Television Drama: Title Sequences

During my research I will be using a number of media fact files which offer great information on a range of media concepts.

www.curriculum-press.co.uk

TV Title Sequences

• The length of the title sequence can vary between programmes and there are also many different approaches to the construction of titles – often having a practical function
• Many fictional texts use their title sequence to give detail about the names of the actors, the writer(s) and the director – this information can be provided in many different ways, for example having the text across the bottom of the screen – information on cast and crew can also be provided to the audience.

Film example: Casino Royale (click here)

Programme example: Coronation Street (click here) 

• The text can sometimes continue into the programme depending on the length of the title sequence.

Programme example: Emmerdale (click here)

The sequences which apply this information are crucial parts of the programme as they provide a ‘brand identity’ for the programme, convey narrative information and act to help attract the audience (drawing them into the programme)

Title Sequences: US vs UK Institutions

• Many US fictions do not begin with the titles but with some sort of previous storyline that is continuing within this series – either a ‘previously on…’ summary of the programme, this usually ends with a cliff-hanger. This is because producers need to engage their audiences to stop them changing channels during the first advertising break.

For example: (a British programme) Waterloo Road 

• The BBC does not need to consider advertising breaks at all so some title sequences are little more than theme music
• As digital channels increase and competition for viewers become more intense, some modern UK programmes have decided to use some conventions from US television and are producing more sophisticated title sequences that are graphically interesting and engaging

• Shorter title sequences are better for commercial broadcasts as audiences can get straight to the action and are less likely to look elsewhere for entertainment

  Character information from title sequences

Title sequences are watched repeatedly depending on how frequently they watch the programme therefore it becomes an important way to identify the show and set the tone, for example a mysterious tone to the music represents that the programme may be a crime drama.

• Music is a crucial part of this, for example Friends theme tune became a hit single.

Case study: Dexter (2006) title sequence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjvLWHgaPI

• Uses a montage of images
• Longer than conventional titles
• The editing between the images is somewhat slow – adds tension and excitement
• The music is unusual however this makes it more recognisable and more associative to the programme
• Tone of the music is ironic which links to the images shown in the title
• In an extreme close-up there is a mosquito feeding on a man’s arm and then the man killing the mosquito which may represent fight for survival
• The name then follows in red ‘blood’ splattered – the title uses a limited palette as it only uses red, white and black – may be symbolic to the programme: red = blood, white = innocent and black = dark side to an individual
• Range of shots: extreme close-up, unfamiliar angles – makes everyday tasks look unusual and suspicious
• Effective sound effects: rasp of the razor as the character shaves = evil?
• The colour red is used repeatedly throughout the title sequence: blood from shaving, blood is referred to as ketchup as it splatters and smears over the plate
• Use of a point of view shot: his face is the key image which represents he is a dominating male

Conventions of a Teen Drama

I am still yet to decide on my target audience but if it was to be teenagers (12 – 18 years of age) I would use the following conventions:

Plots/characters

• Looks at situations in teenage life, e.g. love
• There is often an underdog (unpopular character), or someone who is new to the school
• In some way there is usually a love interest involved 
• Many of the characters are exaggerated from real life – this gives a comical edge which allows different situations to be approached in a light hearted way

Example from Mean Girls:



Unpopular/new girl                    








Popular girls                    









Love interest        





Narrative

• Often the main character does the narrative 
• Helps audience understand the characters’ feelings/know what they’re thinking (usually unpopular characters are too scared to say what they think/feel) – audience gains empathy for the character to know what they are feeling

 
Music

• Gets across the feelings of the characters, e.g. upbeat = good mood
• Sets tone for each part of the film – audience know when they should feel happy or sad

Mise en scene

Setting

• High schools: shows different groups within high school
• Characters house: popular girl has big house (distinguish the type of character they are)

Costume

• Everyone wears simple everyday clothes (way to identify/be unique)

Lighting

• Fairly bright – the right atmosphere is set

Camera work

• Cross cutting: from popular to popular or back to past or dreams
• Close up: emotions/feelings
• Point of view: put in characters shoes
• Hand held: emphasis on hectic life (pushing or shoving)

Referenced from: http://www.slideshare.net/stowlson/teen-drama-15294781

A change of mind

My initial idea was to focus my title sequence towards the age range of 5 – 12 however I now have decided to focus more on teenage drama (14+).

Animated children’s television dominates and is very popular, for example in the United States from the 1960s through to approximately the 1990s, children’s programming was primarily concentrated on the Saturday morning cartoon block. This is a term used for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings.

Although from a lot of research animation is the most popular option to choose I unfortunately do not have the computer software and equipment needed to complete an effective children’s animation. For example in modern computer animation they tend to use 3D computer graphics; however I do not have access to this technology as I will be editing my title sequence on Final Cut Pro X.
 
Finally, as I have previously stated I carried out a questionnaire. My first finding was that children around the ages of 9 to 11 prefer watching older programmes rather than programmes that are actually aimed at their age group. In fact 12 out of the 16 participants said they do not like children’s TV drama as it is either too immature or they generally do not like animated TV. Another finding was that when asked to write the top 5 children’s programmes they most frequently watch, in general, they were not animated. For example ‘That’s so Raven’, Hannah Montana and Mr Bean but that doesn’t mean to say animation is a complete downfall as many named ‘Spongebob Squarepants’, ‘Mr Bean: the animation’ and most popular, Phineas and Ferb. Many of the participants answered question 5 with comments such as “I would make children’s TV more mature and would develop storylines to make sure there was a meaning behind the series.”

Raw data:

Analysis of magazine frontcovers

As I have previously stated one of my ancillary tasks I have chosen to do is to design a magazine front cover based on the children’s programme I am creating a title sequence for.  When I first chose this ancillary task I wasn’t certain exactly what I needed to include on the front cover so I travelled to my local shop and looked at a range of children’s magazines which advertise a children’s TV programme.

Price range

I found that the price range of children’s magazines were around £1.99 to £3.99. I believe that this depended on how many pages the magazine contained, the popularity of the programme and although many state ‘comes with a free play set’ I believe that the quality of the play set can also determine the price of the magazine.

The use of a play set

A play set is almost like gifts that you get with the magazine. Below you can see an example from a Peppa Pig magazine.

As the majority of children’s magazines come with a play set I have decided to include one with mine. As my target audience is going to be both males and females I will have to include a range of products that suit both genders, for example no plastic makeup or playing cards.

What to include

After analysing many children’s magazines, especially the Peppa Pig one, I found that generally they include:

• Programme’s name (big, stands out)
• Picture of the main character - doesn’t always have to be the same image as the DVD front cover
• Price/ barcode
• What the magazine contains – tend to advertise around 3 to 4 activities that the magazine includes

My ideas

After looking at a range of children magazines I have decided that on my magazine front cover I am going to advertise the following activities:

• Colouring a main character
• Stickers – based on the programme
• Game: cardboard jigsaw 

Analysis of DVD frontcovers

I searched my house for children DVD’s for me to analyse. I believe that by doing this it will help me too see what my DVD cover should look like and what exactly needs to be included on the front cover. 

Analysis of ‘Over the hedge’ DVD cover

(2006)

The use of a pun

The title of the film is ‘Over the hedge’ which could a play on words of the saying ‘pushed over the edge’. A summed up version of the film’s synopsis a scheming racoon and other forest creatures repay a debt of food by invading the new suburban. By these actions they pushed the residents over the edge by making them lose their patience and suffer mentally and emotionally due to them not being able to capture them.

However, the racoon and other forest creatures literally do have to go over the hedge in order to get to the new suburban.

‘From the creators of Shrek’

The use of this would give audiences that this new film is going to be a major success like Shrek was. Shrek (2001) managed to achieve a total gross of $267,665,011, this would help to gain popularity for the new release leading to an increase in box office. 

Case Study: Come Outside

The following programme includes an animal, which would be possible for me to produce. I would not be able to produce a cartoon TV programme as unfortunately I do not have the I.T equipment or computer software to enable me to do this. I will be using Final Cut Pro X which is an industry standard editing software and will help me greatly to produce an excellent title sequence, however producing a cartoon title sequence would be too complex and time consuming. 

Come outside

I have decided to base my case study on Come Outside as it was my all-time favourite TV programme when growing up. I felt throughout each episode as though I could relate to the stories as at the time I had a pet dog, Molly. I believed that the relationship between Auntie Mabel and Pippin symbolised the relationship I had with Molly, a way that they were best friends.

• Ran from 23^rd September 1993 to 18^th March 1997 and continues to be repeated on CBeebies
• A BBC educational children’s television series
• The series aims to encourage young children to learn about the world around them
• The two main characters are Auntie Mabel (played by Lynda Baron), and her dog Pippin

Locations:

Series 1: (programmes 1-11) a cottage on the corner of Denham Airfield in Buckinghamshire was used to provide the exterior shots of Auntie Mabel’s house

Series 2: (programmes 12-30) was to be shot entirely on location, including the interiors of Auntie Mabel’s house. The cottage at Denham Airfield was occupied and so a new location had to be found. An empty cottage on some farmland in Harefield, Middlesex was rented.

Series 3: (programmes 31-40) was commissioned two years later and was also shot at the cottage in Harefield.

In every programme Auntie Mabel ventures outside, involving shoots in many locations in the United Kingdom, such as pencil factory in Keswick, the manufacture of Wellington boots in Dumfries, a pottery in Stoke, growing bulbs in Spalding, Lincolnshire and making brushes in Portsmouth.

Flying sequence:

Auntie Mabel’s mode of transport was a small ‘spotty’ plane due to its big red, green, purple and blue spots. She is seen climbing in and out of the cockpit and sitting at the controls, usually with Pippin at her side. However, the actual flying was done by John O’Hara (series 1) and Alan Cassidy (series 2 and 3). They dressed in the same way as Auntie Mabel does and they used a puppet version of Pippin in these sequences.

Characters:

• Auntie Mabel: main (human) character. She lives with her dog Pippin. On close up of her hands you can see a wedding ring however she never talks of her husband but rather about her sister, Edie.
• Edie Featherstone: Auntie Mabel’s sister, often referred to but never seen on screen.
• Pippin: Auntie Mabel’s pet dog. Often has a comedy sub-plot during each episode, where she usually gets up to mischief without her owner knowing.

è  For example, in the episode ‘A carton drink’, she secretly eats the sausages from her lunch box.

è  In the episode ‘Soap’, she hides the bar of soap to avoid having a bath.

Pippin/ Mr.Higgins:

• A mixed breed dog, possibly part Tibetan Terrier or possibly part Bearded Collie
• Was owned and trained by the award-winning animal trainer Ann Head
• Pippin was quite old at the start of the first series in 1993 and so she performed slower but complex moves while her grandson, Mr.Higgins, performed any physically demanding actions
• Pippin retired at the end of series 1 and Mr.Higgins took over the role of ‘Pippin’ entirely for series 2 and 3

Production:

• Elizabeth Bennett created the format and characters, wrote the scripts, directed many of the programmes and produced all three series
• Two different production companies were involved. Series 1 was made by Spelthorne Productions which has since closed. Series 2 and 3 were made by Elizabeth Bennett’s production company, Tricon Associates

The main theme at the beginning of every episode:

Look up, look down, look all around

Up the air or on the ground

Come for a walk, come for a ride

There’s so much to see so Come Outside.

• Catchy
• Short so therefore memorable
• Tells us simply what the programme is based on

Analysis of my questionnaire

As I have previously stated I created a questionnaire in order to help me finally decide what I want my children’s TV programme to be based on. Below is an image of my analysis which indicated why I asked each question: