- US long form dramas have a higher budget
- UK long form drama have a shorter duration and are on at a fixed time.
- UK long form drama are less formal e.g. Eastenders
Long form TV is an American concept which effectively is a hybrid of a serialised drama with the high production standards of film.
Drama
> A show that runs in a series over years.
> Starts with an intense beginning to grip their audience
> They contain cliffhangers to maintain interest
> TV drama is very much dialogue led.
> Production values are lower than film (fuded by advertising revenue or PSB)
Long form TV Drama
> Drama that runs in a series
> they start with an intense beginning to grip their audience
> They contain cliffhangers to maintain interest
> they conclude the episode until the end where they conclude the episode.
> very much dialogue led.
> Production values are higher than TV drama (funded by subscribers)
> High budgets permit high end actors and high end production
Production
> Traditionally film was available in reel format.
> Film Companies such as Pinewood? Disney would commission distributers to get their movies into Theatres
> The logistics of getting film distributed worldwide was expensive however for many years film based media was to be high quality.
> Over time the quality of digital film has improved, resulting in a revolution in how films/video content are produced and distributed.
> Film is less relevant to the film and TV industry as it has been superseded by Digital content
> House of Cards was shot entireley in digital using “Red Epic” cameras.
> Production, editing and distribution are lower for digital enabling high end outcomes at a lower price.
Identify 3 reasons why digital production is cheaper and a more convenient medium:
> A film print costs about $2000, a digital disk less than $100.
> Cheaper shipping costs.
> You no longer have to stop “filming” to reload film magazines, you just keep on shooting.
Terrestial TV
> Schedule content was fixed (reliant on
analogue (radio wave technology as pre the internet)
> Viewing experience was communal (families watched
the same/similar content) as content was transmitted via Radio waves.
> Dramas developed to encourage regular viewing
> Program content with high audience
numbers secured revenue via advertising.
> Advertising revenue or PSB income (TV
license) pays for drama for e.g. a typical Eastenders episode costs £141,000
Digital (streaming)
> In just a decade, Netflix has grown from a video service with seven million U.S. subscribers to one that reaches 93 million people worldwide.
> When Netflix first launched in the late 1990s, it distributed DVDs – mainly films – by mail. The convenience of the service disrupted the existing film rental industry and eventually led to its demise.
> During the early 2000s, advances in compression technology – coupled with more homes gaining access to high-speed internet services – allowed large video files to be easily streamed over the internet.
> Video streaming services such as Netflix (what I call “portals”) deliver programming “on demand” via the internet, viewers can choose what and when to watch instead of watching “what’s on.”
> Subscription TV therefore offers significant benefits to terrestial TV.
> Netflix (originally a US company) provides services to 43% of the US market, it has developed its global market with a presence in 190 countries.
> Its popularity is achieved by providing high production content in several TV serial genres. This includes complicated serial dramas (“House of Cards”), action series (“Daredevil”), horror series (“Hemlock Grove”).
What is the comparative production costs
of a typical UK Soap e.g. Eastenders compared to an episode of House of Cards?
How is this reflected in the production
values of the respective dramas?
The production cost of a typical UK soap such as Eastenders is around £141,000 per episode and the production cost for an episode of House of Cards is around $4.5million. This is reflected by the setting, as Eastenders is in a small studio and House of Cards is filmed in a number of locations, particularly Washington D.C.
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