UPDATE and Home learning for next Thursday 7th April

1. Home learning must be handed in by lunchtime tomorrow (Friday). You can leave it in the 6th form office. If it is still missing by the end of lunch, a Cause for Concern form will be issued with a phone call home.
We are only a few weeks away from the exam. You cannot afford not to complete the set work.

2. For next lesson, you will be doing some research on Shameless.
Find out about:
- the production
- the distribution
- the representations the series deals with primarily
- the reception it got (public and critics - find quotes / viewing figures)
Present your work clearly - you will present next week.
We will look at series 1 episode 1 so why not watch it ahead of the lesson on 4oD - see link on the side.

Ashes to Ashes - Home Learning and Work ahead

1. DON'T FORGET TO COMPLETE YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE FOCUSING ON REPRESENTATION OF GENDER - bring your essay to the lesson. Try to really hit the AOs.
2. Remember to prepare for the shoot on Thursday - re-creation of the sequence from Ashes to Ashes (approx. from 10:20 to 13:30). You should have storyboards, shot lists and schedule (order in which to film the sequences?) ready. There will be 2 mixed teams. Editing will follow.
The aim is to understand how the micro-elements (camerawork, editing, sound, mise-en-scene) each contributes to to macro picture = the end result with its set of gender representations.
Here's the trailer for series 1.
Episode 1:
You can watch the episode here: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LRAHYT05

Missing blogs and home learning

Some of you are really behind. I need to see that you have caught up ASAP. It is not acceptable at this late stage, with the exam getting closer, to not spend the appropriate amount of time completing set work.

SEND ME YOUR NEW URL ASAP! TV Drama Blogs

... and post your presentations from Thursday's lesson.
Don't come to class without homework!

Home learning Lesson 2: Crime / Detective / Police drama

You will examine and compare the way the "law" is represented in different dramas. Issues of representation to analyse: authority, gender, race as well as whether the representations are sympathetic, realistic etc... How do the producers position the audience in relation to the detectives / officers?

TASK: Write a comparative essay analysing the representations of the ‘law’ in the 2 extracts from The Wire and A Touch of Frost.
Post on your blog with screengrabs preferably + bring a hard copy (minus pictures!) to hand in.

Intro and credits, The Wire, series 1, episode 1.


Frost, Series finale, "If dogs run free".

Crime / Detective TV Drama

We have looked at The Bill in class.

Time for a bit more research into the genre.

• What other shows? UK/US
• What’s successful? What is less so?
• What different angles/ideas have producers adopted to keep the genre fresh and interesting? Find specific examples.
• Prepare a slideshow about the genre and some general notes on how cops / detectives are represented in specific dramas.
• Have a selection of shots/images/clips or links to clips to illustrate.

Use Zoho Show for this presentation.