TV & Film Dramas - David

Single camera is a type of filming where there is only one camera shooting, this therefore gives the director a lot of control and influence on how the shots look. I will be analysing a feature film, TV series, and TV serial that are all shot in the single camera method; for each of these I shall be covering factual information, genre, narrative, characters, themes, audio, and camera shots. Furthermore, a serial show is one that has an ongoing storyline throughout episodes, and in contrast a series show is one in which the main story is resolved at the end of each episode.

To begin with, the feature film that I have decided to report on is The Descent. The Descent is a British horror film that was directed by Neil Marshal and produced by Christian Colson. The film starred, Shauna Macdonald, Nathalie Mendoza, Alex Ried, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, and Nora Jane Noone. The film was released originally on 6th July 2005, and 2006 for U.S.

The main genre of this feature film is horror, however it had multiple sub-genres, these being adventure, thriller, drama, and somewhat sci-fi. The film follows six young females who are go on adventurous trips together; during one trip they go into a cave system and get trapped. While trying to find a way out they encounter humanoids which they have to fight off in order to survive. The film follows a linear narrative - there is a start, middle and end, however the ending did change for the American version. But, both the original and American endings are open - they are both left on cliff hangers which are led up to the audiences' interpretation.

Furthermore, as the characters were all female it added an interesting take to female empowerment and feminism. As well as this, as they were a group of friends when trying to survive it obviously puts a strain on the friendships and trust which creates another interesting sub story-line. The main heroine in the film is Sarah; you know this firstly due to the fact that her past is featured at the start of the film, however she is originally presented to be quite weak and vulnerable. It isn't until one particular scene where she falls into a pool of mud and blood, when she comes back up she changes into the hero - therefore defending herself and fighting off the humanoids. However, you're led to believe that Juno is the hero, but instead she becomes the false hero, turned villain. She is the false hero because although, originally she is the best fighter and survivor, she leaves her friends to die which a hero wouldn't do. Also, this makes her a villain as well as the fact that she had an affair with Sarah's (now dead) husband.

There are a few themes seen in The Descent, they are, love, death, danger, revenge, friendship, and even freedom. The theme of love is shown at the start where you see Sarah's family die in a car crash and how it has an affect on her - the ones she loves dies which in turn destroys her emotionally. The themes of danger and death are obviously shown  through the fact that the humanoids are evil and killing the characters. The theme of friendship and revenge is shown firstly at the start when the characters are all a group of friends having an adventure, however revenge is then seen when Sarah stabs Juno in the leg (leaving her) because Juno left all her other friends to die as well as sleeping with Sarah's husband. Lastly, the theme of freedom is shown at the end - after Sarah gets her revenge we see light shine on her and she escapes the cave, which is the main story-line of the film. However, we then come to realise that her escape is actually a dream, she is still stuck in the cave. Therefore, this theme of freedom is presented in a way that it's difficult for the characters to gain.

The way that The Descent uses audio effectively is seen at the ending of the film; when the Sarah is finally escaping the cave the music is very uplifting and promising. The audio is then used even more effectively when the music stops and you're met by silence before there's a jump scare presented with the sound effect of a scream. Another thing to note about the audio used in The Descent is the lack of it - as the humanoids are blind, they can only react to sound. This therefore meant that the characters were silent quite a lot throughout the film in order to survive, however this was effective because it added to the horror and thriller genre of making the film more suspenseful.

The most effective shots seen in this film was firstly the scene where the Sarah arises from a pool of blood. This is effective because before this she was a somewhat hopeless character, a bit of a damsel, however when she goes under the pool and rises back up it's presented as some kind of baptism. By this I mean that previously we have a useless scared character but after her 'baptism' she is a new person and is determined to fight and leave - this is also when we truly see our 'hero'. Another effective use of camera, is the long shot of the same character climbing up the hill to freedom. Everything is blacked out except the light from the outside, which is one long bright streak. This is effective because it presents a visual metaphor of heaven in a sense.

Next, the television series that I will be analysing is, Outnumbered. Outnumbered is a British situation comedy that was created and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The show aired on BBC One from August 2007 until March 2014; it was developed by 'Hat Trick Productions' and starred Hugh Dennis, Claire Skinner, Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche, Ramona Marquez, David Ryall, and Rosalind Ayres.

Outnumbered follows the lives of a middle class British family (two parents, and three children) while maintaining a linear narrative where each episode has a new storyline that has a start, middle, and end then by the end of the episode any problems are resolved (therefore making it a TV series and not serial). Through the fact that Outnumbered follows a linear narrative it therefore means that there aren't any open endings, they're always closed - no cliff hangers. Furthermore, the show gained it's success due to it's semi-improvised script along with the realistic presentation of families.

The main characters are obviously the parents and their three children, however there are other recurring characters that are seen throughout numerous episodes. Along with this, depending on the storyline of the episode, the "heroes" and "villains" always change. Each character in Outnumbered are very individual, this therefore comes across as appealing to the audience as it allows there to be familiarity from the characters to the audience as well as being able to relate to different characters. Lastly, the fact that each character is so different gives the show a sense of realism and believability which, like mentioned, was how it received acclaim.

Additionally, the main themes that are presented in Outnumbered were the theme of love, family, friendship, and social class. The theme of love is presented by the fact that there were different relationships happening throughout the series; this then goes along with the theme of family and friends. Apart from family, the main theme was social class, the fact that the family in Outnumbered were middle class meant that a lot of the story-lines revolve around that. By this I mean that compared to other shows (such as 'Everybody Hates Chris') where the family are lower class, it meant that story-lines would reach a different demographic.

Lastly, the television serial I will be reporting is, The Vampire Diaries. The Vampire Diaries is an American TV drama that is based on the books by L.J Smith. The show is developed by Julie Pec and Kevin Williamson, and it first aired on CW from October 2009. The show stars Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder, along with other primary characters.

Although the show is a drama, it falls under the genre(s) of supernatural, horror, and fantasy. This is because the show's plot is about two vampire brothers and a teenage girl who becomes involved in their world. This is the main plot that runs throughout the show, therefore making it a serial. It is also a serial rather than a series because each season has a storyline, in which each episode is left on an open ending. This also means that it follows a non-linear narrative, there isn't just a start/middle/end, there are flash backs and fast forwards, making the narrative all over the place.

Like mentioned before, there are three main characters, all whom are heroes. However, there is always a villain each season - a new storyline is put in play each new season (usually one or two) and this means that with a new storyline is a new villain that the heroes are trying to overcome. However, although the main storyline is about defeating the new villain, there are sub story-lines which is how the show implements it's other themes. The main themes of the show are love (presented through different relationships within the characters, as well as there being a love triangle), the theme of revenge (which is presented through the villains and story-lines), and lastly the theme of friendship.

Music is one of the main types of audio used in The Vampire Diaries. The music used in the episodes are usually quite popular known songs, this may be because it not only helps promote the artist but also the show. Furthermore, the song is always appropriate for the scene, they use sad songs for emotional scenes, and upbeat ones during joyful scenes. A specific example of good use of music was scene in one the most popular episodes where one of the two main characters die, and the song 'Wings' by Birdy is played in the background. As this was one of the biggest events to happen in the show, the song selection had to be perfect for the scene, which it was as now people familiarise the song with that specific scene.

An effective shot seen in The Vampire Diaries, was seen when the main character dies, but then turns into a vampire. The shot presents Nina Dobrev laying down eyes closed, the audience thinking she's dead but then the camera slowly zooms in to her face, before her eyes suddenly open. This is effective as the slow zoom builds up suspense and tension, and this only makes the plot twist even more shocking.