GCSE Media Television Quiz Shows

Go here for notes on the television quiz shows controlled exam: http://www.gcsemediaquizshows.info

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Representation of Women In Sitcom

Here is an excellent article on the representation of women in Tv Sitcoms.

http://www.itpmag.demon.co.uk/Downloads/SitcomAbstracta.pdf

Useful Vocabulary

Here’s some useful vocabulary you can include in your exam!

• Aerial Shot: shot filmed from aircraft or helicopter, extreme high angle.
• Ambient Sound: natural background noise on television or film such as the sound of birds in a wood.
• Ambient Light: natural, available light that is not enhanced in any way.
• Audience: All those who receive or consume any media product.
• Camera Angle: the position of the camera in relation to the main subject. High, low, canted, etc.
• Cinematography: Camera Shots, Angles, Lighting
• Connotation: Suggestive meaning of something, such as red connotates danger, blood.
• Crane Shot: High angle shot filmed with a crane
• Continuity editing: Referred to as invisible editing, so that the whole sequence looks natural.
• Demographics: refers to social characteristics of and audience, described according to groupings such as social class, regional location, gender and age.
• Denotation: literal meaning/ simple description of what an be seen or heard.
• Diagetic sound: sound which the characters can hear.
• Non-Diagetic sound: sound the actors cant hear, e.g.: music played other the scene.
• Enigma: a question or puzzle being raised from a text.

More to come soon!

Predicted Sitcom Exam Questions

Here are a few predicted exam questions. Get cracking on them as they are likely to come up in the exam!

• “It would help us to plan a new show if we could be clear about how sitcoms have developed since they first broadcasted. Give us your thoughts and discuss the significant changes”

• “We need to consider our rivals. What are the key factors of the sitcoms you think are likely to be our biggest competitors? However, we want to move things on. How can we make our sitcom different and appeal to today’s audience?”

• “We want to see how your ideas would look. Suggest a title for the new sitcom, devise new characters and give an outline of a sample story line. Feel free to include any sketches if you think they might be helpful. Explain how your suggestions are in line with the brief. “

• “Come up with a design for the pilot episode of the sitcoms featuring your characters in the story line you have suggested you should produce:

  EITHER: a full story board and a script for a 3 to 5 minute sketch in the pilot episode.

  OR: create a design for each character including clothing etc with a list of key personality traits and a design for one main production area (ie Living Room).

  Remember to apply the usual conventions. Use the storyboards and A3 sheets provided. “

• Choose a sitcom which you think will be one of our competitors and explain its appeal to the audience.
• Outline your ideas for a new sitcom, remembering that any new programme must conform to Denham Productions* core values.
• Produce a storyboard for the opening two minutes (approximately) of your sitcom, making sure you provide details of: shot, camera movement, transitions, length of take, sound effects, dialogue and music. The use of colour is strongly suggested.
• Where did you find inspiration for your situation comedy? Refer to the other sitcoms / TV programmes / films that have inspired your decisions.
• Why would your intended audience find this to be a suitable opening for a TV situation comedy programme?

* You will be given a letter from a fictitious company in the exam who explains what kind of sitcom they want: audience profile, family/workplace … etc. You will then have to remember to link your ideas to the specifications.

Cultural Diversity

Humour is essential to any sitcom but what is funny can vary from place to place, country to country and person to person. In American TV Sitcoms such as Malcolm in the Middle or Will and Grace etc the humour tends to be more obvious with a lot of farce or slapstick and exaggeration. British humour, it can be argued, is a lot more satirical and wordier. American TV Sitcoms tend to be for specific audiences rather than generalised family audiences. Friends is aimed at older teens and twenties and grew up with that audience into their thirties. Malcolm in the Middle is aimed at the younger teen audience. American humour tends to be for a specific audience.

A criticism of both American and British Sitcoms is that they fail to properly represent black people or any other ethnic minority group. There was The Cosby Show in 1984, made in the US, was about a black middle class family rather than a white middle class family. No racial or cultural issues were covered in the series. In Britain Love Thy Neighbour first shown in 1972 seems cringe-makingly racist and crude if watched today. In the 1970’s when it was first broadcast it was meant to be a real attempt to represent ethnic minorities.

In Till Death Do Us Part, a biting satire by Johnny Speight first shown in 1965, people’s racist attitudes were challenged. However, Alf Garnett became the darling of the more racist West Ham supporters and some racist chants could be directly traced back to that character.

All About Me, in 2002-2003 was the first TV Sitcom to actually include a variety of different cultures and disabilities. There was an Indian mother and children, a Brummie father and children with one son in a wheelchair.

Ageism is dealt with in One Foot in the Grave, first shown in 1990, but includes a rather stereotypical view of the ‘grumpy old man’ that developed into an institution with Victor Meldrew. Waiting For God, which also appeared in 1990, was full of witty dialogue and attempted to dispel the view that old people were “past it”.

Representation of Sitcom

TV Sitcoms have spread into alternative comedy. Not only does The Royle Family have “real life” situations (pauses and all) but it is a good example of how the boundaries are always changing and being pushed. The Office is a Sitcom disguised as a documentary and is another example of how ‘reality’ is playing a bigger part in the Sitcom genre. Phoenix Nights is another TV Sitcom that stretches boundaries. The representation of family life can be compared and contrasted between My Family and The Royle Family.

Lads’ are represented in Men Behaving Badly and Two Pints of Lager and Red Dwarf’ whereas the ‘hapless hero’ figure features in Father Ted and the stereotype controlling wife in Fawlty Towers. Each successful Sitcom has at least one character that creates empathy or at least a strong recognition.

Audience of a Sitcom

Many of the present day TV Sitcoms are designed for a family audience. Check the schedules to find out when TV Sitcoms are broadcast as this is a good indication of the intended audience. It is important that you realise that the satellite and cable channels are not the original home of the sitcom and shows broadcast here are usually repeats of the original show.

Digital broadcasting has meant declining audiences for all channels, including TV sitcoms because of the range of channels available. Teenage audiences seem happier to aspire to the glitz and glamour of the ‘American dream’ rather than the more down to earth British variety. Age also defines preferences: the ‘oldies’ are catered for with the grumpy old men and women in One Foot in the Grave and Waiting for God; families have the evergreen My Family while younger audiences prefer Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. You should investigate the scheduling and audiences for a range of past and present TV Sitcoms.

Basic Form and Conventions

A TV Sitcom can be defined as GUM: Great writers, Unforgettable performances and Memorable characters. The target audience tends to be 18-35 year olds but they can appeal to almost any age group. There are a number of defining conventions:

• Theme tunes: often sung and invariably catchy and hummable.
• Locations: identifiable simple locations: a pub lounge; a living room; a kitchen etc. The location often sets the tone of the TV Sitcom. The choice of location rarely changes for the series, although extra sets may be added.
• Situation: not always the location but there is often a sense of being ‘trapped’, especially in British TV Sitcoms: Porridge trapped in prison; My Family trapped by the family; Red Dwarf trapped in space, Only Fools and Horses trapped by life in Peckham.
• Characters: there are three main types of character in a TV Sitcom – the main characters, the supporting characters and the transients who appear for perhaps one or maybe two episodes. If there are too many characters the audience may lose the closeness and rapport that develops. The relationships between the characters within a TV Sitcom create the ideal narrative strands – eg father/son/daughter, husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, two lads together,
  mother/son, old couple, neighbours, boss/secretary etc. The characters can be twodimensional
  stereotypes or more complex and complicated but they do not
  change. The audience can easily identify the characters even if they do not like
  them.
• Dialogue: this is designed to be witty with impeccable timing to get the most laughs, with pauses in the right places. There needs to be a totally symbiotic relationship between the actors and the writers. “The essence of good, successful comedy is timing.”
• Opening credits: These often give the audience a flavour of the show to come by showing the characters and/or the locations.
• Humour: British humour is unique. Shows that have been tremendously successful in Britain rarely travel to America without a total make-over in all but name. Today’s audiences are less inclined to find the slapstick humour of the past as funny especially as they have been brought up on a diet of more obvious.
• American humour: There needs to be a steady flow of humour in action, situation and character. Pathos is used to create bitter-sweet humour in TV Sitcoms like Butterflies and Ever Decreasing Circles. Slapstick humour carries Dad’s Army and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and farce plays a part in Fawlty Towers. British satirical humour is demonstrated in the double entendres evident in Are You Being
  Served.
• Actors: There do not need to be established stars in the lead roles but the actors must have a sense of comic timing that marks them as successful TV Sitcom stars. Established TV Sitcom stars include: Richard Briers, Prunella Scales, Robert Lindsay, Ronnie Barker, David Jason etc. Modern TV Sitcoms have made the careers of Caroline Aherne and Ricky Gervais.
• The storylines in TV Sitcoms are rarely on-going and most come to a resolution at the end of the programme. There is usually closure at the end of a series although some successful American TV Sitcoms like Friends do end sometimes on a cliffhanger.
• Class Values: Although many TV Sitcoms appear to be based on very middle class values, there have been just as many successful working class based TV Sitcoms, some of course where the working class hero is trying to better themselves eg Steptoe and Son and Only Fools and Horses.

Preliminary Material Release Date

The Preliminary material is released on the AQA website on Friday 25th April

However is will be in hard copy in you media lesson after that date.