in some cases, information is deliberately withheld or left obscure, so that the viewer has to fill in the information themselves.)

Johnson notes that what is perhaps most surprising is that the shows that have made the most demands on the audience have become the most lucrative/popular. Multiple Threading – “the most acclaimed structural convention of modern TV programming” (EBIGFY, pg. 65)

Narrative Threading in TV dramas mean they’re not as self-contained. And where other dramas have a plot that begins and ends in a single episode, this method has more Primary characters, and also it picks up 1 or 2 threads from previous episodes and leaves 1 or 2 open at the end.

(Johnson also observes that this isn’t all that original, but is just new to evening programming, as it is basically the structure of a soap opera)

Since the 1980s, there has been a noticeable increase in the narrative complexity in TV dramas – a few examples of this are: ER, Lost, The Sopranos, Flash forward

The differences in these are:–
 * They routinely follow a number of distinct threads over the course of an episode
 * There’s no clear distinction between dominant + minor plots
 * The plots layer atop of each other
 * Every thread builds on events from previous episodes

The most recent of these examples – flash forward.

The drama follows a number of main characters that all have their own plot lines as well as contributing to the main story

(This clip also refers back to previous point about cinema – as the promo looks like a movie trailer)

//CLIP =// [|//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfN8G44mjU8//]

In these dramas, too, is the technique previously referred to of information being withheld, and so the questions that before might have been what’s going to happen, turns into a question of what’s happening right now. In Red Riding, the question does still seem to be what’s going to happen, however the identity of the “wolf” was withheld until the last moment.


 * Bibliography**

Books:-
 * JOHNSON, S. 2005. // Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter .// Riverhead.
 * NELSON, R. 2007. //State Of Play: Contemporary “high end” TV drama//. Manchester University Press

Web:-
 * DUNLEAVY, T. Website. []. 13 Dec. 09
 * JUKES, P. Website. []. 13 Dec. 09.
 * MULLANEY, A. Website. [] 13 Dec. 09.
 * SWENEY, M. Website. [] 13 Dec. 09.
 * Website. []. 13 Dec. 09
 * Website. []. 13 Dec. 09
 * Website. [] 13 Dec. 09.
 * Website. []. 13 Dec. 09.
 * Website. [] 13 Dec. 09.
 * Website. []. 13 Dec. 09.