Unit 43: Producing a Product for TV: September 2014

THE BRIEF

THREE TELEVISION PROGRAMME ANALYSIS

1) Top Gear

Series 4 Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRRjBVbPJWI

Content
There's a lot of contrasting informative and entertaining segments of the content in order to keep the show varied and interesting. Like in a magazine, Top Gear reviews a plethora of cars from fairly priced family cars to multi-million pound one of a kind machines. They review the cheaper cars with a mind to the middle class budget and review the mind blowing muscle, sports and supercars in order to appeal more to the wealthier people. Also, by reviewing these expensive cars this appeals to the less wealthy people as it gives them the opportunity to see the fancy cars in action - something they otherwise would struggle to do without purchasing one, which is out of the question. The reviews generally involve images of one of the presenters driving the car around either the Top Gear track or somewhere abroad with beautiful views and thus they comment on the cars performance, power, price and comparison to similar cars simultaneously.

The 'star in a reasonably priced car' part of the show has been specifically designed to attract a wider demographic to the show. This segment will typically feature the presenter Jeremy Clarkson performing an interview with an comedian (Omid Djalili), F1 driver (Mark Webber), musician (Roger Daltrey) or politician (Alistair Campbell), for example. Video footage of the guest's lap of the Top Gear track is played with a commentary from the star and Clarkson. They then find out where they came on the leaderboard.

Every so often, the Top Gear presenters are coerced by their producers to take part in a special challenge that takes them to a different country e.g Bolivia, India and America. These specials are very much focussed on one theme, much like a special edition of a magazine can be. However, there are smaller challenges completed by the presenters on each weekly show that only take up a small part of the episode. These challenges are generally very humourous, and the presenters are forced to do unusual things, most notably perhaps when they were asked to make their own stretch limousines out of cars and drive celebrities to the Brit awards and when they were tasked to turn a reliant robin into a space shuttle. These challenges are very entertaining because something usually goes horribly wrong in typical Top Gear style.

There is a news section of the show just like you would see featured in a magazine. It involves the presenters sitting around a television discussing the latest automobile news such as the release of new cars and what their initial thoughts about them are.

The cool wall is a part of the show occasionally following the news which lets the presenters debate with the audience whether a car is cool or not. A picture of the car is then stuck on the wall, with sections ranging from 'Seriously Uncool' to 'Sub Zero'. This part of the show is entertaining because it involves participation with the audience (the presenters ask them to put their hands up if something is cool/uncool) and the presenters generally squabble and play on the fact that one of the presenters, Hammond, is really short and can't reach the wall, allowing Clarkson to place the pictures wherever he wants.

Structure
I decided to watch an episode of Top Gear which was Series Four Episode Two and was originally broadcasted on the 23rd of May 2004. The structure of the show followed this arrangement respectively:

Firstly there was the Top Gear title sequence which involved a montage of images revealing what the presenters would be getting up to in this particular episode and a voice over by Jeremy Clarkson.

After the title sequence, the shot immediately cut to Jeremy in the studio introducing the new Alfa Romeo 166 V6 Selespeed. There is then a review of the car, featuring Jeremy driving it around Hemsworth, a scenic, industrial town in West Yorkshire.

There is then a challenge featuring Richard Hammond where he decides to find out if a nun can drive a monster truck over a row of cars.

In the news section, Jeremy compares a new Land Rover Discovery with a Volvo XC90, claiming that the latter is superior due to its boot space, while the other two presenters disagree.

Richard then reviews the Cadillac Escalade, finding it to be terrible quality and way too expensive, but he then gets into the spirit of the car, beyond its mere bodywork, and regards it a statement piece of machinery.

The hypnotist Paul McKenna is the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' and achieves a respectable lap time of 1 minutes 48 seconds.

James May then reviews Lady Penelope's pink Rolls Royce Custom FAB 1, which was re-created by Ford for the latest Thunderbirds movie.

Jeremy then carries out the main review of the show, looking at the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and is much happier with the car than Richard was in the last series. The Stig takes the car around the Top Gear track and it receives the fastest time of any automatic car on the track at 1 minute 20.9 seconds.

Presenters and MES

The current presenters of the show are Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and The Stig. Jeremy, James and Richard are commonly caught up in bickering with each other, theres a lot of banter and James usually gets most of the stick, for example he is nicknamed 'Captain Slow' by the other presenters. In contrast, The Stig doesn't talk at all. His character is a play on the anonymity portrayed by full face racing helmets worn by race drivers and it is a running joke that no one, not even the presenters, know who or what is inside The Stig's racing suit. His primary role is to set lap times for cars reviewed on the show and he is introduced by Jeremy saying something humorous about The Stig; "Some say [two strange assumptions about him]. All we know is, he's called The Stig".

Camerawork
There are lots of montages of shots of the cars when a presenter is reviewing them. These montages include interesting shots of the cars, such as low angle shots and pulling the focus so the cars look more appealing. Contrasting shots of scenery, the cars themselves and the studio are interesting because they aren't all filmed in the same place, as that would get boring.

Use of Effects and Titles (Editing)
The title sequence of each show is a montage of shots involving colourful, contrasting images and fast transitions. This is a great use of effects because it allows the viewer to see lots of different images which is interesting. The show uses lots of dramatic classical music to emphasise the majestic nature of the cars and uses fast, exciting songs including a lot of Prodigy songs to emphasise the power and speed of the cars. Also, the Top Gear theme music is played during the title sequence and credits.

2) Blue Peter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04hcxgb/blue-peter-tall-ships-and-animals

Content
Most of Blue Peter's content is live but each episode usually has at least one filmed report. There are generally celebrity appearances on the show, interviews, an activity in the studio and a music/dance performance live. Although the majority of the filming is recorded in the Blue Peter studio, more and more of the content is now being broadcasted from the Blue Peter Garden and some episodes have now been entirely broadcast from it. The show is famous for its making activities - tutorials on how to prepare a food product or construct an object. "Here's one I made earlier" is a famous phrase from that particular section of the show, where a presenter will reveal a completed version of the object they had made previously to show what it should look like. Other parts of the show involve the presenters reading letters and pictures from children who watch the show. The Blue Peter pets are also sometimes prominently featured especially when a new animal is introduced. Overall, the content of the show is wide ranging and diverse in order to maintain the attention of its young viewers.

Structure

To learn the structure of this show, I watched an episode for Thursday the 11th of September.

The signature theme tune of Blue Peter plays immediately and one of the presenters, Lindsay, explains what she and fellow presenter Radsi will be doing in that specific episode. A shot of the two presenters on a ship is shown to entice the viewers and then the third presenter Barney explains that they'll be letting the viewers know how to enter one of their competitions. Not even thirty seconds into the show, the presenters have given the viewers two reasons to watch the show.

The title sequence then plays, using a compilation of images of all the fun things they've got up to in previous episodes.

After the title sequence, the viewers see Barney and Lindsay stood in the Blue Peter studio. Using a television screen behind them, they explain what will be happening on the show. What they say corresponds with the images on the television screen.

A pre recorded report is played, where Lindsay and Radsi are in Falmouth in Cornwall and take part in a challenge.

The report is cut in half and says 'to be continued'. This has been done to split parts of the show up and make people want to watch the second part of the report which will be continued in next week's episode.

The show cuts back to Lindsay and Barney in the studio where they comment on the report and explain about their Tim Peaks patch competition. They then show a variety of children's art work sent in on their big badge wall and then specifically feature one piece of work and talk about it. The two presenters explain about their 'Silver Blue Peter badge' and talk about someone who has earned one. They then interview the girl and award her her new badge.

Barney interrupts the interview and the scene cuts to one of the BBC sport presenters who explains about the Blue Peter Sport badge. A pre recorded report is cut to where Barney talks to children in a school about sport.

The presenters are then shown back in the studio, and they introduce another inspirational story in the form of a pre recorded report featuring an access all areas interview with an actor and some animals. The studio is cut back to where the presenters advertise a new CBBC show called our school. A feature is played about the show and the shot cuts back to the studio where some of the individuals involved in the program are interviewed by the presenters.

A quiz took place in the studio between the children from 'Our School' and presenter Lindsay. After speaking to the absent presenter Radzi via the television screen, Lindsay and Barney reveal what's happening on the show next week and the show finishes with a shot of the studio with everybody waving.

Presenters and MES
The current presenters of the show are Barney Harwood, Lindsay Russell and Radzi Chinyanganya. They are a good dynamic as they clearly work well together on-screen and have a little bit of banter. I think the mise-en-scene is the fact that they appear as friends on-screen, even if they're not off-screen. This give the show a feel of informality and friendliness.

Camerawork
When the presenters are in the Blue Peter studio, the camera angles are high and swoop down towards the presenters. I think this is to make them look better, as the lights bleach their faces a bit.

Use of Effects and Titles (Editing)
The graphics used in the title sequence are childlike and the transitions and titles themselves help enhance the footage. The end credits merely consist of the animated Blue Peter logo. The effects during the live recording are quite minimal because the editors don't get the opportunity to fine tune them as the show is immediately broadcasted.

3) The One Show

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04h7fdt/the-one-show-15092014

Content
The show is mainly set around two presenters on a sofa who discuss various topical news items. The One Show is a light-hearted, topical, informal news programme that explores topics including music, sports events, wildlife and the British Isles.

Structure

To re familiarise myself with the structure of the show, I watched an episode that was originally broadcasted on Monday the 15th of September.

The programme begins with the animated title sequence and accompanying theme song. This is followed by a view of the two main presenters on a sofa informing the audience of which items will be coming up later in the show.

The presenters are joined by a special guest/s who is interviewed now and throughout the rest of the show. On this specific episode, the special guest is Sir Richard Branson.

A member of the audience then ask then ask Branson questions.

The presenters then introduce a pre recorded section of the show where guest presenter Maajid Nawaz goes to Whitechapel to talk to a community of muslims about their thoughts on British muslims going abroad to take place in extremism. This item is topical because it follows the news that a British man has been executed by islamic state.

The studio is cut back to, where the presenters Alex and Matt carry out an interview with Branson regarding his life and new book. Branson then answers another question from a member of the audience.

The presenters talk to Nicky Campbell via a television screen, who is travelling Scotland to gather opinions on the Scottish independence referendum before voting is carried out.

A pre recorded new item is shown next, featuring footage of Percy Wilkins, a man who mapped out the moon before it was ever landed on. This section of the show is topical because the presenters will be continuing their interview with Sir Richard Branson later and will be discussing space travel.

The presenters then speak to Branson about his company's upcoming commercial holiday flights to space.

There is then a pre recorded section focussing on the wildlife that eats the rubbish we put in our bins. The show generally features a section on British wildlife in order to diversify the show from being entirely news orientated.

Another brief interview is carried out in the studio with Branson regarding his love of wildlife.

The show concludes when the presenters thank Branson, promote his new book and explain what will be happening on the following day's show.

Presenters and MES

The presenters are Matt Baker and Alex Jones. They appeal to the audience because they represent both females and males and represent adults in their mid-thirties and people from Wales and County Durham. The presenters create an informal chatty atmosphere when they interview special guests, speak to the audience and fellow presenters.

Camerawork

When focussed on the presenters, the camera is is still and steady so it isn't distracting for the audience or presenters. However, when an something is occurring in the studio, the camerawork is more dynamic. This includes when a special guest is introduced because the camera swoops from the ceiling via a crane to make the show is more interesting.

Use of Effects and Titles (Editing)
The initial credits simply include graphics of the show's logo with the accompanying theme song. The pre recorded sections of the show include more interesting transitions and effects because they are not being broadcasted live therefore can be edited before being broadcasted.

Unit 43: Producing a Product for TV

Monday, 29 September 2014

LO1: Daily Shooting Schedule

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

LO1: Studio Basic Recce

LO1: Set Design

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

LO1: Research for News Section

Meeting with Vicky Kilby 17/9/14

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

LO1: The Brief & Pre Production Research