Summer Homework

In TV Drama the conventions are mainly everything that makes up a TV Drama. For example, characters, costumes, story line (deaths, romance, birth, adultery ect), props ect. These are used in many different ways in order to attract their target audiences.

Task 2:

British TV Drama involves many different varieties. From sci-fi genre to teen soaps, there is always something that interests every individual. The program I often watch is Doctor Who and I enjoy watching it because it contains a lot of suspense and action. It has been on British television since 1963 and so far there have been eleven doctors. It is basically about the Doctor travelling in his time machine “Tardis” which takes him to the past and future. He faces many challenges and life threatening encounters and always has a solution. There are many codes and conventions used in this serial.

The characters in Doctor Who are the doctor and his companions, along with the villains, who are usually aliens from different galaxies. The doctor has a very sophisticated look and is always seen wearing formal clothing. I think this goes well with his character as he is intelligent and it is expressed through his costume.

There are various locations used in Doctor Who. For example, most of the time you would see the characters inside the Tardis, or in a space ship in outer space. But there are also locations shown on Earth which could be shown anywhere. Such as in a school, house, street or castle.

Doctor Who uses a very famous prop that is with him at all times, and that is his Sonic Screwdriver. He uses it very often whenever things go wrong.

Camera techniques are always used to show what is happening. It can also be used to show how a character is feeling. For example, when something serious is about to happen, there is a close up shot on the Doctor to show that he is thinking of doing something about a certain situation.

A lot of music and sound is used in this program. Tense and thrilling music is often in the background to show the serious situations. Sound is also used often for example, the sound of working robots and computers in the Tardis. Sound and music makes the scene more realistic and attracts the audience’s attention instantly. The use of dialogue is also emphasised through sound and music in the background as a character is speaking. This also shows how the character is feeling, or whether a situation is serious or comical.

Lighting is used effectively to show the atmosphere of the scene. For example, lighting can show if it is morning or evening. Editing has also been used excellently and gets every aspect of the situation shown through every single shot.

Here is a short trailer of the start of the new series (shown in January 2009) :

Task 3:

My chosen film from world cinema: Hotel Rwanda

I have chosen Hotel Rwanda because it is based on Rwandan genocide that happened in 1994. Personally, when I first watched this film, I was deeply touched by it as it was based a true story. I believe that Terry George (director) conveyed the massacre in an extreme way, and left the audience shocked. As the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina faces his challenges throughout the film, a lot of emotions and grief have been expressed in different scenes.



Personally, a scene that really stunned me was when a journalist brings a back a video of the tribes attacking innocent people. I felt this scene was very emotional because it was real footage that had been caught on tape during the real genocide. I think Terry George used this real footage in the film really well, and it was important because some people did not even know about the genocide, and also it gives a shocking effect on the audience. Also I liked the way the media played a part in this film, because in reality there would be journalists in areas of conflict reporting to different countries, and George has covered every real aspect that would actually happen.

Another scene that I really feel strongly about is when the Hutu tribe took Paul Rusesabagina and his family and neighbourhood from his house to be killed. I liked the way the actor played his role as he was really into his character. I also like the way George created tension and suspense, of whether all the people would be killed off or not. This kept technique kept the audience gripped into the film. Towards the end of the scene Paul was once again the hero and managed to save everybody’s lives by bribing the opposite tribe’s leader. I feel it was important to show this because in poor countries like Rwanda, a lot of bribe does happen, and it is usually for unjust reasons.

Overall, in my opinion I think this film is a must-see. It does not only show the truth of the Rwandan genocide, but makes us feel, as people, how we do not follow humanity and how corrupt this world can be. Even though it happened many years ago, today a lot worse is happening in Congo. By watching this movie, I feel that many people are now taking consideration of this issue, and volunteer to help. I also think that Terry George conveyed the issue in an excellent way, by showing Paul’s different challenges, and even using some real footage. This gives a good effect on the audience because every incident that occurred could have turned tragic. But some scenes were deeply tragic which I also think was important to show.

Here is the trailer of the film: