Task 1: Analysing conventions of TV

Name of TV show: Sherlock 

TV channel it was on: BBC One

Genre: Mystery/Drama

Length of each episode: 90 minutes 

Production Company: BBC

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch (male, 44, Sherlock Holmes) , Martin Freeman (male ,49, Dr John H. Watson), Mark Gatiss (Male, 53, Mycroft Holmes)  Louise Brealey(female, 41, Molly Hoope),Andrew Scott(Male, 43, Professor Moriaty), Rupert Graves(Male, 57, Inspector Greg Lestrade) Una Stubbs(Female, 83, Mrs Hudson), Amanda Abbington(Female, 46, Mary Mornstan), Johnathan Aris(Male, 49, Anderson), Vinette Robinson(female, 39, Sgt Sally Donovan),  Lara Pulver(female, 40, Irene Adler)  ,Sian Brooke (Female, 40, Euros Holmes) Lars Mikkelsen (Male, 56, Charles Augustus Magnussen), Yasmine Akram( Female, 38, Janine Hawkins) Lindsay Duncan( Female, 69, Elizabeth Smallwood),  Tanya Moodie ( Female, Ellla) and Phil Davies (Male, 67, Jeff Hope.)

Locations: 187 North Gower Street, Somers Town, London, England, Uk (This location was filmed outside for the exterior of 221B Bakers Street). Upper Boat Studios, Upper Boat, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, UK (This location was filmed is filmed in a studio for the interior of 221B Bakers Street). St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, England, UK(This was the location for the hospital scenes)

Content/Narrative: Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman) is wounded in Afghanistan and returns home to London. He gets a flat at 221B Bakers Street and meets his flatmate the private investigator Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch). When there is three identical suicides Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Greeves) ask for Sherlock to intervene after there was been a fourth, the suspicious death of Jennifer. After they get into her phone this then leads to Sherlock coming face to face with the serial killer who is determined to make Sherlock his next victim

 Representations: The main representation in Sherlock is gender. It challenges masculinity by showing Inspector Greg Lestrade as someone who needs help from the great mind of Sherlock and that he isn’t as great as people think males are. It also shows the male gender to be dominant by showing the main character as a male and also making him more masculine. 

  

Clip analysis of Sherlock 

Camerawork conventions:

- Over the shoulder shot

- Shallow Depth of Focus

- wide shot 

- mid shot 

- Reaction shot 

-3/4 shot 

5 sources of information to find out about conventions 

- Textual analysis or content analysis e.g. Penny Dreadful 

Advantages: 

- Can provide valuable historical/cultural insights

- Can take your time 

Disadvantages: 

- Can be time consuming 

- Can be difficult to computerise or automated 

- Interview a tv producer for or director e.g. Sam Mendes 

Advantage is that you get an experts opinion 

Disadvantage it would be hard to get all the information 

- Online tutorials: Film producers “how to guide” e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k33HCGwNkE

They are cheap and easy- Advantage 

They may be wrong - Disadvantage 

- A text book or media production e.g. L3 CAMTECH official text book. 

Written by people who make the course - Advantage 

Can be out of date - Disadvantage 

 - A BFI presentation or speaker event of a director e.g. Rob Speranza SYFN (South Yorkshire Filmmakers Network.)  

Can be explained in depth and ask questions- Advantage 

Have to travel and it’s expensive- Disadvantage

- Work experience/ on the job e.g. Working with Rob Speranza at the SYFN 

Hands on experience in the industry- Advantage 

Time consuming- Disadvantage