Drama and Documentary Lecture Notes

Flashcards for reviewing drama and documentary lecture notes.

Drama (broadest sense)

Art concerned with plays as written and performed.

Drama (dramatic composition)

A dramatic composition that presents a sequence of events through language and pantomime intended for stage performance.

Drama (branch of literature)

Branch of literature encompassing dramatic compositions.

Drama

A play for the theatre, television, or radio, also a form of literature

Drama

An exciting, emotional, or unexpected event or circumstance.

Drama (Wikipedia definition)

Specific mode of fiction represented in performance.

Function of Drama

To raise man's consciousness and awareness of his basic potentials as a human being.

Drama's Social Role

Mirrors society, satirizes societal activities, and instigates the audience to take remedial action.

Drama is Temporal

Exists primarily in time; each performance is a distinct work of art.

Drama is Mimetic

Recreates human life in speech and action.

Drama is Interpretative

An interpretation of a previously created scheme or composition.

Drama is a Synthesis

Fusion of distinct elements into a complex whole; synergy of playwright and performer, director, designer, composer, and choreographer.

Comedy

Written for entertainment or amusement with a happy ending, full of humor and fun.

Tragedy

Focuses on human suffering and does not have a happy ending; portrays the downfall of the protagonist.

Tragicomedy

Incorporates elements of tragic and comic drama.

Melodrama

Drama with exaggerated and sensational events and characters, full of emotions, excitements, and stereotypes.

Farce

Uses absurd form of comedy and humor, depending on physical appearance and 'silly' jokes.

Elements of Drama

Script, acting, directing, design, language, role and character, relationships, situation, voice, movement, focus, tension, space, time, symbol, mood, and atmosphere.

Dramatic Composition (Script)

Written plan or scheme according to which a drama is performed.

Autonomous Composition

A composition whose effect is peculiar to drama, independent of other purposes, constructed wholly to delight an audience.

Heteronomous Composition

Composition aimed at purposes achievable by other means than drama (persuade, teach, demonstrate).

Intensive Drama

Characterized by compression and streamlining of the material and a moment - in moment clarity in performance. It is chronological.

Extensive Drama

Distinguished by its richness, complexity, and variety. The relationship of incidents and characters are made apparent only upon conclusion of the work, or even in retrospect.

Vividness and Coherence

Achieved through artistic devices known as formalities of composition, giving form to the mimetic presentation of life on stage.

Unifying Device (single character)

Relating all incidents to the actions of a single character.

Unifying Device (single occurrence)

Restriction of a drama to a single occurrence, showing its causes and immediate consequences.

Unifying Device (singularity of locale)

Having all the visible actions occur in one place.

Unifying Device (compression of time)

Action is shown as taking place within successive days, or in one day, or even within a space of time not greater than that actually occupied by the performance

Stichomythia

Composition of interlinked dialogues, often in verse, using successive repetition of phrase or thought.

Prologue

Statement or speech at the beginning of a play - an intro.

Epilogue

Statement or speech at the end of a play - a conclusion.

Terminal Device (repetition)

Repeat in the final scene the situation, characters, locale, or lines with which the performance began.

Terminal Device (new fact)

Introduce some new and hitherto concealed fact which makes further action unnecessary.

Plot

The scheme of action; what the characters do.

Characterization

Dramatists' representation of the people whose lives and actions constitute the play.

Language

Avenue through which the author's thoughts are expressed.

Motivation of Action

The presentation of behaviour with its causes.

Suspense

Uncertainty and anxiety; the tendency to await a decision or action that is not revealed.

Surprise

An unexpected and sudden situation that is relevant to the events which precede and follow it.

The Horns of Dilemma

A situation in which a character is forced to make a decisive choice between unpleasant situations.

Shock Dramatics

Factors that make for an empathetic reaction from viewers, deviating from expected norms to create reactions in the audience.

Heroic Deeds

Deeds preformed in the face of dangerous obstacles.

Structural Unity

Points of impact of dramatic value must have continuity, unity, coherence, good transition and concord. They must build to a climax

Irony

Action, speech, or character which is better understood by the audience than by those involved.

Telegraphing

Revealing a story point prematurely, robbing an imminent event of its dramatic value.

Documentary

Presentation or representation of actual facts in a way that makes it credible and vivid to people at the time.

Broad Sense Documentary

Any program that sets out to explore a subject rather than merely to entertain; dispenses information about historical or biographical issues without reference to current, social issues.

Narrow Sense or Social Documentary

Documentary that shows man at grips with conditions neither permanent nor necessary; portrays conditions at a certain time and place.

The Flaherty Prototype

Shows the relationship between man and his world.

The Lorentz Prototype

Dramatises the problems faced by people, that is the peculiar problems of certain people Suggests ways and means of containing these problems.

The Grierson Prototype

Does not express any attitude, whether preconceived or not; is non-sensational and shows the characteristic details of a process.l

Documentary Format

Format including news, social features, special events, music, drama, etc. that makes a significant contribution to public affairs.

The Rhetorical Form

Exposes the problem or situation, explains the effect of the problem, and, suggests solutions to the problem.

The Categorical Form

The simplest type of documentary form. It merely categorically explainswhat the subject is, how it does it, its components etc.

The Narrative Form

The form of the semi-documentary or fictional documentary or docu-drama; based on reality but not necessarily factual.

The Naturalist

Films that use natural soundings everyday scenery like mountains, rivers,deserts,erosion gullies, and forests so as to tap the emotional values in nature.

The Realist

The use of photography to highlight contradictions of life in the cities.e.g film maker shows poor and rich, cleanness and dirtiness as well as other points and counterpoints of urban life

The Newsreel

Presents the events of the day in a straight forward manner The facts are presented in the straight news form without editorial sing

The Propagandist

The use of film as a persuasive instrument to elicit a particular effect on an audience.

Cinema Verite

Reveals the power of the event to speak for itself; disperses with the narrator's voice and allows the situation to define itself.

Commentary/Narration

The voicing done to complement the pictures in the documentary.

Vision

The conception of programme ideas and the creation of ideas for a programme.

Form

he structure in which the significant version appears e.g music, variety, drama interview, sports events, quiz shows, documentary, PSA a. discussion, news, debate etc

Depth of Field

The areas in which the objects are seen in focus. The entire picture field seen at a particular time

The Story Board

A series of simple sketch containing sufficient information that could be used in a documentary film or other programmes A visual script