Unit 22 Single Camera Techniques notes

1. And Then There Were
None
Directed by Craig Viveiros
2015

2. To start with…
Format Genre Narrative structure
Series Crime, Drama, Thriller Linear
• The TV Drama
follows a linear
narrative which go
in a chronological
order.

3. Story arc

4. Mise-en-scene
• And Then There Were None has a fantastic-looking adaptation, with stylish
filming and locations and lighting that looked both beautiful and effectively
claustrophobic, with the house quite rightly like a character in itself. The
music is suitably ominous without being overbearing, and the script has
plenty of entertaining and nail-biting parts, following the creepy Nursery
rhyme pretty closely, as well as being intelligently written. Narratively, And
Then There Were None does start off a little on the slow side, but after the
dinner scene it becomes captivatingly gripping, with a genuine sense of
claustrophobic dread, up to the end credits. Some may find in the third
episode that the drunk scene was out of place, for me while not in the book,
it certainly did fit the idea of it being the remaining characters' last night and
that they knew it. Which was actually one of the remarkable things about
this adaptation, that as well as being a mystery it was a psychological
character study too, something that not every adaptation did. What was
also fun about this adaptation was having friends and family not familiar
with the story, and hearing them trying to work out aloud who the murderer
was and seeing them visibly taken aback at the real murderer's identity. The
costume of the character Miss Claythome changes shows different state
during the whole event.

5. Key Scene Analysis
The lighting in the dinner scene is low key, in order to make a tense
atmosphere as the guests are seated. Most of shots in this scene are medium
shots and deep focus shots, however the start of the scene shows as long shot
of the guests around the table, which could be seen as an establishing shot.
The shound in this scene is mostly diegetic, but after paying particular attentiion
to the scene a low, ominous sound can be heard behind the plates and
dialogue. However not much editing is included and long takes make up most
of the scene. this creates a tense atmosphere, which also foreshadows an
argument later. The scripting is not unusual to a typical dinner table scene, as
the guests all talk to each other and hold a decent conversation between them.
this could give a "calm before the storm" feeling, and that everything is going
too well. This is supported well with the ominous sound in the background.
Deep focus and shallow focus is used throughout the drama to show the
emotions of each characters when they talk.

6. Compare and Contrast
Comparing with Cyberbully, the same kind of lighting is used to create a similar
atmosphere. The lighting in both drama are low key lighting as it create tension
in scenes. The editing in Cyberbully is limited to give the effect that Casey is
trapped in the bedroom and the same effect being used in And Then There
Were None to show they are trapped in that house. The sound in And Then
There Were None is similar to Cyberbully, in that it is mostly diegetic. However,
it uses the non-diegetic tone but in Cyberbully does not, which could create a
tense environment. the silence in Cyberbully create a tense atmosphere
successfully.

7. Cyberbully
Directed by Ben Chanan
2015

8. To start with…
Format Genre Narrative structure
One off/Single Drama Docu-drama Thriller Linear

9. Story arc

10. Compare and Contrast
• Cyberbully wasn’t just a thriller but an eye opener to the dangers of social
media. It took a different approach with its narrative and shows the victim
of the film as the actual bully in certain situations which was an ingenious
use of direction. Comparing with ‘And Then There Were None’,
‘Cyberbully’ only shoot in one location – Casey’s bedroom for the whole
film. The laptop became a person through the cinematography but was
completely unknown to the audience and Casey thus making us just as
confused and terrified as she is.
• Detailed close up shots revealed the different expressions as Casey
realised what she had done to people, she turned from a kidding
character to the serious character which the camera had to capture to
show that she definitely converted her thoughts to the audience and did
so very well.

11. See No Evil: Moors
Murders
Directed by Christopher Menaul
2006

12. To start with…
Format Genre Narrative structure
Serial Drama Crime, Drama, Thriller Linear
• It is a two-part crime
drama which uses a
linear narrative
structure so the
second episode can
easily follow on from
the beginning. All the
events happened are
in chronological
order, this allows
them to keep the
storyline flowing
exclude any
confusion.

13. Story arc

14. Compare and Contrast
• See No Evil: Moors Murders set out to faithfully transpose accounts provides
by detectives, witnessed and relatives of the victim onto the screen. The
interesting aspect of this adaptation resides not much in how accurately the
script may stick to the actual events. This type of initiative brings out particular
means in reshaping the original resource.
• The location shoots are grand and tragic at the same time. The interiors of the
small apartments are reproduced to look exactly. also, except for a quick edit
murder scene filled with red hue and an imperative for the narrative,
noexecutions are shown non spoken of in detail. We get an insight into the
mids of two of the most complex minds in history and the lives they affected.
• The editing is more visible and protective apart from And Then There Were
None and Cyberbully. Within more uses of continuity editing, the
camerafollows David and Maureen is more realistic. The range of different
shots which are edited together can show the seamless of their life.

15. This is England 90s
Directed by Shane Meadows
2015

16. To start with…
Format Genre Narrative structure
Series Drama Linear
• It follows different
storylines of a set
of characters and
how they live
together with some
events and
troubles.

17. Story arc

18. Mise-en-scene
• The wide master shots are used not just to show the audience
the location of the drama but also to give the audience key
information to identify these people. Like the fact that these
people live in a terraced house can class them being part of the
working class. The fact that the table is made up of two
different tables and the chairs don’t match shows that they
don’t normally meet up in such a large group of dinner implying
that they are there for some reason.

19. Key Scene Analysis
The scene about Kelly runing away is an interesting scene to analyse. As the
audience watches as Kellly packs a bag and then runs aways from her family,
an elliptical edit has been used to show only key moments of Kelly running
away from what has just shattered her life as she knew it. By having on the
non-diegetic music playing , it helps to heighten the emotion in the scene and
also tell the audience that she doesn’t want to believe what has just been told
to her about her dead father. Due to this reason, she is running away from what
has happened because she cant fact it that she didn’t truly know her father.

20. Compare and Contrast
This drama set with the same characters as the movie and the other series.
The clothing and language match with the time period of the drama. By working
with adult themes during the series helps to make the drama more realist for
the audience. The camera remains longer than other dramas and the location
of a murder from another episode or the calm before the storm.
The dinner scene use a high angle shot over the dinner table to show how
small the space is and that their friends can really escape the news.