Sitcom Analysis

Character Analysis

Within this season 3, episode 1 of The Inbetweeners, I will be analysing the four main characters, Simon, Neil, Jay and Will. Within this group of for friends there is almost a family element even though they are not related.

Simon – When he is talking to his parents he acts like Jay – blowing things out of proportion, like storming out of the house and going sitting on top of the shed. But this is reversed when he is with his friends, as he becomes the responsible figure.

Neil – he is the most socially accepted character out of the group. He is a very vacant character, not really offending anyone when he speaks, but he can say intelligent things every so often. Within the group he is probably the father figure of the group.

Jay – is the most childish person out of the group, he’s immature and irresponsible, like when he is driving and pulls out onto the roundabout. He and Neil are basically the children of the group.

Will – is the most mature out of the group, he is the mother figure of the group and is concerned about everyone. He’s intimidated by people he doesn’t know, or isn’t comfortable with. He also provides a voiceover for some scenes as it is basically following his journey into a public school, this also add to the point that he is the father figure as he is providing a voice over to the show.

With these four main characters they almost make up a family without actually being related to one another, as they all have different roles within their friendship group.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure of this episode of The Inbetweeners runs with two vital plot points. The first one in this episode was when the head teacher took Will into the office to tell him that he would be in charge of money for the charity fashion show. Letting him know that he had the responsibility to look after a large amount of money.

The second plot point in the episode was the scene where Simon is asked to walk down the catwalk in the pair of Speedos, resulting in an embarrassing accident for Simon.

It usually follows a story of firstly showing the characters in their normal life, at home etc., then going to school or destination where the first plot point will be introduced, next the group will discuss their options trying to find a resolution to a problem then the second plot point will be introduced and then we’ll see the ending which is when everything has been resolved and we see the characters heading home.

Technical Elements

There are many technical elements in this episode, such as simple jump cuts. There are many varied shots in this show, such as mid shots, long shots and close ups. Shot reverse shots are also used to show conversation between multiple characters. Also panning shots are used to shows an object moving, like when someone is driving in a car. The sound in this show is mainly all diegetic as everything that we hear is what we can see on screen. We hear background music occasionally, such as music for the fashion show, and occasionally a voiceover a scene from Will.

Drama Analysis

The Killing analysis

Season 3 Episode 8

Characters analysis

A few scenes into the episode that we watched the police officers are asking questions that they want answered, so they are asking rhetorical questions. With these questions they are building a story, and it also helps build a picture to what might have happened, as we actually haven’t seen what has happened on scene.

With the victims in this episode they provide the evidence, which then leads to conclusions and the resolving of issues.

Narrative analysis

With many other TV shows, it has plot points. All episodes have a start, middle and end to them making them linear.

The first plot point in this episode was the main realisation point when the lady police officer - Sarah Linden, found the burning cigarette when they had gone to look for the perpetrator in a storage locker, as she had found that that this is where he was staying. He then found that that she was looking for him and started to attack her.

The second plot point was when another character said that the man who they were questioning was in the place when a certain incident happened.

The last plot point in this episode was when Stephan turned up at the house of the other police officer and punched him in the face, claiming that he knew about information and evidence that they had found.

All episodes were opened ended as the story carried on throughout multiple episodes until they came to a conclusion to the issues.

Technical analysis

In this TV show there are lots of technical aspects to create tension and an atmosphere in the scenes.

There is lots of dark, dingy low key lighting throughout the episode, this is to create a realistic expectation of real life and also because the stories that they are dealing with are very dark.

There is also a lot of diegetic sound in the episode to create tension; just with the background music there is a lot of tension created.

When police officer Sarah Linden is attacked there is lots of hand held close up shots, to show the severity of the situation that is going on. There is close ups on here face and his hands going in when they punch her.

The lack of shot reverse shots in this show is also an added factor to the tension for the audience, its almost like the camera is in a staring competition with the character on screen, also waiting for them to crack under the pressure of having the camera or having the audiences always focussed on them.

Synergy

Synergy - the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other

agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. 

Synergy | Define Synergy at Dictionary.com. 2015. Synergy | Define Synergy at Dictionary.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/synergy. [Accessed 16 March 2015].

This video for a Marks and Spencer Flower advert featuring the song by Clean Bandit - Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne. This is synergy because it is a advert that combines two different parties for mutual gain; M&S and Clean Bandit. with the exposure from this advert the song by Clean Bandit is being played more than if it was broadcast on the radio. With a catchy song they are enticing more people to buy their products and also this advert is appealing to watch and it shows all the fresh new flowers and some of the arrangements that could be bought for Mothers Day.

Another example of synergy is David Beckham and his multiple brand endorsements for companies such as: Diet Coke, Armani, H&M, Sainsbury's and Breitling. He has also signed a lifetime deal with Adidas for over $150 million. With all these endorsements for companies he is earning money everyday, whenever an advert is broadcast on TV or is used in a magazine or is used for a billboard. He makes about $42 million from endorsements every year. In 2013 he was number 8 on the list of highest paid athletes.

Soap Operas

In soap operas there are always stereotypical aspects used, such as clothing, job roles and setting. An example of this is within almost every soap opera, there is the same sort of layout, such as they will always have a local watering hole, with will be the pub or a café. They will probably have takeaway shops and a local corner shops, this is always the same in such soap operas as Coronation Street and Eastenders. In these programs they all follow suit, with the shops and pubs, they’re just portrayed in different ways.

The storylines that the used, have a start middle and end, depending on the sort of plot point that is being used, if it is a storyline, they will usually plan out over a few months, maybe even up to a year. They don’t tend to resolve a big storyline in just one episode.

They also follow suit in with the same stereotypical conventional family and jobs. There will always be builders – who are usually big beefy, good looking men, business owners – who are stereotypically generally always women and a low skilled factory worker, with these factory workers they are usually women, for example in Coronation Street, in the knicker factory nearly all the women are workers while there only two men workers.

The same spectrum of characters are the same throughout all soap operas, there are the roles of the feminine male – which in Coronation Street is Shaun who works in the Rovers and also in the knicker factory, both of these occupations are very feminine jobs for a male to have. You also have the role of the vacant ditsy character, which in Coronation Street is Kirk, who also works in the knicker factory, packing boxers and doing deliveries. There is always a matriarch character, which is usually the mother hen of the street or a business. They are usually a highly respected character and a majority of the people on the street gets along with her, apart from one or two people, which are usually considered the bitch. The matriarch in Eastenders in Peggy, who is a mother hen to nearly all the people in the Square.

Then you get the conventional nuclear family with their own problems and sometimes with problems within their own family which then causes conflict and creates an on going storyline.

Next you get the family with and adopted child or a new mother/father trying to get along with their new stepchildren, within which the children don’t get along with her and blame them for their parents split.

There also tends to be a couple that are polar opposite to each other, and an example of this is Tim and Sally in Coronation Street. Sally is well educated, well spoken and has a decent job she’s also very nosey and wants to know everyone’s business, but is highly offended when people get involved in her business. Meanwhile Tim is poorly educated and more of a laidback character.

 In soap operas they usually tend to have one main storyline that can build up over multiple episodes throughout the year, and each episode a little bit more information is released to try and put all the clues together.

There is also smaller plot points in each episode too, so there is one more thing to focus on in the episodes and it doesn’t become boring to the viewers, as it cant always focus on the main plot.

My sitcom family

For the mother figure I have chosen Julie Andrews. She is the head of the household and will do anything for her children and her husband. She is friendly to everyone but not a pushover and will always argue back if she's pushed too far, in terms of doing jobs for people. She would be very family orientated and be welcoming to everyone she met.

For the father figure I have chosen Don Johnson. He is a recovering alcholic and is terrible at every job in the house apart from DIY. He's had quite a few accidents from failed attempts at doing so. He is friendly, always ripping into his adult son, who still lives with him and his wife. He's lazy as his wife has to remind him to do jobs every minute of the day, and he is easily forgetful.

The daughter is unlucky in love and has had hundreds of failed attempts at relationships.

For the children in my sitcom I have chosen Rebel Wilson and Kevin James. Both characters still live at home with their parents.