dont use pls

1. Watch the first3 minutesof a TV Drama thencomplete your analysis usingthe table below.
Once completed,don’tjustcutandpaste intoa journal entryasit will lose all formatting,instead:
 Save to OneDrive.
 Click on share to get a share link (remember to untick box whichallows the document to be edited).
 Copythe share linkandpost this as a hyperlink ina journal entrytitled‘Analysisof (TV drama title)’.
 Also include a hyperlink to the TV drama opening. An image to illustrate wouldalso be useful.
If you prefertowork directlyinajournal entry,copyand paste the questionsfrom thisdocument.
TV Drama title: Three Girls
MEDIA LANGUAGE
Is the opening conventional in how it is structured? Explain why/why not.
The opening shows a range of shots and builds up a mysterious plot, givingsmall detailssuch asactors
names, producers etc. over the top of unravellingthe characters.Wecan tell 30 minutes in that a main
character,which is beingfilmed from behind, not givingher identity away immediately, is beingquestioned
by police,we know this as a policeofficer says thetime and date, whilstpressinga button. Also,names of
the policeofficers aregiven away.The opening of this is similar to the opening sequence of Press,and Killing
Eve. Whatmakes this opening different from the other two is itshows flashbacksof the main character,
Holly Winshaw.
DENOTATION CONNOTATIONS
Mise en scene - setting,costumes, lighting,bodylanguage
and facial expressions.
Night setting in an urban landscape – city skyline
lit up by street lights and building lights.
Costumes - use of youthful clothing, like a short
sleeve top, painted nails that are chipped, plaster
on the back of hand, as well as black smudged
eyeliner or mascara and messy tied up hair.
Light setting of an interview room – interrogation.
Body language and facial expressions – worried,
scared and upset; still movement and numbness.
The connotations of the night setting may suggest an
eeriness,especially as thecity may be quiet, however,
a sense of safety may be portrayed as the buildings
and houses areclosely compacted filled with lights.
The use of costumes and props within the 3 minute
opening suggest that the main character has been in
trouble, especially as sheis beinginterviewin a police
station at night; this is the time where people say that
teenagers come out to causemischief,however, as
the opening continues, itis clear thatsomething has
happened to Holly,whether it was in self defence or
someone trying to sexually exploither.Chipped nails
and smudged eye makeup suggest the idea that she is
broken and cannotreturn to her old self.
The lightingsuggests that she is the main focal point
of the series,however, the contrastto the dark night,
Holly may feel likeshe has been left in the ‘dark’ and
no one can see her true emotions and the scarring
journey shehas been on with her friends.
Holly’s facial expressionsand body languageshow to
the audience that she is innocentand that she can’t
tell the interviewing officers the truth to the situation
she was in when she smashed a counter and stole
fizzy drinks as revenge and out of being scared for her
life.
Camerawork – shot sizes, camera angles,movements, depth
of field.
There are a range of shots within the opening, mainly
close ups and mid shots, to focus on the storyline.
These camera shots unveil a personal encounter into
the main characters life and story. Close ups and
extreme close ups used show the facial expressions
and body language, like Holly rubbing her hands
together out of fear and her eyes looking sad as she

2. knows what has happened to herself but doesn’t
want to relive it through telling others.
Editing – continuity, montage,paceofediting, transitions,
screen time, order ofshots,etc.
The transitions and screen times are perfectly
smooth, without any gaps. The transitions help with
flowing each scene to a different camera angle. The
way the editing was used in a flashback scene where
Holly was being asked questions, it give the audience
a snippet of what is to come later inn the episode.
Sound – diegetic, non-diegetic, ambient sound,soundeffects,
stings, music, etc.
In the first 3 seconds of the opening to the drama,
police sirens can be heard in the distance. Use of
ambient sound to build tension.
The sounds of the sirens can connote later actions
taking place to people within the episode. Sounds of
the men shouting at Holly and her running away after
the sound of smashing and the sound of being hit in
the face, gives the audience a real representation of
violence getting out of hand. The sound of crying
shows the audience Holly’s emotions at the time. The
sound of heavy breathing as she runs away from the
scene shows that she is trying to escape her
nightmare. Sounds of school bells and distinct school
chatter shows the setting of a school, which gives
away their age in the drama.
Title Graphics – font style, size,colour, transitions, effects,
etc.
The title fades into a gloomy day skyline with a very
standard font style. The way the title fades in, it
conveys the idea of Holly’s memories ‘fading; away or
into her life.
Genre i.e. sub-genre-crime,thriller, soap opera, comedy, etc.? Or Mixed/hybrid genre? Whatsuggest this? Icons?
Three Girls is a truecrime series,with elements of thriller established into it.
Narrative i.e. Whatwill the story beabout? Howit is going to betold? Any binaryoppositions/conflict? Storythemes?
Conventionalnarrative?
The story of Three Girls is a truecrime drama series that is aboutthe story of three girls who get sexually
abused and exploited into sex traffickingthrough the owners of the local takeaway shop.The conflicts are
between the girls tryingto escape the violencethat they have been bribed into,and also the healthcare
professionals fromthe local sexual health clinic,who desperately try to open the girls up and find out more
information to tell the police.It is told through the eyes of the girls who experienced the abuse and took a
longtime to report it.
Character(s) i.e. Who arethey? Whatare they like? Main character? Protagonist/antagonist? Conventionalcharacter type/role?
Holly Winshaw- Main character – was once very quiet and kept her head down at school until shemet her
boyfriend’s cousin and her friends that got her into a vicious circleof alcohol abuseand beingbribed by
older Pakistani men.
Sara – sexual health nursewho is caringand understanding,tries to get the girls to tell the policeon what
they have experienced.
Amber and Ruby – two wild child girlswho loveto party and drink underage. They too get sexually abused
by the same people as Holly.
Tariq,Daddy and Billy –the antagonists of the series,the ones who bringthe girls into the sex ringto abuse
and mentally scar the girls.
REPRESENTATION
Social Groups– which socialgroups arerepresented? How –as simplestereotypes or as morecomplexcharacters? Is everyonein
a social group represented as being the same? Positive/negative? (seelesson Ppt. for a recap onrepresentation).

3. The girls arebeingrepresented as stereotypical ‘chavs’thatdon’t come from a very nurturingbackground
and that have either dropped out of school or bunk off and decrease in their work ethic, punctuality and
attendance, as well as the takeaway shop owners, who are Muslims fromPakistan arebeingrepresented in
a negative way too. This idea and representation reflects on their whole religion,when it is only a small
minority that may do these sick things to children.
Ideology– what values and beliefs are being reinforced?(i.e.romantic relationships represented as something tobe desiredand
that they should bemonogamous.)
The belief that men shouldn’thurt girls becausethey should be paternal figureheads to these teenagers was
completely forgotten in this series;itshowed that these paternal figures was capableof anythingover these
girls dueto their power, authority and strength over them.
Are these representationsconventional ofthe TV drama genre/sub-genre?
Yes, most true crime series based on real lifeevents will betold and narrated in this way through the
storylineof the main character.
Do they reinforce dominantideologyor offeran alternative?
They should reinforcedominant ideology that these men should be paternal figures and not usingthem for
their own gain and pleasurelikethey’re objects.These men areexpected to respect these young girls like
their daughters. At the startthey loveand nurture for them likefather figures,however, as the girls ask for
more and more favours,these men want sexual favours in return.
AUDIENCE
Whois the target audience? Demographics?
Psychographics?
The target audiencecan be both, demographics
and psychographics.Somemay focus on the
lifestyleand background characteristicsof the girls
in the series,like,age, gender, company name or
job title, household income and location.Rochdale
is a town that can be known for its council houses,
which makes some people judge the area of where
the girls were abused. In contrastto
psychographics,who focus on social characteristic
likepolitical affiliation,interests and hobbies,
opinions and attitudes and personality;what the
girls arelikeand what they believe is important;
drinkingand causingtrouble.
What tellsyou this? Genre, narrative, representation,
mode ofaddress, language used, etc.?
As Three Girlsis a true crime series, it targets many
audiences, as well as throughthe narrative andthe waythe
storyis told. It can addressandappeal to anyone, especially
people who are interestedintrue crime cases. The language
usedinthe series is easyto follow, as well as the
representation that is beinggiven.
How have the producerstried to attract the audience? Consider Gen Z short attentionspan, etc. –how does the
drama try tograb their attention and appealto themin the opening?
Although Gen Z have a short attention span,havingthis shows air after the watershed is perfect as the
creators can includeelements likeviolence,strong languageand sexual content to grab their attention and
focus them in watching. Showing flashbacks of a story can grip a Gen Z individual as itmakes them want to
carry on watching. Havingdifferent settings and different outfits with colour can also grip this audience.
Usingslangthatis popular with youth culturemakes the content relatableto the individual.
How are the audience positioned? Which character(s) arewe supposed to like/dislike/sympathisewith? Arewe
positioned to takea particular side/view ofanissue?Preferred/negotiated/oppositional readings?
As an audience, we are supposed to likethe girls,which is obvious,and dislikethe men as they’re dirty a nd
evil.We as an audienceare obliged to take the sideand view of the girls,as they are children and girls.
Some people may read this as an oppositional reading,where they do not agree with anythingincluded,for
example, Muslimaudiences may not agree with the way that these men were treated. Most audiences will
take the preferred reading,which follows the intentions of the drama,however, some may agree with
certain elements but also determine their own thoughts on certain situations of the drama, which creates a
negotiated reading.

4. Do you think the drama will shape audiences’pointsof viewabout people,issuesorevents?
Yes, especially when itcomes to the people of blame, the MuslimPakistanis.This can shiftand shapeand
ora around these men and can causehatred and racistissues becauseof the actions of a minority of people.
Same with the teenage girls,peoplemay create a stigma around these girls,blamingthem for what
happened to themselves becausethey asked for it. This is wrongand thi s audiencepointof view should not
develop onto other people, their issues or evets.
INDUSTRY
TV Channel/distributor? BBC is the TV channel itis aired on, however, doesn’t
have a main distributer;this series is availableon BBC
iPlayer.
Is it available anywhere else? No, however itis availableon YouTube to be
purchased.
Time ofbroadcast? 9pm – 16th May 2017 – 60 minutes.
Sponsorships? BBC is financed by the license fee, it’s a public
corporation that doesn’t include sponsorships or product
placement.
Product placement? N/A – However, a type of vodka was used, maybe
Smirnoff or Glenn’s.
Production credits in the opening?
Ifso, which ones and inwhat order?
N/A
Whichepisode/series?
Out ofhow many episodes/series?
Episode1 Series 1 – Only a 3-part series.
Additional media(digital convergence)?
Website, socialmedia,onlinevideos, etc.
Onlinevideos areavailableon YouTube and BBC
iPlayer,although there is no designated social media
for this mini-series,ithas been included on BBC’s
Instagrampage when it aired.
Do you think any of the industry elementsabove have shaped the drama? If so, how?
I think that the creators of this mini-series reallyusedtheir slot after the watershed wellto have the freedomto use
violence and sexual content andstrong language, inorder to tellthe real-life event that happenedin Rochdale. They
usedalcohol within these episodes too to showhowthe owner of the takeawayshoptook advantage of young
teenagers.