Comp 2 Sect A TV terminology crime dramas

Recurring situations

Situations that often happen in a specific genre of TV

Such as murders

Elements of Narrative

The procedure of the murder, the personal struggles of the detectives, the process of solving the crime

Style

Lighting, mis en scene, editing, colour palette

Urban, gritty, dark

Iconography

Visuals that allude to a specific genre, ie. Smoking pipe for detectives, big coats for detectives, tapes to suggest crime scene, guns, drinking, blood

Settings

Police station, crime scene, offices, metropolitan city

Themes

Corruption, justice, order, law, violence

Stock characters

morally grey troubled detective protagonist, police officers, sidekick, victim of crime

How to keep audience interest

Enigma codes, suspense, personal drama

Verisimilitude

Audience can recognise representations of ordinary people in the everyday environment

Power struggles

Diversions in police, the government, judiciary system

Hybrid

Mixture of different genres

Representation of women

Criminals commit crimes of passion or revenge, detectives take on male characteristics to succeed

Technical codes

Style of filming and editing

Audio codes

Soundtrack and sound effects, typical dialogue