Exam Tips

14th May-  Pre release material

14th June-  Exam

Take into the exam: coloured pencils

                                   fine liner

                                   ruler

- We need to have depth knowledge of 3 crime dramas

- We need to have independent  knowlegde of shows you have watched outside of school

- 2 examples of theories: uses and gratifications- Information, entertainment, personal identity, relationships

  Propp- hero, princess, villan etc

  Todorov- all naratives follow 3 parts (equilbrium, disruption, resolution)

  Barthes

  Levi-strous- Binary opposites (good vs bad, police vs criminals)

- Detailed knowledge of characters

- Good understanding of settings

- Set pieces and iconography: police sirens

  walkie talky

   bullet proof jackets

   crime scene

- Jargon - words associated with crime dramas: MO- modus operandus (the way in which they like to work)

   eg for a killer they could stab someone 5 times

- Write in role!

- Expect to pitch something:

- Rationale- why would your crime drama be successful?

Venn Diagram

Enigmas in Crime Dramas

Roland BARTHES is a theorist who looked into narratives (storylines). One conclusion he came to was that all narratives have ENIGMAS. These are puzzles/questions which have to be solved. Typically these are questions that are raised which the audience are encouraged to think about.

CSI new york

The partner of a lead singer of a band is found dead on his apartment floor after his girlfriends concert.
He has self defensive bruises on his arm which suggests he was attacked but the cause of death was him being shot in the head when he wasnt looking.As soon as the girlfriend geheard the gun shot she ran from the bedroom into the room the murder was committed and she found the body burried in money. On closer look they soon find out the money is FAKE!
We see a number of suspects that all have good motives to have killed him but it is not obvious  at the bigginging who done it. At the end we find out that the murderer was the one who lean't money to Michael enabling him to be able to buy his girlfriend the guitar shes always dreamed for. The girlfriend performs another concert at the end and dedicates a song to her boyfriend.

Multiple suspects
Motives
Fake Money
Murder
Montages
Weapons(gun)

Settings

How are settings significant in a crime drama?

In CSI-Miami, the setting is significant because Miami is home to a lot of different cultures and this allows more diverse crimes and feuds to happen. It is a very wealthy and glamorous place and his shows in the narrative of the episodes. Usually the crimes are to do with power or money.
In Luther, the setting is in a part of London which is a lot more gritty and has a lot of estates and this allows for the more hard and gruesome crimes to happen. Also it ties in with Luther being a anti hero as if you’re worked in the upper area of London you’re more likely to abide by the law more.

Luther as a flawed Anti-Hero.

• Luther is an anti hero as he chooses not to follow the law completly in his work. The first time we see this is when he doesnt save the criminal (Madson) when he is falling to his death. A typical hero would have saved the man but instead, Luther decides to let him hang there untill he gets what he wants from him and this causes Madson to loose grip and fall.
• Another reason for the beleive that Luther is an anti hero is that he brakes into Alices flat to try and find evidence to use against her. He has produced a very personal relationship with alice which generally shoudnt happen between a cop and a suspect.
• He also gets involved with fights. When he got into the fight with his wifes new partner he uses his authority to stop the police from breaking up the fight.
• Similarly he tends to prioritise his personal life other his professional life. We see this when he blackmails Alice to leave his ex wife alown and in return he will arrest someone else for the crime she had comitted. This is obviously not right as he is letting a cerial killer free.
• Also in some cases he chooses not to report things that he should. for example he found the crime scene in one episode and because he wanted to out smart and catch the criminal himself, he didnt report it and instead tryed to frame the criminal.

Interogation Scenes- This is usually a one on one situation with the detective and the suspect. It is so they can find out more evidence untill they have enough evidence to prosicute someone. The audience enjoy theese scenes as it gives them information so they can try and figure out who done it.

Key dialogue and iconography-

• Tape recordings.
• Empty rooms.
• Confessions.
• Alabi.

The Laboratory- The laboratory scene is when they analyse the peices of DNA or any evidence found on to see if they can find any trace of who the criminal may be. Its role in the narrative is very important because this is were you strat to find out clues and were the detectives start to unravel the puzzle. The pleasure gained for the audience by watching theese scenes are that you can see how things are done and we enjoy watvhing all the technology at work and making our own assumptions on things.
Key dialogue and iconography-

• DNA
• Fibre
• Telescopes
• Lab coats
• Test tubes
• High tech computers

Crime Scene- The crime scene is were the crime has been committed and usually there is some sort of result of the crime such as a dead body there. In this scene you see the different poeple involved in the CSI team looking for evidence to get them started so they can look for the criminal. This is one of the most important part in a crime drama as this is were we first find out what he crime was and when we start to figure out how it was commited. Usually we see the detective arrive at the crime scene and then they start to find clues.

Key dialogue and iconography-

• Crime scene tape.
• Evidence markers.
• Victim.
• Camera's.
• Weapon.

 

Press Conference-  The press conference is where the police or an important person informs the media and press about the crime that has been commited. The press are able to ask questions about anything to do with the crime such as if they have any leads or suspects. The audiences pleasure from this scene is that we feel as if we are more improtant than the press as we kow more than what they are being told.

Key dialogue and iconography-

• Cameras
• Microphones
• Desks
• Press
• Tv coverage.
• Police
• Family members of the victim.

The Eureka Moment - The Eureka moment is when some important information is uncovered and i clicks in the investigators head and they know who the criminal is. This is the moment when we find out who done it and if we got it right or not. The pleasure of this scene is that if you did get it right, you get a feeling of inteligence as you knew who is was before anyone else and this makes you want to watch more.

Key dialogue and iconography-

• Montages
• Flashbacks
• reacuuring Character
• evidence