THEORY

Audience

Uses and Gratifications Theory

• Explain how we 'use' the media and what 'gratifications' (pleasures) we receive.

Hypodermic Needle Theory

• Early theory that suggests we are injected with ideas that we believe to be true

Narrative

• Todorov - 3 parts to a narrative (equilibrium, disruption, resolution)
• Propp - character types (hero, villain, princess, donor, helper etc)
• Levi-Straus - binary opposited (narratives feature conflicts between opposing forces. GOOD vs EVIL etc.
• Barthes - Narratives involve enigmas - questions/puzzles to be solved by the audience.

Enigmas in Kidnap and Ransom

1. Who is the man at the start?
2. What's in the wrapping?
3. Why is he throwing it in the lake?
4. Why is it set in a foreign country?
5. Why are they being held hostage?
6. Who is the man?
7. Where are they going?
8. What is their relationship?
9. Who's ringing?
10. Why does he have 3 phones?
11. What's in the bag he kicked in?
12. Who is the blonde girl with a cap on?
13. Why is she hiding her passport?
14. Why did she drop the keys on the floor for Trevor to pick up?

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.

Exam tips

14th May-  Pre release material

14th June-  Exam

Take into the exam;

                             coloured pencils

                             fine liners

                             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 and personal relationships
  • propp- hero, princess, villan etc
  • Todorov- all naratives follow 3 parts
    • equalibrium, disruption, resolution
  • Barthes
  • Levi-strous- Binary opposites
    • good vs bad      -   police vs criminal     -      truth vs lies
• Detailed knowledge of characters
• Good understanding of settings
• Set peices and iconography
  • police cirens
  • walkie talky
  • bullet proof jackets
  • crime scene etc
• 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!
• Expectyed to pitch something
  • eg. what are you about to read is my fantastic new idea for a crime drama. Once you read this i am sure you will not be able to wait to see the piolet episode.
• Rationale- why would your crime drama be successful?

Kidnap and Ransom - Series 2, Episode 3

This week I watched Kidnap and Ransom series 2, episode 3.

Contacting King after the kidnap of her daughter Sally, Shaffer reveals that Willard is now after the work of her husband Philip, who has created an anti-obesity drug that would be very lucrative on the black market. Philip however refuses to give up the formula in exchange for the daughter; King attempts to meet with Willard and trade a bogus formula for Sally but Willard has suspected his ruse and King only finds Sally's finger in a garbage can at the meeting site.

Meanwhile, Beddoes realizes that it was Shaffer's boss Wickham that told Willard about the existence of Philip's work during his original phone call and alerts the authorities.
Philip Shaffer is now convinced to give up the actual formula, and King meets Willard in a tense face-to-face, but secures Sally's release in exchange for the formula. After the exchange, King follows Willard a short distance and shoots the man in the hand but allows him to live; Willard is whisked away by his henchmen while King returns Sally to her family and then returns to his office. On the phone with his wife, we see King's daughter in the background of their family home; his wife informs him that the daughter is visiting for dinner, which "is a start."

TV Magazine

Settings

Crime Drama's are set in a great range of settings and they each have their own reasons to why they are set there.

Luther is set in London which is a big city. It is set in a rough area of London and there is a good variety of alley ways which highlights how Luther was able in Episode 3 to punch a suspect down without people seeing. The part of London where Luther is set is also meant to be a bit of a gruesome place which adds on to why the show seems to sometimes be scary and not very pleasant to watch due to the environment it is set at.

CSI - CSI is set in an area which is seen as sexy and glamorous and this has been enhanced throughout the show by the up to date technology and 'pretty' characters. Having a beautiful setting you can come up with the idea that CSI is a Sombre show to watch.

Luther as a flawed Anti-hero

Luther as a flawed Anti-hero

Luther is not your conventional detective, we think of  detectives as law abiding citizens however he is not.

• Luther is an antihero as he left a man to die when he has the opportunity to save his life.
• Luther also had a fight with his ex wifes boyfriend for no particular reason, just due to a disagreement which highlight he has a very short temper
• Another reason why Luther is a flawed anti- hero is because he met up with the murderer several times outside of his working hours therefore this is not a typical sub-ordinate behaviour of people working with the law
• He broke the rules and went to arrest a murdered himself when he was supposed to have a back up, this was against the rules of being a detective as he put his own life at risk.
• Furthermore Luther nearly got tempted by the seductive behaviour of a potential  murderer.
• Luther puts his personal life before his profession
• Blackmail, this is not the right thing to do and it is against the law. In episode 2 Luther blackmailed the murderes dad due to a child pornography and Alice saying they will arrest someone else if she leaves his wife alone.
• Luther Broke into a suspects flat meaning any evidence he had picked up would have been irrelevent.

Kidnap and Ransom - Series 2: Episode 2

Dominic tries to negotiate the release of the hostages before anyone discovers that the daughter of the British foreign secretary is on board, but a police sniper takes a shot at the kidnappers and they panic and drive the coach away. 


The two kidnappers fall out as the less fervent Leela questions the need to execute hostages. The injured Mahavi is released and Flo slips her passport into his pocket to hide her identity. However he is later seen making a phone call and when the kidnappers agree to release all the women and children she is held back. Eventually all the passengers are freed except Flo and Shaun and Leela offers to release Flo in exchange for immunity for herself. King consents but when he reaches the agreed meeting place makes a grisly discovery.

Kidnap and Ransom - Series 2: Episode 1

I have watched the second series of ITV1’s Kidnap & Ransom which  finds international hostage negotiator Dominic King (Trevor Eve) in Srinagar, Kashmir, finalising the release of the Mehtas, a British Asian family who were kidnapped while visiting relatives in the city.

But as the handover is completed, the police arrive and a shootout begins, which leads the kidnappers to take a member of the Mehta family and a bus full of tourists hostage, leaving Dominic battling against not just the kidnappers, but also the local police and his department in the UK.

As the clock ticks - and the hostages and the captors get more and more desperate - the intrusion of the local police, the media and the inclusion of smart phones means that the kidnappers, and not the negotiators are always one step ahead of Dominic.

Eve once more excels in his role as the cool, resourceful and seemingly omnipresent hostage negotiator. While his sixth sense for knowing about local customs and the right people to talk to make Dominic seem like a character who really is too good to be true, Crompton’s subplots show that while he is a man who kidnappers shouldn’t mess with, he’s also not the kind of man you’d want to marry.

While the onus remains on Dominic and his difficult task, the emphasis of Kidnap & Ransom is on his standing as a lone man in a foreign country, and also the realities of what can go wrong in a hostage situation.

Shot inevitably in a hand-held documentary-style, Kidnap & Ransom is visually very realistic, but the plot can be a little predictable at points – it seems pretty obvious from the very beginning that something is going to go wrong with the handover, and the bus full of stereotypical tourists does just seem too convenient. Nevertheless, it’s nearly impossible to stop watching.

Set Pieces

• What typically happens in the scene?
• What part does it play in the narrative?
• What iconography is used?
• What audience pleasures arise from the scene?
• What language may be used?

Interogation Scenes - This is where people associated with the crime/victim are interviewed to see if they have information. This allows more evidence to be gathered and provides more information as to who committed the crime.

• 2 Way Mirrors
• Empty Room
• Table and Chairs
• Tape recorder

Press Conference-  Where people are informed  about the

crimes and then people from the press are able to ask questions based on the murder.

• Cameras
• Press
• Microphones
• Desks
• Rows of chairs
• Flashes

Crime Flashback - The crime flashback is usually done to show the crime taking place, and in many occasions it is done with a different suspect to enhance to the audience the range of suspects that may have been part of the crime.

• Dark, as the flashbacks usually show scenes of violence and crime
• Flashback Scenes may cause frightening moments to the audience and it allows them to witness the crime themselves.
• Clarification, gives proof of who, how and where the crime was committed in the narrative.
• Jolty Camera
• Quick Montages

The Eureka Moment - The moment when some important information is uncovered and an investigator may have a moment of intelligence and can figure out who the suspect is.

• In many ocassions this is the moment when the crime will finally be solved or a step away from it being solved.
• This may be a moment when the audience will either find out that they were right or wrong about who the victim was. This makes the audience feel involved and  intelligent if they were right.
• Facial Expressions are usually happy and exciting as the moment everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.

Crime Scene- This is the scene where the crime has been.

committed and the investigators go to see what has happened. This scene allows evidence to be collected and taken back to the lab so that they may be able to find the perpetrator

•Detective arrives at crime scene

•Police tape

•Evidence Markers

•Cameras

The Chase - This is when the police or the investigators are chasing the suspect.

• Builds tension within the narrative, is the moment that causes the audience to consider will they/won't they catch them
• Cars, alleyways, pathways, buildings, street lights, city streets etc.
• Gets the audience excited and more involved in the crime drama.

Next of kin- This is where the family of the victims are informed of their death.

• This tends to be sad for the audience and it is usually a silent/quiet scene as the family or relatives are being informed about a not very good and 'happy' thing.
• This could sometimes bring further clues as the family may know someone who could have committed the crime.

Autopsy - This is when the body of the victim is investiagted and

sometimes there is further evidence found through the investiagtion

of the body, and connecting a person with the murder.

• Body Bag
• Tweasers
• Lab Coat
• Table which the body is on

The Laboratory - Forensics used.  Usually where

they have collected evidence from the crime scene and they analyse it to see if they can gather any clues. It plays a part in the narrative as the investigators are able to find clues as to who is the perpetrator.
•Lab coats
•Gloves
•Test Tubes

CSI: NY, Season 7, Episode 17 - "Do Or Die".

I watched CSI: NY, episode 17 which is called 'Do Or Die'.
CSI uncovers plenty of inappropriate behavior at one of New York's most prestigious prep schools after one of the school's brightest students is murdered. The team has to figure out why a young woman was killed and if she knew about some nasty videos being made at Archford Academy.

The plot was formulaic and lacking in any of the genuine twists, or even true depth of emotion, that have set the standard for CSI: NY.

It's almost become a cliche these days that behind the doors of the expense prep school terrible and sinister things are going on that parents and faculty are unaware of. A sense of bias lurked in the corners of the dialogue as Danny expressed his adamance that his daughter would go to a public school, and a teacher made it plain, without actually saying it directly, that Emmy was picked on because she wasn't as wealthy as the other students.

All high school experiences come with trials, inner angst, and not so nice things lingering in the corridors. If there was a point that was meant to be made about how prep schools are just as bad as public schools, the message was lost and came off as smarmy.

Not all was average, as the writers managed to come up with the most clever form of a cheat sheet I've ever seen. Crib notes expertly printed on a water bottle was a pretty awesome concept. I wonder how many students watching the show will give it a try!!!

The sequence of the students texting each other and setting off the wave of instant communication alerting the student body of the murder was a brilliant touch. I wish that could have been expounded on throughout instead of just at the beginning and end.

Adam has always been on edge and nervous around Mac, but it seems he's gotten more paranoid about his efforts in the lab lately. He is a character that is constantly trying to prove his worth, but it just seems that by now he could ease up a little bit more. Instead, he goes into a panic whenever he discovers evidence that's out of the ordinary, or inexplicable.

Venn Diagram similarities/differences

Criminal Minds - Season 7. Episode: "Closing Time"

Episode Synopsis: The BAU team hit choppy waters on the beaches of Southern California when they discover a series of bodies hidden in lifeguard towers along the coast.

Members in Criminal Minds include Emily Prentiss, the daughter of high-powered diplomats and a former Interpol agent whose past life has caught up with her, leading to her presumed demise; Special Agent Derek Morgan, an expert on obsessional crimes; Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, a classically misunderstood genius whose social IQ is as low as his intellectual IQ is high; Jennifer “J.J.” Jareau, the team’s confident unit liaison who was called to a top Pentagon job but returns to the BAU under mysterious circumstances; and Penelope Garcia, a computer wizard who helps research the cases. Each member brings his or her own area of expertise to the table as they pinpoint predators’ motivations and identify their emotional triggers in the attempt to stop them.

Above Suspicion Season 4 Episode 3 - SILENT SCREAM

I watched the final episode of above suspicion and I think it is a very good crime drama as it is not very similar to others i have seen before because this one involves more female characters, especially Anna Travis who is a heroine cop and solves the crime and is on the right side of the law most of the time. However she is also a bit of a rookie as she is a bit dopey and and sometimes seems a bit unexperienced and makes a few mistakes when solving the crime, which also means that she follows her instincts independently of the team

Travis follows her instincts independently from the team, but her devotion to the force begins to lead her down a dangerous path. Langton continues to suspect that his colleagues scuppered his chances of becoming Commander, and tries to secure a confession from one of them. Crime drama, starring Kelly Reilly, Ciaran Hinds, Michelle Holmes and Shaun Dingwall. Last in the series.Anna Travis has been assigned to her first murder case – a gruesome series of killings that has shocked even the most hardened of detectives. The murders started eight years ago, and now the body count is up to six. The method of killing is identical, and the victims are all drug-users and prostitutes. Then a seventh body is found. The modus operandi is the same, but the victim is a young student. The suspect is Alan Daniels, a much-loved actor on the brink of international stardom. His arrest would create media frenzy. But if he is found innocent Anna’s hard fought for reputation would be destroyed.

Characters Of Crime Drama's

Stock Characters:
• Hero Cop: the main character in a crime drama who solves the crime and is always on the right side of law. E.g. Horatio Caine from CSI, Nick Rowan (Heartbeat).
• Heroine Cop: a female version of the main character who solves the crime and is on the right side of the law most of the time. E.g. Inspector Kate Longton (Juliet Bravo).
• Anti – hero: A main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage. E.g. Dexter Morgan (Dexter).
• Quirky Detectives: Detectives in Crime Drama’s which are quirky and not so experienced. E.g. Robert Goren (Law and Order: Criminal Intent)
• Bad tempered but brilliant detectives: Detectives which are very good detectives and on the right side of the law however they are bad tempered and in many cases they may be old in age. E.g. Inspector Morse.
• Rookie: Inexperienced and new to the show. E.g. Andy McNally (Rookie Blue).
• Buddy Partners: characters which are partners and they work together and help each other to solve a crime for example Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. They have a good relationship and are always on each other’s soldier to help them solve the crime out.
• Grumpy, world-weary superior officer: Bad tempered characters, end of career. E.g. Captain Cragen (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit)
• Forensic scientists/pathologists/other medical professionals: Detectives who solve crimes using forensics for example finger prints and other things they may find and analysing every situation. They usually tend to use science to explain the crime. E.g (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
• Psychology experts/ consultants/ helpers: Investigators and Detectives who use mind to investigate into the crime, their knowledge is used more than forensic science. E.g. Sherlock Holmes.


Officers of the law:
Codes and Conventions:
• What style of detective are they? What is their role? Who do they work for?

• Sherlock: Sherlock has a genius mind and can figure out and do an investigation straight away, although sometimes he is on the wrong side of the law which makes him an anti-hero. He is also very self centred, Lacks in social graces and Humorous. Sherlock is also superior towards the police, without problems to solve, it will tear itself to pieces (needs problems to live).

• Horatio Caine: Horatio Caine is all about getting the criminal. He is single minded and sometimes may be forceful. He is very intelligent and sometimes can be a bit cheesy with his ‘one-liners’. He is also a very heroic character with high morale and above all he is a calm character who is on the right side f the law and does his job very well. He is also very domineering and superior. Criminals in CSI range from everyday suburban parents to sinister gang bosses. Similarly the victims could be high profile officials or everyday teenagers.

Audience:
• What is the appeal of this character – who will they appeal to

• Sherlock: Sherlock appeals to the audience because he has a talent no one else has, it is a very good original idea and no other television detective works like Sherlock. He appeals to a varied audience for different reasons for example: Family audiences because families will watch Sherlock and enjoy watching a crime drama which is appropriate yet entertaining. Educated audiences would also want to watch this as they would understand exactly what happens in crime scenes however they would like to see something slightly different to their everyday lives yet very similar.

• Horatio Caine: Horatio Caine is a very appealing character to all types of audiences as he sometimes can be funny and brings a bit of a humour to the show however he also has the intelligent character with a high morale which would appeal to adults and teenagers. The audience pleasures at the end of the episode we watched which was ‘Last Stand’ was very challenging as we really wanted to know whether Horatio will kill Memo or not, and we all started guessing what he would do. As teenagers we always like a bit of a challenge for our mind and this makes it very appealing and we get hooked on it.

Representation:
How are they represented – personality, relationships, sub-plot, mise-en-scene
• Sherlock’s intelligence is a very good indicator of a character playing in a crime drama because his mentality is very good and he can figure things out very fast.
There was not a lot of technology used as Sherlock’s intelligence was good enough. The theme of intelligence links to the more intelligent you are the better character of crime drama you’re going to be and this links in well with Sherlock. Cunning in Sherlock is when the taxi driver does not want to get caught. If you do bad things the justice always ends with the bad person in court. The setting, where the whole series was set was in a city which makes it better to watch as it is more modern. There was a lot of flashbacks but mainly on the important bits and when Sherlock was trying to figure something out from the past for example when he was on the back of the taxi he had a flashback of when he first saw Dr Watson and he explains how he could figure out everything. The camera was moving fast when Sherlock was in the urge of finding something out and throughout the whole series it went into a medium pace. The dialogue was when Sherlock was explaining about the women who were laying face down on the floor. Also when Sherlock at the end met the killer and had a conversation with him he was trying to make him take the pill and they kept talking and having a conversation. The montage was 3 people taking pills to commit suicide.

Sub-Genres and Hybrids