In TV drama, what you are shown and how you are shown it has been decided by whoever made the text. So people, objects and places are represented in the way that the makers chose.
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| Jimmy McGovern writes gritty social realist drama where the emphasis is on the ordinary working class characters such as The Street. |
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| Mark Gatiss is a screenwriter, actor and horror fan. He starred in League of Gentlemen, Dr Who and wrote the screenplay for the recent BBC version of Sherlock Holmes. |
Camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene are the essential ingredients used to create a representation in TV drama.
Any TV drama will construct its characters out of recognisable social traits and then attempt to position its audience in relation to these constructions.
For example, a crime drama could be told from the perspective of the law enforcer, the criminal or a victim.
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| In Hustle, the audience is positioned on the side of the law breakers who are good looking, smart and only ever rob the bad guys. |
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| In Wire in the Blood we side with the psychologist who works with the police. |
The way the drama is edited will tell the audience who they should sympathise with. For example, which characters get the most screen time? Are there more POV shots and reaction shots for one character so that we can feel closer to them than the others? Do we learn more about one character than the others? Which character has a sound motif?
