The rise of foreign-language TV: Blog tasks

The rise of foreign-language TV: Blog tasks

Independent: British viewers can't get enough of foreign-language dramas

1) What does the article suggest regarding the traditional audience for foreign-language subtitled media?

Not many people watched foreign-language shows a few years back but now it's become normal. It's not even a trending genre, it's just mainstream as it so normal for people to now watch foreign-language films/shows.

2) What does Walter Iuzzolino suggest is the key appeal of his 'Walter Presents' shows?

 Imported programming is certainly on the mind of acquisition teams. They stream a lot of foreign-language films and shows which have become popular over the years.

3) The article makes an interesting claim for the popularity of subtitles in the multi-screen age. What does it suggest?

It has become more popular ever since people are able to stream it from online as more people have access to it. 

4) What are the other audiences pleasures of foreign TV drama suggested by the article?

The foreign dramas are also created in plenty of different genres and people get to see the different lifestyles in different Countries and traditions.

5) What examples are provided of how TV companies are increasingly using audiences to inform the production process?

Shows such as Sherlock have been influenced by fans; some scenes contain dialogue that only Chinese speaking viewers can understand however the things being said are necessary to understand the plot. 

Film School Rejects: The foreign TV dramas you're missing out on

1) What does the article tell us about Deutschland 83's release schedule?

Deutschland 83 didn't receive as much viewers in the US than in Germany. However it became more popular in the US than in Germany eventually after they premiered it.

2) The article contains important statistics on viewing figures in different countries. What were the German viewing figures for the first and last episode? What were Channel's 4's viewing figures for Deutschland 83?

The German premiere had 3.19 million views which then dropped down to 1.63 million views by the last episode.

Channel 4 saw viewing figures reach to a peak of 2.13 million viewers. 

3) Who are the two production and distribution companies behind Deutschland 83 and what did they announce in October?

- Sundance TV

- Fremantle Media 

They announced that they will be creating a new series called Deutschland 86.

4) What does the article suggest was the driving force behind the series being renewed for a new season (and possibly two new seasons)?

What with its lackluster response in Germany, it’s apparent the US critical reception and UK’s record-breaking viewership have a role to play in renewing the show.

5) How does Walter Iuzzolino use social media to engage audiences in new international TV dramas? How does he suggest this has changed the reception of foreign productions in the UK?

Promote the shows on their social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

IndieWire: The rise of international television

1) What does the article suggest regarding the difference between TV and film?

More so than film, TV tends to feel culturally specific, tailored to domestic tastes.

2) What cultural differences are highlighted in the article - for example in turning 'Prisoners of War' into 'Homeland' when remade in the US?

The original make of 'Prisoners of War' focuses on the idea of POWs, which he called an “open wound in Israeli society”. However for the U.S. the emphasis was on the agent investigating the returned soldier, on a more American issues of distrusting the government and of a fears of agents among us.

3) Why do you think Deutschland 83 was able to rise above these cultural differences to be successful in the US and UK? Did this inadvertently make the drama fail in Germany?

It was more successful in the UK and the US as loads of Germans hated the series after watching the first episode because of the way some of them were represented and a lot of them also felt like the information was inaccurate and it wasn't really historical context. 

4) What does the article suggest about subtitling?

Peoples opinions on them are that they're really hard work 'somewhat obscure'.

5) What does Sopranos actor Steven Van Zandt suggest is the appeal in foreign television drama?

'The way to make this more international is to make this more Norwegian'.
The fact that the guy speaks English brings the American audience into the show, and you start to live the show and Norway the way the character does.

The Guardian: How tech is changing television

1) What are the traditional lengths for TV drama and what dictated these programme formats?

The three most frequent lengths of TV and radio programming – referred to on commissioning forms as 60’, 30’, 15’ – arose from a grid schedule designed around hours and half-hours in order to make programmes easy to find. 

2) How have streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime changed the way TV drama narratives are constructed?

'Your form of storytelling has to reflect the fact that people could watch straight away'. Netflix, notes that the new producers are changing content as well as structure: “The demography of the video platforms is a bit younger, and it’s a global audience. 

3) Why has the rise in streaming led to more complex storylines and an increase in cliffhangers?

As producers are now making more effort to create content that viewers would enjoy throughout the series. They are having to create more unique storylines to differentiate themselves and to also keep viewers engaged.

4) How have the "economics of production" kept TV drama largely sticking to the 45- or 60-minute episode format?

Streaming dramas can theoretically last anything from 60 seconds to 60 hours, there has so far been little structural experimentation. Episodes within a series may have unequal lengths. 
It turns out, results not from creative conservatism but – as with Greene’s rationed narratives – from the economics of production.

5) How has "permanent 24/7 connectivity" changed both the production and consumption of TV drama?

It has radically altered viewer responses. Live-tweeting by audiences has usefully democratised criticism. For most viewers the benefits of self-scheduling, repeat viewing and audience feedback outweigh such disadvantages.

TV: Exam question

TV: Exam question

Question 1 - “Realism is a vital component of television drama”. To what extent does an analysis of your television close-study products support this view? [25 marks]

Realism is an important part of television drama as it adds onto the narrative structure and helps audiences get a better understanding of what is happening as if real life events weren’t included, audiences may struggle to pick up on small conventions and may fail to understand what is trying to be portrayed to them. Too much surrealism could also make TV dramas too fictional and interfere with the narrative structure as if everything is made up, they wouldn’t really have a form to follow and go from.

In capital, realism is used to attract the British audiences. They have included stereotypical characters that you would find around Britain; more specifically London to take on the roles on the street they were focusing on and built their storyline from that. Realism is important because the more real the scenes are, the more tense they get and as tensions rise audience would be more eager and tempted to continue watching to find out what happens next. Realism could be used as a method to keep audiences engaged and to also have them coming back to continue watching the upcoming episodes if left on a cliff-hanger as many TV dramas are.

However, a bit of unrealistic exaggeration is necessary when it comes to TV dramas as that is what builds the story on and keeps it flowing the conflict, drama and tension. If dramas were based solely on realism they may not be as interesting and appealing to audiences as they would already be aware of what happens in real life, there wouldn’t be any suspense or anything for them to look forward to which would make them want to continue watching.

Realism is being used to a certain extent to make the plot more believable, help audience’s get a clear understanding of what is taking place in the scenes and makes them feel more of a closer bond with the characters and feel more empathetic. It also enables them to feel more hooked into the scene and tempts them to continue watching and progress onto more episodes. 

Although television drama relies on a lot of exaggeration and made up content, it still needs to be somewhat believable and relatable as audiences wouldn’t be able to get a clear understanding nor be interested in what’s happening if they aren’t able to related and imagine further which would build up thrill and make them want to keep watching as they would get more into the series and almost feel as if they are in the scene themselves. 

In Deutschland 83, a lot of the content is non-fictional as it is a historical text however even then some of the things shown in at are made up or exaggerated for audience pleasures. In order to make it more interesting for audiences, rather than just showing the historical side of the country at those times, they also included sub-genres such as romance and family to make it more realistic and audiences would also feel a closer relationship with the character by knowing more about them personally. Other than for audience pleasures, some things were made up or exaggerated in Deutschland 83 as the directors and script writers wouldn’t know precisely what happened in those days and the show is made off stories that have been told by historians and people that lived in those days so if there was a good in the storyline that they weren’t sure about, they would’ve made up things to make sure the narrative is clear and flowing without any gaps in it.

The main reason realism is so important in TV dramas is because it creates audience pleasures and helps them get a better understanding of what the director is trying to say to them whilst also enjoying the show with more sub-genres within it to keep them intrigued.

Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog task

Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog task

1.

- Even a poor quality product can be successful depending on how well it is marketed.
- The characters Bruno and Borat have more ‘reality’ for film audiences than their creator Sacha Baron Cohen

2.

Historical deafness suggests that the culture is losing its historical context  and historical knowledge is now based on media representations. Deutschland 83 contradicts this idea as it is a period drama made to educate people on the history of Germany during this time period.

3.

- People now tend to purchase things for the label rather than the actual product. They are willing to pay higher prices just for the brand rather than the quality of the product. 

- Jameson argues that this creates a cultural depthlessness

4.

- Pop music; low art

 samples classical music; high art

5.

Bricolage is something created from a range of different (available) things. 

Bricolage is used is Deutschland 83 when they are showing two different types of worlds in one country and they use mise en scene to create these scenes. 

6.

Audiences still watch and respond to classical structures and representations as they are used to it and may feel that it is more reassuring. This may be one of the audience pleasures as they would be using a structure that audiences are comfortable with which may also be more easier to understand and pick up small details.

7.

- Representation: In Deutschland 83 the character from the West was represented as the hero whereas the ones from East were represented as the villains. 

- Genre: the spy genre has been well presented in Deutschland 83 using elements of mise en scene such as costume and the props they used.

- Ideology is used in Deutschland 83 when they use binary opposition; East and West Germany.

8.

Modern texts include elements that reflect postmodernsim which is seen to be part of postmodern culture.

9.

Postmodernism is shown is Deutschland 83 by there posh,modern buildings and interior in their houses and offices. This shows development in the country and on top of that, shows the luxury and comfort they had in West Germany. 

10.

Audiences would enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83 as the director has used Bricolage to construct a diverse range of things such as the idea of romance, family beliefs, war, action etc. and put it all together.