1. How to analyse a
TV Drama
By Emma Waite

2. Section A of Exam
 Section one will have you watch a 4 – 5 minute piece of
TV drama. You will be asked then to complete a textual
analysis of it to discuss how it constructs a
representation of one of these: Gender, Age Ethnicity,
Sexuality, Class and status, Physical ability/disability or
Regional identity.
 By using the following areas: Camera Shots, Angle,
Movement and Composition, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-
Scène

3. Sound Technique
 Diegetic Sound: any sound that naturally occurs in the scene.
 Non-diegetic Sound: sound that is not natural.
 Synchronous: When the sound occurs from what's on the
screen.
 Asynchronous: When the sound occurs off screen

4. Shot Types
Establishing Shot (Extreme long shoot): establishing
the location and where you want the viewer to look.
Master Shot: is the limit of the action.
Over the Shoulder: how they film a conversation (shot
reverse shot can be used as well).
Close Up: getting to know the character and ignoring
the surroundings.
Extreme Close Up: to show the emotion and also an
important moment in the clip.
Medium close up: waist up.
Long Shot: whole body and to establish the location.
Pan shot: horizontal sweep.
Tilt Shot: vertical sweep.
Tracking: when the camera follows the action.

5. Mise-en-scène
 Mise-en-scène is the arrangement of scenery and
properties to represent the place where a play or movie
is enacted. E.g props, scenery, clothing, objects

6. Regional Identity
 Regional Identity is the identification with a specific
geographic region of a nation. E.g. in the country, in the
city, at sea

7. Editing
 The eye line match begins with a character looking
at something off-screen, followed by a cut to the
object or person at which he is looking.
 Matching the action (movement or motion) of
characters or objects in one shot to the action in the
next shot where the action continues.
 Shot reverse shot is a film technique where one
character is shown looking at another character
(often off-screen), and then the other character is
shown looking back at the first character. Since the
characters are shown facing in opposite directions,
the viewer assumes that they are looking at each
other.